Big Girls Love Crochet Too!!

Wow. it has been a LONG time since I posted on here. It seems life just sort of got in the way! But today I’m back, with an all new pattern to share!

With the weather getting colder (even here in Florida!) boot cuffs seem to have become a popular crochet trend. Unfortunately, most patterns, whether free or paid, are labeled as “OSFM” or “One Size Fits Most”. Now, I’m not ashamed to admit that I don’t fit into the “most” category, and I never have. It was hard enough to find boots to fit my huge legs (finally found wide calf boots at Kmart that actually fit me!). It was even harder to find a cuff pattern. Anything I found would have to be adapted to fit larger women like myself. So, I figured if I was going to put in the work of adapting, I might as well write the pattern from scratch! Yes, they are similar to the hundreds of other boot cuff patterns out there, but these take the guess work out of making bigger ones! (Although these could be easily adapted for larger or smaller sizes!)

Unfortunately, my son lost the memory card to my camera, so I’m stuck with a VERY BAD QUALITY camera phone picture. These look so much better in person!

Anyway, on to the pattern!

Wide Calf Boot Cuffs

Pattern Level – Easy

Hook Used – K.

Yarn Used – I used Red Heart Super Saver in the color Jade, but any similar weight yarn will work!

Stitches/Abbreviations Used – FDC: Foundation Double Crochet. DC: Double Crochet. SC: Single Crochet. TR: Triple Crochet. ST: Stitch. SL ST: Slip Stitch. CH: Chain

(All abbreviations and stitches used are in US crochet terms)

Round 1 – FDC 45. Join to top of first ST, Careful not to twist. If you don’t know how to do the foundation double crochet, head on over to Youtube for lots of nifty tutorials! Once I learned it, I never started with a regular chain again!)

Round 2 – CH 1. 1 DC in same ST as join. 1 DC in each ST around. Join to first DC (45 ST)

Round 3-8 – Repeat round 2.

Round 9 – CH 1. 1 SC in same ST as join. 1 SC in each ST around.

Round 10 – CH 1. Skip joining ST and  next ST. [2 DC, 1 TR, 2 DC] all in next ST. Skip next ST. SL ST in next ST. *SL ST in next ST. Skip next ST. [2 DC, 1 TR, 2 DC] all in next ST. Skip next ST. SL ST in next ST* Repeat between * and * seven more times, for a total of 9 points.

Fasten off. Weave in tails, using bottom tail to close gap left by joining Round 1.

Add a bow or embellishment of your choice, or leave them plain!

And that’s all there is to the Wide Calf Boot Cuff! To make them smaller or larger, just adjust your starting FDC to the necessary length, making sure you have multiples of 5.

I hope you enjoy these boot cuffs! I’ll try to find my memory card and get some better pictures posted!

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Crocodile Stitch Owl – With PATTERN!

Let me start off by saying, I LOVE owls! I also  love how they have become so popular in the crochet world! A few weeks ago, I was browsing Pinterest for an awesome crochet owl pattern to use as a wall hanging on our empty living room walls. I was sad to realize that most of the patterns I could find were either stuffed animals or tiny appliques :[

So, I sat down with my hook and some yarn, and came up with something knotty of my own! I wanted something eye catching with lots of texture, so I got on YouTube and started hunting around for patterns for the gorgeous Crocodile Stitch. After a few tries, I got the hang of it, and I have to say, I absolutely love it!!

I ended up making three owls, one to represent each of my family members. I used the same pattern for all three, but by using different hook sizes I ended up with three different sized owls. So I have two “parent” owls, and one “baby” owl for our little guy.

I got on Facebook and posted a picture in a few crochet groups, and several people asked for a pattern. I couldn’t believe people liked my work so much to want to be able to replicate it! I had never written a pattern before, and it was definitely a daunting task, After hours of hooking and writing the pattern out as I went, I finally had it written down. So, I went back to Facebook, got a few testers, and released my pattern out into the crochet world. After taking in the advice of my testers, and adjusting the pattern where needed, I am finally ready to share it with all of YOU!

