Miniature Crochet Bunny with dress

 

Here's my second attempt at a miniature stuffed toy.  Bunny has a fluffy tail and a crochet dress.  Also a slightly creepy face. I used sewing thread and a size 0.25 crochet hook.

 

Tiny crochet teddy bear

 

          Having seen some incredibly tiny crochet stuffed toys I am determined to make some.  This teddy bear is my first attempt, and while he is not perfect, I'm confident I can improve with practice.  This little guy measures about half an inch tall and is made using sewing thread, a 0.5mm steel hook and fluff taken from a cotton ear bud / Q-tip. 

          I didn't have a pattern to work from so I winged it.  I attempted a magic ring but I was impatient to get going and finding it awkward to hold the ring in place I began with a ring of five chain.  When the bear was finished I had to stitch the ring closed, so I will use a magic ring for my next attempt.  I worked in double crochet (Single crochet USA) and formed the body and head in one piece, working in a spiral as opposed to rounds.  I stuffed the body as I worked, and sewed eyes, nose and mouth.

          The arms and legs were made by sewing thread in place on the body, then chaining 8 and dc in each chain.  I realised the limbs were way too long and skinny, so I folded them in half and stitched, making them half the length and double the thickness.  To avoid this I should have chained 4 and dc in each chain, then dc in each dc.  Each ear is a row of 3 dc, then 2 dc and slip stitch to last dc.

          Here's the little guy in a little paper box, to save him from being lost.  There are many easy tutorials online for Origami paper boxes.  This one is made using Post-it notes.  After making the lid I cut a square out and made a window using clear plastic.  As you can see from the photo, my box-making skills need improvement also!

         

Cushion cover

 

          My generous friends and work colleagues donated lots of clothes to help me make a rag-rug for the sitting room floor.  I've a small bag of these clothes left over from that project so I've begun finding uses for them.  One interesting item was a T-shirt with a funny slogan on, which I quite like, so I used it to make a cushion cover.  The polka-dot fabric was part of a top which had a concealed zipper which was almost exactly the width of my cushion!  I love it when things come together!  

Crochet Fan Bookmark - pattern by Crochetroo

           

          Having made a large crochet rag-rug, my next project is to the other extreme.  Instead of strips of cloth two inches wide and a 10mm hook I'm using regular sewing thread and a 0.8mm hook.  I've crocheted with sewing thread before and know the finished product is very delicate and small.  For this item I am using double lengths to bulk up the project a little and make it stronger.  Using two threads on a tiny project like this is awkward, but it allows for more experimentation with colours. 

I won't be showing a tutorial for this, as the pattern is not mine.  If you would like to give this a shot or buy a bookmark like this follow this link to Crochetroo's blog.

Rag rug: Give old clothes new life as a crochet rug

Rag rug made from clothing

          I wanted a large rug for the new flat so I checked out some interior decor shops and realised rugs are way too expensive!  Also they are often quite boring colours unless you're willing to spend an extortionate amount of money, which I'm not.

          I'm shredding up old t-shirts, jeans, tights, leggings, bedclothes, dresses, cutains and whatever else I can find, making long strips of cotton to crochet into a multicoloured rug that costs zero pence to make!  It's also a great excuse for a fun project.

Strips of cotton

          I love handmade things but while I appreciate neat work I love the character of shabby items, and in this project I've taken no pains to disguise raggy ends.  While some people tuck them in or sew them down to conceal them, I've deliberately left mine long and pulled them through to the front.  Clothing tags and t-shirt motifs are visible here and there throughout the rug, but you can remove them if you find them distasteful.

         I've given alternatives to my method so you can decide which look to go for.  Any measurements I've given do not need to be folowed accurately as long as they are generally consistent.

T-shirt, 10mm hook and scissors.

          I'm using a number 10 hook because it's the biggest I own. Since the time of writing i've bought a 17mm hook and would recommend a similar size for making this rug. I use a double crochet stitch (known as single crochet in the US) to form the rug.  I've given instructions below for beginners on how to crochet this stitch.  Braiding, weaving and sewing are other options.

