Wash cloths in happy colours #3

The light blue wash cloth is made of the same quality cotton yarn as the rest of them. I like to knit patterns into the cloths. It makes them pretty to look at, and also much more fun to make. This pattern is also quite easy, as you just move it one stitch for each round, and then move the other way after 6 rounds. The blue squares are knitted on the right side, and pearled on the wrong side, and the white squares are pearled on the right side, and knitted on the wrong side.

What you need: 1 bundle, apxm 50 grams of cotton yarn (50 gr = 160m), knitting pins (2,5 mm), and a needle to sew the ends.

How you do it: Cast on 60 stitches. Knit back and forth according to the pattern. Repeat it in width and height until there's about 3m left of yarn. Cast off, and secure the ends by weaving them a bit back and forth into the stitches. You now have another great wash cloth, and no excuse not to have a clean kitchen counter! 😉

Funny, adorable caterpillar backpack

 This was my summer holiday project this year. We stayed a week in a cabin, and it was nice to have something to do when we were sitting on the porch in the evenings. The backpack is really easy made. No fancy stitches at all 😉 And if you ask who I made it for? Myself of course! It's the perfect size for all the things I bring along every day, and it also has room for my lunch bag.
The measurements are: Base 10 x 21 cm, height 31 cm width 26 cm.
It is made very similar to the cat shoulder bag I posted here a while back.

What you need: 

Apxm 3 bundles of 50 grams yellow cotton yarn (50 gr = 160m)
Apxm 3 bundles of 50 grams green cotton yarn (50 gr = 160m)
Some scraps of white, blue, pink and peach cotton yarn.
Crochet hooks size 4 and 6. A needle to secure the ends.

This is how you do it:

Work with triple yarn, and crochet hook size 6mm, and all three bundles of the same colour at once.

1. Crochet 31 chain stitches using the green yarn, turn, do 1 sc in the 2nd st from the hook, and continue with 29 more sc.
*turn, 1 ch, 30 sc* Repeat from *to* 13 times.

2. Then start crocheting around the base, doing 1 sc in all sts. Change to yellow yarn. (See colour change tip below.) Continue around in stripes of 4 rounds in height, until you have 6 yellow stripes.

3. Change to green colour, and do 1 sc in all st for one round.

4. Make holes for the drawstring like this: *2 sc, 2 ch*,  repeat from *to* until you have completed the round.

5. Do 1 sc in each st, and continue for 2 rounds. Cut the yarn, and pull it through the loop. Secure the ends on the inside.


6. Make the drawstring like this: Use double yarn, one green, and one yellow, and size 4 hook. Do 6 ch, do 1 dc in the 4th st from the hook, 2 dc. *3 ch, 3dc*. Repeat from * to * until desired length. Mine is 90 cm. Cut the yarn, and pull it through the loop. Weave the string through the holes on top of the bag, and then use the yarn ends to sow it together as a "ring".

The Lid

 1. Use triple yarn as above, start with green colour. Make a magic ring. If you don't know how, there's a good tutorial here. Make 4 sc in the ring, and tighten it. 1st round: Do 2 sc in each st. 2nd round: Do 1 sc in the first st, then 2 in the next throughout the round. 3rd round: Do 1 sc in the first 2 st, then 2 sc in the third st throughout the round. Continue like this.. Change colour for every 4th round. (See tip below for change of colour.) When you have made 2 yellow rings, proceed to step 2.

2. 4 ch, 1 dtr, 1 tc, 2 dc, 1 hdc, 7 sc, 1 hdc, 2 dc, 1 tc, 2 dtr, 1 ch, turn

3. *Do one sc in each st, 1 ch, turn.* Repeat from * to * 6 times.

4. Cut the yarn with a long enough tail to sow the lid onto the bag. Pull it through the loop. Sow the lid in the middle of the upper yellow stripe on the bag. Remember to place it in center of the backside.

Appliquetions

Use double yarn, and size 4 hook for these.

