The Sewing Box Magazine Feature

 

 

Dear readers, 

I am happy to announce my feature in The Sewing Box Magazine! The issue in Spanish has just come out and the English version will be available in September.

Upon the request of TSB I had the honor of designing this necklace for the magazine and the pattern is also  accompanied by my interview.  

The magazine offers a ton of fantastic projects, interviews and features. You can buy it here, or try a whole discounted bundle here. 

*Please note that this post contains affiliate links that will earn me a percentage if you buy from the Sewing Box Magazine.

Free Video Pattern: Crochet Shells Necklace

 

Are you in for some easy summer necklaces? 

Grab your yarn and hook and join us!

Supplies: 15-20 gr of sport yarn and a 1.9mm hook. 

Note: the sample necklace is quite short. For the necklace in the pictures here I used  15-20 gr of yarn. The pattern is such that allows you to play with the length, so you can make yours as long as you desire. 

Let's start:

 

Bear with me until I put my you tube channel in order. Ask questions in the comments, please.

For the necklace in the pictures I didn't make a closure loop. Instead I crocheted to shells together. They work fast and the final result is fantastically eye-catching. Have fun making this!

Check my instagram to see how to style it.

Insta Love: Crochet Inspiration

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Have a happy, creative week!

Colorful Treasure Pouches

 

Summer is slowly rolling in. 

We are on holiday, relaxing and filling up batteries. For me a real holiday always involves crochet. It really winds me down and presents a grand pleasure. When on holiday I have a list of small projects that work up fast and can be done in a jiffy, which elevates the levels of dopamine - so it is a truly happy holiday!

So another small and fast project crossed off from my list are these treasure pouches. Designed to be used by adventure tickled children on their explorations, whether at the beach or in the woods, to treasure their findings and collections. 

I am stocking up on my boho kids' shop planned to open up in September, so these bags will accompany many of my other crochet items. I am thinking a watermelon bag next would be nice, eh?

 

Summer Crafts: Sequin Decorated Floppy Hat

 

Sequin embroidered hats have been quite a hit these past summers and Eva and I wanted to decorate her floppy, shabby and slightly discolored hat the minute we saw one, but it didn't happen right away for us. 

I have like 4-5 spools of sequin ribbons in different colors but we settled for this lovely orange one to suit this particular bathing suit. Now, if you ask me, when tackling this kind of projects, I rarely turn to glue - of whatever sort - unless it is the ultimate god of all glues - the E6000. I swear by the sewing thread. Sewing everything tightly in place is what I turn to, to have a job well done. But this time I was batch working (I will talk about it another time) and time was pressing so I turned to glue.

 

I used a permanent marker to write the word Summer and then glued the sequin ribbon over it. I still think sewing it would have been way better. Maybe dull and boring as hell, but much better.

Nevertheless, here we are with a hat that got itself a face lift. She loves it and that is what really counts. 

 

Summer Trend: Crochet Motif Bikini

 

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What is immensely popular  in the swimming suit department this summer? 

Well, that would be the crochet motif bikini. There are quite a lot of crochet designers that have taken the crochet motif to a very different and distinctive level and expanded the crochet motif usage, which in my opinion is completely captivating and beautiful. 

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There are a couple of crocheters I follow on instagram that make the most beautiful crochet bikini and they are a great inspiration for this crochet obsessed girl. Enjoy the handpicked selection!

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Colorful Summer Necklace

Last summer I was invited to a Staedler (polymer) clay workshop and though not stranger to working with their products, I never pass a good opportunity to learn something new and in that case to work with their new clay. I've made some great cabochons with it which I'll talk about some other time.

At the end of the workshop, I was given a free bag with polymer clay blocks among which blocks in these three colors.  As it happens a lot with my projects, these clay jewels were sculpted last summer but it took me a year to actually get them out of a box and put them to use :) 

For a long time I wanted to shoot some of my products with a wall of murals in my city and this happened to be the perfect opportunity and a fabulous color match. 

We shot the boho clutch here too.

Wishing you a great weekend ahead!   

 

Boho Clutch - Free Pattern

 

Today is or better to say was my birthday and I thought I would celebrate it with you guys with this amazingly easy and fast and beautiful clutch tutorial.

Supplies:

* DK yarn in 3 colors

* 3mm hook

* 2 wooden beads

-tapestry needle

Pattern: 

The pattern I employed for my clutch is called a side saddle stitch, very easy to crochet and gives an interesting texture to the project. 

The finished clutch measures 23 cm in width and 14 cm in length.

Here's the diagram- courtesy of pinterest.

As it says, you work multiples of 4+1, so use this as guidance if you want to make a different size than the one in this tutorial.

