My Frugal Wedding

After 7 and a bit years of adventures together, Owen finally popped 'The Question' back in April 2013 making me just about the happiest crying person in the world at that moment in time!

I think it was the following day that it suddenly hit us both: we had a wedding to plan. Daunting? Yes. Expensive? We didn't want it to be if we could help it. We'd already been living together for a couple of years at this point and owning a house really does make you think carefully about how much you spend on things.

How much for a wedding dress?! That's how much it cost to replace our boiler! I'm only going to wear it once! Ridiculous.

So we set ourselves a challenge, (just a little extra challenge on top of the wedding planning plus three jobs between us, Owen studying for his degree and keeping on top of the garden, housework and home improvements!), to have the wedding we both want for under £5k.

It is now February 2014 and we are 6 months away from 'The Big Day'! It is shaping up to be the most beautiful wedding I could have asked for and whereas I'm not certain we will manage it under £5000, it is pretty close!

Mini Rocket Pattern

I've been busy, busy, busy, making items for a charity craft sale in June... that's not much time for one person to make enough items to fill a table!

I've been trying to stick to items which are quick to make but great to look at. One example of easy and effective items are garlands and I've made a few so far, including this really cute space garland:

What really makes it cute is the little rocket; after I had finished all the stars, I thought it needed a little something else.

So, for the pattern for this little rocket, go to my Etsy page, (link below).

Mini Rocket Pattern

or to buy the one I made click below:

Space Garland

Very Easy Fingerless Mittens

I car-share to work most days and one frosty morning I complained to my colleague about driving all the way to work with VERY cold fingers!

She said that her fingerless-mittens kept her hands warm, and I laughed... I've always thought they were pointless as, by nature,  they don't cover your fingers, only your palms and therefore, (in my eyes), they couldn't work.

So she made me put them on - and they defied my logic! I had to have a pair and of course I wasn't going to buy any!

They didn't need to be fussy so I made the easiest, quickest, simplest fingerless-mittens using the same chunky red yarn that I used to for the trim of my earflap hat, (I do like items that match subtly).

It doesn't matter what yarn you use for this project as I've written it so that it's adaptable, just use whatever you like and the appropriate hook for that yarn. Both mittens are made in exactly the same way so follow this pattern twice for two mittens!


Ch= chain
Dc= UK double crochet
Htr= UK half treble crochet
Slst= slip stitch
sk= skip
Rpt= repeat

Foundation Row: Create a chain which comfortably goes around your wrist. I made mine a bit bigger as I wanted a baggy effect but you could make them tight fitting. Sl St to form a ring. (Make a note of how many you chained for the other mitten).

Note: the Ch2 at the beginning of each round counts as the first half treble for each round.

R1: Ch 2, htr in each st around, sl st to ch2.

R2: Rpt R1 until the tube is the length you require, (measure from your lower thumb knuckle - where your thumb joins to your hand - down to however long you want the mittens to be.)

Make a note of how many rows you have done as you will need to know to make the second mitten, (I did 10 rounds total therefore I will continue to count from there.)

R11: Ch2, ch6, sk 6 st, htr to 7th st then htr in each st around, slst to ch2.

R12: Ch2, htr in each st around, slst to ch2.

R13: Rpt R12 until the mitten is as high up your hand as you want it to be, for me this was just on my knuckles, (R18 for me), as I needed to keep as much of my fingers out as possible as I needed the grip for driving but you could carry on a bit further.

Finish off.

For the thumb hole, you could either leave it as it is or you can build it up a  bit as follows:

Start by joining anywhere on the thumb hole,

R1: ch1, dc in each st around, slst to ch 1.

Rpt R1 until you reach the desired length.

And it's as simple as that. I'm writing this post on a snowy day in my tiny, cold, box-house and my mittens are keeping my hands warm whilst a thick pair of socks, slippers and a blanket fail to keep my feet warm... I really should make something for my feet!

**This pattern is for personal use only and may not be sold, reprinted or copied in anyway without my permission. If you would like to sell something that you have made using my pattern, I ask that you give credit to me as the pattern designer and that you include a link back to the free pattern so that others may have the opportunity to make the item themselves.**

A Handy Bag

I made this bag for myself very shortly after teaching myself to crochet, as a ‘pocket’ to carry all the everyday items that the children expect staff to produce on demand, (whiteboard pen, eraser, pencil, tissues!). Many of the teaching assistants that I work with have these little bags, (not crocheted but made from material), which I was informed were made for them by an ex-member of staff many years ago!

I suppose, (even if you don't work in a school), you could carry your reading glasses, a pen and notebook, ID badge, your mobile phone or other necessary gadgets etc in it.

I used a 4mm hook and my yarn was for that size hook. When I made it, I worked the size out as I went along so I’ve written the pattern so that you can do the same J. It could even be made to be used as an everyday handbag, although I'm not sure how the handle would hold out if the bag became too heavy!

Pattern:

ch= chain

dc= double crochet (US single)

sl st= slip stitch

htr= Half treble crochet (US half double)

rpt*= repeat section between two *

For the bag: 

Foundation Row: Ch as many as you need for the length of your bag, (top to bottom), then ch2 more.

R1: Htr into 3^rd ch from hook. Htr in every chain to end.

R2: *Ch2 and turn. Htr into 3^rd ch from hook. Htr in every chain to end.*

Rpt* until your work is double what you want the width of your bag to be.

