Thursday, March 3, 2011

Deck Out Your Dorm Room Part 1: Loopy Rug (Crochet)

Many of you are likely going off to college next fall. Some of you might just be in the mood to redecorate a bedroom or a current dorm room. in any case, this is the series for you! I've been working on crafts to decorate a plain Jane room and turn it into something awesome, all with yarn!

First up, the lovely Loopy Rug!

While the loop stitch is fairly easy to learn, I recommend being comfortable with regular crochet before you start trying to get this.

Here's what you'll need:

I used several colors of stash yarn, namely Caron Simply Soft, because it is cheap and I am in college.

You will need one ball (6 oz) of each for the rug pictured:
White
Dark Country Blue (dark blue)
Passion (purple)
Sage (green)
Watermelon (pink)
Blue Mint (light blue)


You will also need a size H/8 hook and a tapestry needle.



Starting with Passion (purple), cast on 62 stitches. Chain one, turn.
Row 1: Here's where you do your first row of loop stitches.


To do the loop stitch:
Hold the yarn in your right hand like so:

Stick your hook through the next stitch as if to single crochet.




Grab the yarn farthest from your hook, closest to your fingers without actually being wrapped around them.


Pull through the stitch that's on your hook so you have two loops. You should still have yarn looped around your pointer finger.

Again, grab the yarn furthest from your hook, but that is still apart of the loop around your pointer finger.
 Pull through both loops on hook. Drop the yarn on your pointer finger, and it becomes a loop!


Do the loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.

Row 2: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 3: Loop stitch all the way across. Switch to white, chain one, turn.
Row 4: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 5: Loop stitch all the way across, switch to watermelon (pink). Chain one, turn.
Row 6: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 7: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 8: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 9: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 10: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 11: Loop stitch all the way across, change to Dark Country Blue, chain one, turn.
Row 12: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 13: Loop stitch all the way across, switch back to watermelon, chain one, turn.
Row 12: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 14: Loop stitch all the way across, switch to white, chain one, turn.
Row 15: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 16: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 17: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 18: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 19: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 20: Loop stitch all the way across, switch to sage, chain one, turn.
Row 21: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 22: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 23: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 24: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 25: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 26: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 27: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 28: Loop stitch all the way across, switch to blue mint, chain one, turn.
Row 29: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 30: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 31: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 32: Loop stitch all the way across, switch back to sage, chain one, turn.
Row 33: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 34: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 35: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 36: Loop stitch all the way across, switch to passion, chain one, turn.
Row 37: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 38: Loop stitch all the way across, switch to white, chain one, turn.
Row 39: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 40: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 41: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 42: Loop stitch all the way across, switch to dark country blue, chain one, turn.
Row 43: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 44: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 45: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 46: Loop stitch all the way across, switch to blue mint, chain one, turn. 
Row 47: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 48: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 49: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 50: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 51: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 52: Loop stitch all the way across, switch to watermelon, chain one, turn.
Row 53: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 54: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 55: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 56: Loop Stitch all the way across, switch to white, chain one, turn.
Row 57: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 58: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 59: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 60: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 61: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 62: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 63: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 64: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 65: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 66: Loop stitch all the way across, switch to passion, chain one, turn.
Row 67: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 68: Loop stitch all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 69: Single crochet all the way across, chain one, turn.
Row 70: Loop stitch all the way across, cut yarn leaving a 6" tail, pull through to bind off.
Weave in all loose ends.


There you have it! That's the body of your rug! You can leave it as is if you are putting it down on carpet, but I have a laminate floor in my dorm so I need to add some traction, so it doesn't slide all over the place. I did that by making random squiggles on the bottom with a hot glue gun, but you could also sew on a rug gripper type thing.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Easy As pie Cabled Headband-Knitting

So you've been practicing your cables, but you want to actually make something with that nifty trick? Well, this headband is a PERFECT beginner project! It is easily decorated by sewing on something like a button or a crocheted flower, but it looks adorable on its own as well!








What you'll need:
A small amount of worsted weight yarn
Us size 8 (5mm) needles (I used two of my double pointed needles)
Cable needle or extra double pointed needle
Tapestry (yarn) needle
Scissors

Cast on 12 stitches
row 1: knit
row 2: purl
row 3: knit
row 4: purl
(this is better known as the stockinette stitch)
row 5: Knit 1, slip the next five stitches onto cable needle, knit the next five, knit the stitches on the cable needle, knit 1.




row 6: purl
row 7: knit
row 8: purl
row 9: knit
row 10: purl

Keep repeating rows 5-10 until headband is big enough to fit snugly around your head. For me, this meant I had 16 cables total. Cut the yarn.

Seam ends together.

Ta-dah! You've just finished your headband. You can now choose to leave it as it is, or you can add decorations like a flower or a button, as I said earlier. Go forth and wear your headband with pride!