DIY Crochet and Lace Scarf

Hello lovelies,

It seems like winter is never going to end, ever ever ever.  Next week it's going to plunge once again into unseasonably cold temperatures, so I thought I would beat the weather and stay warm with a crochet infinity scarf.  My camera was in the process of dying a slow, sad death as I did this project, so please excuse the poor quality photos - I now have a beautiful new camera so stay tuned for fabulous photos on my next post.

What you'll need for this project: yarn, a crochet hook, and lace. I used a chunky green yarn that I have had lying around for years, and crafter's lace from Joann Fabric.

Step One:

Loosely crochet a chain long enough to fit around your neck.  Make sure it's about 2-3 inches shorter than you want for your finished scarf - when you double crochet later on, the stitches will stretch a bit.

Step Two

Double crochet your  scarf a total of eight rows, going back and forth along the chain. This will create a subtle stripey pattern.  Feel free to do more or less than eight rows depending on how think you want your scarf.  When you cut your yarn, leave a twelve inch strand of the end after you tie off.

Step Three:

Take your crafter's lace and cut into half inch strips about 1.5 times the length of your scarf.  I used clear fingernail polish on the ends to keep them from fraying instead of high end anti-fray sealant which can be expensive.  You can also buy lace on a spool of course, but crafter's lace is only $5.99 per yard, so it's a lot cheaper per square foot.

Step Four

Just like my crochet and ribbon hat, I'm using bobby pins in a fun (frugal) way.  Thread your lace through your bobby pin, and add a know to secure it.  Weave it along your scarf in any pattern you would like. I chose a basic, straight pattern of three long stripes but feel free to let your creativity go wild - you could thread diamond shapes, braids, even calligraphy if you wanted to.

Step Five

Tuck the lace ends under and pin into place at the end of your scarf, and sew them securely; I did about 5 stitches per end. Once you've sewn up all of your lace ends, take the excess twelve inches of yarn I told you to leave on the end of your scarf, earlier. Take your bobby pin (or, if you're feeling fancy, a yarn needle) and put it on the string. Sew up the two edges of your scarf  like you would one lace up one shoe lace, and knot off when you reach the end.   Your finished product should look something like this:

Stay warm and happy crafting, everyone :)

DIY Crochet and Ribbon Hat

DIY Crochet and Ribbon Hat

Hello fashionistas, it's been a long time.  Well I'm back, and I'm doing a blog on one of the most frugal and fashion forward things that broke girls can do - an awesome DIY project that looks cute and costs less than $4.00 - a crochet and ribbon hat. 

Supplies

You don't need a lot of supplies to make this hat: just yarn, scissors, a crochet hook - I used size 8 - and a spool of ribbon you'll see later (I may have forgotten to include it in this photo).   The yarn was $3.00 at Joann Fabric's on a sale, and the ribbon was $0.88 at Wal Mart, so if you already have a crochet hook and scissors, you'll be able to do this project for $3.88.

Step One

The first thing you want to do is chain 6 stitches.  If you are a crochet newbie, I found a video on YouTube called Crochet Guru that will take you through the steps http://www.youtube.com/watchv=GjoVWbYhWuc 

Step Two

Once you have the chain of 6, you're going stick your crochet hook through the first stitch, cross your yarn over, and chain one more, so that you have a circle. 

Step Three

Double crochet eight stitches inside the loop.  Again, for all you newbies at crochet, watch this video to learn how to double crochet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xKssKskNzo .  

Then you're going to keep crocheting outward in a circle - crochet two stitches into every hole going outward until your circle looks like the above photo - then crochet two stitches into one hole, and one stitch into the next.   Gradually add more and more single stitches in each hole between the double stitches.  You want your spiral to gently curve up at the ends. 

Step 4

When you put your spiral on your head and one edges touches the front and one edge touches the back, you should start turning the sides of your hat upward.  Double crochet one stitch in each hole, and your hat will start resembling a shallow bowl.  Your hat should fit a bit loosely on your head - the ribbons will tighten it a bit later.  

Step 5

Once your hat is your desired length, do two single crochet stitches and then tie off, and tuck the excess yarn into the stitches.  Congratulations you have made the hat, part!  If you're sick of this project and hating life, you can just wear it as is, and be proud of your beautiful hat :).  If you want to embellish with a bit of ribbon, then read on.

Step 6

Thread your ribbon onto a yarn needle or, if you're an extra frugal fashionista like myself and won't buy a yarn needle, then tie it to a bobby pin.  Thread your ribbon through the hat at the point where you tied your yarn off, then basket weave through each hole. 

Step 7

One you've done an entire row, make sure you skip a row going up, and basket-weave another row.  Keep going on like this, skipping a row in between each one you put a ribbon through, until you reach the top of the hat, where you started out. 

Step 8

Enjoy your fabulous hat!  And if you make one, let know how it turned out in the comments.

Happy Crocheting, fashionistas :)