          First cut along one side seam and across both shoulders.
You could make small cuts and tear the fabric, especially useful if you are cutting up large sheets.  If you don't have a dressmakers scissors, but will be cutting a lot of material, or heavy duty material like denim, wear a cotton glove to prevent blisters.

    
          Next cut horizontally above the hem, stopping an inch from the edge.
*(If you want a very neat rug, cut all the way through.  This will leave you with multiple strips which must be joined later)

          Neat or shabby the next hint applies: The hem is double thickness, so the next cut should be twice its width so the resulting strip will be the same thickness.  If the hem is one inch wide, move up two inches to make your next horizintal cut, stopping an inch from the edge.
*(Or not)

         Carry on in this manner, zig-zagging until you have cut the whole t-shirt into a long strip of cloth.
*(Or multiple strips of cloth)

         Wrap the cloth around two fingers to begin making a ball of cloth.  Cloth is flat and difficult to crochet, so stretch the cloth as you wrap it, and it will curl to form a cord.

          Shabby zig-zaggers only: you will encounter little flags of cloth where you zigged and zagged; Don't panic.  These can be concealed later with some clever crochet, tucking in or sewing. Or you can let them all hang out and embrace the ragginess, like I did.

          It's a good idea to keep similar colours together to help with choosing colours later.  To join strips of cloth, you may choose to simply knot them together.  I like to slit one piece and slide the other through the slit, then knot it to itself. 

         Or you could use a concealed join, so the knots cannot be felt.  Slit both pieces,  slide one end through the other slit, then slide it's tail through its own slit.  To be super neat you can sew them together.

          Now for the pattern - I use the term loosely.
Crochet: chain + double crochet the desired length of the rug, chain one and turn.  Continue until your rug is big enough.  If it's a large rug, you may want to make three separate narrow pieces and join later, as large rugs will be heavy and hard to work with.

          Crochet novices: I'll attempt to show this stitch step by step. If what I'm saying is unclear, there are many useful tutorials online.  It's well worth learning the double crochet stitch.

          To start the crochet we make a slipknot then a length of chain.  Make a slipknot by crossing the cord to make a loop.

          Put your fingers through the loop and pull a loop of the long end of cord through, forming a new loop.  Pull the tense side of the new loop to tighten the old loop around the new loop's base.  Beginners may need to pull the length of cord now to bring the new loop down to a manageable size.

A slipknot

          Now to make a length of chain crochet. Slide loop onto hook and tighten.

Slipknot on hook.

          "yarn over hook"
That is, catch the cord with the mouth of the hook.  Pull the hook and cord backwards through the loop, making a new loop.  The original loop will tighten around the base of the new loop near the hook.

Repeat the previous step again, and again, and again, until you reach the desired length of your rug.

          The row of chain will look like a loose braid.
Don't tighten the loops around the hook; you need the hook to pass easily through the chain when you make your stitches.

Crochet chain.

          If you're a zig-zagger you will notice the little corners of cloth as you chain.
I pull these towards the front / facing me, so they will show.  You can tuck them in if you like.

To begin our row of double crochet push the hook into the second chain (second gap) from the hook.
"yarn over hook"
That is, catch the cord with the mouth of the hook.






Pull the hook and cord backwards making a loop. This is similar to before but now you have two loops on the hook.  You're halfway through your first double crochet stitch!








"yarn over hook" and pull hook and cord backwards through BOTH loops on hook.  You may need to turn the hook mouth slightly to prevent the cloth falling off the hook as you pull through the loops.
Tighten the loop on hook if necessary.
Congratulations! That's a single crochet :-)




Repeat for every chain.
If you make a mistake or think your work is too tight, loose or uneven, remove the hook and pull the long cord to unravel the stitches. Magic.

When you finish the row, chain one by pulling yarn through both loops, then turn the material and repeat the previous steps again.
And again.
And so on.

Row of double-crochet.

When you have completed your rug, remove the hook from the loop.  Pull the cord through the loop, tighten, and cut.

