My Own Original Bag Design: Twisted V-Stitch Bag

Ah, after a long absence, I'm back :) And with a vengeance! You see, I have been busy doing these mtos (made to order items) for a client of mine, who asked to have a bag customized for her. Of course, I was just delighted to oblige since I didn't know how much I could do in terms of planning and creating my own pattern.

And so I took the time to conceptualize, did actual stitching, trial and error, frogging, etc., the works. And I was able to come up with a pattern that was just too pretty to let go. And here it is... 

So to cut the long story short, my client approved this pattern and I was able to create 10 bags for her. Fortunately for me, I discovered that everything about the project was something I really enjoyed doing. And I really would like to explore the possibilities in the coming future.

Meanwhile, if you like the pattern above, as much as I do, you can check out the pattern here. 

Talk to you again soon! Bye for now.

The Beauty of T-shirt Yarn

Ah, t-shirt yarn... It used to be just made of old shirts, but things have changed, albeit dramatically. 

The old school notion about t-shirt yarn was that you could create your own by recycling old shirts, cutting them up from the torso part down to the shirt's lower edge. This proved to be too tedious a task as I tried it myself, and I later had to stop because I just found it too burdensome and boring for comfort. Besides, the upper part of the shirt and the seams also had to be discarded, so there it was, another "waste" problem created.

It was only last April that I first encountered t-shirt yarns being sold online. These strips of yarn looked like rolls of long fabrics that have been cut across their width to make several long 1 inch to 2 inches strips. It's a good thing to have these fabrics ready, and you just had to "condition" the strips by stretching them out until they curl before you crochet or knit them. No more cutting of old shirts and repurposing them. You just had to buy the ready made strips, stretch them a wee bit, then you can start creating your own stuff. 

Popular yarn sellers are even marketing them now via their trade name "zpaghetti" or "fettucine". They also come in a variety of fabric types and yummy colors. The image above shows several strips of fabric and some in ball form. Those in balls are the same or similar strips but which have already been conditioned and balled, ready to use.  

Here's a project I was able to create using fleece type t-shirt yarn. It's a hot pad or a pot holder which measures roughly about 8 inches. I used pink spandex t-shirt yarn on the edges of this creation.

I'm really happy with it because even if the edges are a bit wonky, I was able to make use of my fave fleece yarn. This was because I thought I wouldn't be able to get any more stocks of these. Now that I got a batch of new fleece yarn, I'll be making more projects and will be posting them again soon.

And here's a project I was also able to create using the first batch I got. This is a wine carrier in pink and lavender spandex material. 

The pink fabric I used in this pic is the same as the one I used for the hot pad above. By the way, I got this pattern from mooglyblog:

http://www.mooglyblog.com/crochet-wine-carrier/#more-12069

Now it can really be tempting to just leave your old shirts and instead buy the pre-cut fabric strips so you can have your own t-shirt yarn. However, it should be noted that it is the greener option or the one that's more environment-friendly. This is because you get to reuse stuff that would otherwise just be considered as garbage or clutter around the house. When you repurpose, you eliminate or at least reduce the clutter, and your old stuff gets to earn a second life.

The stuff I started on is just here and labelled WIP (work-in-progress). Someday, our paths will cross again... :)

Crochet Gems - Have you heard about Cro Hooking?

Cro hooking is crocheting or knitting with a double ended crochet hook. No, it's not like the double ended crochet hooks which have different needle sizes. Cro hooks are longer and have the same needle size on both sides.

Cro hooking, is also known as cro knitting. With a cro hook, you can create double sided crochet creations. What can be created with tunisian crochet can be created with cro hooking too, since the tunisian stitch is the basic stitch used for cro hooking. The only difference is that two colors can be simultaneously used when cro hooking.

I was simply amazed when I got to get hold of a rare shipment of hooks from Japan. They came in different sizes and the first thing that came to my mind was: "What do I do with this?" and "Why is it so long like a knitting needle?"

