Projects & Advice Archives - Page 4 of 7

Posted on August 19, 2020March 9, 2021 by Vytene — Leave a comment

Three Stylized Crochet Peonies

First things first, I am not really sure I should be calling these Stylized crochet flowers, Peonies. I only called them stylized Crochet Peonies after I’ve crocheted them and could not think of any other flower they resemble. So I went with the name of Peony because I managed to convince myself that they look somewhat like peonies. 🙂

But if you have any other suggestions, let me know!

At the moment I am developing a larger Irish crochet project, a dress.

Since I want to make this new dress completely my own, I have to create all design elements from scratch.

These stylized crochet Peony flowers are the first elements I have created for the new dress that’s currently residing in my head.

I thought I’d better share the pattern for the Stylized Crochet Peonies with you now since I have no idea when the completed project will see the light of day! I am sure though, it will take a while…

So if you are interested in these applique peony motifs I have the links to this pattern on Ravelry, Etsy and this website below.

Materials used:

For this flower, I am using thread 100g/ 450m approx. and a 1mm size hook.

I don’t have an exact thread brand, as it’s a thread I’ve had for years and the label has been lost.

You can use any size of yarn and hook, it all depends on what you want to use the flower for. Just keep in mind that the larger the hook and yarn size, the larger and chunkier the flower will be.

These stylized crochet peonies look really lovely with some color variations:

What can you do with your Peonies?

Here are some suggestions:

Frame them – it’s absolutely wonderful to have an original picture at home, brightening up a dull corner. Those pale pastel colours look really beautiful and go well with so many other interior decor elements.

2. Use the small Peony as an applique décor element on your outfits.

3. Incorporate the stylized peonies into an Irish crochet project – a napkin, picture with lace, cushion cover or a little handbag.

For the purposes of demonstration, I quickly crocheted some lace for the Peonies, so as to give you an idea of how they would look.

Ideally, I should have used a thinner thread for the lace, but as I am travelling at the moment, I have to use the materials I’ve got with me.

So the StylizedCrochet Peonies Flowers pattern is complete and I am off to create another element for my new Irish crochet project.

Get this Stylized Crochet Peonies Pattern:

Create beauty one stitch at a time!

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Posted on July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 by Vytene — 1 Comment

Barefoot Sandals – a Basic Irish Crochet Project

These barefoot sandals are the latest project in my attempt to show crocheters that you can create quick and easy items using Irish Crochet technique.

After completing my biggest Irish Crochet project to date, a cocktail dress, I have quite a bit of beautiful, high-quality yarn left over. And I really find it hard to look at this gorgeous yarn lying in a box instead of being paraded around for the world to see its beauty.

So my solution – barefoot sandals for a beach or garden party, or simply something small to cheer you up when you need it.

Like my previous basic Irish Crochet project, this one also involves only the most basic Irish Crochet motifs. These barefoot sandals are actually even easier and quicker to make than the choker collar.

Skill level: elementary. All you need to know is how to crochet Ch, SC, HDC, DC, and Sl St.

Materials I used for this barefoot sandals project:

0.6mm hook.

You can buy small size hooks HERE

Yarn:

N8 Retors d’Alsace DMC, you can get it from Casa Cenina:

Threads & Yarns – DMC – Retors d’Alsace #8

As with most crochet projects, in this case, you can use any size of yarn and hook. But remember, if you want your sandals to look really dainty, choose a smaller size hook and yarn. I wouldn’t go with a hook above 1mm for these sandals.

Get a pattern for these barefoot sandals:

These barefoot sandals will make a perfect accessory for your own summer outfits or a unique gift for those who appreciate handmade items.

Get the barefoot sandal pattern HERE

Create beauty one stitch at a time!

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Posted on July 15, 2020July 16, 2020 by Vytene — 3 Comments

Irish Crochet Dress: Finished

Two and a half years since the start of the project, my Irish Crochet Dress is finally properly finished – done and dusted, completed, finito! 😀

And on a quiet Sunday afternoon, I was able to have a photoshoot I’d been looking forward to for quite a while now 🙂

One final consideration before wearing the dress was the colour of the undergarment.

Since this is a see-through dress, the colour of the undergarment has an important impact on the finished look.

As you are looking through the pictures below, notice how the look of the dress changes depending on the undergarment colour.

In some pictures, I am wearing a black undergarment, whereas in others, a light coloured one.

In the two pictures above the dress is worn with a black undergarment.

Two pictures below have light undergarment is the base for the dress.

As you can see from the pictures above, this question of what to wear under the Irish crochet dress is an important one.

For example in this case, the black undergarment lends the dress a more dramatic look, whereas the lighter one seems to tone down the details.

And to finish this series, here are a few close-ups:

One of those dark nights as I was completing the dress, I thought to myself this has been my first and is going to be my LAST Irish lace dress…

NEVER again!!! I thought to myself…

But now, as I’ve completed the dress, and have had a chance to enjoy it a little, I’m not so sure anymore…

…another Irish Lace Dress project just might happen at some stage in not too far off future… 🙂 who knows…

Create beauty one stitch at a time! (Even if it takes you over two years to finish!)

