A crochet pattern for tea and coffee lovers: mug cozy

February 24, 2015August 8, 2015 ~ Megan Barclay ~ 1 Comment

Having trouble finding a pattern for a crocheted gift for someone? Most likely they drink some sort of hot drink! Make them a quick and simple mug cozy that keeps the mug warm, acts as a built in coaster, and makes the mug look unique (and cozy!).

For my tea loving sister-in-law and coffee loving dad, I made them each a mug cozy using the free pattern designed by Anna of Crochet N Play Designs. My father can be hard to find a gift for, and finding him something to crochet is even more tricky, but he actually requested one of these mug cozies after seeing the one I made my sister-in-law!

For my father’s mug (the one seen in the photos) I used Bernat Handicrafter cotton in Classic Navy (13110) and Blue Jeans (13116). I recommend sticking with a machine washable yarn in case you get some of your tea or coffee on the cozy (or, if you are me, WHEN you get some on the cozy).

I did need to alter the pattern slightly to fit the mugs I chose. My mugs were not the average shape. The main adjustment I made was adding decreases when crocheting along the opening of the handle. Without the decreases, the cozy splayed open when unbuttoned, and when buttoned there were major bulges at the handle. By adding the decreases, the opening hugged more nicely around the handle.

My favourite thing about the cozy? The button! I think it adds so much to the whole design, giving it a very cute handmade look.

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Until next time,

Spiked dog collar (free pattern)

February 17, 2015August 8, 2015 ~ Megan Barclay ~ Leave a comment

Now all the dogs in your life can (sort of) look rough and tough because I am releasing my next hookabee pattern (and first FREE pattern): a spiked dog collar. Ok, so a spiked dog collar is not amigurumi, but it is FOR cutie animals!

I originally made this pattern for one of my clients (I am a dog walker!), but altered it slightly to make it even simpler. You can customize the pattern to fit your own dog and I include step-by-step photos throughout.

You can download the free pattern HERE.

Until next time,

A crocheted hat for my brother

February 10, 2015August 8, 2015 ~ Megan Barclay ~ 3 Comments

For my brother’s Christmas gift this past December I crocheted him a warm winter hat (or toque, as we like to call them here in Canada). The pattern I used was Carmel by DROPS design, a quick and easy free pattern. I made it in size L (because my brother has a big head) and used Lion Brand Heartland in Kings Canyon for the main colour and Patons Canadiana in Med. grey mix for the stripes.

I loved that for this pattern it was crocheted into the back loops only, a technique I like to use for large amigurumi, but don’t often use for garments or accessories. It made the the hat nice and thin and stretchy. The ridges made by the unworked front loops on the surface of the hat also gave the hat a nice texture.

Despite the hat being thin, it was surprisingly warm! I also like how well it covers your ears. And of course, it passed my softness test and was nice to the touch 🙂 I really love the Lion Brand Heartland yarn and plan to use it a lot more in the future (in fact I just started a sweater with it today, but more on that another time).

The hat is designed to be droopy in the back (it is on me in the photos above), but it can be pulled down fully to fit more snug all around, especially if you have my brother’s big head!

Until next time,