Monday, January 17, 2011

Way Past Christmas

Yes I know it is way past Christmas.
But I was ill over the holiday and still wanted to post.
These are my handmade.
Some of these are 40 years old and the patterns long gone, but still cute just the same. Most were gifts from my mother but my favorites are the walnut shells.
The Eskimo and Snow people are walnut with filbert heads.
The Dolls are clothespins and cork.
The beads are created around small mirrors.
The snowman is wooden dowels and buttons.
I see on etsy they are back with a modern twist.
Would love to see your handmade and post on the site with any patterns or tips and your name.







Friday, January 14, 2011

Crochet Hens and chicks


Materials Required—The following AMERICAN THREAD COMPANY Products:


15" HEN. "DAWN" KNITTING WORSTED. 1 ¼-oz. Skeins. 4 Skeins Red and 2 Skeins White. Bone Crochet Hook No. 5. (Worked single yarn.)

8" HEN. "DE LUXE" MERCERIZED CROCHET AND KNITTING COTTON. 1 400-yd. Ball White and 2 250-yd. Balls Red will make 2 hens. Steel Crochet Hook No 7. (Worked single thread.)

¾ yd. Ribbon for each Hen.

Cotton or Kapok for filling.

BABY CHICKS. "DAWN" KNITTING WORSTED. 1 ¼-oz. Skeins, White or Yellow. 1 Skein will make 2 chicks. 1 ¼ yds. Red for each bill. 1 Ball "Star" Pearl Cotton Size 5, Yellow will make feet for 6 chicks. Steel Crochet Hook No. 4.

2 Buttons for each Hen and Chick.

HEN. Right side—With Red, ch 23, insert needle in 3rd st from hook and pull loop through, skip 1 st of ch, insert needle in next st, and pull loop through, yarn over and pull through all 3 loops on needle, * ch 1, insert needle in same space with last st, pull loop through, skip 1 st of ch, insert needle in next st, pull loop through, yarn over, and pull through all 3 loops on needle, repeat from * to end of row, ch 3, turn (10 patterns). 2nd Row—Insert needle in 3rd st from hook and pull loop through, skip 1 st, insert needle in next st, pull loop through, yarn over and pull through all 3 loops on needle, * ch 1, insert needle in same space with last st, pull loop through, skip 1 st, insert needle in next st, pull loop through, yarn over and pull through all 3 loops on needle, repeat from * to end of row, ch 3, turn. Repeat 2nd row once. (Ch 2 to turn all decrease rows.) 4th Row—Decrease 1 pattern at the beginning of row, work in pattern even across remainder of row. (To decrease: skip 1 st, s c in next st.) Repeat the 4th row twice, then work 4 more rows even. 11th Row—Increase 1 pattern at the beginning of row. (Increase: insert needle in 3rd st from hook, pull loop through, insert needle in next st, pull loop through, yarn over and pull through all loops on needle, ch 1, insert needle in same space with last st, pull loop through, insert needle in next st, pull loop through, yarn over and pull through all loops on needle, ch 1.) Work even across remainder of row. Re¬peat the 11th row 12 times. 24th Row—Work even. 25th Row—Increase 1 pattern at the beginning of row. Repeat the last 2 rows twice, then work 4 rows even. 34th Row—Decrease 1 pattern at the beginning of row and work 1 row even. 36th Row—Start Head—Work 11 patterns, ch 3, turn, work 2 rows even. 39th and 40th Rows—Increase 1 pattern at the beginning of each row, then work 8 rows even. 49th to 53rd Rows—Decrease 1 pattern at the beginning of each row, break yarn. Attach yarn at back of neck and work in pattern to end of row, ch 3, turn. Start Tail—Work 7 patterns, ch 2, turn. Decrease 1 pattern at beginning of row, work 6 patterns, ch 2, turn. Decrease 1 pattern at be¬ginning of row and work 5 patterns, then work 1 row of s c all around section working 1 s c in each pattern and 1 s c in each row with 2 s c at feet corners and at tail tip, break yarn. Work another section in same manner.

UNDER SECTION. With White, ch 7, work 2 patterns on ch, ch 3, turn. 2nd Row—Increase 2 patterns, (4 patterns in row) ch 3, turn. 3rd to 10th Rows—Increase 1 pattern at the beginning of each row, then work 3 rows even. Next 2 rows—Decrease 1 pattern at the beginning of each row. 16th to 24th Rows—Work even. Next 6 Rows—Increase 1 pattern at the beginning of each row. 30th to 40th Rows—Work even. 41st to 50th Rows—Decrease 1 pattern at the beginning of each row, then work 2 rows even. 53rd to 57th Rows—Increase 1 pattern at the beginning of each row. Work 24 more rows even, then decrease 1 pattern at the beginning of each row until 1 pattern remains. Work 1 row of s c all around, 1 s c in each row, break yarn.
UNDER SECTION FOR LEG. With Red, work 2 sec¬tions following the first 11 rows of right side, then work 1 row of s c all around.

