Recently, in a detour from my beloved crochet baskets, gift bags, and picture frames, I’ve been toying with something quite different.
Call it a hybrid craft, if you will. Macramé inspired crochet. Or, you might get used to calling it macrachet (© 2019 jakigu.com). As in macramé + crochet. Pronounced ma-kra-‘shea, of course. I see macrachet as a blend between the macramé aesthetic and the coiled crochet technique.
Continue reading macrachet: macramé inspired crochet
When I published my 2018 picture frame collection, I promised you a quick guide to attaching pictures to crochet picture frames. So, today I’ll share with you my three favorite ways of mounting art in crocheted picture frames.
Before we begin, I strongly recommend that you block and stiffen your picture frames.
Twinkling lights, chocolate treats, and glitter everywhere – all clear signs Christmas is near. As my son says, the most magical time of the year is here!
You may be like my mother-in-law, and have your presents bought and wrapped since September. But if you are more like me, a last-minute gift maker, you might appreciate a little inspiration. To help you out, I lined up some of my most favorite crochet projects into a versatile crochet gift guide. They represent a mix of my original designs, both free and paid. Read on for links and an exclusive 50% coupon code for everything in my pattern shop.
Call me a purist, but in our house the magic of winter season doesn’t start until the first day of December. The good thing is, that’s today! And that made me want to go “Hooray!” more than once. ‘Tis the season.
My 5-year-old son was helping me decorate the house for the first time today. At one moment, he picked up a little jingle bell ornament, kissed it, and proclaimed, “Oh, jingle bell, how I’ve missed you!” My feelings, exactly. Continue reading free crochet pattern: crochet snowflake 2018
Sometimes, if feels like this crochet picture frame pattern collection has been years in the making. And rightly so. Trying to remember the day I shared my first crochet picture frame pattern 6 years ago is as hard as trying to remember a past life.
I suspect not many of you were here through the whole evolution of my blog from a bobbin lace making journal through wire and resin jewelry blog to what it is now.
Read on for a little bit of a backstory, all the details about my newest (and biggest) pattern collection, and a 50% off coupon.
Continue reading new pattern: crochet picture frame collection
Happy Halloween!
When I scheduled the release of this free pattern for Halloween, I had no reason to choose this date other than pure practicality. I love sharing – even fueling – my 5-year-old’s excitement about Halloween and all things spooky. Personally, though, October 31 is just an ordinary day.
But as I was editing tutorial photos earlier this week, something on my desk caught my eye. The pendant I had just photographed ended up atop what we call The Souls binder. And as it often is with memories, this fleeting glance was all that was needed to open up memory floodgates to my childhood. You see, this season holds a special place in my heart not because of costumes and candy, but because of a different tradition: All Souls Day.
Honestly, I had originally no intention of including a personal story about this time of year, but as memories popped up in my mind I found my fingers instinctively typing along. And when I was done, I realized it was something I wanted to share. So read on if you’d like after the pattern for some childhood recollections, a new family tradition, and why I am dedicating this newest addition to my free crochet patterns collection to the memory of my paternal grandmother.
But onto the pattern first.
In January, I published a long list of projects I’d like to tackle and share with you this year. And while I have not been able to check items off the list as often or as quickly as I’d hoped, I did manage to accomplish quite a bit. From four new crochet patterns I added to my store, to sharing tips and tricks on working with jute, to publishing two crochet basics posts (one devoted to waistcoat stitch, the other to adjustable loop), I know I shouldn’t complain.
However, it has been painfully obvious that despite my best intentions, I am yet to share a free crochet pattern with you this year!
Well, let’s fix that, shall we?
Continue reading free crochet pattern preview: beaded pendant
Ah, the waistcoat stitch. The crochet version of the knitted stockinette stitch. A.k.a. the knit stitch. Or the “v” stitch. Or, if we wanted to get more technical, the center crochet stitch, or the split single crochet.
Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? However intimidating some of these names may be, though, don’t let them fool you into thinking waistcoat stitch is complicated.
I like to think of waistcoat stitch as humble single crochet’s flamboyant twin. If you know how to work a single crochet, you know how to crochet the waistcoat stitch. That is because the latter is finished exactly the same way as the former. The striking difference in their final looks depends solely on hook placement. Before we exactly pinpoint where to insert the hook – and where the hook should exit on the back side – let’s have a look at a typical waistcoat stitch up close.
Continue reading how to crochet: waistcoat stitchI’m putting finishing touches on two new crochet patterns, just in time for the upcoming gift giving season. These adorable wine bottle koozies work up quick, and – dare I say – they are quite unique in the world of handmade crochet gifts.
Aren’t they just perfect? Seriously. Don’t tell me you can’t think of at least 5 people who’d be over the moon if you brought them a bottle of wine in one of these beauties.
If you want to get a head start – and save up to 75% – on these, read on. The patterns are available for pre-order and I’ve listed the materials needed below!
Let me introduce you to the first design in the series of crochet patterns for beginners: crochet picture frame with picots, available as part of an exclusive crochet picture frame collection here, at jakigu.com, or though my Etsy shop.
Its petals with picots remind me of a daffodil. Or the rays of the still sleepy sun on a spring morning. One way or another, this bright and happy crochet frame makes my heart dance and smile.
You may ask, “Jana, what exactly do you mean when you say ‘crochet patterns for beginners?'”
