Halloween Treat-Warmers in Crochet

Here's the crocheted version of my Halloween wristwarmers, made with Tami's hand-painted yarn from Candy Skein, called "Halloween Treat." The colorway was designed especially for Witch Warmers! These wristwarmers were made using the Witch Warmers in Crochet pattern.* The pictures show the short version from the armwarmer section of the pattern.

Tami's Halloween Treat yarn is fingering weight and the pattern calls for sportweight, so there are a couple of minor modifications:

1. Use one size larger than the pattern's arm/leg/neck measurements call for. Your gauge swatch will come out to around 3" x 3" (8cm x 8cm) instead of 4" x 4" (10.5cm x 10.5 cm).

2. When you get to the arm section, omit "sl st-bl in first st" and "sk1" wherever found. They are not necessary if you're using variegated yarn, and not making stripes by alternating actual yarn colors.

For more FO Friday finished objects on other blogs, check here.

* There's a knit version of these here.

WIP Wednesday: Crocheted Halloween Treat-Warmers

It's WIP Wednesday again, and I have started the crochet version of our Halloween Treat wristwarmers, using the Witch Warmers in Crochet pattern. Tami (of Candy Skein) has designed a special colorway for the Witch Warmers patterns, called "Halloween Treat."

(The loops aren’t really as loose as the bottom edge looks… I had just frogged a row.)

Like the knit version using this yarn, a few minor modifications are needed to accommodate the skinnier yarn. I will post them on Friday with the FO.

If you haven't seen the knit version of this, check here.

For more WIP Wednesday posts on other blogs, check here.

My Favorite Crocheter... Absinthia!

The Blog Week question for today is: Who is a great knitter or crocheter that you admire?


Absinthia's Dog
Here is my crochet answer: No, not the dog... I love Absinthia!! She is a brilliant Swedish crocheter, who is innovative, clever, and just a lot of fun. She has been a pattern tester for me on Witch Warmers in Crochet, and she suggested a huge improvement in the way the stripes join up. I had tried and tried to make those stripes jogless, and the combination of stitches just wasn’t allowing it for me. Absinthia to the rescue! She suggested a fix that was perfect... I would never have thought of it on my own. Check out her work on Ravelry.

The photo above shows Absinthia’s child-sized version of the Fortune-Teller Turban in Crochet, modeled by her little dog. How cute is that?? She made the turban for her kindergartener-niece, who wears it when she takes on the character of Scheherazade, spinning tales for her friends.

If you want to see more posts from other bloggers participating in Blog Week, click here to find links:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=knitcroblo3&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

(Blog Week Day 3 tag: knitcroblo3)

Elf Warmers

Short and cute, these wristwarmers make a fast crochet project... great for stash-busting too. The instructions for making them are included in the Witch Warmers in Crochet pattern. Just use the short version notes in italics. You can make short anklewarmers, too, and a matching neckwarmer to complete the look.

If you prefer, you can knit these using the original Witch Warmers pattern, designed for knitters.

The yarn for this project was I Love This Yarn Sportweight by Hobby Lobby. It's 100% acrylic, inexpensive, and it has a lovely, soft feel when working with it and wearing it. In order to make this project, I broke down and bought acrylic to save money, and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. Since these wristwarmers were a holiday project, I don't expect to be washing and drying them a lot, so they will probably continue to look good for a long time.

You can find another variation for Witch Warmers in Crochet here:
Evening-Length Winter Warmers

Forming a Base Chain Circle

For me, this can be the hardest part of an in-the-round crochet project: getting the circle made without a twist in the base or foundation chain. In order to crochet in the round, usually a number of chain stitches are joined to form a base chain-circle. This is how the ruffle starts on the Witch Warmers in Crochet armwarmer and legwarmer.

Here’s how to do it:

1. When you have finished chaining, hold the hook with the last-made loop in your right hand and the front of the chain facing you.

2. Grasp the hook-end of the chain between the thumb and forefinger of your right hand, and then grasp the chain a few inches or centimeters out from the hook with the thumb and forefinger of your left hand. Be sure the fronts of the chain stitches between the hook and your left hand are facing you.


3. Slide the left-hand thumb and forefinger to the left along the chain stitches, straightening and smoothing for a few inches or centimeters.

4. With the hook still in your right hand, release your right-fingers’ grip on the chain and re-grip the chain farther along, next to the left-hand fingers.

5. Repeat until you have reached the end of the chain stitches--the first-made chain.

6. Keeping the end of the straightened chain in your left hand, let go of the chain with your right fingers and bring the hook (still in your right hand) and the first-made chain end up and around so the hook and the yarn tail are pointing at each other, again making sure the fronts of the first and last chain stitches are still facing you.


7. Slip stitch into the top loop (or the front) of the first-made chain.


8. If you’re using a removable stitch marker, place it in the loop on the hook.

For more crochet tips to help with this pattern, see the following posts:
Smooth Chain Finish
Avoiding Stiff Crochet
Swatch Wars

Sneak Peek... Witch Warmers in Crochet

I've got a new pattern that's ready to be tested, and it will be offered for sale here and on Ravelry after the test. It is a set of witchy armwarmers, legwarmers, and a neckwarmer. This is a crochet re-design of my knitted Witch Warmers pattern.

If you'd like to be a tester, please let me know and I'll email you the pattern for free. When I've got enough testers, the freebies will no longer be available. It's a fun project, and it takes up to 800 yds / 730 meters of sportweight yarn for the full set. If you prefer, you can test just one of the items. I used Wool-Ease sportweight and Plymouth Encore DK in the pictures.