Category: Crochet

Back in March, I was asked to set up a display of chocolate-themed crochet work at the San Francisco Chocolate Salon. “ChocolateTV” on Hulu was also there to document the event! My work pops up pretty much in the beginning of the clip for a quick flash. I remember walking into the art area, and the air smelled SO GOOD (I think it was the chocolate paintings!).

Here’s another pattern that was originally on Michaels.com in Dec 2013! “I wanted to round out our craft-tastic 2013 with a pattern for one of my yummy food scarves, so I asked my Facebook fans for advice on which holiday pattern they’d like to see most. The winning votes went to this Snowflake Sugar Cookie Scarf, which I really love because it celebrates the season and has a sugary elegance without being too over the top. For a quicker project, you can work up a single snowflake sugar cookie and turn it into a brooch or hair piece. Happy Holidays and a sweet New Year!”

My little nephew turned 1! It’s weird to think he has been on this planet for a whole year already. I watched him eat his first taste of cake and frosting, and his reaction to the absolute wonder that is CUPCAKESSSSSSSSS was super sweet and funny. On his bday wishlist was a set of crocheted veggies. As a crocheter, my brain obviously told me to make these myself! Or at least something similar! A lot of the cotton yarn I was seeing was not super easy care (machine wash, but air dry), and I wanted the toys to be fully machine washable, so I used both Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice and Deborah Norvile’s Everyday Worsted. I test-washed them first by popping them into a delicate cycle with a low-tumble, and they came out just the same as they went in. I made a carrot, corn, eggplant, potato, mushroom, radish, and tomato. I think my favorite is the radish! Second favorite: potato! I packaged them in a cute little basket and wrapped it all up in clear cello, like an actual gift basket of food. I don’t know if he’ll actually play with them, but it was certainly a fun project! Hairy’s nephew really loved to play with fake food when he was younger, so maybe Ender will go through a fake food phase as well! I don’t know anything about babies, so I think these might be a bit big for him to hold (except by the greens/stems!), but I didn’t want to make them too small for fear him trying to eat any of it! Here’s a link to “crochet vegetable” on Etsy, and here is a link to “crochet vegetable pattern” on Etsy. People on Instagram asked me if I were selling these in my shop, but since so many on Etsy are doing it already, I feel like I should maybe step back on that one!    

I think some of y’all are thinking really far ahead for the holidays and already asking me to re-post the turkey tissue box cozy pattern :). I like your style! “In my family’s house, holiday time means Turkey Time! And you know me: I like my crochet decorations to be useful, so here is my pattern for a Turkey Tissue Box Cozy, complete with roasted veggie accents that you can turn into pins, hair clips, or magnets, plus a ruffled lettuce garnish that is actually a dish cloth. This tissue cozy will be a savory and festive accent for your home and is also a fantastic hostess gift!”

Here’s another crochet pattern I wrote for Michaels.com last year to promote their Loops & Threads line. The photo above shows yarns from KnitPicks (Brava worsted) because I think the colors are a bit brighter. But this pattern is really versatile, and any worsted weight yarn will do ya! I actually worked up a totally different jelly bean motif – worked in rows instead of rounds – a few weeks ago for a secret Yummy You! collab sample, so I may share that soon as well. (Is it weird to have two different patterns for jelly bean scarves? :P). “I recently polled my Twitter followers about what kind of crochet pattern they’d like to see for Easter. One gal said, “Something with jelly beans!” I loved this idea, so I designed this multicolored jelly bean scarf for you to wear on Easter egg hunts. Use the combination of worsted weight colors that remind you of your favorite jelly bean flavors. This pattern is the ultimate stash-buster—the more variety, the better!” New in: video tutorial on YouTube!  

Bread Loaf Letter-Organizer: That Thing You Never Knew You Needed…. Until NOW. I know this is late for Mother’s Day makers, but I couldn’t decide what to make my mom this year. I finally decided to attack this funny desk-top bread loaf last night! It’s a squishy adorable faux loaf to help you organize your mail, postcards, and stray pieces of paper. My video is more like a vlog than a tutorial, I think. I didn’t know how it would all turn out, and you can see me change my mind about certain things and try different methods for stuff. I hope it’s interesting and not frustrating :). In the end, I decided I would take this loaf apart, and use a styrofoam sheet in that center section, so that I can stab the wire arches through the crochet and into the styrofoam. This will aid not only in stability of the whole loaf, but also stability for the wires so that they’re not just swimming in Polyfil.  I would also use a stronger wire than jewelry wire, because jewelry wire is SO soft and malleable, but I need to do a bit more research on that. Without further ado… here is the free pattern (which I might keep tweaking later, who knows!).  

