Bumblebee Cowl - Free Crochet Pattern

Bumblebee Cowl

By Pat Dunnell

The Bumblebee Cowl works up quickly in half double crochet with a lace edging. It would be a great piece to complete in your favorite team’s colors!

Materials

Yarn Bee Comfy Cozy (#2 weight, 508 yards), 1 skein Mustard (Color A), and 1 skein Black (Color B), or any two colors of sport weight yarn. Cowl will use less than half of each skein.

Crochet hook size 3.5mm (E).

Yarn needle to weave in ends.

Stitches Used

Ch = chain

Dc = double crochet

Fhdc = foundation half double crochet

Hdc = half double crochet

Sc = single crochet

Sl st = slip stitch

Body

Round 1:  With Color B, fhdc 170, join to work in the round.

Round 2:  ch 1, hdc in each st, change to Color A, join with sl st to first hdc.

Round 3:  ch 1, hdc in each st, change to Color B, join with sl st to first hdc.

Round 4:  ch 1, hdc in each st, join with sl st to first hdc.

Rounds 5-10: repeat rounds 2-4 twice.

Round 11: repeat round 2.

Edging

Round 1:  With Color A, ch 3, dc in each st, join with sl st to top of ch 3.

Round 2:  ch 1, *sc in next st, 2 dc in next st, ch 2, 2 dc in next st, sc in next st, ch 2, skip next st*, repeat from * to * around, join with sl st to first sc.

Round 3:  sl st in next 2 st, sl st in ch 2 space, ch 3, 2 dc in ch 2 space, *ch 2, sc in next ch 2 space, ch 2, 3 dc in next ch 2 space*, repeat from * to * around, sl st in top of ch 3.

Round 4:  ch 1, sc in same st, (ch 2, sc in next dc) twice, (ch 2, sc in ch 2 space) twice, ch 2, *(sc in next dc, ch 2) 3 times, (sc in ch 2 space, ch 2) twice*, repeat from * to * around, join with sl st to first sc. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Attach Color A to the opposite side of the cowl and repeat the edging.

Crossrib Square - Free Crochet Pattern

 

Crossrib Blanket Square

By Pat Dunnell

The Crossrib Square was my contribution to the Creative Crossings Afghan CAL 2019.  The simple combination of cross-stitches and ribbing provides a lot of visual texture and also results in a soft and squishy feel. Enjoy!

Materials:

     Worsted weight yarn

      5.5mm crochet hook, or size needed to get gauge

Finished Size:

12 inches square

Gauge:

5.5 cross-stitches and 7 rows = 4 in

Stitches Used:

     Ch – chain

      Dc – double crochet

      Sl st – slip stitch

      Hdc – half double crochet

      Hdcblo – half double crochet in the back loop only
      Hdcflo -- half double crochet in the front loop only

Directions:

Cross-stitch section
   

           Note: Beginning ch 2 in each row counts as a dc

     Ch 20

           Row 1: DC in 5^th ch from hook, then, crossing in front of the dc just made, dc in the 4^th ch from hook (1^st cross-stitch made).  *Skip 1 ch, dc in next ch, dc in skipped ch.* Repeat from * to * across, end with dc in the last ch. Ch 2, turn.

           Row 2:  *Skip 1 st, dc in next st, dc in skipped st.* Repeat from * to * across, end with dc in top of ch 2. Ch 2, turn.

           Rows 3-10:  Repeat Row 2.

           Row 11:  *Skip 1 st, dc in next st, dc in skipped st.* Repeat from * to * across, end with dc in top of ch 2. Turn, sl st in next st.

Ribbed Border

          Notes: This section is worked in rounds. Do not turn. Beginning with Round 2, the pattern is a 2-row repeat. You will hdc in the back loop only on one row, then hdc in the front loop only on the next row.

    Round 1: Ch 2, hdc in next 15 sts, 3 hdc in corner, hdc in ch-2 space [the space at the end of the row on the side of the square], 2 hdc in next 7 ch-2 spaces, hdc in next ch-2 space, 3 hdc in corner, hdc in the next 16 foundation chs, 3 hdc in corner, hdc in ch-2 space, 2 hdc in next 7 ch-2 spaces, hdc in next ch-2 space, 3 hdc in corner, sl st to top of ch 2. Ch 1. [You should have 16 st along each side and 3 st in each corner.]

