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Friday 31 May 2013

Crochet a toddler cowl- beginner

Now let me start off by saying, I do not use crochet patterns often, well actually, at all! I own crochet books and use them for ideas or inspiration etc, but I can never follow a pattern without deviating. And I can't stay with a project for long, my hands get sore and my mind gets bored and counting with distractions doesn't work great! So this isn't a traditional crochet pattern which is why I think it works for beginners! 
I used what i think is 4ply, and used two stands of wool as one, i just pulled the middle end out and the outer end of wool and used them as if it were one piece. it gave the cowl a bit more chunky-ness which i like! and i used a 3.5ml hook because i couldn't find anything bigger.
For juju, who has a head circumference of 52cm I started with 51 chains, this is the top of your cowl, if you have your child handy you can try it on them once you slip join your chain to make sure it's large enough to fit over their head but only stretched, not too loose. (Or it will end up like Roos cowl-see pics below- i didn't have him handy to measure so i used the same sizes as Jujus which didn't work) My second round is single stitches into each chain link without increases. Rows 3-9 are treble stitches, with increases (an extra stitch) every 5th stitch, or whatever works for you! My 10th row (bottom) is single stitch, I ended up with 65 stitches. (Told you I don't count well with distractions- I had my kiddies watching a movie-back to the future 3-  and they have to ask questions about what's happening the entire time) 
What you will end up with is 10 rows, the top being smaller- small enough to not be too lose around their neck but not too tight that it can't fit over their heads! And it flares out slightly to sit out onto shoulders. It really is a forgiving piece, miss a stitch or add a stitch and it won't change too much of the overall piece. As long as you get the initial chain size right and you arent crocheting too tight you are good to go!  Of course you can make this larger for older ones, Tehy helped me crochet her one also... She got sick of the movie half way through and then got sick of crocheting half way through also, she got to the fifth row and gave up, so she has called it a head band rather then a cowl which she is happy with! The only thing you will need to change is the initial chain stitch- which will be longer to fit larger heads and you will have more rows to cover their longer neck and wider shoulders. You could use two different balls of wool to add some interest, or you could use a larger ply size or just use a single stand of the smaller ply if you wanted a thinner cowl if you want it for say- spring/summer rather then autumn/winter here! Good luck, I hope you make some sense of it, if you need any extra info, have questions or want to show your finished work leave me a comment and let me know how you go! :) 
Have to add a pic of the dread head rasta style beanie I made hubby also!

It's been a while!!

It's been a while since I last blogged, after I completed kcw and my sewing machine decided it needed a service that was it! It's been in the shop since and I finally get to pick it up this afternoon! YAY! I misjudged how much I would miss sewing these last couple weeks. I strived to put my energy into something else like cleaning or cooking, the cleaning? ha not that it helped at all, the house
Looks the same as it usually does! And cooking? It actually went well! The boys have been on a gluten and lactose free diet for the last 6 months, and I'm finally actually cooking most of it from scratch!


I've successfully made rainbow bread, sultana bread, (and they taste like normal bread- oh but more delicious!) chocolate cakes, sausage rolls and pies! In the past I have done a little here and there and since the boys were born I haven't cooked many family meals! Afternoons are routines, we play outside, we come inside for dinner bats an bed, there isn't time of day to cook in that with 4 kiddies! So, mum (and sometimes my hubby) do most of it! I'm so greatful for my mum who lives downstairs! She works at Ellarys school and does the school morning routines and comes home with the kiddies and then makes us all dinner (except the boys dinner which I do because of the special dietary needs) speaking of special diets, we had blood tests a few weeks ago, did I mention that? I'm not sure, oh well. The tests came back and we went to see the doctor, he was not for coming with the test results and told me there was no magic pill to 'fix' my kids! Gah! He rattled off some numbers saying allergies will show higher than a 1000 counters in an igA! I did some research and it wasn't the right numbers for the boys age group which made me really question it further, the doctor (who isn't our usual gp) shut down the test result pages just as quick as he opened them but I got to see Roos count was at an 8. I'm not a doctor but from my research his count was below normal range and if at their age they had got a count of 1000 it would basically mean they were allergic to absolutely everything edible and probably everything not! Long story short we need a new doctor! Yesterday Juju had an episode of horrible reactions, the chemist and nurse confirmed it was a reaction that caused his stomachs acids not to break down and he ended up (TMI) pooing acids and had an acid burn rash which is apparently common with gluten and lactose allergies! His face the came up in hives
and he got the shock shakes and passed out! It wasn't very nice :/ so cooking is a must in our house now, although the boys would live on rice noodles, crackers, bananas, grapes and gf spaghetti from a can if I let them! They do need variety and to attempt new things as their texture preference allows!
Back to sewing- I have many things cut and ready to go- you didn't think I could leave my sewing room completely alone did you!? Gosh no! I have a hand stamped t shirt, a cot tidy and a party dress all cut ready to go, and a few fix it jobs that are piling up- who likes them anyway! ha.
(my new fabric challenge bundle!)
So, sorry I have been absent and sorry for my rant on allergies and doctors lol, I will be back with some more sewing projects soon, and a couple of tutorials and patterns too :) next post will be up tomorrow with a crochet project- tutorial/pattern for a toddlers cowl scarf! Sneak peak- Roo was gardening - he likes the mint :)