Crocheted Flower Bookmark

This post has been republished as the original mysteriously disappeared!

Hello everyone - blog stop tourists, current readers and new visitors too! Thank you for stopping  by.  I love a bit of needlework - mainly sewing, embroidery and crochet, though lately crochet has been dominating my craft time.  So today I'm sharing a crochet tutorial for pretty flower bookmarks.  But don't rush off if you don't crochet,scroll down for a really simple, but pretty envelope packaging idea, and I've got a few things to give away too!

E-readers are great, but for me nothing compares with holding a real live book in my hands.  I came across some crocheted flower bookmarks on Pinterest and thought it was such a lovely way to mark a page.  So then of course I had to come up with my own version.  I made a few as end of year gifts for my son's teachers so hopefully there are no mistakes in the pattern! It's quick to make up and a great way to use up yarn scraps. So anyway, here's how to make one of your own:

FLOWER BOOKMARK

Note - I'm using UK crochet terms, but here is a quick UK-US translation:
UK                                     US
Slip Stich (sl st)                   Slip Stitch (sl st)
Double Crochet (dc)             Single Crochet (sc)
Treble Crochet (tr)               Double Crochet (dc)

YOU WILL NEED

• DK Yarn in two colours. I used James C Brett Cotton On shades C05 (pink) and C012 (green).
• A 4mm hook
• A button, about 15mm
• Tapestry needle

STEM

1. With the first colour chain (ch) 42 (image 1). Slip stitch (sl st) into 3rd chain from hook to make a small ring (image 2). Fasten off, leaving a long tail.
2. Cut 3 10cm lengths of yarn.
3. Fold them in half and pull the loop about half way through the back loop of first ch of the ch42 (images 3 and 4).
4. Take the ends and pass those through the loop, then pull to form a tassel (image 5). 
5. Trim the ends to the same length.

FLOWER
With the second colour:

1. Sl st into the ring you made in step 1 of the stem. *Dc into ring, ch4* five times. Sl st into first dc (image 1).
2. *6tr into ch4 space. Sl st into next dc. Rep from * 4 times (image 2).
3. Turn the flower over. Ch 2. 
4. *Dc over the post separating the two petals (image 3). Ch 6* five times (image 4).
5. Sl st into first dc. Turn.
6. *10tr into ch6 space. Sl st into next dc. Rep from * 4 times (image 5).
7. Fasten off.

TO FINISH
Using the tail from the stem, sew a button to the centre of the flower.  Weave in all remaining ends (image 6).

PAPER ENVELOPE

If you make one of these bookmarks as a gift, or if you are looking for a nice way to package a small (flattish) gift, then these easy envelopes are ideal.  Use plain or patterned paper.  You can get some free printable papers from here.  This really is so easy it hardly deserves a write-up, but the result does look nice.

YOU WILL NEED

• A sheet of paper. (I've used A4)
• Sticky tape / Washi tape / Fabric tape

ENVELOPE

1. If using an A4 sheet, fold it in half lining up the long edges.
2. Cut along the fold to give you two strips (image 1).
3. Take one strip and fold it from the bottom so that there is 1-inch/2.5cm left at the top (image 2).
4. Cut a piece of tape the same length as one of the open folded sides, not including the 1-inch/2.5cm at the top. 
5. Position the tape so that half of it is on the paper and half of it is overhanging (image 3).
6. Fold the tape over to the other side of the envelope to seal the opening (image 4).
7. Repeat on the other side.
8. Use a small piece of tape to seal the envelope shut.

(Apologies if some of the photos are a little unclear. The Washi tape I ordered did not arrive in time for this post :( and all I had was clear sticky tape!)

OK, and now to the giveaways! I have:

• three crocheted flower bookmarks, 
• one kit to make your own bookmarks (containing a 4mm crochet hook, enough yarn to make 3 bookmarks, buttons, a tapestry needle and printed instructions) and 
• a roll of Washi tape  (pictured below) 

  

  (image: PrettyTape)

up for grabs.  To enter just leave a comment saying which giveaway you want to enter (it's OK to enter all 3). For an extra chance to win, like the Berry Bakewell Facebook Page then come back here and leave a comment telling me you've done that.  The giveaway is open to everyone, worldwide and will close at midnight (UK time) 22nd August.

I hope you've enjoyed your visit, and hope to see you again :-)

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Crochet Flower Headband

I made this headband for my niece. It was really simple and looked very pretty on. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to take a picture so you'll just have to take my word for it ;-)

This is my first attempt at writing a pattern/tutorial! I hope it's correct.

Edit: Use whatever yarn/hook combination you like. The pictured headband was made using Rico Creative Cotton Aran and a 5mm hook.

Ch - chain
Dc - double crochet (US single crochet)
Tr - treble crochet (US double crochet)
Htr - half treble crochet (US half double crochet
Dtr - double treble crochet (US treble crochet)
Sl st - slip stitch

The headband is made in rows widthways instead of in a round, so:
1. ch 7, tr into 4th chain from hook, tr in the remaining 3 st.  Turn.
2. *Ch 2. tr in next 4 st.*
3. Repeat from * until the desired length has been achieved. The headband will stretch slightly so make it a good 1 inch / 2.5cm smaller than the head measurement. (For my 3 yr old niece I made 42 rows. Edit: that was actually way too big once it had stretched. 38 rows or so would have been enough. I just made one for myself and did 44 rows. It's quite a snug fit but I've recently discovered that I have a freakishly large head! But that's another story.)
4. Join the two ends: *ch 1, sl st through bottom loop of 1 tr and top loop of adjoining tr*. Repeat * another 4 times. Fasten off.
For a wider or narrower headband increase or decrease the number of foundation chains.

To make the flower:
1. (Leave a long tail and use that to attach the flower to the headband.) Ch 4. Sl st into 1st ch to form a ring.
2. 12 dc into ring. Sl st into 1st dc.
3. Ch 2 (counts as 1 htr). Htr in next st, ch 3, *htr in next 2 st, ch 3* 5 times. Sl st into 2nd ch of ch 2.
4. Ch 1. *Dc, htr, tr, dtr, ch 1, dtr, tr,htr,dc into next ch 3 space* 5 times. Dc, htr, tr, dtr, ch 1, dtr, tr,htr into next ch 3 sp. Sl st into ch 1 to complete round. Fasten off.

If you like, embellish the flower with a pretty button in the centre, or make the flower in a contrasting colour to the headband, or make more than one flower and layer them, offsetting the petals.
Sew the flower to the headband and sew in any loose ends. Et voila!  :-)

Make Do and Mend Monday - Scratch Mittens

As projects go this isn't going to set the sewing world alight, but I'm pleased with these scratch mittens that I made for baby boy who has been savaging his poor little face recently.  Partly because I actually finished them (I have a tendency to start projects and not finish) and partly because I've recycled an old T-shirt.

I made them from the sleeves, very simply. Cut out the mitten shapes to the right size, using the hemmed edge for the cuffs, sew the two sides with wrong sides together (I sewed them by hand, so a machine would make even faster work of them), whip stitch (or zigzag) over the raw edges to prevent fraying, turn inside out, et voila! One pair of scratch mittens.

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