    Round 2:  Hdcblo in next 16 st,  3 hdcblo in corner, *hdcblo in next 18 st, 3 hdcblo in corner,* repeat from * to * twice,  hdcblo in next 2 st, sl st to 1^st hdcblo. Ch 1. [You should have 18 st along each side and 3 st in each corner.]

    Round 3: Hdcflo in next 17 st, 3 hdcflo in corner, *hdcflo in next 20 st, 3 hdcflo in corner,*repeat from * to * twice, hdcflo in next 3 st, sl st to 1^st hdcflo. Ch 1. [You should have 20 st along each side and 3 st in each corner.]

    Round 4:  Hdcblo in next 18 st,  3 hdcblo in corner, *hdcblo in next 22 st, 3 hdcblo in corner,* repeat from * to * twice,  hdcblo in next 4 st, sl st to 1^st hdcblo. Ch 1. [You should have 22 st along each side and 3 st in each corner.]

    Round 5: Hdcflo in next 19 st, 3 hdcflo in corner, *hdcflo in next 24 st, 3 hdcflo in corner,*repeat from * to * twice, hdcflo in next 5 st, sl st to 1^st hdcflo. Ch 1. [You should have 24 st along each side and 3 st in each corner.]

     Round 6:  Hdcblo in next 20 st,  3 hdcblo in corner, *hdcblo in next 26 st, 3 hdcblo in corner,* repeat from * to * twice,  hdcblo in next 6 st, sl st to 1^st hdcblo. Ch 1. [You should have 26 st along each side and 3 st in each corner.]

    Round 7: Hdcflo in next 21 st, 3 hdcflo in corner, *hdcflo in next 28 st, 3 hdcflo in corner,*repeat from * to * twice, hdcflo in next 7 st, sl st to 1^st hdcflo. [You should have 28 st along each side and 3 st in each corner.]  

    Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Yarn Report -- Week 22

Nothing changed this week. I made a little more progress on my tee, but not much. Tournament 11 of Nerd Wars: Geek Noosphere starts tomorrow -- well, actually tonight at midnight GMT -- and I will get started on Alexis' blanket then.

Used this Week:            0 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:       11.11 skeins
Added this Week:          0 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:     28 skeins
Net Used YTD:           16.89 skeins

Yarn Report -- Week 21

The Catch the Wave Tee is progressing very slowly; I just haven't been in a knitting mood this week. Here's the progress so far:

Tournament 11 of Nerd Wars: Geek Noosphere starts on June 1. My granddaughter, Alexis, asked me to make her a blanket, so I'm going to do that for my dissertation. I'm going to use two yarns held together -- the Cotton-ish she picked out several months ago, and Paton's Lace that I just bought. I was concerned that the Cotton-ish by itself would not be warm at all, but the Lace has 10% mohair and 10% wool, and will make the blanket thicker and warmer.

Used this Week:            0 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:       11.11 skeins
Added this Week:          4 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:     28 skeins
Net Used YTD:           16.89 skeins

Yarn Report -- Weeks 19 & 20

Life has been extra busy the last couple of weeks, so I haven't made much progress on my knitting. Nothing has changed for the yarn report. 

Used this Week:          0 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:     11.11 skeins
Added this Week:        0 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:   24 skeins
Net Used YTD:         12.89 skeins

Yarn Report -- Week 18

I finished my Central Park Hoodie just in time for last week's Yarn Report.  We had a few days of cool weather this week, so I got to wear it -- and I love it! The fit is perfect, and the yarn is not scratchy at all. I think this is my favorite thing I've made for myself!

This morning I went to Jo-Ann's and bought 5 skeins of Cotton-ish in the Jade Jersey color for my next project, the Catch the Wave Tee. I have two other winter cardigans in progress, but wanted to do something light and summery first. 

Used this Week:             0 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:        11.11 skeins
Added this Week:           5 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:      24 skeins
Net Used YTD:            12.89 skeins

Yarn Report -- Weeks 16 & 17

I just finished my Central Park Hoodie! Here is a picture of it blocking; I hope to get some better pictures after it dries.

Used this Week:           5.8 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:      11.11 skeins
Added this Week:         0 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:    19 skeins
Net Used YTD:            7.89 skeins

Yarn Report -- Week 15

Nothing in, nothing out this week, but I did finish one sleeve on my Central Park Hoodie. That leaves just one sleeve, the hood, and the button band to finish.

Used this Week:           0 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:        5.31 skeins
Added this Week:         0 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:    19 skeins
Net Used YTD:          13.69 skeins

Yarn Report - Week 14

Nothing in, nothing out this week.

