Crocheted Socks and Knit Freedom

Someone in the Ravelry Crocheted Sock group mentioned a pattern new to me. It's called Tullow Socks and has a very different construction. It begins with the heel, adds a strip around the ankle, and goes down to the toes. Then it goes up the leg. I like it better than any crocheted pattern I've tried. On these socks, I added a shell pattern to the leg.

Liat Gat's blog, Knit Freedom, is good for both beginning and experienced knitters. She offers very clear videos of different knitting techniques including magic loop, continental knitting, and making socks. She also sells ebooks that link to these videos. Both of these socks were made with a size 7 magic loop and Cotton Ease yarn using her basic sock pattern. I added patterns to the legs. Using worsted weight yarn wasn't something I'd considered before but they are great for practicing magic loop and continental knitting.

AKB Sock Loom

After many times of looking at the American Knitting Board Sock Loom at JoAnn's, I finally broke down and bought one. The pegs are pretty far apart for the sock yarn in the craft stores so I wasn't sure how it would work out. Surprisingly, it's okay and I love how easy the short row heels and toes are. My first project was a pair of baby socks. Now I'm working on a pair of footies. My plan is to get a second loom so I can work back and forth on them and have both footies done about the same time. That's the way I do my needle knit socks.



2010 Wrap-Up and 2011 Beginning

Seems like my crochet hooks were in constant use over the holiday season. One popular item was fingerless mitts. I liked the Punk Crochet Wrist Warmers by Midnight Knitter but it wasn't quite what I wanted. Here are a couple of variations I made based on her pattern.

When I wanted to make some slippers, I found Mary Jane Slippers by Lisa. They're very easy and she has wonderful illustrations. I ended up using a G hook and changing to sc but otherwise followed her design. Here are some of my slippers:

Once the nights began to get colder, my toes froze when I went to bed. So I made some bedsocks for my toes that could be kicked off when they warmed up.



More Berenguer Outfits

I'm still making doll clothes, using a size 6 crochet hook and #3 thread.

Here's a Girl's Colorful Dress from Itsy Bitsy Babies and Their Bassinet Purses, available from Annie's Attic.

This dress was a variation of the Ladybug Dress .

A friend showed me this Karate Kid outfit. It was so cute I had to make my own. No pattern, just pants and a shirt as done in other patterns.

And here is an 8 in. Berenguer wearing an outfit called Becky's Bed Doll designed by Amy Carrico.

5 inch Berenguer Babies

I couldn't resist these dolls after seeing them in catalogs from Annie's Attic and Mary Maxim. After much experimentation, it was apparent that what suited me best was crocheting clothes with number 3 cotton thread. Here are some of the results:

from Itsy Bitsy Babies and Their Bassinet Purses

Lavendar Rose Dress set from Amy's Crochet World

Hoodie and Jeans set from Amy's Crochet World

Jeffrey's All-Star Romper set from Amy's Crochet World

Capri set from Amy's Crochet World

For those who prefer knitting, there are wonderful patterns available at Creative Knit Designs. And if you're on Ravelry, try My Mini Nursery.

Look Out for Teddy Bears

Interested in crocheting some teddy bears? Here are some patterns I've tried.


Becky's Crocheted Teddy is made in a flat piece, starting with the legs, working up the body to the head, and going back down the other side. Then it is sewn together and stuffed.








These two were made from a pattern called Crochet Teddies and Bunnies and are made in pieces. The legs and arms are attached as the body is made. The muzzle and tail are made separately and sewn on. The ears are crocheted onto the head.





These colorful teddies are Jelly Beanz Bearz by Christal Friend. The green one came first. The muzzle seemed a little short so I added a row on the rest of them. These are crocheted in pieces, but the legs and arms are crocheted on as the body is made.

Mini Key Ring Purses

Here's a cute way to use up sock yarn scraps. Look here for the free pattern. It shows 4 variations and includes the directions for all.