Previous posts in this series:

5 Irish Crochet Lessons for First-Timers

2. Irish Crochet Dress: Main Rose

3. Irish Crochet Rose Finished

4. Irish Crochet Dress: Elements Completed

5. Irish Crochet Dress: Design

6. Irish Crochet Dress: Lace

7. Irish Crochet Dress: Picture Emerging

8. Irish Crochet Dress: A Quick Update

9. Irish Crochet Dress: Trying It On for the First Time

10. Irish Crochet Dress: Working On Sleeves

11. Irish Crochet Dress: The Annoying Bit

Want to learn the Irish Crochet technique with an easy project?

Click HERE for a perfect starter project.

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Posted on May 12, 2020March 9, 2021 by Vytene — 1 Comment

Choker Collar – a Basic Irish Crochet Project

This crochet choker collar started out as a request from some crocheting friends of mine, who have never tried Irish crochet technique before. They asked for a small and simple Irish lace project so as to understand how this crochet technique works.

So after looking through the options available, I created a small basic Irish lace project – a crochet choker collar.

This project involves only a few basic Irish crochet motifs and, as Irish crochet projects go, is quick to make.

The skill level: elementary. All you need to know is Ch, SC, HDC, DC, and Sl St.

With this crochet choker collar project, I wanted to show you that even if you use the most basic of crochet motifs and stitches, you can still create something gorgeous in Irish crochet technique.

In fact, after looking through thousands of pictures online, I keep coming back to the same conclusion – more complicated motifs don’t equal better-looking items.

A lot depends on the materials used and the design decisions taken. Plus how you match your crochet accessory with other items in your outfit is also very important.

Materials I used for this crochet choker collar project:

0.6mm hook for the motifs (flowers, leaves, etc.)

0.5mm hook for the lace

You can buy small size hooks HERE

Yarn for the motifs:

N8 Retors d’Alsace DMC, you can get it from Casa Cenina

Threads & Yarns – DMC – Retors d’Alsace #8

Egypto 16 for rose variation 2, you can get it from MAFIL HERE

Yarn for the lace:

N12 Retors d’Alsace DMC, you can get it from Casa Cenina

Threads & Yarns – DMC – Retors d’Alsace #12

You can use any size of yarn and hook, but keep in mind that the larger the hook and yarn size, the larger and chunkier your choker will be.

Do you want a pattern tutorial for this choker collar?

This crochet choker collar will make a perfect accessory for your own outfits or a unique gift for those who appreciate handmade items.

Here are a few ideas on how to wear your crochet choker collar:

Wear it together with a pearl necklace or another color-coordinated piece of jewelry.

2. Wear it with a long string of pearls and turn the choker around so as your ‘back’ would become your ‘front’:

3. Wear it as a bracelet:

4. On a cooler day, you could also wear the choker on your shirt collar:

5. Another variation that could be possible but may require some adjustments is wearing it as a hairband. But for that, we would have to think of a way of fixing it to the hair.

To learn how to crochet this choker collar in Irish lace technique, get a downloadable PDF Pattern:

Create beauty one stitch at a time!

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Posted on May 10, 2020May 10, 2020 by Vytene — Leave a comment

Irish Crochet Dress: the Annoying Bit

Annoying bit finishing Irish Crochet dress

Hello my crochet friend!

So my Irish crochet dress is finished…

well…

kind of…

I’m at that stage where I’ve completed the crochet part – sleeves and all…

…but I can’t really call the dress finished, hence the title – ‘the annoying bit’.

So yes, I’ve completed the sides and the sleeves, tried the dress on only to realise that when I finished the dress, it wasn’t really finished.

There was another mountain to climb!

The lace at the bottom of the dress and sleeves had to be evened out and completed with a simple single crochet line and a little picot here and there.

That finishing single crochet line was, thankfully, very easy and quick.

But the ‘evening out of the lace’ bit was quite tricky.

While the bottom of the dress doesn’t have to be as even as in sewing, it still has to look somewhat even, which I’m still not sure about.

It’s just that on a flat table the bottom looks even, but when you wear the dress because of different elements on different sides, there seems to be an illusion of one side being slightly shorter…

I’m still thinking whether or not I should do something about it.

Another very time-consuming bit is the weaving in and hiding of yarn ends – there are hundreds of them!

And although I’ve been working on them for the last number of days now, I’m still nowhere near to being finished…aargh…

The dress has many overlapping elements like this rose and leaf.

As I was crocheting the lace, I didn’t realise I had to crochet some lace to join the overlapping sides of the elements to avoid holes like this:

I actually thought I had finished fixing the overlapping elements, but as I was taking photos for this post, I discovered a few more that have to be corrected…

When the sleeves were finished and I tried on the dress, I realised that the neckline will have to be adjusted.

All of a sudden, because of the weight of the sleeves, the neckline became too wide which meant I had to add another layer of leaves-flowers-branches on the shoulders and the back in order to adjust the way the dress sits.

The last elements I’ll be working on when all the above are finished is the little Swarowski beads.

I’ll sew them on in the centre of each bigger rose and some leaves around the neck. The beads will add some sparkle, especially when I wear the dress in the evening with artificial lighting.

So this is where I am at. I consider all of the above such an annoying bit of the whole process!

My original plan was to have the dress finished-completed-done-and-dusted a week after I completed the sleeves…

…but here I am, a month later, I’m still working on the annoying bit 😀

Create beauty one stitch at a time!

Previous posts in this series: