24.9.07

Watch Me Cap

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The pattern can be found at For the Love of Yarn

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Skill Level: Easy
Yarn: Bulky weight
Needles: Size 10.5 circular (16 inch) and size 10.5 double points

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10.8.06

A Tank Top Pattern (sort of)

I really just based this pattern on me. And not many people are shaped like me. Which is good, because who doesn't like to feel unique? So I'll just explain how I did it.

Worsted weight yarn - I've used TLC Amore and Plymouth Encore.

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1. Make a chain, the length of which adequately covers your boobal area, top to bottom. (I hook)

2. Make a long rectangle by single crocheting into the back loops of the previous row (the crochet version of ribbing).

3. Test by wrapping the long rectangle around your chest. Once the ends meet with the proper amount of tightness, seam it, fasten off. Put the seam in the back.

4. While wearing the tube and the bra you'll probably be wearing with the tank, mark where the straps hit, front and back. Yes, it's tricky to mark the back, you'll figure some way to do it. Take tube off. Put shirt on. Unless you'd like to crochet in your underwear.

5. Start strap (mine was 7 stitches) directly on tube, centering it at the bra mark. Single crochet until it goes over your shoulder and reaches the back of the tube (obviously, you'll need to put it on again). Sew to back, again centering it at bra mark. Repeat this.

6. On the other edge of the tube, start single crocheting in the round. This is where I changed color because I had only bought one ball of the green and had no idea what the dye lot was since the wrapper had been lost for months. You don't have to change colors if ya don't wanna.

7. First round, I hook
Second round, K hook
Third round and on to bottom, M hook

8. Go around and around until it's long enough. What is long enough? You know your abdomen's feelings on public displays better than I do, go with your gut. Or cover your gut, whichever makes you most comfortable. Fasten off.

9. Since I had the two colors, I added a contrasting border on the top, straps and bottom.

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Crochet Clapotis

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The pattern stitch: 6 dc, ch 2, 6 dc, ch 2, etc.

Increased and decreased portions (i.e. the ends) were (+) or (-) one stitch each row. You may want to do (+2) or (-2) on the very ends.

Each row: Pattern stitch but dc 1 stitch into the ch 2 space then make another ch 2. Or (if you're coming back on a row) dc until 1 stitch before the ch 2 space, ch 2, dc 1 into ch 2 space.

In other words, every row moves the hole over 1 stitch. There should still be 6 dc's between each hole. At the edges, I kept careful count as to when to start/end another hole.

XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX
XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX since you can't start a row with a hole, 7 dc
X XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXX can't start a row with a hole so Ch 1 space
X XXXXXX XXXXXX XXX
XX XXXXXX XXXXXX XX
XXX XXXXXX XXXXXX X
XXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX X ch 1 space at end
XXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXX 7 dc at end

The dc into the ch 2 space was done "around" the chain and not into the chain.

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I know with the knitted clapotis, the holes made by the dropped stitches were closer than what I ended up with. With my yarn (Berroco Cotton Twist) I went with the dc and whatever hook I used because I liked the drape that way. Single crochets would make the holes closer but you would probably have to alter their diagonal progression.

Length: I just worked until I ran out of yarn.
I put a sc edging around it because I had a lot of ends from the stripes and no good place to weave them in.

Also, I did stripes to try and mimic the knitted one's crossing stripes (from the variegation color changes and the dropped stitches). I couldn't get that exactly since I wasn't really working on the diagonal but it was close. A variegated yarn should accomplish the same thing, but I've also seen solid color claps that were very pretty.

The-Not-Quite-Good-Enough-Headscarf

This was the first pattern I ever tried to write down. I submitted it to Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker book but it wasn't accepted. Hence, the name.

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Butterfly mercerized cotton, less than 1 skein
H hook

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Ch 66 (this is what fit my head, I think I'm rather average in that regard but you may want to check on your own)

R1: sc across

R2: Ch 1, 2dc in first sc *skip 2 sc, sc in 3rd sc ch 4, 3 dc in same sc* repeat 19 times (until end), sc in last sc (21 shells)

R3: Ch 1, sl st to ch4 space, ch 4, 3 dc in ch4 space, *sc in ch 4 space, ch4, 3 dc in ch 4 space* repeat 18 times, sc in ch 4 space (19 shells)

R4: repeat R3, * to * 17 times (18 shells)

R5-R20: reduce the number of repeats by one each row (reduce number of shells by one each row)

R21: ch4 3 dc in ch 4 space, fasten off

For ties - chain as many as needed to reach from the corners to the back of your neck, plus a few inches for the knot. Single crochet across. Make 2. Fasten to corners.

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6.8.06

The Whatever Shrug

The pattern for the Whatever Shrug can be found here.

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