Crocheted Baby Slippers & A Chunky Women's Cloche

Over the last couple of days, I have been one busy crocheter.  I love to crochet as it allows me to sit and relax, but still get something accomplished.  After all, I can't just relax, I must be checking things off my to do list!

The first project that I have been working on are these cute baby slippers.

A friend of mine saw the other pair that I had made Anna (look here) and wanted to order two pairs for a baby shower she was attending soon.  I love making cute things and getting paid for it too!  That's a win-win and the hubby doesn't complain either.  (Little does he know that I will spend that money on more crafts, haha!).

My friend looked over all the colors of potential yarns and liked an Old Rose and a Sage.  She wanted one mostly pink with some green and the other mostly green with a little pink for two twin girls.  I love the color combination and how they turned out. (Both of these projects used the "I love this yarn" from Hobby Lobby.  It is my favorite yarn as you get a great amount and it is super soft.)

The pattern that I used for this slipper is called the Ava Slipper and it is by Mandy Sybrowsky of LittleBirdieSecrets.com.  You can purchase the pattern here.  Her directions are for a slipper of all one color.  I followed her directions through Row 3 for the sole, then I switched to my shoe color.  When I got to Row 8, I switched back to my sole color and did a SC (Single Crochet) around instead of a slip stitch.  Otherwise, I followed her exact pattern.

These first three pictures are of the mostly green slipper.

These next few pictures are of the mostly pink slipper.

I hope that she likes them and that her friend likes the gift for her twin girls.  I think I will be whipping up a few extra pairs for Anna in the two-tone combination.  I think that makes them look a bit more like real shoes.

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The other item that I worked on was a woman's cloche. The pattern is the Lizzy Cloche and is also by Mandy Sybrowsky of LittleBirdieSecrets.com  You can purchase the pattern here.

I have been wanting to make this cloche for awhile.  The winner of our 100 Blog Followers Giveaway, Stacy, requested an adult cloche in gray with a black flower.  This gave me the perfect excuse to try it out!

I have to be honest, I never follow a pattern exactly as I should.  I always find yarn that I want to use that doesn't match what the pattern creator suggests.  I wanted to use my "I love this Yarn" from Hobby lobby (super soft) and it wasn't the chunky yarn that I was supposed to use.  Therefore,  I had my patience tested at least five times. Yep, I was almost finished and tore it out FIVE times!  Ugh!  We all have craft fails once in awhile!

I was smart enough to start with two strands of this yarn (which made it chunky) and the correct size crochet hook.  I quickly figured out that my gauge was off.  I was supposed to be about 3/4 inch per row, but I was 1/2 an inch.  I made it just as the directions called for the first time (except for yarn) and ended up with a child's size hat (I noted for future creations).  Then I did a few more increase rows and ended up with a cloche for the biggest head know to man.  I tried to shrink the increase rows down a couple and that still didn't work.  Finally, on my fifth attempt, I just added a few standard rows and I hit the jackpot!  Now, I can make this cloche again in the future and not be frustrated by my inability to use the same yarns!

I think it turned out really nice!  I may have to make myself one for next winter.  I hope that Stacy will be happy with it!

Next week, I will be sharing some resources on how to learn to crochet.  Crocheting is very easy to learn.  My Mom even learned to do it!  (I love you Mom!) She wasn't willing to learn if it was going to be too complicated.

I know how to both knit and crochet.  I like knitting, but the supplies can be expensive and it takes a long time to get to your finished product.  Crocheting on the other hand is a very quick process.  The tools are dirt cheap too.  You can get one of every hook for about $20 total.  Then your yarn is only other cost.  Okay, enough on that.  Be on the lookout for those resources next week and think about taking up crocheting!

Don't forget that today is the last day to enter to win a $50 gift certificate to The Vintage Pearl!  Go enter here!



We are linking up this project to all these wonderful parties.  Go visit them for more great ideas!