How to crochet a portable doll crib

After the post on the 

fabric yarn 

I have been asked whether I could give some guidelines on how to make the 

crocheted doll crib thingy 

above. 

So here are some of my thoughts on it. 

This is not going to be a tutorial or pattern as I have made the thing quite some time ago and do not have enough time right now to try to recreate it. These are just some basic guidelines how I went about - you will have to figure the rest out for yourself. :-)

Hope this helps a bit though. 

1. I worked the whole thing in single crochet. I like to do it that way as it will give the "stiffest" result. I am not sure whether double crochet might also work though.

2. For the base of the doll crib I just crocheted a rectangle. I basically started at one of the shorter sides. I crocheted a chain as long as I wanted this side to be. (Get the doll that is supposed to sleep in there and use that as a "measure".) Then I just added rows to this until the rectangle was slightly "longer" than the doll supposed to be in there.

3. Then I added the sides of the crib. I simply did it by starting to crochet the sides directly to the rectangle base. I just started to single crochet into the upper loop of every single crochet around the whole rectangle.

(Does that make any sense to you?)

Make sure that you do not increase at the corners - or anywhere else for that matter - as you want your sides to go "straight up". 

You could probably also just crochet rectangles again to make up the sides and join everything by sewing it together. I suppose that would work as well.

4. The handles - well, I made them with a certain technique that I had read about. I have no idea what it is called. Basically I crocheted a chain as long as I wanted the handle to be. Then I turned the chain a bit and crocheted single crochets into the BASE loop of each chain. (You usually do not crochet into that loop.) You can add a second regular row - or as many until your handles are "wide" enough. By doing it that way your handle will not be just a narrow rectangle but it will curve slightly - which I liked. 

But if that description does not make any sense to you, you could also just crochet narrow rectangles and use these as handles. 

I just sewed the handles to the sides. 

And that was it!

It cost me the most time to fiddle around to get the base rectangle to the correct size ... the rest worked up quite quickly. 

Hope this helps anyone a bit.

If you are making a doll crib - please let me know. Would make my day! :-)

And if there are any other questions just ask! I am happy to answer.

And if it takes a bit - I am sorry. I try my best to not take TOO long ...

Information and Tutorials on Fabric Yarn Crochet Projects

I was asked a little while back to give some more information on the crocheted rag rug project. 

I digged in my bookmarks and searched the net and found some tutorials that I had used back when I did the first rug.

Here you go - general instructions on how to crochet a rag rug:

Crazy Mom Quilts

Ruby Glen - Round crochet rag rug

How to make a Jean Rug

The vintage chica

The Sunroom - Circular crochet rag rug instructions

Sugar Bee - Rag Rug Tutorial

By looking at all of them ... and there are many more out there, just google ... you will soon see that there are MANY ways to do this!

So I encourage you to look at a couple tutorials and just figure out what you like best and what would work for you. At least that is the way I did it. :-)

Here are some more or less random bits of how I do it:

MAKING FABRIC YARN

In order to make the yarn you can cut your strips which ever widths you want to. Just experiment a bit!
If you cut them wider - use a bigger hook! If you cut them narrower - use a smaller hook.

Also keep in mind the wider you cut the strips the thicker and more stable (and less soft) your endproduct will be!
(And the harder it might be to crochet.)

Also if you have cut your strips too narrow you can still simply use two strands instead of just one.

Some people cut their fabric with scissors, some use rotary cutters, some rip it. I have to say that I like to use scissors - that makes it easy to do even while watching kids or a movie or something ...

It DOES take quite a bit of time to cut up enough fabric!!! Most likely it will take WAY longer than you think. :-)

Also it does get a bit messy depending on the fabric ... as it usually does fray while cutting.

When you have cut your fabric you most likely end up with different bits. So how do you get a continuous strip? 

There are several methods explained in the tutes. Some just knot the strips. That is fine - but you might end up seeing the knots and it might be a bit "bumpy" for a rug. You can sew the strips together. But that was NEVER an option for me. Way too much work. :-)

I have found the "cleanest" look with little work is achieved by knotting the strips in a special way.

I did not have the link anymore to a tutorial that explained the method I use ... but ... for you guys I would do almost anything right. ;-)

So after A LONG time of googling - and some very odd search terms! - I found one:  :-)

*drumroll PLEASE*

Tottie talks craft

WHAT MATERIAL TO USE FOR FABRIC YARN?

