The Frontier Shawl Collaboration with Furls Crochet

I am so excited to share that I have done another CAL with Furls Crochet! If you aren’t familiar with CAL’s, CAL is just a fancy abbreviated way of saying Crochet Along, in which a free pattern, rather than being posted in its entirety, has a section posted each week (for any number of weeks) and people can follow along with the pattern as it progresses. Cute right?

This time I created The Frontier Shawl, a simple and fun filet crochet project! I had never done filet crochet before this, but it is SO much fun and there is so much you can do with! I certainly can’t wait to do more projects with it!

Easy DIY Yarn Coasters

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If there is one thing I have been looking for in every project that I have worked on lately, it is that I want it to be easy. As you may know, my motivation levels have been at an all time low, so my definition of easy doesn’t always coincide with others. I’m sure we have all seen those DIY tutorials that have EASY slapped all over the title and then you get to the nitty gritty and it doesn’t actually seem that simple.

Sometimes we just need the simple satisfaction of getting something done, and that is usually easiest to do when the project takes minimal supplies and can be finished in under an hour or so, because that is often my limit of when my motivation will run out.

Another thing that I always try to look for in a project is that it is practical. If i’m going to dedicate my time to making something, I’d like it to be something that I will use and brownie points if it can save me money in some way.

My boyfriend and I are planning on getting our first home soon, up until now we have only had apartments, which in my opinion just can never really feel like a true home. Now, there are a million reasons why I am incredibly thrilled at the prospect of having an actual home, but i’m not fooling myself into thinking that it will be a walk in the park either.

One things that has definitely been on my mind is simply how many new things we will have to buy when the time comes to actually move. Generally I would like to say that I am a fairly frugal person, so the thought of a home essential shopping spree is a little stressful.

With that in mind, I have been trying to think of practical projects I can DIY so it can be one thing we can check off the list. I know I can’t build a bookshelf or a washing machine, but if there are little things I can work up that will help us in our new home then I’m gonna go for it.

The idea of making coasters has been stuck in my mind for so long, but there was never any design or method that I could stick through making multiples of. So I rummaged around my craft supplies to see what I already had and could make use of and soon enough I had 5 coasters in about an hour! (My ideal project! *insert heart eyes here*)

Materials

• Felt (or any stable material you can cut into a circle and put glue on)
• A cup or container to trace your circle
• Hot Glue Gun/ Refills of Hot Glue Sticks
• 2 Colors (or more) of Yarn (I recommend using a 100% cotton yarn such as Lily Sugar and Cream as it is more heat safe than other fibers if you plan on using the coaster for hot drinks)
• Scissors

Cut The Felt

This step is very self explanatory, but simply take whatever glass or container you wish to be the stencil for your coaster (or this can absolutely be made into any shape you’d like), place the stencil on the felt and trace around it. Then cut out the piece that you have traced.

Constructing The Coaster

At this point we can literally just jump into constructing the coaster. you will be using quite a bit of a hot glue and it can get messy so make sure you set something down on your work space that you don’t mind getting glue all over.

The entire process is really rather straightforward and simple. Take your yarn (which you don’t need to cut from the skein yet) and align as many strands as you would like in the pattern that you would like them to repeat on the coaster (you can get as creative as you want here really). Make sure you have them ready to place onto the coaster as the glue will dry quickly.

Starting from the top of the felt piece, apply a line of hot glue, line up your yarn above the hot glue, making sure to have a little bit of the yarn strands go over the edges of your felt. Once you have it positioned, press the yarn into the hot glue (pressing upwards slightly to get it as close to the top edge of the felt as possible). Clip your yarn strands, again leaving a little bit over the edge of the felt.

As usual when working with hot glue, be sure to be careful because the glue, much like the name implies, is hot. I have fallen victim to hot glue burns plenty of times in my day (at the ripe age of 25) and they are no fun.

As to be expected, you simply continue the last step of apply glue and pressing down your patterned strands of yarn all the way down the coaster.

When you have glued on all of your yarn strands, you will flip the coaster over, so that you have a clear line to follow when trimming the extra yarn bits on the edges. Then when you turn it over, you will have a clean circle!

There you have it!! It is super easy to whip up a whole set of these in under an hour and it doesn’t take a lot of supplies at all!. I chose to experiment with a border for the coaster as shown below, but i decided to make the rest of the without the border in the end. It is a very simple concept that you can get as creative as you want with!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! As always if you end up making your own coasters feel free to tag me on social media if you share any photos! I’d love to see your work! Additionally if you have any questions please email me or leave it in the comment section below. Happy crafting!