Last weekend, I met up with friends for brunch, and then we went to Japantown to shop and take photobooth pictures (and buy cupcakes!). At the New People building in JTown, I saw the most amazing varsity jacket with embroidery depicting tigers eating cheeseburgers. WHAT!! I was like, “WE ALL NEED TO BUY THIS JACKET.” Then, I looked at the price tag and said, “Okay, maybe we can all share one….” The brand was Aymmy in the Batty Girls. I’m completely in love with the whole spirit of the brand, based on a highschool girl named Aymmy who loves punk rock and zombie movies and either lives in the 50s or is obsessed with the 50s. I can’t read the Japanese on the site, so I don’t know the whole story, but they did translate it onto a piece of paper at the store, but I didn’t read the whole thing! They have a pop-up in the New People building, and you can see toooons of their products, from tshirts to jackets to cheerleader skirts to backpacks to rompers. So many goodies! Since the embroidered jacket was super out of my price range, I opted for the cheeseburger tshirt that I couldn’t stop thinking about. I probably could have left without buying anything, but then Mars grabbed the cheerleader skirt, and Steph grabbed the junk food romper, and I didn’t want to feel left out! I figured the shirt might not fit anyway, because Japanese clothes are small, and sometimes my arms don’t fit in the arm holes, but I guess it’s supposed to be a super loose-fit shirt, and my limbs fit in there just fine. SOLD! I paired my burger shirt with rolled up skinnies, sequins Converse, ruffle ankle socks, a high pony, and heart glasses. Super casual but super fun! I usually feel that skinny jeans and flat shoes make me feel squatty and chubby, but I think they just fit the theme too well! P.S. Stay tuned for my Mother’s Day present YouTube tutorial! The project is kinda out-there, but it’s what I’m actually making for my own mom :). Shirt: Aymmy in the Batty Girls, Jeans: Modcloth, Shoes: Converse (similar), Ankle socks: can’t remember, maybe F21 or ASOS?, Head Scarf: Modcloth, Burger scarf: made by me, Heart sunnies: eBay.  

I’ve been trying to think of a fun video tutorial to shoot for you guys for Mother’s Day presents, but in the mean time, check out these patterns from my archives! If you have any requests (I probably won’t do flowers/roses), leave a comment! I’ll probably start shooting a tutorial on Monday or Tuesday!) ****

I came down with a funny case of spring fever after I searched the Internet for “spring vegetables” and saw so many photos of cute asparagus. What results from being inspired by asparagus? A crocheted pen cozy, of course! I also made him a couple of crisp and crunchy friends. This vegetable medley works up quickly and is a fun way to celebrate nature’s bounty and the arrival of Spring. Make a bunch and place them in a lentil-filled mason jar for a uniquely homegrown, handmade gift! For those who don’t crochet, I also sell finished cozies in my Etsy shop!

I created this pattern for Michaels.com last year for a Mother’s Day promo. When I crochet gifts for my mom, I like to make cute things that she can use around the house. One of the first projects I ever made for her was a cake-themed tissue box cozy. So, this month, I had my mom in mind when I designed this crocheted chiffon cake with colorful strawberry, blueberry and kiwi topping. I remember eating delicious cakes just like it when I was little. I hope you have fun creating this yummy piece of my childhood memories. Consider making one as a gift to sweeten a special someone’s Mother’s Day!

There’s only one thing that comes to my mind when I think of college, new adventures, and dorm life: PIZZA. This crocheted pepperoni pizza garland is a colorful and festive dorm room decoration for walls, windows, or doorways, and it’s really easy to make as long or short as you want. I love garlands as a statement of celebration for every day. Give a home-away-from-home a bright, playful, and cozy touch with these tasty slices! (Obvs, I originally designed this pattern for Michaels.com as part of a back-to-school promo for Fall, and they asked me to create a project to decorate a new dorm room. But I think any pizza-lover of any age would get a good giggle out of this gift!)

The deliciously bright hues of Red Heart® Gumdrop™ yarn remind me of juicy rainbow sherbet, so I designed this sweet and funny crocheted pillow to add a summery pop of color to your couch, bed, or favorite easy chair. Use this pattern to make just one or two scoops instead of three. You’ll be constructing the pillow in two pieces – front and back – and sewing them together. Go crazy with your favorite colors and flavors!

