How to Use Faux Fur Pom Poms

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Faux fur pom poms are one of my favorite ways to finish a crocheted hat. This past week I made several hats and added faux fur pom poms to them. I used a couple different types of pom poms and as I was attaching the different ones I thought it might be a good idea to do a post all about faux fur pom poms, where to buy them, what the different kinds are and how they work, different ways to attach them, etc.

Fair Isle Crochet Projects Book Review

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For all of the crocheters out there, do you ever have certain techniques or types of crochet that you have never really tried but would like to learn? I love trying and learning new things. This could totally apply to other crafts too, but in this instance I am going to talk specifically about crochet.

Tiny Owl Amigurumi

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I recenlty attended Snap Conference, a conference for creative bloggers. This year I had the opportunity to teach a class. They have lots of business classes that teach everything from social media to time management to the legal side of running a business, but in addition to those classes there are also a variety of hands on classes taught where you get to make something, maybe learn a new skill. In years past I have taken classes to learn things like paper piecing, and brush lettering (which I learned is not my talent, at least not without a lot of practice). This year I went to a gold leaf absract art class taught by my friend Natalie from Doodlecraft. It was great because I had never used gold leaf before and it is always fun to try something new. I taught a beginning crochet class, more specifically a beginning amigurumi class.

How to Crochet: The Bead Stitch Video Tutorial

After posting the Bead Stitch Hat and Cowl patterns I thought I would put together a video tutorial on the stitches I used. Here I am sharing my video tutorial for the bead stitch. The bead stitich is similar to a puff stitch but it is worked around a double crochet next to it instead of into the stitch below it.

How to Crochet: Half Double Crochet in the Third Loop Video Tutorial

I recently posted a couple of new patterns and I have had a few questions on the stitches used in those patterns, specifically the half double crochet in the third loop and the bead stitch. I decided to make a couple of videos to better show how to do each of those stitches.

Yarn Pooling Made Easy Blog Tour

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Have you ever tried planned pooling? If you don't know what planned pooling is it is a techinque that uses variegated yarn to create an argyle pattern. Variegated yarns can be pretty to look at but sometimes when you actually try to crochet with them it doesn't turn out so nice. Pooling is something that happens with variegated yarn as you crochet, the colors pool as you work. Planned pooling is a way to make the pooling work in a way that creates a design element rather than just random clumps of color. It was really popular all over the online crochet world last year. It seemed like every crochet facebook group had post after post of people trying to get their yarn to pool correctly or showing what they had made. It can be a tricky technique to master because you have to figure out the right number of stitches to make it work and have your tension just right. Marly Bird has several YouTube videos and blog posts to help you understand exactly how planned pooling works and to make it easier to figure out. Once you know how it works it is a lot less intimidating to try. Now she also has a new book, Yarn Pooling Made Easy, that features several projects made using the planned pooling technique and I am participating, along with several other crochet bloggers, in a blog tour to share this book and give you a chance to win a copy of your own (keep reading for giveaway info).

How to Make Weighted Bases for Crochet Projects

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One of my favorite thing to crochet are amigurumi, or stuffed, crocheted dolls, toys, and figures. Some of these items are meant as decorations and I want them to be able to stand up on thier own. To help them stand up I like to add weighted bases to the bottom of the item. This gives them a nice heavy base so they don't tip over or wobble around. I use Poly-Pellets as the weight for my bases. In the video below I show a couple different ways that I make these bases to add to my crochet projects.

How To Crochet: The Magic Ring

I have been wanting to make some short crochet videos for a while, showing a stitch or technique, and I decided to finally do it. One of the crochet techniques I get asked about most frequently is the magic ring (also called the magic circle or magic loop), so I thought I would start with that. In this quick video I show why you may want to use the magic ring in place of working into a ring of chains, and how I make the magic ring.