The Elizabeth Shawl Crochet Pattern

Spring is finally here!!! Which means that I can finally start designing some lacy and breezy garments once more! I was having designers block for a few months, but i’m finally at the point where I am feeling inspired and motivated again!

Now i’m normally not one to make a Shawl, however, I have been watching a LOT of When Calls The Heart and they have the prettiest shawls (and clothing in general) and i finally was inspired to make one!

The Regina Shrug Crochet Pattern

I know I am jumping the gun a little bit here, but it’s almost spring! Which means that I can finally start designing some lacy and breezy garments once more! I was having designers block for a few months, but i’m finally at the point where I am feeling inspired and motivated again!

A Dream Is a Wish Your Hat Makes Beanie Crochet Pattern

Although I wasn’t expecting to make a Valentine’s Day design this year, I am super excited to share the pattern for the A Dream Is a Wish Your Hat Makes Beanie! (Get it??)

The Harvest Sweater Crochet Pattern

As someone who is cold almost all the time, I LOVE sweaters. No matter how hot is it, I always take a sweater with me because I know the second the sun goes down or the wind picks up, I’m going to get cold. With that being said, you would think one of my favorite things to design would be sweaters, but I don’t think that is the actual reality of the situation. I have narrowed this fact down to two reason, 1) I always convince myself I can make a sweater in one day and it will be a fast project, but then that doesn’t happen, and 2) designing sweaters intimidates me, I’m not entirely sure why, but it does haha.

The Wrap Me Up Dress Crochet Pattern

Well it is that time of the year guys! I am a huge lover of the Holiday season (which to me is actually Halloween to New Years) but Christmas has a special kind of feeling that comes with it that is hard to find during the rest of the year. Pretty much everything about this season feels super cozy and comfortable, with the exception of the sun setting at 4pm, seriously not a fan of that nonsense. Although I love the Fall season just as much, the transition from Summer to Fall always tends to get me a little down, so it is always nice to have the cheer of the Holidays to lift me out of my slump. With that uplift of spirit usually comes new inspiration for designs! I have been having a hard time finding creative motivation these past few months and this is one of the first designs in a while that actually came easy to me and it is called The Wrap Me Up Dress!

The Triple Threat Dress Feature and Pattern

It has been so hard to keep this a secret, but I can finally share that I have been working on another pattern that is being featured  HERE on The Hook Nook blog!

The Toasted Marshmallow Poncho Crochet Pattern

Like many people, I absolutely love everything about Fall. However, the one thing that I don’t love is that, every year, sometime around the transition from Summer to Fall, I tend to get a little unmotivated and uninspired. In a lot of ways I think it makes sense, the “excitement” of summer starts to dwindle and the sun goes down earlier, my surroundings change, so my mood usually changes with it.

Since this is the first year that I have been creating my own designs, the hardest part about the season transition was that my designs had to transition with it, which threw me into a complete whirlwind. I had gotten so used to designing lacy tops and skirts, that when I realized that I had to shift mindsets and start working on sweaters and other warm garments, I just didn’t know what to do. My mind went completely blank on how to make my design style work with thicker yarns and heavier garments, long story short, it has not been a fun time.

If there is anything that I have learned about myself over the past few years it is that I pretty much need a creative outlet at all times to stay truly happy. With this being said, I kinda of disappeared for a little bit in order to give myself a little bit of a break, but I have been trying to push through it, so I’m finally back with a new cozy pattern to share! The Toasted Marshmallow Poncho!

The Jasmine Bralette Crochet Pattern

Although I grew up in LA, I have never really been a summer person for some reason. I think it’s because I do not do well in the heat, in fact I don’t do well in almost any temperature, i’m always either too cold or too hot. However, recently I have been trying to warm up to the idea of summer (see what I did there?). Honestly it is probably because of the fashion aspect of it, I’m trying to learn how to dress according to season, which is kind of difficult sometimes especially when it comes to summer.

There is so much to take into consideration when it comes to summer, you can be melting and you still aren’t allowed to walk around topless like guys can. You need to find the fine line between not dying and not being too revealing, because you know heaven forbid people see a human body and get all judgmental and offended.

Personally I find it hard to feel fashionable in a tank top and shorts, some people can make it look amazing, but I am not one of those people haha, thus the Jasmine Bralette came to life! I wanted to make something breezy, a little longer than just a normal bralette, and I wanted it to be cute! So let’s dive into the pattern!