How I increase the cloth size of a pattern

In Full Bloom 06/2017 (A Burda Pattern)

So I used the same super easy pattern to make tops for all of my friends as presents for their birthdays. However I needed one top to be a size 20, which this pattern didn't accommodate for. In the past I have needed to increase the lengths of patterns however I have never personally needed to increase the size. So I thought I'd share with you how I went about this but in the knowledge that there maybe a better way to go about this. This being said, this method worked out perfectly for this pattern.

So starting on the side opposite the fold line, I measured the length of the pattern line for the smallest side. Then I measured the length of the pattern line for the next size up. I worked out the difference between the two. I did this for the difference between every pattern line and was glad to find out that the difference was the same for each size increase. Similarly the distance between each of the lines where the same.

Therefor the next step for me was to multiply these figures by the difference in size from the largest size on offer and the size I wanted. I used these figures to then draw out the new line.

I repeated this for each of the sides for the pattern. Like I said before, there is probably a better method for this, so if you have any hint and tips they would be greatly appreciated.

Book Review- Learn to crochet

Learn to Crochet

By Coats

Edited By Sally Harding

This book was my very first crocheting book. My Mum bought it for me once I had mastered the basics of chaining, slip stitch and double crochet.
The books primary aim is to teach the reader how to crochet with a set of simple and clear diagrams. I found that although the diagrams helped, I did need the assistance of a few YouTube videos on occasion. As a result I feel that the book would have better achieved it's aim by coming with a DVD that had video tutorials that accompanied the diagrams. However I was able to teach myself the finer details of crochet through this book and have referred to it many times since.
I have also lent this book to a friend who was learning to crochet about a year or so ago and again the book was greatly appreciated for it's quick over view of crocheting techniques and terminology.

I have personally successfully completed several projects in this book. The include: the striped cushion, scallop cushion, cotton afghan, wool afghan and hand towel edging.

Sally Harding has also written Crochet Step by Step, which has an average of 4.9/5 and 4.3/5 ratings on the book people and goodreads respectively.  This seems to be a much more detailed book, with it explaining 100 different techniques and stitches compared to Learn to Crochet, which only explains 20.  However having not read this book myself, I can't comment on whether the book better addresses the staticness (for want of a better word) of the diagrams.

Christmas 2016

"Libby, you disappeared again!"... I know and I'm sorry.

This Christmas I was extremely busy and so didn't have anytime to make anything big or difficult for my family. However I did stay up until 3am one night beavering away on these finger-less mittens for my friends. In total I made 8 pairs in one night, each taking 30 minutes. They where a real success, mainly due to the fact that no one was expecting anything.
The reason why this project is so quick, is that the wool used is super chunky. If you want to make a pair for yourself or as a gift for a friend, then use any wool that requires the use of a 10mm hook.The rest of the instructions can be found bellow.

ch- Chain
dc- double crochet
Create 2
Row 1- ch 15, then dc into the second stitch from the hook. dc into the next 13 stitches.
Row 2 to 9- ch 1 and then dc 14
Row 10- dc 14
To assemble the mitten simply sew the two shorter sides together remembering to leave a gap for your thumb.

I hope this has inspired you!

Cousins New Swimsuit

I hope you all had a good Easter mine was a little chaotic but great fun no the less. For Easter my family generally give small gifts to each other, whether that be chocolate or something else that's small.

So this year I gave my little cousin a swimsuit that I not only sewed but also designed. The swimsuit was originally meant for my little sister but I've only just finished making it in fact it's the one of the projects I spoke about in my previous post.

Also when I started making it last year, I used one of my sisters old swimsuits to trace round by mistake, so it was already going to be on the small side and then I never finished it in time.

It may be a little big on my cousin at the moment but I'm sure she'll grow into it in no time. If you interested in more swimming related post you may like to have a look at these posts:

• The Meer Dress
• My Sisters Swim Dress 2014
• Our Modest Swim Dresses

I hope this has inspired you!

Gloves for my Grandma

Who'd have thought that 2016, would start off so busy? How's the start of you're 2016 been?