So I did my research. I didn't even know what they were called. I wanted to call them crochet hooks but I knew they weren't because why were they double ended. Then again I thought they were tunisian hooks, but again why were they double ended? Of course, I knew they weren't knitting needles because I knew they were crochet hooks due to the existence of the hooks, the throat, and other parts of a crochet hook, times two.

And finally, I was able to find what it was called. Next, I was able to find some patterns.

Here's my current WIP. It looks good and I found it amazing to have the two sides of my work looking very different from each other. See below:

FRONT

BACK

As you can see, just like a knitted work or Tunisian crochet, I have left my current stitches on the needle. 

By the way, I'm giving credit to the following dish cloth pattern which I sourced from this site: Maggie's Crochet. 

Here are other images of items made from cro hooking:

www.pinterest.com/pin/542331980098840297/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/542331980098840314/

If you're interested to learn cro hooking, there are a lot of tutorials that can be found on the net. However, if you need materials for cro hooking, especially a cro hook, you can like my page - Ginantsilyong Nilikha - to get updates and find out its availability. 

Working with Sashay Yarns

There are different types of yarns available in the market, and most are already available online. One of the popular yarns available is called Sashay Yarn. They are those beautifully colored yarns which when delicately pulled vertically from their strand reveals a net-like structure of threads.

They look like these:

The first question usually asked is how will I use this yarn? It already has its own pattern so how will I be able to create my own? Now, there are a lot of different patterns online. At the very least, knowing what this yarn is called will help a lot in finding patterns that will suit this specific type of yarn. You just have to have the patience to browse through different sites and experiment on different projects.

Basic Instructions to create the Ruffly Effect:
How to create Ruffles from Sashay Yarn

Here are some recommended projects for you:
Frilly Crochet Scarf
Rope Scarf
Sophia's Shawl

And here are some other tutorials to start you off:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woxP3vTH4Qc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYB86eoZ97U

And so I'm back in Business :)

Hello everyone! I know, it's been a while. But just like everybody else, there are a lot of things that have kept me busy. For one, this little cutie...

...whose name is Furball has kept us busy with her antics and sweetness. For the pet lovers out there, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. For Furball, at her age, there should always be time for play so her playtime is also my breaktime, which happens very often -- almost every hour. Then again, I'm not really complaining...

And by the way, just 3 days ago I was able to finish off 4 minion MTOs (for those not familiar with the term, MTO means Made-to-Order) ordered by a friend.

Here they are when I got them finished during the weekend --

I'm still accepting minion-inspired amigurumi MTOs. If you want to have these babies, they measure 9 inches by approximately 4 inches (body is about 3.5 inches in diameter plus the hands). Please give me a lead time of about 10 days per minion since I only do this during my spare time from my online work.

My next project is opening my online crochet yarns and notions store. I'm just gathering up my wits and resources and I'll be back soon.

See you in a bit...

Before and After Photos of my Mason Jar Cozy!

 

 

Hello friends!

Sorry this is actually a late upload. I just recently learned how to create a collage (sorry so busy with work!) so now I'm sharing the before and after pics of my mason jar cozy in granny stitches, no less. Hope you like it...

My crocheted creation now has a new home!

Remember this?

To those who haven't been following my posts, this is a 5-gallon water dispenser cozy which I created using my crochet skills and some acrylic black and white yarn.

Well this cute customized creation is now with a close relative who has requested for it - for her house which has a black and white motif no less.

I enjoyed creating this since it's my first actual customized pattern, after being a mere pattern-follower ever since I started my crochet adventure.

It's somehow bittersweet since it is a genuine product of my creativity, and yet I had to part with it since it is a customized order which was actually a concept thought out by this close relative of mine. She just left me to experiment on what I could do with my crochet skills, and voila! This is what I was able to create.

Anyway, here it is now in its new home...

  
Am just so proud of what it has turned out to be.