Please enjoy! And if you like your project, I would love to see pictures of your finished owls! Send them to me at thatsknottyblog@gmail.com :]

Crocodile Stitch Owl: Intermediate Crochet Pattern 

Materials Needed

• Any size Crochet hook (the larger the hook, the larger the finished owl)
• Red Heart Super Saver (or similar weight yarn) – 1 color for main body, Brown for head, White for Eyes, Light Brown or Orange for Beak
• Yarn Needle
• Two buttons
• Hot glue gun

Abbreviations Used

• Ch – Chain
• SC – Single Crochet
• HDC – Half Double Crochet
• DC – Double Crochet
• TR – Triple Crochet
• DTR – Double Triple Crochet
• SK – Skip
• WS – Wrong Side
• SL ST – Slip Stitch
• CROC – Crocodile Stitch
• REP – Repeat

Main Body

Row 1 (structural row) – CH 12. In 3^rd CH from hook, work 2 DC. CH 1. SK 2 foundation CH. 1 DC in next CH. CH 1. SK 2 foundation CH. 2 DC in next CH. CH 1. SK 2 foundation CH.  1 DC in final foundation CH. Turn

Row 2 (first CROC row) – SK 1^st DC. Working around post of 1^st DC of first 2DC set, work 5 DC from top to bottom. Rotate piece and work 5 DC around post of 2^nd DC (One CROC stitch made). SL ST in top of single DC. Crocodile around next 2DC set. CH 1.

Row 3 (structural row) – Working with WS facing you, work 2 DC around post of last DC from previous row. CH 1. 1 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 2 DC in SL ST. CH 1. 1 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 2 DC around top DC of CROC stitch. CH 1.

Row 4 (CROC row) – CROC stitch in first 2DC set. SL ST to single DC. Continue working CROC stitch around each 2DC and SL ST in each single DC across. CH 1.

Row 5 (structural row) – Working with WS facing you, work 2 DC around post of last DC made in previous row. CH 1. 1 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 2 DC in SL ST. CH 1. 1 DC in center of next CROC stitch. CH 1. 2 DC in SL ST. CH 1. 1 DC in center of next CROC stitch. CH 1. 2 DC around top DC of last CROC stitch. CH 1.

Row 6 (CROC row) – REP row 4.

Row 7 (structural row) – With WS facing you, 2 DC around post of last DC made in previous row. CH 1. 1 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 2 DC in SL ST. CH 1. 1 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 2 DC in SL ST. CH 1. 1 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 2 DC in SL ST. CH 1. 1 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 2 DC around top DC of last CROC stitch. CH 1.

Row 8 (CROC row)- REP row 4.

Row 9 (structural row) – With WS facing you, SL ST twice around post of last DC from previous row. SL ST in center of CROC stitch. CH 3 (counts as DC) and 1 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 1 DC in SL ST. CH 1. 2 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 1 DC in SL ST. CH 1. 2 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 1 DC in SL ST. CH 1. 2 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 1 DC in SL ST. CH 1. 2 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1.

Row 10 (CROC row) – REP row 4.

Rows 11-16 REP rows 9&10, with odd numbered rows being structural rows, and even numbered rows being CROC rows.

Row 17 (structural row) – With WS facing you, SL ST across first CROC stitch, ending at first SL ST of previous row. SL ST into SL ST. CH 3 (counts as DC) and 1 DC into SL ST. CH 1. 1 DC in center od CROC stitch. CH 1. 2 DC in SL ST. CH 1. 1 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 2 DC in SL ST. CH 1. 1 DC in center of CROC stitch. CH 1. 2 DC in SL ST. CH 1.

Row 18 (CROC row) – REP row 4.

Row 19 – SC along top edge of work, ending with 20 SC total. Tie off.

Head

Attach head color to first SC of Row 19.

Rows 1-4 – HDC across. CH 1. Turn

Row 5 – 2 HDC in first HDC. 1 HDC in next 18 HDC. 2 HDC in last HDC. Tie Off, leaving a VERY long tail.