WINGS, COMB AND TAIL. With Red, ch 21 and work 20 s c on ch, ch 1, turn, working remainder in back loop of st only, 1 s c in each of the next 19 s c, ch 3, turn, 1 s c in first st of ch 3, 1 s c in each of the next 5 s c, * ch 1, turn, 1 s c in each of the next 4 s c, ch 3, turn, 1 s c in first st of ch 3, 1 s c in each of the next 4 s c, 1 s c in each of the next 2 s c on base, repeat from * 7 times, working the last 2 s c over the 2 rows of base, break yarn and work 7 more Red and 6 White sections in same manner.

BILL. With Red, ch 9 and work 8 s c on ch, ch 1 to turn each row. Work 5 more rows of s c even, then decrease 1 s c at the beginning of each row until 2 sts remain. Work 1 row of s c all around, break yarn. Work 1 more section in Red and 1 section in White.

TO ASSEMBLE HEN. Sew the under section for leg to lower edge of side section, starting at the 12th row. Sew other under section to other side in same manner. Sew tail together for about 14 rows starting at straight part of back at lower edge of neck. Sew under section in position starting at about the 26th row at tail and 1st row of under section working down to 12th row, then sew to under section of leg, up front and around head. Sew other side to correspond leaving enough opening for filling. Stuff with cotton or Kapok and sew remainder.

COMB. Sew 2 Red and 1 White section together and sew to top of head as illustrated.

TAIL. Sew 2 Red and 1 White section together and sew to tail as illustrated. Sew 2 White and 2 Red Sections on each side for wings as illustrated.

BILL. Sew 1 White and 2 Red sections together and sew to front of face as illustrated. Sew eyes in position.

BABY CHICKS

BODY. With White, over a 3 inch cardboard wind wool 100 times, slip from cardboard and tie through center, leaving about 5 inches of thread.

HEAD. Over a 2 inch cardboard wind wool 75 times, slip from cardboard and tie through center leaving about 5 inches of thread.

BILL. With Red, ch 8, 2 s c in second st from hook, 1 s c in each of the next 5 sts of ch, 2 s c in next st, working on opposite side of ch, 1 s c in each st of ch. Join and break yarn.

LEGS. With Yellow "Star" Pearl Cotton, using double thread, ch 6 join, ch 1 and without joining rows, working in the back loop of st only, work 1 s c in each s c, until work measures about 1 inch.

FEET. * Ch 4, turn, work 3 s c on ch, s c in same space with ch 4, s c in next s c, repeat from * twice, then ch 2, s c in second st from hook, s c in same space with ch 2, s c in next s c, break thread. Work another leg in same manner.

TO MAKE CHICKS. Trim pompons to shape body and head, tie head and body threads together. Sew eyes and legs in position. Fold Bill in half and sew in position. Comb Body and Head to fluff.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Crochet Horse Vintage Pattern


Materials Required—The following AMERICAN THREAD COMPANY Products:

9 ½" HORSE. (Top of head to feet) "STAR" PEARL COTTON, Size 5. 60 yd. Balls. 8 Balls White and 1 Ball Red. Steel Crochet Hooks No. 4 and 8. Work with two strands of thread.

13 ½" HORSE. "DAWN" KNITTING WORSTED, 1 ¼ oz. Skeins. 4 Skeins Brown and 1 Skein Tangerine or Orange. Bone Crochet Hooks No. 3 and 6. Work with single yarn.

Cotton or Kapok for filling.

17 ½" HORSE. "STAR" COTTON YARN, 100 yd. Skeins. 7 Skeins Black and 1 Skein White. Crochet Hooks No. 6 and G. Work with double yarn.

BODY. With White and Large Hook ch 38 and work 37 s c on ch. Ch 1 to turn each row. 2nd and 3rd Rows—2 s c in first s c, 1 s c in each remaining s c. 4th and 5th Rows—1 s c in each s c. 6th Row—Increase 1 s c at beginning of row and work 2 rows even. 9th and 10th Rows—Increase 1 s c at beginning of each row. 11th Row—Increase 1 s c at beginning of row and work 4 rows even. 16th, 17th and 18th Rows—Decrease 1 s c at beginning of each row. 19th Row—Start Neck—Work 1 s c in each of the first 17 s c, ch 1, turn. 20th Row—Decrease 1 s c at beginning of row, 1 s c in each remaining s c of neck. 21st Row—1 s c in each s c. Repeat the 20th and 21st rows 3 times. 28th Row—Decrease 1 s c at beginning of row, 1 s c in each remaining s c, ch 12 for head, turn. 29th Row—11 s c on ch, 1 s c in each s c of neck. Next 14 Rows—Decrease 1 s c at beginning of each row, break thread.

