Toddler Slipper Socks With Tassels

Here's another quick weekend project. My niece is one year old and growing like a weed. With the cold weather setting in, I needed something I could make quickly. There's nothing worse than starting a project for a child and it being too small by the time you finish. Unfortunately, she was too big for the baby patterns I have, and too small for the child patterns. So I decided it was time to make one up myself.

This took about half a day from start to finish. That's including writing down the stitches as I went. This is my first time writing my own pattern, and I'm sure that as my niece grows many changes will be made to this basic one.

Fits a 5 1/2 inch foot.

Materials

1 skein Bernat Baby Coordinates (color of your choice)

1 skein Bernat Baby Coordinates (second color of your choice)

4.5mm hook

Update

This pattern is now available for sale here  

Pink Triceratops

My niece's first birthday came up and I had tons of pink yarn left over from her baby shower. I had hoped that one of my other expectant friends would be having a girl, but alas, my niece was the only girl in the bunch. So I had all this pink yarn, taking up space in my stash, meaning I couldn't buy more yarn till I had room. What a dilemma!

I always wanted to make a dinosaur and I figured this was the perfect chance. The great thing about making things for young children is that they don't care what's popular or if your project comes out goofy looking. As long as it's something they get to play with, they're happy. So I use my niece to practice all these new patterns I've been dying to try. Hopefully, when she's old enough I'll be an old pro and can make things by request.

You can purchase this pattern from Gourmet Crochet. They have a range of whimsical patterns for sale. They also have non crochet patterns for those who prefer other forms of crafting. And their site has a link to pattern corrections which makes the going that much easier. So if you're looking for something cute, check out Gourmet Crochet. You won't be disappointed.

I used Bernat Baby Coordinates. One skein was more than enough for the triceratops. Because my niece is still young and loves to shove everything in her mouth, I embroidered the eyes instead of using store bought ones.

I did have to take the dino apart once since it wasn't looking right. Second time around, it turned out fine. Don't be afraid to take a project apart and start over.

I used blue number 10 crochet thread to embroider her eyes.

In all this little gal took me about a day to complete. That's including my starting and taking apart the first try.

Obviously, my dinosaur didn't look like the one on the pattern. But it's my first try and I'm pretty proud of the little gal.

Apparently, my little dinosaur was a hit. After opening her present, my niece immediately shoved the triceratops into her mouth.

Please consider donating to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

Sand Dollar Pendant with Fresh Water Pearls

So this project came out of the depths of my mind.  Someone had given me a bunch of shells and sand dollars that he no longer wanted.  Since I love stuff from the ocean, I gladly accepted the free stuff.  I took one look at this small sand dollar and knew it was perfect for this project.  I had always wanted a sand dollar pendant made from a real sand dollar.  So here was my chance to make one.

I decided that I didn't want to bleach the sand dollar.  Bleaching would ruin the character of the sand dollar.  First I had to put a hole in the sand dollar. Well, I don't own a drill of any sort so I had to put the hole in by hand.  I carefully, drilled a hole in the top of the sand dollar using a nail and just twisting it slowly.  This was very time consuming and if I make another shell pendant, I will purchase a small drill to make the holes.

Next came putting some sort of sealer on it.  All I had in the house was Mod Podge, and acrylic sealer.  I didn't want to ruin my sand dollar.  I mean I had gone through all that trouble of drilling a hole in it.  So I pulled out an ugly looking black shell from the pile that I was given.  I coated it in Mod Podge (one coat) and then the acrylic sealer (three coats).  After coating the shell, it was beautiful.  The acrylic sealer brought out some copper tones and made the black look polished.  So I decided to make another pendant.

Since the experiment with the shell went so well, I went ahead with sealing the sand dollar.  While the sand dollar was drying I started figuring out what kind of necklace I wanted to put the pendant on. I figured since it was an ocean piece maybe the rest of the necklace should have to do with the water.  Now saltwater pearls are way too pricey, I went to Walmart to price out those pearl-like beads.  That's where I found these freshwater pearls.  I fell in love with the ones of varied shapes and sizes.  So I bought two strands of them and a container of rainbow beads (they look black but bounce light off in different colors).  I also picked up some clear, stretchy, beading thread, crimp beads, and some clasps.

I threaded the beads and pearls on.  I made the pearls the main color for the sand dollar necklace and the black beads the main color for the shell necklace.  I have to say that they came out quite lovely.  Especially since this is my first jewelry adventure.

 

Image of the necklace as a whole.

Close up of the sand dollar pendant.

Finished shell necklace.

Close up of shell front.

Close up of the shell's back.  The picture does not do justice for the copper tones.

Overall this project took me a weekend to complete.  That includes the shopping.  If you have all the supplies on hand to begin with, it should only take up a Saturday.

As a side note:  After doing some research, a lot of people suggested using shellac (sp?) as a sealer for the shell.  I guess it's supposed to be waterproof and provides a lovely shine.  The acrylic sealer I used is not waterproof, so wearing these necklaces on a rainy day or to the beach is not an option.

If you enjoyed this project, consider donating to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/