Using yarn needle, weave tail through tops of first 11 HDC. Going behind work, insert needle into 11^th HDC of Row 1 of head. Pull tight. Wrap tail around center several times, pulling top row down to bottom row, creating triangular sides. Tie off on back of work.

Eyes – Make 2

Round 1 – Magic ring. CH 2, 8 HDC in ring. Join with SL ST to top of first HDC

Round 2 – CH 2. 2 HDC in each HDC around. Join with SL ST to top of first HDC

Round 3 – CH 2. *2 HDC in first HDC, 1 HDC in next HDC. Repeat from * around. Join with SL ST to top of first HDC. Tie off leaving long tail. Use tail to sew eyes to head. Hot glue buttons to center of eyes.

Beak

CH 6. SC in second CH from hook. HDC in next CH. DC in next CH. TR in next CH. DTR in last CH. Tie off, using tail to sew beak to head.

Weave in any loose ends.

FINISHED!

Thank you for trying out my Crocodile Stitch Owl pattern! For questions or comments, please email thatsknottyblog@gmail.com and put Crocodile Stitch Owl in the subject line. Please keep in mind, this is my first written pattern, so I’m open to suggestions for how to make it better!

Crochet Blues

So, today I feel very discouraged.

I spent hours writing out a pattern for my Crocodile Stitch Owl that I designed a few weeks ago. I went on Facebook and asked for testers, and I emailed my pattern to ten people who agreed to help. The first person started right away, and guess what…

There was a problem with the VERY FIRST LINE!

Ughh. I knew there were going to be issues with the pattern, seeing as this is the first one I’ve ever written. But I didn’t think it was going to be as quick as the very first row of the pattern! This just kinda validates my fear that no one would understand what I was trying to say with the pattern :[

I’ve revised the pattern, and re-sent it to the people who volunteered to test. Here’s hoping the rest of the pattern runs smoothly!

Welcome to the JUNGLE!!

Hey there!

Silly me, I decided to start this blog while on vacation, so this is my first chance to post some photos. While on vacation in beautiful Ball Ground, Georgia visiting family, and we have spent the last week or so setting up for the Weird Animals vacation bible school at the church. I have to brag a little bit and say, the decorations came out AMAZING!!

This is just the main stage. We also have an underwater room and a jungle themed room.

Anyway, my step mom asked if I could make a wild, funky hat for her to wear, since she’s the one running vacation bible school this year. So we went to Walmart and got some Red Heart Super Saver yarn in “Blacklight” (and it was even on clearance!) Then I went to Pinterest looking for an awesome pattern. I ultimately ended up using Vickie Howell’s Urban Jungle slouchy beanie pattern, which I thought was fitting for our jungle/animal theme.

I modified the pattern a little, deciding not to make the band ribbed, and I used a larger K hook instead of the H hook that the pattern called for. I started running out of yarn, so I ended up with 13 rounds instead of the 16 in the original pattern, and used the leftover to make this cool, uneven pom pom.

I really like the different lengths of yarn here, I think it adds it its wildness :]

I have to say, I was a little skeptical of all the different colors in this yarn working with this pattern, but I believe it came out awesome!!

Here’s another shot of the full hat, with the pom pom. It’s so bright and cheerful!

And it just wouldn’t be complete without a selfie shot! (Please excuse the messy hair, I desperately need it cut!)

So that’s been my wild and colorful last few days, now we’re off to show it to the kids for them to enjoy, just as I hope you’ve enjoyed these photos!

Until next time, grab a hook, pick some wild and crazy yarn, and get a little KNOTTY!

Getting Started

Hey there!

Welcome to That’s Knotty!

This is my first blog ever, but I’m hoping to turn my love of crochet into something I can share with all of you. This first post is just going to be boring, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

So let me give you some insight into how I’m hoping this blog will develop. I have been a member of several Facebook groups centered around crochet, and have always gotten positive feedback on my creations. I’m hoping this blog will become a place where I can share my projects, post a few patterns, and most importantly, a place where I can connect to fellow crocheters like YOU!

I promise to post lots of awesome pictures, along with lots of my meaningless ramblings. So please, sit back, enjoy, and maybe even get a little knotty :]