Sl st to secure but before you cut your yarn, make sure there is plenty still attached so that you can use it to weave the two sides together.

Thread this end onto a needle and securely weave together the two long sides, (your starting chain and the last row you have just completed).

You will now have a tube. Make sure your tube is inside out and position the seam you have just made so it is at the back of the bag, in the middle, then weave together the bottom with a new piece of your yarn and the main part of the bag is complete!

For the flap:

Note: The flap can close in any way you want. I chose to add a button loop which needs to be included in the last row of the flap. The link below is the source I used for the loop on my bag.

Crochet for Dummies - Button Loop

Foundation Row: Ch as many as you need to match the width of your bag then ch2 more.

R1: Htr into 3^rd ch from hook. Htr in every chain to end.

R2: *Ch2 and turn. Htr into 3^rd ch from hook. Htr in every chain to end.*Rpt* until your work is the right size for your flap.Attach your flap by weaving together the foundation chain side to the back top edge of your bag.

For the handle: 

Foundation Row: Ch as many as you need for the length you want your handle to be then ch 1 more and turn.

R1: Dc in the second chain from the hook and then in every ch to the end.

For me this was wide enough but if you want a wider strap then just do the same again until it’s wide enough.Then sew each end of the strap to the top inside corners of the bag, (I did this using the same yarn.

Then it’s finished apart from a couple of optional extras!

1. A Lining.

I lined my bag as I was worried about it sagging. I followed these instructions:

Futuregirl -Crochet Bag Lining

2. Decoration.

I crocheted little colourful flowers and sewed them on, including little buttons in the middles. There are hundreds of patterns for little flowers in books, magazines and online so use whatever you like the look of :)

**This pattern is for personal use only and may not be sold, reprinted or copied in anyway without my permission. If you would like to sell something that you have made using my pattern, I ask that you give credit to me as the pattern designer and that you include a link back to the free pattern so that others may have the opportunity to make the item themselves.**

Maggie's Mat

This is our beautiful dog, Maggie. We've only had her since October last year but she's already part of the family and so is becoming another unwilling victim of my crafts...



Despite being a lovely looking girl, Maggie has a beard that most grown human men would envy. The only problem that this causes, (apart from her occasionally being referred to as 'Beardface' or 'The Beard'), is that she creates a small lake on the kitchen floor when she drinks out of her water bowl.

I trawled the local pet shop and the internet in search of an absorbent but non-slip mat for her bowls to try to lessen the number of  cases of damp-sock occurring, but none were to my taste: either garish colours or silly slogans and none that could claim to be both absorbent and non-slip.

Cue light-bulb moment! Why didn't I think of making my own before?!

Due the its size and the monotony of the pattern, it took me a few hours to make but it was so easy I feel silly for even considering paying for one; I raided my stash so the yarn cost nothing.

To make it non-slip, I intend to buy some of that non-slip mat that you can get from pound-shops, (usually used for car dashboards to stop trinkets from rolling about when you're driving), cut it to a little smaller than the mat itself and sew it on the the underside. I also might crochet a little paw print and applique it on.

The mat I made measures 18" x 12". I used 2 strands of yarn, one black and one off-white. I have no idea of the yarn weight or what they are made of as they came from my stash, but I used a 5mm hook and it took 70 stitches across to reach the 18" length and 30 rows of UK half treble crochet, (US Hdc) to reach 12" wide.

The pattern is easily adapted to any size of mat required. See below:

I really like the random effect of two strands together.

Dog Bowl Mat
Foundation Row: Ch as many as you need to reach your desired length, then ch 2 more.
R1: Htr in 3rd ch from hook then in every st to end. Ch2 then turn.R2: Htr in every st to end, ch2 then turn.
Rpt R2 as many times as you need to reach your desired width.
And that's it! So simple, I don't know why I hadn't though of it before...

Finished :)

The perfect size for Maggie's two bowls.

Maggie approves... well, she's apathetic.

**This pattern is for personal use only and may not be sold, reprinted or copied in anyway without my permission. If you would like to sell something that you have made using my pattern, I ask that you give credit to me as the pattern designer and that you include a link back to the free pattern so that others may have the opportunity to make the item themselves.**

A Quick Sunday Mini-Project

As much as I get a huge sense of pride and achievement from completing a big project, the quick-but-ever-so-useful ones always bring a little sunshine :) 

A little Sunday boredom struck yesterday, (we haven't been allowed our usual weekend woodland walks as Maggie was meant to be having some R+R while she recovered from her spay, poor thing), so I began trawling my boards on Pinterest for something to make. I chose this...

http://designsfromscratch.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/crochet-dog-wallet/

A nifty little wallet for storing the bags for picking up the 'little packages' that Maggie leaves!

It turned out like this:

I make no excuses for the garish colour scheme, it was, of course, made from acrylic scraps, but it will stand out should I drop it whilst wrestling with the dog lead as she fights to continue our walk before I've had chance to pick up her treasure.Although, hopefully, I'll remember to attach it to something using the loop but that may be a stretch too far.

Arm-Chair 'Catch-All' Pocket Finished!

Ok, so I've been quiet on the blog front for many reasons but the most important one being what I believe is my best crochet item yet! Not least because I have created my own design AND it actually looks good!

Here it is in action! Much tidier and prettier that what I showed you in my previous post: "In Search of an Arm-Chair Catch-All" 

The finished item, doing it's job fabulously!

Get the pattern from my Etsy shop :)