Head wear releases

In the last weeks, I tested two head wear patterns, both released this week. Both are packed with options and both are still very different. Seeing that I have a few other posts planned already, I decided to just show both patterns at once. Like a true pattern junky, I could not tell you which one I like better, I am happy I could sew them both. Enjoy the picture heavy post.

*******************************************************************

Gedurende de laatste wekend testte ik twee verschillende patronen voor mutsen. Beide patronen zitten vol opties en verschillen duidelijk van elkaar. Aangezien ik al een heel rijtje andere posts gepland heb voor de komende periode, laat ik beide patronen gewoon tegelijkertijd zien. Ik zou niet kunnen zeggen welk patroon ik leuker vind, ik was blij dat ik ze beide mocht naaien. Veel plezier met deze post met veel foto's.

The first pattern that I am showing is the Evergreen Bonnet from Twig and Tale. The pattern is suitable both for winter and summer. In the winter it is nice a cosy with some Sherpa inside, in the summer the optional peak keeps the sun from their eyes. The pattern include all kind of animal options, and there is a free reindeer add-on (through the Twig + Tale facebook group), making it a perfect Christmas gift. Lisa though, the designer, was looking for someone to show of the effect with embroidery details, and I was happy to comply after enjoying this project.

*******************************************************************

Het eerste patroon dat ik laat zien is de Evergreen Bonnet van Twig + Tale. Het patroon is het hele jaar door te gebruiken. In de winter kan je het lekker warm maken door een laagje pluis aan de binnenkant en voor de zomer zit er een zonneklep bij. Het patroon bevat heel veel dieren opties en er is een gratis rendier optie te verkrijgen in de Twig + Tale Facebook groep. Lisa zocht echter nog iemand die wilde borduren. Het borduren was deze bodywarmer was me verrassend goed bevallen, dus ik wilde wel.

The pattern pieces from this bonnet are rather small, so many scraps will be big enough to turn into a bonnet. I made the black and white version from some scraps from when I made this coat. I put some fleece on the inside for softness and warmth. The Evergreen bonnet is a pattern for woven fabrics and is available from new born to teens. There is a chin strap, self tie and make your own tie option. I went for secret option number four, no ties at all. Like I mentioned before, my versions are rather plain, but you should check out the listing, you will be drooling over the cuteness portrayed there.

*******************************************************************

De patroondelen van de Evergreen Bonnet zijn behoorlijk klein, dus veel restjes zullen groot genoeg zijn om er een van te maken. Ik maakte de zwart witte met restjes van toen ik deze jas maakte en aan de binnenkant deed ik een laagje fleece voor zachtheid en warmte. Het patroon komt met knipflap, knoopflapjes en maak-je-eigen-binder optie. Ik ging voor opties vier, geen bind methode en het blijft echt super goed zitten. Ik maakte dus een relatief sobere versie, maar kijk zeker even bij de foto's van het patroon, er zitten versies bij die je doen smelten.

The second pattern that I am showing today is the Coif Hood from Mother Grimm's designs. This pattern is for a jersey hood with four different head shapes (one seam, two seams, pixie and large pixie). Also this pattern has many add-ons. I applied for the test because I was intrigued by the dragon and knight options, but you can also make a shark, or a Christmas elf and many more.

*******************************************************************

Het tweede patroon dat ik vandaag laat zien is de Coif Hood van Mother Grimm's designs. Het patroon is voor een tricot muts met boordstof rond het gezicht en vier verschillende vormen (1-zoom, 2-zoom, pixie of lange pixie). Ook dit patroon heeft dus veel opties. Ik meldde me aan voor de test omdat ik meteen weg was van de draken en ridder optie. Er zijn echter ook allerlei dieren opties en zelfs een kerstelf.

All versions, but especially the basic one, sew up super quick. The basic one is reversible, so the cowboy and whale sides are just the two sides of the same hood. Officially the pattern demands for a lining, but the knight version is unlined. I used a double sided fabric and just left bottom unfinished, worked like a charm.

*******************************************************************

Alle versies, maar zeker de basis versie zijn super snel genaaid. De basis versie is ook nog eens omkeerbaar, de cowboy en walvisversie is dus dezelfde muts. De handleiding schrijft een voering voor, maar de ridder versie maakte ik zonder voering. De stof was tweezijdig en ik koos ervoor de onderkant niet af te werken.

The Evergreen Bonnet is available at the Twig + Tale web shop and the Coif Hood in Mother Grimm's Etsy store. For the Coif hood there are some discount codes still valid.
Coiflaunch25 - gives 25% until midnight ET 19th November,
Coiflaunch20 - gives 20% until midnight ET 21st November
Coiflaunch15 - gives 15% until midnight ET 23rd November

*******************************************************************

De Evergreen Bonnet is verkrijgbaar in de Twig + Tale webshop en de Coif Hood in de Mother Grimm's Etsy winkel. Voor de laatste gelden nog enkele kortingscodes.
Coiflaunch25 - gives 25% tot vannacht (19 November),
Coiflaunch20 - gives 20% tot middernachtt 21 November
Coiflaunch15 - gives 15% tot middernachtt 23 November

A tie, socks and gloves

This might have been the strangest combinations of sews in one post, but for me they are clearly related. They are easy projects which I did not feel like writing a whole blog post about, but the three of them together make a nice content.