Where I live, it's suddenly gone very cold and so I thought this change in weather would be the perfect opportunity to crochet something, as I haven't crocheted in a while. When I started crocheting these gloves/ mittens or whatever you want to call then, my Grandma immediately expressed how much she would like a pair like them.

To be fair she had been hinting for a while, that she wanted me to make her something. So I thought why not, if she'd appreciate them, then she's given me a great excuse to make them.

I would love to be able to tell you what wool, I made these out of but I honestly can't remember, as they are left over from various other projects I have completed over the years. Hence the reason why they aren't exactly the same. I basically ran out of wool.

I hope this has inspired you!

Most popular posts of 2015

So I wanted to look back over 2015 and I thought the best to do that would be to look at the top 3 most popular posts of 2015.

My Tartan Skirt

The owl dress

Old t-shirts to new pyjama bottoms 

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store.

The Grand Reveal!

So here it is, I'm not going to write much as I'm keen to rejoin my family to enjoy the celebrations.

The unwrapping

Grandma

Mum

Dad

My Sister

In the end my sister, as she her self said, decided to "go solo" and she choose not to match my Granddad.

Granddad (and his interesting way of styling pyjamas)

And finally, Me

I hope you have a very merry Christmas!

Final Wrapping

It's that time again, when I finish wrapping my presents, with Christmas music playing in the back ground.

This year as you know, I've been making pyjama bottoms for everyone who's in the same house as me on Christmas Eve. So when it came to wrapping them, I wanted to make sure that not only where they individually wrapped, but that they where also all in the same place.

This will make it easier to makes sure that they're opened on Christmas Eve. To do this I placed all the individually wrapped presents into a parcel box and wrapped that up and placed it under the tree, with a label explaining that the box needs to be opened on Christmas Eve.

My pan is that everyone gets their present and opens it at exactly the same time, so that it's a surprise as to what's in the wrapping, when everyone first opens their presents. Otherwise if the presents where all opened individually one at a time, it would soon become clear that everyone is getting a set of pyjamas.
If you'd like to see all of the pyjamas, I've included links for them bellow:
The Plan
Pyjama No.1
Pyjama No.2
Pyjama No.3
Pyjama No.4
Pyjama No.5
Pyjama No.6
Pyjama No.7

I hope this has inspired you!

Pyjama No.7

Here it is, the final Pyjama. I hope you've liked this slightly weird series but don't forget there will be a grand reveal soon and an extra post at some point this week.

I made these pyjama bottoms for my Dad. Again I had the same problem with finding fabric, as I did with the pyjama bottoms I made for my Grandfather, there wasn't much selection when it came to buying second hand bed sheets that would make reasonable pyjama bottoms for a man.

Top: Primark (£3.00)

Trousers: Made by me from a second hand pirate themed bed sheet.

I realise that this top is might push the pirate themed trousers over the limit but it's my Dad, I'm sure he'll see the funny side. Besides it was this or getting him an ugly Christmas jumper, so really he got off quite lightly. Also I really struggled to find a top that matched and so in the right size, so I decided to pick up on the white and red in the trousers.

Again the trousers where too long to fit into one photo. For the trousers, I used both the front and the back of the bed sheet, so that one leg would be covered in stripes and the other would show case a pirate ship. You might be starting to see why these pyjamas could be a bit over whelming.

I hope this has inspired you!

Pyjama No.6

Hey, here's another one! I'm so close to finishing them now that I'm starting to get really excited about my family opening them on the 24th and already, I'm forgetting about the stress of making them.

This set is for my Grandfather. I really struggled to find suitable Christmas-ish fabric for the men, so in the end I opted for this angel fabric, which originally came from an awful ruffled bed set from the charity shop. You should have seen the shop assistants face when I went to buy it.

  Top: Primark (£2.50)

Trousers: Made by me, from a second hand bed sheet.

To make the trousers, I 'borrowed' a pair of my Dads trousers, as they're roughly the same size but made them slightly longer. As my Grandfather is a little bit taller than my Dad and yes the trousers where too long to fit into one photo.

When buying a top, I went for a light grey top, mainly because it was the only one I could find in the right size that matched colour wise.

Like I state earlier, I'm so close to finishing. So stay tuned for the last pyjama and the grand reveal.

I hope this has inspired you!