Holiday gift

Hi!!

 It's crunch time everyone!!!! We only have a few weeks left till Christmas, and if you like handmade holidays as much as I do, we have a lot of work to do. A quick and easy gift for a little girl is this adorable headband. It doesn't require a whole lot of yarn, so it's perfect for destashing.  For this particular project I raided one of my colleague's stash, so thanks Cuca for the left-overs!!!!! As you all know, i am not great at patterns writing, so I've made another mini picture tutorial for you to follow. I used a very pale pink cotton, and  size 2.3 crochet hook

I used a very pale pink cotton, and  size 2.3 crochet hook

Start with 4 ch

Ch 2, then sc into each ch.

Ch 2, then sc into each ch two rows. then add one sc in each row until you have 8 stitches all together.

This is what it should look like with 8 stitches.

 Ch 2, then SC.

Turn ch2 then sc 4, add two stitches, and finish with 4sc to have 10 stitches.

We are now ready to begin the headband.

Ch 3, dc one.

To make our first raised stitch,  Frdc one row over. 

A Frdc is as follows. 

 Insert the hook front to back of the next stitch, skipping the last row of sc you made. Your hook should be around the stem of the stitch as shown above, and below.

You are now ready to wrap your yarn around the hook, and pull it through and up. 

Once you have done this, you can finish your dc as usual.

Above, a picture of the raised stitch.

From the Frdc, dc four regular dc. Then frdc, and two more dc to finish the row.

You now have the foundation for your raised stitch headband.

Ch 2, sc 10.

(Frdc are usually worked in one direction only)

Ch3, dc one.

Once again frdc, this time it should be easier, because you will insert your hook around the raised dc you have already made, as in the picture above an below.

Wrap your yarn around your hook, pull through and up, and finish your dc. 

4 dc, then Frdc, 2dc.

Ch2, sc 10.

Ch3, dc1, frdc 1, dc4, frdc1, dc2.

ch2, sc10. Repeat the length of the bandanna, about 16 inches for a toddler

You can now see the raised stitches.

Once you have finished your raised stitches, 

ch 2, sc 10, twice.

ch2, sc4, 2sc cluster, sc4 .

ch2 sc2, 1sc cluster, sc3.

ch2, 6sc.

ch2, 1sc, 2sc cluster, 1sc.

ch2 4 sc, twice.

to join both ends, place wrong sides together, and do 4 ss.

The back of the headband should look something like this.

Now that you have your headband, you can embellish to your hearts desire. I opted for a simple 6 petal flower. But you can make them as ornate or as simple as you' like!!!

And there you have it lovelies. a simple and stylish gift, always hand made!!!

Please send us pictures of you finished headbands, your questions, and of course, patterns corrections.

Stay tuned for more hand made gift ideas during the next few weeks. Plus little crafts to decorate your house and brighten our days!!!!!

Up next I'll post a how to advent calendar!!!

Natalia

PS Here is a very useful slow motion video on crossed cables. Not quite what we are making, but a useful visual on crochet cable basics!!!

  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d1px0jevlM