FaveCrafts

1000s of free craft projects, home decor ideas and DIY tips

Winter and Free Crochet Flowers?

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I bet you’re wondering what winter and free crochet flowers have to do with each other. Well, I got a phone call from my sister yesterday with a request. She had wanted me to make her a headband/ear warmer for Christmas because she lives in freezing Minnesota. She knows I’m all into crochet now and thought it would be an easy project for me to work up. Of course I said yes. The only thing that scared me is I’ve never crocheted flowers before, so I was intimidated. Nonetheless, I went home last night and started my magic. Making the actual headband part was really easy; I used half double crochet and made it long enough to fit around my head. Now came the crochet flower part.

Did you know there were so many free crochet flowers on the web? Holy cow, I had such a hard time deciding which pattern to follow. I finally found a rose that I thought I could do, and voila! I did it! I was so proud of myself, I ran downstairs to show my husband right away and show off my talent. Of course his typical answer was “nice”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn’t find an exact pattern on our site that I wanted to use, so I pretty much just made up my own pattern for the headband part and used a flower from a different site. However, you can find plenty of headbands and ear warmers to choose from on our site; I was just looking for something specific. We also have a lot of free crochet flowers, so be sure you check out the Roses. As you can tell, the flower is a bit large for my head, but hey, if I’m giving it to my sister who has more hair than I do, it’ll probably look better on her. I really love Loops & Threads Charisma yarn for winter projects, which is what I used here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now I ask you, are you winter ready? What color yarn will you use?

How to Join Panels for a Crochet Afghan

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If you’re anything like me, you’re always on the lookout to save a quick buck. I really don’t enjoy spending a lot of money on something knowing it might not last long. I’ve quickly found that the more I crochet the more I can make, saving me money. I’ve become thrifty in so many ways crocheting for myself and for others; I’ve even done a few pieces for charity.

I am currently in the process of crocheting an afghan in panels, similar to the Windchime Afghan free crochet pattern but in different colors. I have seven panels done already with one and half more to do. Once I finish and have all nine panels good and ready to go then I need to join them. I asked this question on Facebook a few weeks ago on what the best way is to join panels for an afghan and there were just so many answers. I think the true answer is, whatever is best for you.

Learn how to join panels for a crochet afghan:

Joining panels is quick and easy as there is less work to be done compared to actually crocheting the panels themselves. There are a few options you can choose from to join your panels:

  1. Single crochet stitches or slip stitches- These are worked in the back loops only along the edge of each panel. Make sure that all seams go in the same direction. If using the single crochet method you will have a ridge on the seams which some people do not like.
  2. Whip stitch- This tends to add a bit of a design to your pattern since the yarn is going over your stitches so it may not look uniform.

Some other options are:

  • Half double crochet
  • Cross stitch
  • Lace it together
  • Mattress stitch

For each of these options you have to fold the right sides together of each panel and work through the back loops only. Do this all the way across until you reach the end of the row where you finish, weave in your ends and unfold the panels. It just depends on what you want your finished project to look like and what’s easiest for you.

What’s the best way for you to join panels and why?

 

How to Recycle and Make Cherry Blossoms

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Yesterday while I was searching for new bloggers and projects to put up I came across the most beautiful project on sarahndipities; a Cherry Blossom. I kept looking at it all day long and decided I just had to make it for my house. If you read the directions you’ll see it’s one of the easiest projects you’ll ever make, even for a child with some supervision. The best part about this project is you can use things around the house and recycle them.

All you need for this project is tissue paper, a glue gun, branches and a bottle or vase. I wanted to get a really tall vase and tall branches to put on my floor, but I was too scared my dog would eat it so I decided against it. Instead, I used a bottle I had laying around my house; I just love the print on the bottle and thought it was so pretty so I used it as a vase. You can use any color tissue paper you want. I used leftover shades of pink from a Victoria’s Secret gift I received; perfect for recycling.

All you need to do is fold the tissue paper in a square (I used two sheets at once), cut out a flower shape which will make a ton of flowers. You then layer one flower on top of the other, put a dab of glue and smush it together to form a pretty flower shape. After this dries you then glue it to your branches, that’s it! More detailed instructions along with pictures are in the above link.

Here’s my creation! Isn’t it just so springy? Feel free to use any colors you want, I think yellow and white would look amazing too. I think I’m going to add a few more because the right side seems a bit bare. Another recycled craft I like that uses tissue paper is the Tissue, Tulle and Floral Cube.

What do you think?

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