Well, any really! You will find that some material works better for some things than others. But if you are just making a rug I think anything should be alright. Just adapt the widths of the strips according to the thickness of the fabric. 

(So if you use a thicker and a less thick fabric together - cut the thicker one narrower.)

For rugs I like to use cotton fabrics that I can wash on hot. Just simpler to clean. But you can make other things than rugs ....

I have made this tiny cute bag 

and this doll crib to carry around

I would love to make some "boxes". As the fabric "yarn" is rather thick the crocheted product has a nice "stand". 

Also I found out that fabric that I would not like to use for sewing - like artificial stuff - works great for crocheting. And do not worry if the fabric frays alot while being cut. That actually might end up to give a fun fuzzy look to the end result! :-)

If you want a more "clean" look jersey is a great option. So save all those stained shirts!!!

But if you are going to make a rug you will need LOTS of them. Seriously!!!

With the big rug I made I used bed sheets and I needed SEVERAL!

Okay, I hope that kinda helped. Feel free to ask any questions!!! Am happy to answer! :-)

Sharing this here:

 

Crocheted Recycled Rug

Don't you love it when you tidy up and you find a project that is almost finished but not quite ...

But it needs just a bit more work - and you are done!

You get this awesome feeling that you have finished something even though you have only been working on it for a little bit. 

I LOVE that.

Happened to me with this rug. I started it a long while ago and it was supposed to become a BIG rug. *cough* 

Well, a girl can dream right?!

After a bit I gave up changed my mind.

"Really? Why?"

I decided it will become a small rug. :-)

And what does it get used for?

Perfect for tiny feet ...

;-)

Tiny feet in the bathroom!

Oh, almost forgot. It is made out of cut up shirts! Just cut them into strips, join the strips ... and you have yourself some nice "yarn" that you can crochet into some nice rug with a huge crochet hook!

It is FUN!

"Hey Mommy, could you stop taking photos and play with me?"

Sorry, gotta go ...

Edited:
I completely forgot ... I have made a similar rug before. The one I have made before is circular and bigger. You can see it HERE.

PROJECT 44: More Cute Crocheted Teacozies

Photo from Megan Mills

Go get the  

free Rosy Cozy pattern.

 

Photo from Megan Mills

 Or get the  

free pattern for the reversible crochet brioche cozy 

  if you prefer something less rosy ...

I think they are both supercute!

Oh, and there are knitted cozy patterns on her site, too, ... so look around a bit ...

***

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PROJECT 34: Supercute Crocheted Teapot Cozy

Photo from Lullabies And Lace

So you would like to make a teapot cozy but do not know how to knit?

Well, you can crochet one!

Here is a totally adorable free 

pattern on Lullabies And Lace

.

What a sweet name btw!

And I think this one would go perfectly with the teacup cozies from this post.

***

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PROJECT 32: Another Cute Crocheted Cup Cozy

Photo from Oh the Cuteness

Remember the last crocheted cup cozy?

I found another cutie!

You can find the FREE pattern on  

Chase's blog Oh the Cuteness. 

And I think the name totally fits. 

It's totally cute!

Stay tuned for cute crocheted teapot cozies ...

***

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PROJECT 3: Cute Crocheted Cup Cozy

Photo from sukigril~~

I think these are so cute!
Go and get the free pattern on sukigirl~~. I am feeling very inclined to make a whole bunch of these. To me they look like a little scarflet for cups.

I know I have a weird imagination ...

Edited: I want to add that according to the creator of the pattern those cozies really do work and hold your tea warm. I had been always wondering whether they are just for looks ... now I really have to make one for my cup. Or cups ...

***

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Baby hat with crocheted sheep applique

I finally got another thing finished so I can cross it off my list!

(Yes, I do actually have a list now. I used the printable from Made by K - you can find it here. It really does help me to keep working on my projects without starting too many. I can not work on only one - or two - at a time. But that is alright. As long as I get all the ones that I am working on finished at some point ... Before I used that list I would actually sometimes forget about some that I was working on - how embarrassing ...)

I had this one in the making already a WHILE. I had made the pattern and even already cut the fabric. 

I used a pattern that can be downloaded for free from here. The explanations are in German ... but if you are not as new as me to sewing you probably know anyway what seams to close first. You could also just ask me if you wanted to. :-) There is also a photo tutorial for sewing the hat together here. Again in German ... but as it has pictures it might even be useful if you do not speak (or read) German.