Recently, Michaels.com added online shopping to their site, which is pretty cool! But it looks like a lot of their knit and crochet patterns disappeared. I have no idea what the future of those patterns is, but you guys have been asking me to post some of the projects you are in the middle of! So here is the Slushee Cup Drawstring Bag pattern. I also now sell the finished item in my Etsy shop for those who don’t crochet. Stay cool poolside with this crocheted Slushee Drawstring Bag! It’s just big enough for you to throw in your phone, keys, sunnies, lip balm, and a little cash, so you can keep a light load while catching some rays. I reused a takeout soup container to reinforce the inside of my project, but you can still use your Slushee without. You can customize your cup by choosing the word or phrase that you like best with felt cut-outs and fabric paint (I used a custom patch that I designed!). You can even add a real red straw accent!        

I have a tight deadline for another super secret project……. but I saw some reject bits and bobs and thought I would take a snap for the blog. Sometimes I get caught up in the “secretness” of things I’m working on, and then I feel like I have nothing to blog about, but a little vague peeksy won’t hurt! Once I grabbed these off the floor, I gave myself a giggle….

I know it’s really last minute, but I made a video tutorial to go with my free pattern for the mini chocolate Easter bunny!

You can now buy vanilla or chocolate Kitty Donut Hair Clips in my Etsy shop! Each one has a slightly different personality, but they are all super sweet and cute! I was afraid they would look weird as hair pieces, but I really love how they look while worn. Like I have a little napping kitty on my head! I am going to make other colors soon, too! Like a striped maple kitty and maybe a panda! (p.s. I will not be selling the Gloomy Bear donuts, sorry! Not unless someone knows the Gloomy Bear people and they tell me it’s okay 😛 )

I have a super cute new (and quick and easy!) pattern for you guys! Chocolate Easter Bunny mini plushies!! You can use them as hair clips, brooches, ornaments, cupcake toppers, or just fun little Easter Basket-stuffers. I didn’t have time to crochet these in time for my Etsy shop to ship out before Easter, but at least the crocheters out there still have some time to make some of their own! One bunny takes me about 30 minutes from start to finish (including taking photos!). You can make chocolate bunnies of all different sizes depending on the yarn you want to use. While figuring out the pattern, I used a worsted weight, Lion Brand Vanna’s in Chocolate, which gave me a bunny that’s about 5 inches tall. My goal was to make something tiny and gold, like the chocolate bunnies wrapped in gold foil, so then I made one with Lion Brand Vanna’s Glamour in Gold, which gave me a bunny that’s about 3 inches tall. Wrap them up in a little bit of cellophane and ribbon for a cute presentation! Enjoy! EDIT: I just added a video tutorial for this on YouTube as well! 🙂 Here’s the link!

I received an order for a cheeseburger scarf a few weeks ago, and I was prompted to re-visit my pattern for it. I ended up taking a lot longer to complete the scarf than usual, but it was kind of cool to figure out ways to simplify areas that didn’t need to be so fussy, mainly, how my burgers and buns went together and were shaped. I kind of forgot how labor-intensive the burger scarf is to make. All the sewing and applique-ing and ends-weaving took a million years, but I also think the burgers are so so cute! A lot of my work can be really tedious, but I always think the extra time is worth it. I was happy that my customer decided to go with felt sesame seeds, because I’ve personally always preferred that look to the hand-stitched ones. Someone asked if I would be making the burger scarf pattern available soon, and the answer is: I’m not sure yet! I’m still figuring out what the deal is with Crochet Book #2, and I always like to have a grand plan about everything and make sure everything is in the right place at the right time, so I have a little more plotting to do before releasing a lot of scarf patterns! I actually wrote a big blog entry about the journey to Book #2, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to post it …!