Used this Week:           0 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:        5.31 skeins
Added this Week:         0 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:    19 skeins
Net Used YTD:          13.69 skeins

Yarn Report -- Weeks 12 & 13

I've been slowly plugging along on my Central Park Hoodie.  The body is done, the shoulder seams are sewn, and I've started knitting the sleeves from the shoulder down. I'm using the technique outlined by Tasha in this tutorial. It seems to be working well so far.

Used this Week:         0 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:       5.31 skeins
Added this Week:       0 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:    19 skeins
Net Used YTD:           13.69 skeins

Yarn Report -- Week 11

Most of my time this week was spent knitting the Ashley hat. This hat, along with last week's blanket square, are going to the mom of one of my Nerd Wars Team Pineapple members, who will soon be starting chemo. Since she lives in Florida, I used some fingering weight yarn from my stash. Because of the lightweight yarn, the hat took longer to knit than I expected!

The yarn I used was Herschnerr's Afghan Acrylic. I inherited quite a bit of it in 1994, but haven't used much of it because I prefer other fibers. However, even though this yarn is over 20 years old, it is still very soft and doesn't feel too acrylic-y. The current version of this yarn has received some really poor reviews on Ravelry, so I'm glad that I have the old stuff. It's good quality.

Used this Week:         .63 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:     5.31 skeins
Added this Week:     0 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:  19 skeins
Net Used YTD:         13.69 skeins

Yarn Report -- Weeks 9 & 10

I'm making pretty good progress on my Central Park Hoodie, but don't have a new picture to post.

Last week I bought a skein of Loops & Threads Impeccable in the Pumpkin color to knit this Turn A Square Hat for my grandson. He picked the color and made the design for the front. It is duplicate stitched, not colorwork.

This week I crocheted a 12" Owl Blanket Square for the Team Pineapple blanket for meowmanda's mom, who will soon be undergoing chemo. I need to make a chemo cap, then get them sent off to the team member that will be putting the blanket together. This was made with some of my old stashed acrylic, since they want the blanket to be easily washable.

Used this Week:         1.13 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:      4.68 skeins
Added this Week:            1 skein
Added since 1/1/14:       19 skeins
Net Used YTD:         14.32 skeins

Yarn Report -- Week 8

I've been slowly plugging away on the Central Park Hoodie this week. I have done 12 inches, about 4 inches more than when this picture was taken last week.

Used this Week:           0 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:        3.55 skeins
Added this Week:         0 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:     18 skeins
Net Used YTD:           14.45 skeins

Yarn Report -- Week 7

This week I've been working mostly on my Central Park Hoodie. I have about 8 inches done from the bottom up, so I feel like I'm making good progress. The yarn is very soft and nice to work with.

The other project I did this week was a 12-inch blanket square to send to my Nerd Wars team. Another team lost a member to the H1N1 flu, so my team is making a blanket to send to the young woman's family. The pattern I used was Flower Burst Square. It was crocheted, using some stash yarn.

Used this Week:           .55 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:      3.55 skeins
Added this Week:       0 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:  18 skeins
Net Used YTD:        14.45 skeins

Yarn Report -- Week 6

I made a little progress on the Winter Mystery KAL this week -- finished Clue 1 (for the second time) and started Clue 2.

The yarn I ordered for the Central Park Hoodie arrived yesterday. It is a very light worsted; almost more of a dk weight. I was hoping it would be a heavier worsted, but knew that I was taking a chance when I ordered a yarn that I had never seen in person. The CPH pattern calls for a gauge of 17 st/in on a size 8 needle; with this yarn, I got 20 st/in on a size 7 needle. When I checked the stitch count in the pattern, I was pleased to find that if I use the stitch count for the cardigan two sizes larger, then the finished measurements should work out just fine.

Used this Week:               0 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:            3 skeins
Added this Week:             8 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:        18 skeins

Net Used YTD:              15 skeins

Yarn Report -- Week 5

Nothing in or out this week, although I spent a good deal of time shopping for a good sale on yarn. My Nerd Wars team decided to do a KAL for tournament 10, so of course I wanted to join in. The pattern we'll be using is the Central Park Hoodie. I've thought about making it several times over the years since it first was published, but didn't because I don't like having to sew all the pieces together. So... I think I'll knit the body all in one piece, then pick up the stitches and knit the sleeves in the round from the shoulders down. If I were more ambitious, I'd try to convert the pattern to top-down.