Let's start with those socks. I bought the pattern from Wolf and The Tree about three months ago. My middle daughter wanted to sew something and socks seemed a perfect project for her to "sew" on my lap. Ofcourse more of my kids wanted a pair that day. I had to experiment slightly to get the perfect fit, besides having skinny bodies my kids seem to have skinny feet as well. Experimenting with a sock is really quick, so I really did not mind.

A few weeks ago, I was forced to acknowledge that my son's sock collection had become a disaster. Last year, I already accepted that non-matching pairs was the way to go in our household. Every morning, I find my self going through the clean laundry searching for socks, and I am happy when I find enough, I am not picky about the color.

My son seems to eat his socks, or maybe he just hides them but besides no matching sock, I more and more often did not find any socks for him (There are a enough pink ones, but he somehow refuses to wear them). The few brave socks that were returning from the battle field were also getting small ( I know my son's feet grew, and the socks did not shrink). It was time for an intervention. I took a piece of Nosh jersey that was a leftover from sewing these trousers and cut seven pair. It is purely coincidence this would mean a pair a day for a whole week, it was simply the amount I managed to cut from the fabric.

I posted the picture of all the socks together on Instagram and Facebook and people asked me if my son liked wearing them. Well, he loves them, he has been wearing them for almost a month everyday and is really disappointed if I can not find a clean pair in the morning. Although there is no heel, the socks stay on nicely and the seams do not bother him. I sewed it on my serger with 5mm seam allowance.

This tie you might also have seen om my Instagram feed. I sewed it from the leftovers of this dress. My son saw the fabric  and said he did not like it in such a way, that I knew he was jealous. From the last scraps that remained, I sewed him a tie from this free tutorial. This is not a full tie, it is just the shape you see, tied to on an elastic that goes around the neck. My son already had one of these and he loves wearing it on formal occasions, this one I sewed the evening before his school's Christmas dinner, he was super proud. I had to cheat with the knot though, it did not wanted to remain nice and straight so I just sewed it in place a bit. I did not have much fabric to work with, so I had to sew two pieces together (the seam is inside the knot and might be the reason for my extra needed stitching) and I had to use the selvedge as well. The selvedge is only visible on the back, so that is fine.

Let's talk about those gloves. My kids were going ice skating as an after school program and they had to wear gloves. Winter had not been cold yet and while I was searching though the gloves in our house, I realised my eldest did not have a good pair of gloves. A few days earlier I had downloaded the (at that time still free) gloves pattern from SUAT which was the perfect solution to my problem. I cut a lining and a main fabric, but while sewing the lining, I started to fear that the gloves would become too tight (I had chosen a nice thick lining). I thought that if I would put the two together, my daughter would not be able to put her thumb in it. So I just sewed two pair. My daughter loves them and I should not have feared. I could have just sewed them together because she can easily wear them on top of each other. Though the fact that I did keep them separate is not bad, now she can adjust the warmth herself by deciding how many she wears. They are like a two seasons glove set. Feeling adventurous and want to draw your own customized version, she recently wrote a (Dutch) picture tutorial.

I love to hear what you think of my creations. Feel free to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than English, German, Dutch or Hungarian). 

Crochet dinosaur cowl

My first cowl was a success, so I made another. This time it is a dinosaur version and again inspired (although copied might be more accurate) by one of these. My son is the true owner, but he was not home when I made the pictures. I learned from last time, and this time I made a small slope at the back of the head, which gives a better result especially in combination with the spikes. The spikes are not as stiff as they should be, I should have crocheted squares and folded them. Now it might (especially from the front) be confused with a chicken cowl...

Enjoy the picture overload.

Feel free to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than English, German, Dutch or Hungarian).

Crochet bear hat/shawl

Although temperatures here are extremely high (today I saw people in shorts and short sleeves), winter is coming. Yesterday evening, I therefore crocheted my middle daughter a hat/shawl. You have probably all seen the original on Pinterest. I did not use a pattern, and adjusted the pattern I had in mind even changed a bit when I noticed the thing became very big. I added some very big ears and now we have a little bear who loves to be in character.

My stash of yarn, although much smaller than my fabric stash, is relatively big. I therefore made a brown bear hat/shawl with yarn that I owned instead of buying yarn to make that adorable wolf. I made it with four strings of yarn together using a 10 size hook. This meant that I used about 300 gram of yarn for this one evening project. Great way to clean up the closet.

The whole thing is basically just a long rectangle folded to form a smaller rectangle. One side is sewn closed totally and the oposite side sewn down for a quarter of the length. It looks horrible laying down, but put a smiling toddler in it and get instant fun.