Saturday, January 28, 2012

Weekend Project-Hook Pouch

Well hello there!

It's Saturday morning which is usually a pretty lazy morning for us in our household.  I'm sitting here drinking my coffee and thought I'd share the project I finished for myself yesterday afternoon.

This would be a fun weekend project for other "hookers" (or knitters, really).  It's super fast to work up and very useful!


I have the hardest time with those crochet hook holders that each have a spot to slide a hook into a little individual pouch.  For one, there are never enough spots for all of my hooks (I have a lot of crochet hooks).  Another problem is, what do I do with my really big hooks, like P's & Q's? This little pouch is the answer! I was able to fit all of my crochet hooks, plus my measuring tape into this pouch which would be easy to carry around or even just to keep all of my hooks from getting lost at home.

I made mine using a size H hook and 100% cotton worsted weight yarn.  Any yarn would work.  I just didn't want to buy anything special for this project and had this cotton yarn left over from last summer so it worked out great! I do like how sturdy the cotton made it, though.

So, if you want to make one for yourself, I've jotted down a simple pattern to make your own.  It took me a couple of tries to get the proper size for everything so I'll save you the headache of unraveling what should be a complete project.

Materials:
1/2 skein worsted weight yarn (I had a little over half a skein of sugar & cream cotton yarn)
H (5 mm) hook
Darning needle (optional)

Skill level:
Beginner

Row 1: Ch 17, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook & each ch st across. ch 1, turn. (16 sc)
Row 2: 1 sc in each sc across. ch 1, turn (16 sc)
Repeat row 2 until your rectangle measures about 7" tall (you can measure your biggest hook if you feel you need a bigger pouch, but this fit my Q hook).
Tie off and weave in ends.

Now you'll make a second rectangle, except you'll add a "mouth" towards the top to slide your hooks into. Here's how:

Rows 1-7: follow the same steps as you did for the first rectangle. (16 sc)
Row 8: sc in next 3 sts. ch 10, skip 10 sc sts.  make 1 sc in the last 3 sts of the row. (6 sc, 10 ch)
Row 9: 1 sc in each st across, treating the ch sts as sc. Ch 1, turn. (16 sc)
Row 10: 1 sc in each st across. Ch 1, turn. (16 sc)
Repeat row 10 until your second rectangle is the same height as your first rectangle.  Mine measured about 7" tall.  Tie off and leave a long tail for sewing.

Place both rectangles together (inside out). Using a darning needle and the long tail of yarn sew both rectangles together using the whip stitch (come up from the bottom, go around the edge, come up from the bottom again) and pull the stitch tight. Once you go all the way around the pouch tie it off and weave in your left over yarn. Then you can turn it right-side out from the hole in the front.




If you don't have a darning needle, you can "sew" the 2 rectangles together by using a slip stitch around the entire rectangle using your hook and the long tail left over.


Ta da! How simple was that? And now you've got an awesome pouch to hold all of your hooks in.  You could even make the same thing for knitting needles, although it would have to be much taller and maybe wider depending on what needles you have.

She loves putting the hooks in and taking them out.
Make it your own:

Using a solid color yarn (or 2), some white felt & some googly eyes you could turn your hook pouch into a hook monster
Using a solid color of yarn, gray felt, and some black buttons you could turn it into a robot
Using a button and a row of DC right before your ch row, you could make the pouch button in the front for additional closure.

Happy crocheting!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Stuff It

Do you create amigurumi?  Or do you ever make a hat that requires some pieces to be stuffed?

Well, I don't know about you, but I really dislike using the typical poly-fill in hats.  While it might work well in stuffed animals, when you make a hat or another piece of wearable crochet, you may find that after a few washes the stuffing starts to peak through the stitches.  No good!

Well, when you find yourself in this situation, a neat trick is to use left-over scraps of yarn to stuff your pieces.  I just did this to create a darling giraffe hat.

Don't worry about using matching yarn. Just any scraps you have laying around will work!
When you stuff your crochet pieces this way, it's less likely to make the stuffing start peaking through your stitches after being washed.  Now, what are you going to do with that big old bag of poly-fill you bought for all of those little pieces?

Ta-Da! No Poly-fill!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Shop CUTEure Locally


Shopping online is great.  I love online shopping.  Still, there is a lot of attention lately to the idea of shopping locally.  After all, when you shop locally, you are supporting your town.  You are creating new jobs and more money to go around.  Not to mention, you can try things on, see how they look!

Another added bonus is if you are shopping with a tight time frame, such as if you are looking for that perfect Valentine's day item.  At this point, some online stores (especially handmade) may not be able to work with that deadline.

There are many fabulous reasons to shop locally when it's possible.  That's why CUTEure Creations has now gone local!  If you live in the Southeast-Texas area and want to find that perfect accessory on a tight deadline, you can find CUTEUre Creations-among many other great artists and crafters-at The Rustic Door in Nederland Texas.

Alas, I only had my cell phone camera
 during set up.
I set up Friday afternoon and love my space!  The only problem I have is that I actually had to bring stuff home because I didn't have room to display it all.  Still, I've put out many flowered hair accessories which will be perfect for spring, in addition to some headbands and clips that might be that finishing touch you need for your Valentine's day photos or day out.

You may be able to also tell from the photos, but Easter is starting to make an appearance! I love, love, love my bunny booties, and these are always a big hit around Easter.  They are the perfect addition to an Easter basket or Easter PJ's.  While they aren't out yet, check back soon for some in bigger sizes as well as slip resistant bottoms!

Also, while I do realize that it's January and almost 80 degrees outside already, you just never know what the weather here will do.  Don't worry if you find the temps dropping again.  You can find a large selection of hats, ear-warmers, and scarves here, too!

Be sure to drop in! I'm sure you'll find something you can't live without.


Monday, January 16, 2012

About CUTEure Creations

Hi there,

Welcome to the official CUTEure Creations blog!  But first, if you're finding me for the first time, you may want to know a little about CUTEure Creations.

It started out as a fun little hobby.  I learned how to crochet (well, we'll use that term loosely.  I made a lot of pot-holders) when I was 9 years old.  My grandmother taught me.  I didn't do much with the art until I had my daughter, though. I wanted cute hats for her! None of the cheap fleece hats I found in the stores appealed to me at all, so I really cracked down and started learning fancier stitches and techniques so that I could create her some more unique hats and accessories for her.  Once I got started though, it was hard to stop! I just kept making hats and buying yarn.  That is when CUTEure Creations was started.  I needed an outlet to fund my hobby and keep me from putting down my hooks.

source


Pretty soon, I figured out which products people really wanted to buy and started getting orders from strangers (woohoo!) and from there, my little hobby shop really has taken off!  I can't believe it's now been two years of making products for amazing customers.  I just can't get over it!

Lately, I've been really getting into creating patterns for all of the products I sell.  I've found that other crocheters love making items from my patterns, and I love giving back by sharing my designs.  Since I've started this part of my business, I have gotten a lot of "I wish I knew how to crochet" comments, which has prompted this blog.  I hope to share tips, tricks, tutorials, and even free patterns here on this blog.  In addition, I'll post other DIY ideas, fun ideas for kids, and possibly even some information on my other love-green living!

So, check back soon,  maybe I'll be sharing something just for you!