Used this Week:         0 skeins
Used since 1/1/14:     3 skeins
Added this Week:       0 skeins
Added since 1/1/14:  10 skeins
Net Used YTD:            7 skeins

Yarn Report - 2014, Weeks 3 & 4

Roger's cowl disappeared while we were visiting the Air & Space Museum near Omaha, so I bought a skein of Cozy Wool and made him another one. He likes to pull it up over his nose when the weather is really cold, but he said it fogs up his glasses when he exhales. He requested the opening over his mouth, hoping to solve that problem. I didn't have a pattern; I just did a k1p1 ribbing in the round over 60 stitches. I did 25 rows before binding off 5 stitches for the mouth opening, then on the next row I cast on 5 stitches and continued knitting for 13 rows before binding off.

I finished Clue 1 on the Mystery KAL, but when I tried it on, it was too small. For some reason, the gauge on my gauge swatch was different than the gauge I was getting on the sweater itself. So... all my work had to be frogged and started over. If I could count all the skeins I've had to knit twice lately, my yarn report would look a lot better, LOL.

Since I'm now knitting a larger size for the KAL, I needed more yarn. Luckily, Fabric.com still had two skeins of the Berroco Vintage in ruby. I only needed about 1/2 of one skein, but I ordered both. With whatever is left over, I'll make a scarf to go with my sweater.

At Fabric.com, you get free shipping with a $35 purchase, so of course I had go for that. I bought a pair of HiYa HiYa circular needles, size 5, 40" length, and five skeins of Berroco Vintage DK in a lovely chocolate color. I plan to use the DK for the Freya Hoodie, another one of Vera Sanon's patterns.

Used this Week: 1 skein
Used since 1/1/14: 3 skeins
Added this Week: 8 skeins
Added since 1/1/14: 10 skeins
Net Used since Jan. 1, 2014: 7 skeins (at least I made it to week 4 before going into the red!)

Yarn Report - 2014, Week 2

Nothing new to report this week. I've been working on the Winter Mystery KAL, but as usual I am behind. Clue 2 came out yesterday, but I'm still working on Clue 1. I had to go back and fix all of my M1 increases; I knitted through the back loop when I should have knitted through the front loop, and vice versa, which left holes in the fabric. The odd thing is, I've done this increase before, and knew it didn't look right, but couldn't figure out what was wrong. Then one day I started to knit and immediately realized what I'd been doing wrong. I must have been suffering from a days-long senior moment -- just wish it had cleared up sooner. Oh, well. Once Clue 1 is finished, I'll post a picture.

I didn't work on Alexis' blanket at all this week. Maybe next week will be more productive.

Used this Week: 0 skeins
Used since 1/1/14: 2 skeins
Added this Week: 0 skeins
Added since 1/1/14: 2 skeins
Net Used since Jan. 1, 2014: 0 skeins

Yarn Report -- 2014, Week 1

This week I bought two skeins of Loops & Threads Impeccable Glitter to crochet the Calm Cowl for a gift. It worked up very quickly, and I liked that it looks similar to knitted seed stitch. The yarn is very pretty, with a strand of metallic gold running through it; the pictures don't do it justice.

Used this Week: 2 skeins
Used since Jan. 1, 2014: 2 skeins
Added this Week: 2 skeins
Added since Jan. 1, 2014: 2 skeins
Net Used since Jan. 1, 2014: 0 skeins

Final 2013 Yarn Report

I finished Poema! Got it done just in time to post it before Nerd Wars Tournament 9 ended. That was a relief! It hasn't been blocked yet in the photos. The seven skeins used -- there was only about six inches left over -- will help my yarn report, but I'll still finish the year in the red. I don't mind, though, because my next two projects will use yarn that I've already bought and counted.

I've started on Alexis' blanket. When they were here over Christmas, she approved the lighter weight yarn and the color scheme. Maybe next week I'll have enough done to post a picture.

Vera Sanon sent the first installment of the Mystery KAL, so I need to swatch and get started on that.

I also need to finish Sawtelle, and do it soon! It was 19 degrees today, and I kept wishing I'd finished that nice wool cardigan. One sleeve is almost done, so there's not that much more to do. Just have to get busy!

Used this Week: 7 skeins
Used since mid-August: 16.4 skeins
Added this Week: 0 skeins
Added since mid-August: 21 skeins
Net Used since mid-August: 4.6 skeins