Eyes (Make 2 of them..): Blue yarn: Make a magic ring. Make 4 sc in the ring, and tighten it. 1st round: Do 2 sc in each st. Change to white yarn: Do 1 sc in the first st, then 2 in the next throughout the round. 3rd round: Do 1 sc in the first 2 st, then 2 sc in the third st throughout the round.4th round: *1 ch, turn, 1 sc in the first 3 st, then 2 sc in the forth.* Repeat from * to * 4 times. Yes. It's supposed to be only half a round.😊

Mouth: I used 1 thread of pink, and 1 thread of peach coloured yarn. Do 11 ch, turn and work 1 sc in each ch, start with the second one from the hook. turn. Continue back and forth with sc, but skip the second st, and the second last st in every row. You will end up with a triangle. Cut the yarn, and pull it through the loop.

Now sow the eyes and mouth neatly onto the lid,-  to give your caterpillar the look you want, experiment with where you place them..

Shoulder straps (I made one of each colour.) Triple yarn, and size 6 hook : Make 8 ch. Do 7 sc, start with the second ch from the hook. *Turn. 1 ch, 7 sc.*
Repeat from * to * until you get the desired length for your back. I wanted mine to hang low on the back, so I made them long. But remember that they will stretch a bit when worn.

Sow the shoulder straps onto the bag. I placed them low on the upper yellow stripe. and just above the base.

Congratulations! You have now made your very own caterpillar backpack!

Tip for colour change: If you are like me, and don't see the fun in securing a lot of lose ends, do like this:
Cut the "old" colour yarn, leaving 15-20 cm ends. (When you work with triple yarn, like on this backpack, cut one thread at the time, and do it three times for each colour change.) Start the "new" colour with the same ends, and lay them together on top of the stitches you are going to crochet. Then crochet around the ends as you go along, and the ends will disappear into your project. This way you only have to secure the beginning threads and the ones at the end. Your colours will change gradually and it will look like this.

Wash cloths in happy colours #4

These knitted cotton wash cloths are my all time favorites. I have tried lots of different kitchen cloths over the years, but I think these home made ones beat all micro fibers and other fabrics. They are also easy to make and can go in the washer on 60 degrees C. As I make a lot of these.. (I change my cloth several times per day, lol), I like to try out different patterns, so it won't be boring knitting them, ..Here's another one of my patterns, the lilac cloth with small hearts..

What you need: 1 bundle, apxm 50 grams of cotton yarn (50 gr = 160m), knitting pins (2,5 mm), and a needle to sew the ends.

How you do it: Cast on 60 stitches. Knit back and forth according to the pattern. The lilac squares are knitted on the right side, and pearled on the wrong side, and the white squares are pearled on the right side, and knitted on the wrong side.
Repeat it in width and height until there's about 3m left of yarn. Cast off, and secure the ends by weaving them a bit back and forth into the stitches. You now have another great wash cloth, and can keep your counter shiny and clean 😉

Knitted ponytail hair band

These fun to make hair bands are great to keep your hair away from your face on a windy day, or perfect for the summer party. You can choose a colour that matches your favorite summer dress.

What you need: Some scraps of cotton yarn (50 gr=160 m), knitting pins 2,5 mm, some elastic, and a needle that fits the yarn.

How you do it:

Step 1. Cast on 22 stiches.

Step 2. Knit back and forth for 25 cm.

Step 3. Cast off.

Step 4. Fold the patch lengthwise, and sew it neatly along the side. NOT the short sides. It is supposed to look like a small knitted hose :)

Step 5.  Thread some elastic through your knitted "hose", and tie it together when it is as tight as you wish your hair band to be. Cut off the ends of the elastic. Then sow the two ends of your knitted hose together, around the elastic, secure the ends, and your hairband is ready to make your hair look great :)

Adorable lanterns for cozy summer nights

These crocheted lanterns are bound to lighten up your summer nights this year. They are really easy and quick to make, so why not make some extra and gift your friends 😁 I chose soft pastel colours, but they will also look great in plain white, or any other colour you like.

What you need: Some leftovers of cotton yarn (50gr=160m), a crochet needle size 2,5 mm, an empty glass jar (mine are 10 cm tall, and diameter 6,5 cm) and a needle to secure the ends. You may use any size of jar, you wish. Just adjust the pattern to your size of jar. These small ones, that I used are perfect for tealights.

