Valentine’s Day is a few weeks away, so why not start adorning your house (self, bags, books, etc) with hearts? This is a super quick 3 row pattern that you can probably complete in under 5 minutes. String them up garland-style, or add a safety pin to the back and have yourself a brooch. [Read More...]]]>

Valentine’s Day is a few weeks away, so why not start adorning your house (self, bags, books, etc) with hearts? This is a super quick 3 row pattern that you can probably complete in under 5 minutes. String them up garland-style, or add a safety pin to the back and have yourself a brooch. I chain stitched some together to make a vertical garland. Love!

Materials
worsted weight yarn
5mm (H) hook

Abbreviations (U.S. terms)
Ch- chain
SC- single crochet
DC – double crochet
slst- slip stitch
sk- skip
st- stitch

Pattern
Ch 4
Row 1: 1 SC in second ch from hook, 3 SC in next ch, 1 SC in last ch. Ch 3, turn.
Row 2: 3 DC in first st, 1 SC in next st, 3 SC in next st, 1 SC in next st, 4 DC in last st. Ch 1, DO NOT TURN.

Edge: 2 SC in first half of the side of last DC, 1 SC in next half, SC the first and last ch of the beginning chain together, 1 SC in the first ch of beg ch-3 of Row 2, 2 SC in next ch, 2 SC in last ch, 2 SC in first DC, 1 SC in each of the next 4 stitches, 3 SC in the “corner stitch”, 1 SC in each of the next 4 stitches, 2 SC in last DC. Slst to top of first SC. Fasten off.

The edge can seem a little confusing, so I made this video–

This is the very first time I’ve made a crochet video. To be completely honest…I LOVED IT. It was awkward at first and pretty difficult to get focus, but I think I might make more for future projects. I found the music on Vimeo and it’s called “Instrumental salad” by Marlo Eggplant (www.myspace.com/marloeggplantmusic).

I used Windows Movie Maker to create this video. Any tips for newbies? I didn’t realize there were black edges on the sides until after. I expected the bars on top, but not the sides. I’ll have to figure out what those are next time.

Let me know what you think about goodknits videos!

I released a new pattern. Introducing: Dory! A lacey triangle shawlette with a scalloped border. Please see the Dory pattern page for more info!

There was some interest in a beginners color work pattern. This is it!

2 styles x 4 charts ——————— 8 different patterns

My favorite is the scallops, seen above. Which will you knit? Read more on the Colorwork Recipe Page.

My oldest son’s great grandmother crocheted a blanket for him while I was pregnant. The entire thing is just one stitch and the border is a simple 5 rows of single crochet. It’s gloriously simple and oh so beautiful. When I finally learned to crochet, I knew I’d want to make a blanket just [Read More...]]]>

My oldest son’s great grandmother crocheted a blanket for him while I was pregnant. The entire thing is just one stitch and the border is a simple 5 rows of single crochet. It’s gloriously simple and oh so beautiful. When I finally learned to crochet, I knew I’d want to make a blanket just like it. I didn’t have the pattern and great Grandma said she crocheted it from memory–it was her go to stitch pattern and she would make several a year for any new babies who entered her life.

I STILL wanted to make it, though. So, I just sat with it for a few minutes and counted and came up with the stitch pattern. I crocheted a giant baby blanket for my cousin’s first born back in 2007 using it (you can see it stuffed in a basket of handmade baby goodies, here), but for some reason or another, I didn’t write up the pattern to share.

Yesterday, I got an email asking about it (you can see it in the background of my one-hour neckwarmer pattern) and so I decided to pull out the baby blanket and write up a proper stitch pattern. If you’re familiar with a more traditional name for it, please do let me know. It’s like a shell stitch pattern, but it’s not quite the same, hence the “offset.” Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Ch any multiple of 4
Row 1: [2 DC, ch 1, DC] in 4th Ch from hook, *skip 3 Ch, [3 DC, ch 1, DC] in next Ch; Rep from * across chain. Ch 3, turn.
Row 2: [2 DC, ch 1, DC] in the first ch-1 space, [3 DC, ch 1, DC] in all ch-1 spaces, except the last. 3 DC in last ch-1 space, Ch 1, DC into top of beginning ch-3 of previous row. Ch 3, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until scarf if as long as you would like it to be.

Using some worsted (aran) weight yarn and a 5.5mm hook, make a scarf or neckwarmer by chaining 28 or 32. Make a baby blanket by chaining something substantially larger, like 160. It’s surprisingly fast, once you get going.

Like I said above, if you know what this stitch is called or have any other reference for it, let me know!

Hello, lovely folks! It has been a few weeks since I shared a vintage craft. I have a good one, today, though!

I wrote up a guest post for the amazing Kim of Art Equals Happy talking about how fun it is to tackle vintage craft patterns and how satisfying it is to be [Read More...]]]>

Hello, lovely folks! It has been a few weeks since I shared a vintage craft. I have a good one, today, though!

I wrote up a guest post for the amazing Kim of Art Equals Happy talking about how fun it is to tackle vintage craft patterns and how satisfying it is to be able to mix them up and create something new. You may have seen this hat on my Flickr, a few weeks ago. You can read my guest post here!