LOWER SECTION OF FACE. Attach thread at neck edge in the 28th row and in the first st of the ch 12 and work 1 s c in each of the next 10 sts of ch, 2 s c in last st, ch 1, turn and work 3 more rows even. 5th Row—Decrease 1 s c at beginning of row and work 1 row even. Next 4 Rows—Decrease 1 s c at beginning of each row, break thread. Attach thread in first s c of 18th row and work 1 s c in each of the next 14 s c, ch 1, turn. Decrease 1 s c and work 1 s c in each of the next 13 s c, ch 1, turn, decrease 1 s c and work 1 s c in each of the next 12 s c, then work 1 s c in each s c across back, 1 s c in each row of neck, 1 s c in each s c at top of head, continue working around head and down the front to the first row without breaking thread.

START FRONT LEG. 2 s c in first s c of opposite side of ch 38, 1 s c in each of next 8 sts, ch 1, turn. 2nd Row—Decrease 1 s c, 1 s c in each of the next 9 s c. 3rd Row—Increase 1 s c at beginning of row. 4th Row—Decrease 1 s c at beginning of row. Repeat the 3rd and 4th rows 3 times. 11th Row—1 s c in each s c. 12th Row—Decrease 1 s c at beginning of row. Repeat 11th and 12th rows 3 times, then work 6 more rows even, break thread.

HIND LEG. Attach thread in 13th st from end of row, work 1 s c in each of the next 12 sts, ch 1, turn, and work 2 rows even. 4th Row—Increase 1 s c at beginning of row, 1 s c in each remaining s c. 5th Row— Decrease 1 s c at beginning of row, 1 s c in each remaining s c. Repeat the 4th and 5th rows once and work 1 row even. Next 8 Rows—Decrease 1 s c at beginning of each row and work 10 more rows even, break thread. Attach thread at top of head at face, work 1 s c in each of the s c of top of head to back of neck, ch 1, turn. Work 1 s c in each s c across top of head, down front of face, around mouth and up to under neck, ch 1, turn. Work 1 more row of s c all around head then work about 5 s c down back of neck, break thread. Work another section in the same manner.

UNDER SECTION. Work 2 under sections following the first 5 rows of body. Then work front and hind leg on each section.

EARS. Ch 2, 1 s c in first st, ch 1 to turn. 2nd Row—2 s c in s c. 3rd Row—2 s c in first s c, 1 s c in next s c. Work 8 more rows increasing 1 s c at beginning of each row, then work 1 s c in each row down one side, 3 s c in the first st, 1 s c in each row up opposite side, break thread.

TAIL. Ch 6, join and work 1 s c in each st, without joining rows and working in back loop of st only work 1 s c in each s c for 14 rows.

FRINGE. * Draw up a loop on hook about 3 inches or length desired, hold loop on hook, s c in next s c, draw up another loop on hook, s c in same s c, draw up another loop on hook, s c in next s c, repeat from * twice. Work a few loops in same manner in about 3 or 4 rows for under part of tail, break thread. Cut loops.

MANE. Ch 51 and work 50 s c on ch, then work fringe same as tail fringe.

BLANKET. With 1 strand of Red and Small Hook ch 46 and work 45 s c on ch. 2nd Row—Ch 3, turn, * 2 d c in same space with ch 3, skip 3 s c, s c in next s c, ch 3, repeat from * across row. (Ch 3 to turn each row.) 3rd Row—2 d c in same space with ch 3, s c over the ch 3 of shell, * ch 3, 2 d c in same space, s c over the ch 3 of next shell, repeat from * across row. Attach White and work 1 row of White, 2 rows of Red, 1 row of White, 2 rows of Red, then work 1 row of shells all around blanket. Work a band of 2 shells to fit around horse.

TO ASSEMBLE HORSE. Lay the under sections on body sections matching legs. Sew around both legs and to body, then place both body sections together, leav-ing center of under section open for filling. Fill and sew together. Sew Tail, Ears and Blanket in position. Fold Mane in half, cut loops and sew in position. Embroider eyes or use buttons sewed into a small piece of white felt.

BRIDLE AND REINS are made to fit. Using a single strand of Red, make a ch long enough to fit around mouth, join and work a row of s c on ch. The Bit is a ch to fit from one side of band in mouth and attached to opposite side. Work a band around head, across front of head and reins made of 2 rows of s c, break thread.

Valentine Sweet Cozy