Month: December 2019

Crochet Dreidel (free pattern)

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This year is our family’s first time celebrating Hanukkah, and I am trying to embrace that by making some decorations for our home. (Christmas decorations are easy to find; Hanukkah ones not so much.) Even finding patterns to make your own is difficult, so I created this dreidel and am excited to share it here today. 

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Crochet Dreidel

Gauge is not important to this project. Use any yarn you like and an appropriate hook for the yarn. The hook and yarn you choose will affect the size, but not in a positive or negative way. It’s all about preference. I used worsted weight yarn and a size H hook to get a dreidel about 3x3x5 (including the stem).

Side Panel: make 4

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chain 11. SC in second chain from hook and each chain across. Ch 1. Turn. (10)

Rows 2-10. SC across (10). Ch 1. Turn.

Row 11: SC2tog, sc 6, SC2tog (8)

Row 12: SC2tog, sc 4, SC2tog (6)

Row 13: SC2tog, sc 2, SC2tog (4)

Row 14: SC2tog twice (2)

Row 15: SC2tog (1)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

On each panel, surface slip stitch a (stylized) Hebrew letter.

Top:

Chain 11.

Row 1: SC in second stitch from hook and all the way across. Ch 1 and turn. (10)

Rows 2-5: SC across. Ch 1 and turn. (10)

Row 6: SC in first 4 stitches. Chain 2. Skip next 2 stitches. SC in remaining 4 stitches. Ch 1 and turn. (8 SC + 2 chains)

Row 7: SC in all stitches, including the two chains. Ch 1 and turn. (10)

Rows 8-11: SC across. Ch 1 and turn. (10)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Into the buttonhole made in row 6, attach yarn with a slip stitch. Ch 1. SC into same stitch. SC in each of the other 5 stitches around the buttonhole (the two chains on each side, plus one side stitch on opposite sides.) Join with slip stitch to first stitch of round and chain 1 but do not turn. (6)

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Rounds 2-4: SC around. Join and turn. (6)

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Round 5: SC2tog three times. (3)

Fasten off and use the short tail to close the top of the “stem.”

Construction:

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Sew the top of the side pieces to the sides of the top piece, one at a time. (See pictures for clarity.) Starting at the bottom of each side piece, sew them together until you get to the upper corner of each one. Stuff lightly before sewing the final side closed.

I hope this blesses someone out there!

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How to Crochet Surface Slip Stitch

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How to crochet surface slip stitch | ladybugdaydreams.com

I have a free crochet pattern that I’ll be posting in a couple of days, but I wanted to post this tutorial on the surface slip stitch first, because my pattern requires use of the technique. You may be asking yourself, What is surface slip stitch? It’s simply a way to stitch designs onto your work that’s easier than using a crochet chain as an appliqué. The method is easy once you get the hang of it, so if you’ve never used it before, I hope this inspires you to try.

How to crochet surface slip stitch | ladybugdaydreams.com

The main thing to remember about this technique is that your working yarn should be behind your main piece all the time. With that in mind, here’s a step by step tutorial. (These steps assume that you know how to crochet and have an idea of the design you want to make.)

1. Insert your hook from front to back of your work, right where you want your design to begin. Attach your “drawing” yarn to your hook with a slip knot, then pull the loop through to the front.

how to crochet surface slip stitch | ladybugdaydreams.com

 

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2. Keeping your design in mind, push your hook down through the fabric about one stitch away from where it is now. With your hook on the back of the fabric, yarn over and pull up a loop. With that loop now on the front of your fabric, complete the slip stitch.

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3. Continue in this fashion until you’re done with your design.

4. When you’ve completed your last stitch, remove the hook from your work and gently pull out the final stitch. Push your hook back through the fabric in the same spot you just undid that stitch from, this time from back to front. Grab the loop from the second to last stitch and carefully (without pulling too tightly and distorting your stitches) pull it to the back. 

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5. Break the yarn and fasten off as normal. Tie the beginning tail and ending tail together in a knot at this point, just for extra security. This also assures that your work will stay in place without you having to weave in the ends (since your yarn is probably a contrasting color to your main work, weaving the ends in is less than ideal). Once the tails are knotted together, you can cut the ends short. 

I hope this helps you!

Blessings,

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