You can find the direct link to the pattern on my patterns page, but I would love if you checked out my post on art equals happy! It would make a lovely Christmas gift, no? :)

One of my most popular pages is the one with a tutorial for crocheted Mary Jane slippers. For the most part, folks love the tutorial and are able to crochet multiple pairs very easily. There are still a few emails/comments a week that come to me with questions about starting them or asking for [Read More...]]]>

One of my most popular pages is the one with a tutorial for crocheted Mary Jane slippers. For the most part, folks love the tutorial and are able to crochet multiple pairs very easily. There are still a few emails/comments a week that come to me with questions about starting them or asking for general tips. I try my best to answer them as quickly as possible. I haven’t updated the pattern in a while, but after getting 2 or 3 emails in the same week asking for a printer-friendly version, I finally bit the bullet and whipped one up. It’s a one-page, no photos, black & white version of the pattern. I added a few tips to the bottom for adjusting size and different starting & ending (the slipper closure) methods. If you are a slipper maker, go on and check it out!

First: The pattern I’ve been promising for weeks has finally gone live! You can find it on the patterns page or by clicking here. Let me know if you make it! It’s a simple concept (half circle with a scallop edge), but I fear my directions may not be concise enough? I wanted a [Read More...]]]>

First: The pattern I’ve been promising for weeks has finally gone live! You can find it on the patterns page or by clicking here. Let me know if you make it! It’s a simple concept (half circle with a scallop edge), but I fear my directions may not be concise enough? I wanted a more formal pattern than my Mary Jane tutorial.

ANYWAY. To celebrate me finally getting on the ball and publishing it, I thought I should have a little celebratory giveaway. To enter, leave a comment letting me know what you think about the pattern (just take a look at it) or what you think about the new blog design (header-less! wider! etc!). Tweet about the pattern/giveaway, making sure to mention @goodknits, for an extra entry (leave a separate comment).

The prize: any of the crocheted aprons I made while whipping up this pattern! I made 4 different ones, though you can see I kind of stuck to the same color group. Womp womp womp.

I will choose a [random] winner on Friday, July 8 at 9pm CST!

I appreciate all the feedback. Good luck!

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!

Let me know what you think on that page!

The shape of the week for my toddler and I (almost 2 weeks ago, now) was triangles. I couldn’t get them out of my head! And now Andrew can point them out, pretty [Read More...]]]> I said I would put this up last week, but I got so sidetracked by the holiday and other stuff.

The shape of the week for my toddler and I (almost 2 weeks ago, now) was triangles. I couldn’t get them out of my head! And now Andrew can point them out, pretty much without hesitation. Huzzah!

Anyway, I recently bought a little moleskine from the one and only Punk Rawk Purl filled with grid paper. What started as a doodle one bored evening turned into me scribbling little knitting notes. Before long, I had a rough pattern!

I started knitting it and figured out the crown shaping and really…well, I fell in love with it! I finished it during my garage sale and made the boy wear it for a bit. It fits like a snug beanie on him, but it really fit my little boys’ noggins perfectly!

The glorious thing is that the pattern is pretty easily enlarged (or shrunken) by adding (or subtracting) pattern repeats. Yeah! I already knit it again with slightly heavier yarn and it came out just a smidge larger, so no tweaking was really necessary. I love when that happens!

I’ve been knitting for ummm 4ish years and this is my very first knitting pattern. It’s super simple and I haven’t really searched Ravelry for anything similar, so if YOU know of a pattern that looks like this, do let me know! If you’re interested in knitting one of your own, leave a comment or shoot me an email! I’ll send you the pattern and you can tell me what you think/if it makes any sense and I’ll see if I can get it blog-ready.

Materials: crochet cotton [Read More...]]]>

I picked up my tiniest hook and some crochet thread, yesterday, for the first time in a long time. I got hooked! (no pun intended) I made a few of these tiny brooches. The crocheting is super simple and is pretty much just a popcorn stitch flower. Here’s the quick pattern:

Materials:
crochet cotton thread
1.75 mm (US 4) hook
button
small safety pin or pinback
needle for sewing on button

Pattern:
beginning popcorn: Ch 3, 5 DC into same space, drop hook from current loop and place through top of ch-3. Grab dropped loop and pull through.
popcorn: work 6 DC into same spot, drop hook from current loop and place through top of first DC. Grab dropped loop and pull through. This is a 6-DC popcorn stitch. see here for details on a 5-DC popcorn.

Rnd 1: Leaving an ~6″ tail, make 6 SC into a magic loop, pull thread end to close. Slst into first SC.
Rnd 2: Ch 4, slst into same space, *Ch 4, slst into next st* 5 times. Slst into first slst.
Rnd 3: Slst into first ch-4 space. Make beginning popcorn, ch 4, *make popcorn into next ch-4 space, ch 4* 5 times. Slst into first st.
Rnd 4: Slst into first ch-4 space. Ch 1, *6 SC into ch-4 space* 6 times. Slst into first st.
Finish off.
Weave in the ending tail.
Use beginning tail to sew on button and to attach safety pin.

If you’re not into brooches, you could glue it to a hair barrette for an absolutely adorable hair accessory. I’ve also made one in worsted weight and it is just as cute! It would be darling on a bag or pinned to a cloche.