Coin Purse with Curly Flower

My 6-yo loves to drag my mother-in-law to arcades. One time, I saw that she used an old plastic container for the tokens. I think it was an old cotton swab container. So I decided to make her a coin purse as a gift for Christmas. 

This is the purse that I made for her. I didn't use any available pattern for the purse it self, just freehanded it. I think I did it wrong because it wasn't my intention to have a tapering body, but it still turned out nice. I added a lining inside and a zipper on top to close the purse.

As for the curly flower, I used the pattern from ellej.org. It was a little difficult to follow the pattern, but through trial and error, I was able to successfully make one. And once I got used to it, I couldn't stop making 'em. For this particular embellishment, I made a cream-colored center, with two-toned petals: maroon and a baby pink trimming.

Primrose & Proper Cowl

I made this cowl as a token to my husband's Aunt in the US. I got the pattern on Ravelry (link to pattern) for free. It was really easy to make, it took me at most an hour to make this. I followed the length on the pattern, but soon found out that it was a tad bit smaller than I wanted, so I changed the position of the buttons. I will definitely make this again, probably in a different color and make it bigger.

Useful tip for the pattern: the pattern did not indicate the weight/thickness of the yarn used. So work the length of the base chain according to your preferences.

Coffee Sleeve with an Enormous Heart Pocket

Continuing my obsession with coffee sleeves, I found this pattern on Ravelry (link: Open Heart Pocket Hot or Cold Drink Sleeve) and tested it out.

Materials:

1. Yarn, two colors - I used acrylic yarns, with the red yarn thicker than the cream one
2. Hook - I used a 5 and a 5.5mm hook
3. Tapestry needle

Tips:

• Use a smaller hook and yarn for the heart pocket, unless you want the pocket to be big.
• The pocket I made has a tendency to spill its contents, so be careful when sewing on the heart applique.
• Be creative, try other appliques as a pocket.

I won't go into the specifics of the pattern since I didn't deviate from it while I was working on my sleeve. Follow the link at the top of the post for the pattern.

Basket Weave Coffee Sleeve

My current fetish right now: coffee sleeves. They are extremely helpful, especially when I buy frappuccinos. I already made a couple of coffee sleeves, refer to this post, but I wanted a larger coverage on the cup. So I scoured the Internet and found this pattern: Basket Weave Coffee Sleeve.


So, this is what I made, but I made a couple of mistakes on this one. I'll expound on that one in a few.

Stitches used in the pattern (US terms):

• chain (ch)
• double crochet (dc)
• slip stitch (sl st)
• front post double crochet (fpdc)
• back post double crochet (bpdc)

Tutorial for front/back post double crochet.

What you need:

1. yarn - I used a thick acryclic yarn
2. hook - I used 5 mm
3. tapestry needle
4. scissors

Notes on the pattern:

1. Your base chain should be in multiples of 6 (or you can change it, depending on the weave size you want to make)
2. Each "weaved" layer is composed of 3 repetitive rows.

The pattern:

Row 1: Make your base chain. Sl st to make a round. (I did 35. Yes, this was my mistake number 1. Please don't make the same mistake as I did. LOL) 

Row 2: Ch 3, this will be stitch 1. Dc on remaining stitches (base chain count - 1).

Rows 3-4: Ch3, fpdc in next 2 stitches. Bpdc on next 3. Continue alternating between 3fpdc and 3bpdc until you reach the end of your round (ending set should be 3bpdc). Sl st to top of ch3.

Rows 5-7: Ch3, bpdc in next 2 stitches. Fpdc on next 3. Continue alternating between 3bpdc and 3fpdc until you reach the end of your round (ending set should be 3fpdc). Sl st to top of ch3. (My mistake number 2: I only made 2 rows for the second layer.)

Repeat each layer until you get your desired length/height. You can also change the set of rows for each layer if you want.

Coffee Sleeve

I was looking for something to work on that was easy to do and takes no more than an hour to make to give as a thank you gift. I found this pattern (link) of a coffee sleeve. It was easy to make and the design was simple yet pleasing in the eyes.

Stitches used in the pattern:

• chain (ch)
• single crochet (sc)
• single crochet 2 together (sc2tog)

Guide in working the pattern:

• As stated in the pattern, work each row in back loops only - this is to create the ribbed effect.
• If you started in a 2sc stitch, you'll end in an sc2tog stitch; and vice versa.
• One side of the sleeve will always start (or end) in 2sc's, and the other side will start (or end) in sc2tog.
• Total number of stitches made on each row should be base chain less one.

The pattern:

The pattern is really simple, work on your base chain (length depends on the yarn and hook used).

Row 1: 2sc, sc until last 2 stitches, sc2tog. ch1, turn.

Row 2: sc2tog, sc until last stitch, 2sc. ch1, turn.

Repeat 1&2 until you get the desired length/size.

Join ends using a slip stitch, but I stitched it together instead.

You need to invert the sleeve once you're done putting the ends together. I didn't flip it on the picture above, but this is how it's supposed to look like after. Pardon the cup used.