So I had the fabric ready waiting ... but I simply did not get any alone-time with my sewing machine. Until Sunday! And you know what - when I finally got to sit down and sew it ... it was finished in a blast! I would have never thought that it would be so quickly! And it went quite well and turned out quite nice! Okay, it is not perfect! But it was the first time that I sewed it ... the second time I sewed jersey (after my first encounter with jersey while making some tiny mittens I was seriously scared of having to work with it again) and it turned out to be wearable! And IT FITS! I finally made something that actually fits! WOW!

 

After it was done I really wanted to add something ... but I could not decide what. It was supposed to be something boyish (if the poor critter already has to wear a hat that has purple stripes ...)  I wanted to make a crocheted applique ... I made a car. But did not like it.(Well, I did like the car - just not on the hat.) I decided I want something white or off-white-kinda ... so I wanted to make a sheep. But I could not find a pattern for a crocheted sheep applique. Could it really be that there exists the idea of something that there is NO tutorial or pattern yet on the worldwideweb???

Well, after some minutes of shock ... I sat down and thought I might try to make one myself. Should not be too hard. So ... I DID! 

 AND I LOVE IT! The only downside is - I would really like to make more. And ... ehem ... I am not sure whether I can recreate the damn thing. I really should have written down the stitches wihle I was working ... *sigh* But I will try. It is so cute! I LOVE the dangling feet. And those tiny ears ...

Okay, I'll shut up about it now.

Baa-baa

(Sorry, couldn't help it.) 

I actually had to look up what sound a sheep makes in English ...

Taking a picture of baby with the hat was a pretty hard job. Try taking a photo of something that is either jumping up and down all the time or trying to get and eat your camera! So for a good photo I had to wait until it was .... 

asleep.
 Look how peaceful he looks! 

Oh, and wanna see what happens when you let your baby play with your wool in order to have two minutes to sew the applique to the hat ... 
*sigh*

Crocheted airplane

Look what has landed in my backyard ... ;-)

I remember that I saw this cute little airplane at some blog and eversince I wanted to make one.

When I found the pattern I was thrilled cause it was free. (Btw, there are more free patterns on this site.) And when I finally had the right yarn I got to work ...


Look how small it is. Isn't it cute sitting on my hand?


If you go to the pattern link you will see that mine looks a bit different. I did not embroider any windows on it. I don't know why, but when I was this far I liked it so much ... and I really did not want to add windows ... so I left it.

I also think I figured something out about my crafting along the way ... I think I know now at least part of the mistery why some projects take me so long to get finished. When I started with this project there was no stopping me. And that is often the case. I usually start out with so much enthusiasm basically because I am REALLY curious how the finished project will turn out. So I keep going ... until I reach a point where I am not done yet ... but where I can already kinda figure how it will turn out ... So all the mystery of "I wonder how this is gonna come together ..." is gone ... and that's when it gets harder to keep going.

So what am I gonna make with this knowledge. I have no idea! Well, but at least I know now. :-) That much of crafting psycghology for today!

Little man is trying to take over my computer ... I better stop now before he starts writing his own blog posts ... or eats the computer ... :-) Maybe I can persuade him with an airplane to let go of it ...

Crocheted baby balls

I made these balls following this pattern (via Floral Showers). When I made the first one my daughter helped me stuff it. For some strange reason she loves to stuff things I make. :-) And she gave me an idea! She remembered when I made the ribbon ball (which she also helped me stuff) and that the kit came with a bell. I did not use the bell for the ribbon ball and she asked me whether I would be using the bell for this ball. Well ... I had not thought of that but why not? And that started it all.

I did not use the bell for the first ball. But I made a second one and used the ball for that one. And I made a third one and added crinkly chocolate wrappers inside. Good reason to eat those expensive chocolates that come individually wrapped! ;-) So now baby boy has three balls - one silent one, one with a jingling bell and one that crinkles when crushed together. He does not play too much with them yet. It is still a bit hard for him to grab them. But I guess they will be a hit when he gets a bit older. So for once I have something ready IN TIME! :-)

Miss Piggy - crocheted pig

Say hello to Miss Piggy. She was made on request as an Easter present. I think she turned out quite cute. You can find the pattern I used here (you have to scroll down until you find the pig).


There are still so many posts I have to write ... For some reason it seams that either I have nothing to blog about at all or so much that I can not keep track ...