Knitted Lip Balm Cozy

Here's a quick project that uses scraps of yarn. These were all made with bits of sock yarn. Click here for the pattern.

Bias Cup Cozy

I've been playing with ideas for cup cozies. I wanted something heavy enough to protect fingers from a hot drink and sturdy enough to stand up so it's easier to get the cup in. Here is my result. I really like it in variegated yarns.

Directions for Bias Cup Cozy

size G crochet hook
worsted weight acrylic yarn (doesn't take much)
Crochet in the back loop through out to create the ridge.
Row 1:
Chain 12 Work 2 single crochet in second chain from hook, then crochet one single crochet in each chain across
to last 2 chains. Crochet the last 2 chains together. Chain 1 and turn. (11 stitches)
Row 2:
Single crochet the first 2 stitches together, then crochet one single crochet in each stitch across to the last stitch. Work 2 single crochet in the last stitch. Chain 1 and turn. (11 stitches)
Row 3:
Work 2 single crochet in the first stitch, then crochet one single crochet in each stitch across to the last 2 stitches. Single crochet the last 2 stitches together . Chain 1 and turn (11 stitches).
Repeat rows 2 &3 for a total of 21 rows. Slipstitch the ends together.
Single crochet around the top, doing a pattern of 1 sc in two rows, then 2 sc in third row. Do a second row with 1 sc in each sc. Join, cut yarn, and weave in end. Do the same on the bottom of the cozy.

Parade of Spring Hats

It has been brought to my attention that postings have been a bit sparse lately. Therefore, here are some of the hats I've been making. All linked patterns are free downloads. And all of them are pretty easy to make.



Here we have a Crocheted Shell Stitch Preemie Hat. It's a stitch I haven't used with a hat before and I like the way it looks.








And this is the Mock Cable Baby Hat. It is very easy to make and does not use cable needles.










Here is a basic crocheted beanie with fdp's to add interest.











I've done this type of design on the Knifty Knitter but not on needles. The Simple Hat Pattern gave directions for this variation.








It's getting close to the time the local Farmers' Market will open so I've been looking for some new brimmed hats to sell.


The Beanie Brim Hat is a free pattern available on Ravelry. It really isn't flat on top; that's just the shape of my flower pot.









The Nubby Brim Cloche is another pattern from Ravelry.










The last hat is a Crocheted Brimmed Hat. It is fuller and looks like it will let your head breathe.









All of these hats were made with acrylic yarns. I'm planning on making the last three with cotton yarns as we get into summer.

Winter Olympics 2010

Rather than joining any of the Olympics groups on Ravelry, I decided to do my own thing. My project was to see how many pairs of socks I could crochet during the Olympics. All were made in my size and done the same way: F hook, hdc foot, afterthought heel, v-stitch leg, and 3 rows of "ribbing" (fpdc and bpdc). The final count was 9 pair --- woo hoo!

Crocheted Socks

Recently I decided to crochet a pair of socks. Ravelry has a group for that and I got some helpful information there about good basic patterns.


For my first pair I used the Ultimate Crocheted Socks pattern. It calls for an F hook so the socks worked up very quickly. With the esc stitch, they were also soft. The pattern has a nice explanation of a short-row heel.





Next I tried Vee Socks for Me. For this pair I used Sockotta yarn, an F hook, and a short-row heel. The foot of the sock is hdc and the leg is the v-stitch.







Here is a variation of the Vee Sock for Me. Again it is sockotta yarn and an F hook. On these socks I did hdc on the sole of the foot and the v-stitch on top of the foot and on the leg. The heel is afterthought. I love the way the heel looks. I wasn't quite sure about the afterthought heel and found a very clear explanation here.



For me, crocheting a pair of socks is much quicker than knitting them. They are a little bulkier but not uncomfortable to wear. I like using an F hook because it's faster and the sock fabric is a little looser. I like using hdc instead of sc for the same reasons. I think I'll make some more.