I have to admit, this outfit is a little bit out-there to me. The main reason: I feel butt-conscious in it. But from the front, I’m totally fine with it. Just, don’t look at my butt… Anyway, this little black velvet jumpsuit is kind of amazing regardless of the butt thing. Pajama-factor is high as far as comfort, and I love how the legs are short so you can show off some weird mis-matched socks. The leg-length also gives the jumpsuit kind of a nerdy awkward dorky feel, which I know won’t be for everyone, but it’s definitely for me! There are cute velvet buttons down the front, too, but those were hard for me to photograph since the velvety blackness sucked in all the light. In highschool, my highschool-BFF gave me a hard time for being so matchy-matchy all the time, so then I purposefully started to not match anything at all, which is the rule I lived by for basically my whole adult life (aside from in the office… then I just wore all black because I didn’t know how to match anything else, in a grown-up and office-appropriate manner). These days, when I throw together an outfit, I’m discovering I’m actually getting a little more matchy-matchy again as far as colors, because I equate that with seeming put-together. On Instagram, I said this look was inspired by mimes and clowns. All I need is some balloons and the big red nose! Jumpsuit: The White Pepper, Flower Collar: Locketship, Wedge Boots: The White Pepper, Knee Highs: We Love Colors, Sanrio Cupcake Scarf: Yummy You!, Little Red Beret: made by me! About the beret: I actually made one for me and Manda for this little casual photoshoot I wanted to do last weekend, but I can’t show you those photos just yet. If you want to make your own mini beret, it’s super easy. Basically, if you can crochet a circle, you can crochet this hat! Here’s the pattern:

After several people asked if I could shoot a video tutorial for the free Cupcake Dish Cloth pattern I wrote for Lily Sugar ‘N Cream, I finally made it happen! Crochet videos are kinda weird to me, cuz even after I sped up a lot of the easy crochet portions, my video still clocks in at a whopping 53 minutes!! I can’t imagine anyone sitting through the whole thing! But is that the point? To feel like you are crocheting a project along with someone? I would love feedback! I wanted to be as informative as possible, but maybe I was too informative…. heheh. Like, I know I could have done separate videos for weaving ends, blocking, working each different stitch…. that seems logical to me, but it also felt natural to just mention it while I was doing it. Let me know your thoughts! p.s. While filming, I also noticed a few small flubs in the pattern, and I edited the pattern on my blog to reflect those changes.

We went to see Wes Anderson’s new movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel, last night, and it was delightful, as always and expected! I had already been planning an outfit inspired by the Lobby Boy from the stills I’d seen on google, and I made my hat an hour before shooting these photos! I didn’t own much purple clothing aside from a ruffly hippie dress, so I scoured Etsy for some vintage. My jumper/overalls dress wasn’t quite vintage (the brand is Arizona!), but it definitely looked like something I would continue to wear all the time. It’s so comfy! The shirt and lady-tie are from ASOS from maybe a year or two ago. I keep forgetting to wear it, but I feel super dapper in it! I crocheted the hat and embroidered the lettering. A sour cream container is providing the structure underneath. I really love crocheted head pieces because I can just stab through the crochet stitches with bobby pins to secure hats like this to my head. I kind of was into wearing this hat. I need to think of a version I can wear on a more everyday basis! So if you are in the mood for a movie with a murder mystery, impeccable styling & sets, and tons of quirky characters, go see The Grand Budapest Hotel this weekend!

I finally added my new frosted animal cookie pins to my Etsy shop! You choose from lions, camels, elephants, and rhinos, and you can also choose if you’d like them to be pins, hair clips, or just plain! Tell me what your favorites are!  

Check out what I cooked up for the Sugar High Club group art show at Ink and Pistons‘ Slushbox Art Gallery in West Palm Beach! The show opens March 8th, 7pm-11pm and features “all things sweet, sugary, sparkly, extra fluffy and of course super Kawaii!!” Here’s a link to the Facebook event. This tissue cozy definitely wins for Most Hand-Sewing Needed!!! I really love how the circus tent turned out!

Mollie Makes “DIY FASHION” bookazine is out now! It 132 pages of people’s photos of their closets and favorite outfits (including me), and q&a’s about their style influences and how they add their own DIY touches. There are also 12 projects inside to help you accent your own wardrobes, including a brand new crochet pattern by me for Frosted Animal Cookie brooches! I am really not great with technology, but you can either purchase a hardcopy from the link above, or you can get on your iPhone or iPad, download the Mollie Makes app for free, and then purchase the DIY Fashion issue inside the app. Have fun! I’ve been looking at the bookazine in my iPhone (I don’t have an iPad), and everything is kinda tiny, but I can tell there is a lot of neat stuff inside. Some of these girls’ houses are AMAZING! I had a really tight deadline for submission, which pretty  much meant, I didn’t have time to pick up the house much (doh!), so I took photos outside. My garden is not so green right now, so I ended up next to a wall. Not my 100% ideal for a colorful backdrop, but, you work with what you got!