          Adventurous folk can make use of leftover wool, string or ribbon by crocheting it alongside the cord.  I've used blue wool on the pictures below for illustrative purposes but furry, bobbly or other novelty yarns look great too!  Chose a textured wool of similar colour to complement the cotton, or a contrasting coloured wool to create interesting patterns.

 

          If your rug lacks straight edges, which will happen if you use a variety of thickness (eg: denim and cotton) you can add a crochet border to straighten it up.  I used two rows of single crochet around the edge; chain one at the corners, then on the second row I made one double crochet, one chain, one double crochet in each corner chain of the previous row.
If you have any questions feel free to ask below and I'll do my best to help!

          Here's my finished rug. apologies for the quality of photos but I haven't had good daylight since finishing.  As you can see I made two rugs and sewed them together using wool and a strip of metal folded in half.  You can use a darning needle, if you prefer.  I chose this way for the simple reason of the weight of the rug becoming very cumbersome; My arms are nicely toned now.

Rag rug photographed using serious nuclear flash!

          Things I would do differently:
I ran into some wavy edges due to inconsistent thicknesses of cloth strips.  I could have avoided this in two ways; I could have been more discriminating of the cloths I used but my goal was to make this for free, so I used whatever clothes I had and were generously donated to me.  I also could have taken more care to cut heavy / thick materials narrower than thin but I wasn't too far out, so I'm happy with the result.

          Here are some close up details.  You can see where I used wools with the cloth.  Makes for a nice texture.  Also note the raggy tags.

         So go on!  Give it a go, what's stopping you?  Happy rugging raggers!

Recycled plastic

 

I'm especially happy with these because I made them using waste materials.  It's so cool to be able to experiment for free!

I jazzed up a few pairs of bamboo knitting needles by rolling the heads in melted plastic, using the handle of a metal spoon to press them into shape.
Now it's easy to identify pairs of the same size.

I can't wait to make more of these!  Clear plastic with pigments blending inside.  Buttons have two holes and are about 13x13 mm. 

 More buttons made from recycled plastic, gold and clear this time.  I must brush up on my photography skills:  This photo really doesn't do them justice.

Tiny Tin Paintbox

     There is something so attractive about those tiny tin boxes of mints or pastilles
   
       ...maybe it's because we are surrounded by so much plastic nowadays.  Whatever the reason, if you (like myself) have been seduced into buying one, here's a cheap and easy way to make it useful by transforming it into a handy, portable paintbox, complete with a tiny water-colour palette!

What you will need;
A tin box
Paint pans
Candle wax or glue
White plastic tablet tray
Cellophane or thin plastic
Scissors.

1.)    Place the paint pans in the box in the order you would like them.  I want to be able to remove the pans easily when empty, so I sealed them in with candle-wax.  Melt the wax into the spaces available.  Tilt the box so that the wax will run through the gaps between the paint pans.  Any stray drips can easily be removed when dry.
       You could use glue if you want to, or, if you have small magnets available to you, glue a magnet to the base of each pan.  Fancy!
       If you haven't got / don't want to buy paint pans, make some using a tablet tray.  Put a blob of tube paint into each well and leave it to dry.

2.)   To make the paint palette, I used a disposable plastic tray from a packet of painkillers.  (There's that plastic again).  This is obviously only suitable for little doodles, but handy to have.
       Trim the tablet tray to fit into the base of the box.  If you haven't got room in the base, you can trim it to fit in the lid. Trim it slightly too large, so that the tray will fit snugly.  Smooth out the wells and remove any loose silver foil.  A white tray will make the best palette for mixing colours.

3.)    Trim the cellophane to fit the base of the tray.  This will be useful to place on top of the paints so you can pack up the box while the paints are still wet.  If your tin has enough room, you can store some tools on top of this; short pencils, paint-brushes, a piece of sponge, putty rubber.  It is possible to buy small brushes in art shops and make-up shops, but it's easy to cut the handles down to size.  Just sand down the cut edge using sandpaper or nail file.

4.)    Now slip your new paint box into your bag / jacket, and enjoy impromptu painting sessions whenever you feel inspired!