Free Pattern Friday: Crocheted Elf Hat

I've shared projects from this pattern before, but I just love it, and had to share it again.  We recently took a little family road trip, and on the way I was able to make up this cute crocheted elf hat for my Sister In Law.  She is a photographer in North Dakota (Jessica Marshall Photography), and I thought an adorable elf hat would be a great addition to her prop collection.

I love the way it turned out!

You can see my first project in action as a prop for my friend Kandice McDermott Photography.  They make the cutest props.

Hop on over to Oodles 4 Noodles for the free pattern.  It's a great little project.  I love the pom pom, and the faux ribbing at the base of the hat.  Nothing but sweet.

Crocheted Pumpkin Hat and Smiles

Ahh, an actual project up on the blog.  Micah Makes has some of the funnest little crochet hat patterns, and I had to make her crocheted pumpkin hat for the fall season.  It was a project that I found I could work on while August slept on my lap, which means that it actually got done.  Hooray!  

This newborn sized hat will be a perfect photography prop, and I might just make another to throw on August for Halloween.  Micah also provides instructions for making a leaf to add to the top of the hat.  I made the leaf, but chose not to add it.  I like it the way it is.  I love that little ribbed stem, such a perfect detail.  Hop on over to her blog to find her free crochet pumpkin hat pattern.  

Now for a little August update.  Thanks to all of you for your sweet and supportive comments on my last post.  I wrote up the post at a  bit of a desperate moment, and I am so grateful to have kind readers to share their experiences and wisdom.  Thank you, thank you.  We are still trying to figure out exactly what is bothering his little digestive system, and I'm still currently breastfeeding.  It may just be that his digestive system is immature, but he has had some really good days among the harder ones.  So it is a bit more tolerable for all of us. He's also started to give some social smiles, which is so wonderfully rewarding as a parent.  I'm considering giving the infant probiotic drops a whirl, just to see if they help his little system out.  Have any of you tried them?  The reviews online seem pretty good, so I figure it is worth a shot.

Mom Top Knot Hat blogged about here.

Baby Hat and Pants from a T-shirt

I spent last week tackling my upcycle clothing pile, which was getting too big.

I selected about eight pieces of clothing that needed to be turned into something new, and worked my magic.  One of those articles of clothing was a gray turtleneck that was never worn, but was in great condition.  It became a new pair of baby pants, which happen to be one of my favorite little things for baby boys, and an adorable top knot hat with a Mom Tattoo Applique (another of my favorite things).

For the hat, I printed off Prudent Baby's Top Knot Hat Pattern.  I aligned the original hem of the turtle neck, with the hem line on the pattern.  Cut out the hat, leaving the side seams of the turtle neck intact for the baby pants.

I followed her instructions, minus the cuff on the hat, and the hat was finished in no time flat.  Then, just to dress it up a bit, I added a small  Mom Heart Tattoo Applique.  I love it so much more than I ever did the turtle neck.

 As I mentioned, I preserved the side seams of the shirt, and cut out my infant pants using the existing hem as well.  I added a faux fly, crotch and leg seams, and the casing, and these were done in minutes also.  So easy.  I'm thinking that I need to make at least one more pair of these.  Do you want a tutorial?

Then, just for good measure, I whipped up a Mom Tattoo appliqued body suit to complete the look.

You can find my PDF file applique template here.

Thanks for reading, and I have more upcycled goodness to come.  It was a productive week.

Beginners Crochet: Baby Elf Hats

Over the past couple of weeks I have been attempting to teach myself to crochet.  I've tried three different infant hat patterns, and I think that I've finally ended up with something that would fit an infant (by the way I'm lazy with gauging).

Source: oodles-4-noodles.com via Tricia on Pinterest

I used this pattern from Oodles-4-Noodles

It was fairly straight forward.  This was my first time working with multiple yarn colors, my first time making a pom pom, using a magic ring, and fdc in the post.  Thankfully, there are a huge amount of video tutorials available to help me work my way through new patterns.

I love following patterns, because I find that I am forced to try new techniques.  It is a great way to expand your knowledge of something.

 I decided to go ahead and make two hats.  One for a boy, and one for a girl.  You can tell that my tension changes a bit from one hat to the other. They aren't perfect, but I'm still going to call them successful.

Any recommendations for beginner crochet patterns/projects, preferably free?  I'd love to know what you recommend.

Make It Work: Taking In A Hat

My little family decided to take a quick little last minute trip last week.  We weren't very prepared for our summer outing, and I didn't have any hats for the boys.  We stopped at Wal-mart to see if we could find anything, and the selection was very limited, especially in the baby hat department. Clark and I found this little drivers hat, and it was by far the cutest hat they had.  Unfortunately, it was too big for Miles.  I knew that it would be, but I also knew that it would be easy to adjust.

 The hat had about an inch and a half extra room.  So I cut a piece of elastic that was 1.5" long.

Luckily, the hat band wasn't tacked down to the lining.  I opened up the band, and pinned the center of the elastic to the back center seam of the hat.  I then measured 1.5" away from the center seam in either direction, and marked those points with a pin.

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