How you do it:
Step 1. Make a magic ring. If you don't know how, there's a good tutorial here.

Step 2. Make 6 sc in the ring, and tighten it.

Step 3. Make 2 sc in each stitch.

Step 4. Make 1 sc in the first st, then 2 in the second, and so on 1 round.

Step 5. Make 1 sc in the first and second st, then 2 in the third, and so on 1 round.

Step 6. Make 1 sc in the first and second and third st, then 2 in the forth, and so on 1 round.

Continue like this (1 more st between each time you increase for each round) until your work fits the base of your jar. Lay your crocheted patch under the jar to see if it fits.

Step 7. *Make 1 dc in each st.* Repeat from * to * the whole round.

Step 8. Make 3 ch (Will count as 1 dc), 1 dc.*2ch, skip 2 st, and make 1 dc in the next 2 st. *
Repeat from * to * throughout the round, and make 1 sl st in the 3rd ch from the beginning of the round.

Step 9. Make 1 dc around all ch from the previous round, and 1 ch above all dc from the previous round. (= 2 ch, 2 dc throughout the round), then 1 sl st to end it.

Step 10. Repeat step 9 until required length. Test this on your jar as you go along.

Step 11. The top border: * Make 5 dc between the pair of dc from the previous round, 1 sl st around the ch.* Repeat from * to * throughout the round. (On the orange one, I used 7 dc instead of 5, but I ended up preferring 5.)

Step 12. Secure the ends by weaving them back and forth a little on the inside of your work.

The yellow and green ones got a multi coloured string weaved around the last row before step 11. Simply take one thread of each colour yarn (apxm 1 meter), and twine them to make the string.

The orange and blue ones got a small heart around them.

How to make the cute hearts:

Step 1.
Make 6 ch st.
Step 2.
Make 1 sc in the 2nd st from the hook, and continue with 4 more sc.
 *turn, 1 ch, 5 sc* Repeat from *to* 4 times.You now have a 5x5 square.
Step 3.
Turn the square 45 degrees, and in the middle st on the side: crochet 5 dc
1 sl st in the corner. Then in the middle st on the next side, do another 5 dc
sl st along the side until you reach the corner.
Cut the yarn long enough to reach around your jar, and pull it through the slope.
Secure the end from the beginning on the backside of the heart.

Put a candle in, light it, and enjoy.😄

Wash cloths in happy colours #2

The peach coloured wash cloth is made of the same quality cotton yarn as the rest of them. I like to knit patterns into the cloths. It makes them pretty to look at, and also much more fun to make. This pattern is very easy, as you just move it one stitch for each round. The peach squares are knitted on the right side, and pearled on the wrong side, and the white squares are pearled on the right side, and knitted on the wrong side.

What you need: 1 bundle, apxm 50 grams of cotton yarn (50 gr = 160m), knitting pins (2,5 mm), and a needle to sew the ends.

How you do it: Cast on 60 stitches. Knit back and forth according to the pattern. Repeat it in width and height until there's about 3m left of yarn. Cast off, and secure the ends by weaving them a bit back and forth into the stitches. You now have another great wash cloth, and no excuse not to have a clean kitchen counter! 😉

Wash cloths in happy colours #1

These knitted cotton wash cloths are my all time favorites. I have tried lots of different kitchen cloths over the years, but I think these home made ones beat all micro fibers and other fabrics. They are also easy to make and can go in the washer on 60 degrees C. As I make a lot of these.. (I change my cloth several times per day, lol), I like to try out different patterns, so it won't be boring knitting them, ..Here are  some of my patterns, and I start off with the most simple one.. The moss green cloth.

What you need: 1 bundle apxm 50 grams of cotton yarn (50 gr = 160m), knitting pins (2,5 mm), and a needle to sew the ends.

How you do it: Cast on 60 stitches. Knit back and forth until there's about 3m left of yarn. Cast off, and secure the ends by weaving them a bit back and forth into the stitches. You now have a great wash cloth, and no excuse not to have a clean kitchen counter! ;-)