Foundation and row 1: For our clutch ch 44 in color 1. Dc3 in the 4th st from hook, skip 3 and sc in the next st. Ch3 and then dc3 in the same stitch. Skip 3 sts, sc in next and dc3.  Repeat this pattern to the end. You should end with a sc st in the last st.  Ch3 and turn work.

Row 2: You already chained 3, so now dc3 in that same st. Next sc1 in the chain space below, ch3 and dc3 all in that same ch-space. Repeat this pattern across. 

Continue working row 2 pattern for 12 more rows (14 rows of color 1) and then at row 15 switch with color 2.

 

Work the row 2 pattern in color 2 for 5 rows. Cut yarn with a long tail that you'll use to sew the clutch's sides together.  

 

Fold the clutch and turn it sideways - color 2 should be at your right. We are going to make the flap.

Flap Row 1: With face up, start making chains on the second / back fold: Insert color 1 at the color 2's end, ch3 and sc1 in the ch-space. The space is actually the chain of the clusters we've been making. You should make 10 such chains. 

 

Flap Row 2: ch 3 (counts as the 1st dc) and dc2 in the first ch-space. Ch 1 and dc3 in next ch-space. Continue chaining 1 and then crocheting 3dcs for each chain. When you come to the last st. dc2 in that same stitch. Next, chain 3 and turn work.

Flap Row 3+4:  dc1 in all sts. (40)

 

Trim: insert color 3 in 1st st. Ch 7 (3 for the chain, 4 for the bobble), make the bobble in the 4th st from hook, ch3, skip 4 and sc1 in the 5th st. Repeat making this trim to the end. Don't be confused - there will be only 4 stitches for the end instead of 5  for the last bobble. 

 

Sew the sides of the clutch and then sew the beads. I placed them on the third bobble space of each side. 

So, what do you think? Do you like it?

It could easily be made into a shoulder bag by attaching a chain at the sides.  

Tip: to make it sturdy / strong you can insert a piece of fabric covered cardboard inside that would be the same size as the clutch.  

 

Bejeweled: Elizabeth Necklace

 

 

Happy Monday all! 

We are in anticipation of a fierce summer storm, and to be honest, I cannot wait for it. I don't know about the rest of the world, but the temps here are scorching hot and tempt this summer child to cuss in despair. So a bit of a cool down would suit me nicely, thank you very much! 

For today I have the last of my polymer clay necklaces to show you. Once again I used my "rocky jewels" technique in sculpting them and this time I made little cocoons for a couple and the others fitted the centers of the roses. The foundation of the necklace is made of separate, very easy to make flowers, which in the end I sewed up together. 

I documented the process so I plan to make a free tutorial for this necklace, somewhere mid August. 

That's all for today. Do drop back later this week - I will be  sharing an exciting clutch tutorial!

 

Refashion it with style: Crochet Flower Inset

 

 

This is my latest refashion! 

I am sad I cannot offer better photos, but these couple of days, the lighting in my house hates my guts!

Never mind that, let me tell you the story behind this refashion, 

So, I have had this blouse since the beginning of time, very comfortable to have on when running errands around town, not too demanding in terms of care, so it was quite worn. But I have gotten dreary of it and when selecting the clothes for the summer I thought I might part with it. However, that was just a flash thought I discarded immediately and  started thinking how to squeeze more life from it - or in it as the case is. So I came up with the idea of making an inset that would go at the center.  

 

{How can one same blouse look different in color being shot in the same light on the same day???}

1. First I marked the place that I wanted to cut off and made it into a cone shape.

2. Having the flowers made before hand, I worked on the arrangement and even had to make a couple more to fill all the big blank spaces. 

3. Cut the marked center. 

4. Top-stitched the edges of the blouse (reminder why I hate sewing jersey).

I hand sewed all the flowers on the sides and between themselves.  And the inset was done. I am quite impressed how it turned out, so this blouse will definitely be loved this summer!

 

As it happens, I have another one just like this, but in grey. 

So I am going to refashion that one too, but a little bit differently. :)

Some Like It Hot - clay necklaces

 

 

For the Debonaire collection, I made three polymer clay necklaces, each different in color and shape and each inspired by a different 1950s movie. 

The title says is all. The hot red beads are handmade and  following that curvy, denty shape I am obsessed with when I put my hands onto polymer clay. I wanted to add two rows of beads, and actually did, but it is heavy as is, so I discarded the second row.

 

For the second one, I was inspired by the classic Grease, which I loved as a girl and still do. For this one I played with mustard and dark fuchsia and somehow I am quite drawn to this particular combination this summer and quite eager to dig into crochet and use it.

 

That's all for today. I'll see you on Friday!