When Life Shuts a Door Open It Again Crochet

Arts and crafts With Me: Crochet Motion picture Volume Inspiration

By

Amanda Pagan, Children's Librarian

June 18, 2021

Craft with Me is a series of craft book reviews done past our very ain NYPL librarians. We selection a craft book currently bachelor within our collection and effort a few of the projects to see how feasible they are.

If you lot are looking for gifts to make for the fiddling ones in your life, so you're in the correct place! These projects are perfect for babies, toddlers, and older children as well. While these patterns are pretty easy to follow, nosotros recommend you be at least an advanced beginner in crochet before attempting them.

In this edition of Craft with Me, we're bringing yous some of our crochet projects that were inspired past our picture book drove. While looking at craft books to review, we came across  patterns that reminded us of some familiar cartoon faces: Pete the True cat, Splat the Cat, Battle Bunny, and Harry the Domestic dog. By changing the yarn color and adding a few details nosotros managed to bring some of our favorite characters to life!

Crochet is a groovy medium for showing off your personality through your creations. If your little one has a favorite grapheme, why non bring them to life yourself? Our craft section is full of bang-up design books that are easily adaptable. Check out our reviews beneath!

Craft Books

Crochet Ane Skein Wonders: 101 Projects From Crocheters Around the World edited past Judith Durant and Edie Eckman

In this all-crochet add-on to the One-Skein Wonders® series, Edie Eckman and Judith Durant offering 101 exciting crochet projects — including jewelry, scarves, bags, hats, dresses, and abode decor items — that each use simply ane skein of yarn. With projects organized by yarn type and weight, y'all'll exist crocheting lacy shrugs for the springtime and heavy-duty beanies for the snowy winter months. Whatever your experience level, you're certain to find a delightfully portable project that suits your individual style.

Cuddly Crochet: Adorable Toys, Hats, and More by Stacey Trock

Looking for a great gift for a special youngster? Cull from 10 adorable stuffed animals and pair them with x practical items such as blankets, hats, and bibs for the perfect infant-gift philharmonic. How almost a kissable koala wrapped in a blanket--or a huggable mouse paired with a babe's bib!

Craft Reviews:

Lucky Canis familiaris, V Hair Scrunchies, Three-Circular Scarf

Crochet Ane Skein Wonders: 101 Projects From Crocheters Effectually the Earth edited by Judith Durant and Edie Eckman

Reviewed by: Sue Yee

Overall impression: This assumes you know and are comfortable with the basic crochet stitches and techniques. Includes a glossary of terms, abbreviations, and nautical chart/diagram symbols. A quick review of stitches is included in the glossary.

Projects organized by yarn weight. Patterns include: coasters, jewelry (necklace & earrings); scarves, cowls, shawls, hats, gloves, bags, infant clothes and stuffed animals. The bulk of patterns also include a crochet chart/diagram of the stitch patterns.

Patterns are well written and easy to follow, even for a beginner. I was able to make five scrunchies, a scarf that looked pretty complicated, merely was fairly easy, and a stuffed puppy.

I'm more of a visual learner, so I establish the diagrams to be very helpful when I couldn't effigy out the written instructions.

Patterns are from different designers and a short bio of each designer is included at the back of the book. Bio'southward too includes designer's website, blog site, or volume titles so readers can find more of their patterns.

In that location's a large variety of patterns, so I was able to choose something that was on my level that I wanted to brand. Liked that the patterns are organized past weight, and then I didn't take to search through the unabridged book trying to find something that matched what I had in my yarn stash. Or find an particular/pattern I liked only to find that the yarn I had was the wrong weight. Also liked that I can notice more patterns by the designers I similar through the info included in their bio'south.

Think I will exist making other projects from this book. (Liked it enough to buy it as an e-book, simply I like the concrete book amend since I tin can proceed the book open in front of me and non have to worry about my tablet shutting down due to no activity.)

Sweetness Kitty

Designed by Deb Richey

From: Crochet One Skein Wonders: 101 Projects From Crocheters Effectually the World eastdited by Judith Durant and Edie Eckman

Reviewed by: Amanda Pagan

Overall impression:I concord with Sue. The pattern was surprisingly piece of cake to follow, and worked up very rapidly. When I first opened the page to the cat pattern, I was instantly inspired to create my ain based off of Pete the Cat by James Dean!

I had a ball of bluish worsted weight yarn left over from a previous projection that I used that was probably less than a full skein. I used hook size H for his body, and a size G for his eyes and olfactory organ. I take been crocheting for a picayune more than than ten years now, merely I have problems with single crochet and usually avoid them when possible. Past using a bigger hook I was able to see my stitches conspicuously, and this was especially helpful when making the legs, feet, and tail considering I was essentially crocheting tubes.

This blueprint took me a few days considering I have problems with single crochet (such tiny stitches!). The directions were clear and easy to follow. If you lot are already an advanced beginner, then you should be able to follow this just fine. It works up very rapidly, and then this would make a fun weekend project. It's besides a nifty way to use upwards any leftover yarn you take in your stash.

Changes:

The pattern recommended using safe push button eyes, merely since I did not have those on hand and because Pete has such a distinctive set of optics, I chose to make them using a pattern I created myself.

If you are looking to brand your own Pete the Cat or simply like the look of the eyes, here is the design I made upward for the optics:

Pete the Cat eyes

Row 1: Ch four, sl st to first st (white)

Row 2: 6 sc in second ch from hook, ch one, sl st to first stitch (black)

Row 3: two sc each into next iii sts, i sc into fourth st. (yellow)

Yous might accept to play around with the optics with your hands to shape them. The white should peek out from nether the ch 1 in the second row. In the cease it should be a semicircle.

Hazel the Bouncy Bunny and Kendra the Kitty True cat

From Cuddly Crochet: Adorable Toys, Hats, and Moreby Stacey Trock

Reviewed by: Amanda Pagan

All of the plushies in this craft volume follow the aforementioned pattern for their heads, bodies, and anxiety. Depending on what beast you are doing, y'all will follow dissimilar patterns for their ears and facial features. The pattern itself is super piece of cake to follow and if yous like your stuffies squat and full of stuffing, then this is a perfect blueprint for yous. My plushies came out perfectly huggable.

I used crochet claw size H and about a skein of yarn leftover from a previous project for each plushie.

I was inspired by some of the books in our collection and attempted to make my Kendra the Kitty Cat look more than like Splat the Cat. For Hazel the Bouncy Bunny, I pulled inspiration from the deadly and fuzzy Battle Bunny!

If you lot're looking for inspiration, check your little 1's bookshelves!

Boxing Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett and Alex; pictures by Matthew Myers merely mostly Alex

Alex, whose birthday it is, hijacks a story nearly Birthday Bunny on his special twenty-four hour period and turns it into a battle between a supervillain and his enemies in the forest--who, in the original story, are merely planning a surprise party.

Splat the Catby Rob Scotton

A nervous Splat finds his first day at Cat School much meliorate than he expected.

Pete the True cat: I love My White Shoes story by Eric Litwin (aka Mr. Eric); fine art by James Dean

As he walks down the street, Pete the cat sings about his brand new white shoes as they change from cerise to blue to dark-brown to wet.

Harry and the Lady Next Door by Gene Zion; pictures past Margaret Bloy Graham

Harry the dog goes to fantastic lengths to make his neighbor stop singing.

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Source: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2021/06/18/craft-with-me-crochet-critters

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