HK Scarf Crochet-Along Part 1: Setup, Materials, Etc

This pattern is for a crocheted Hello Kitty Granny Square Scarf as shown above – a Hello Kitty Granny Square at each end with seven regular granny squares in between (four with white at the center, three with grey). The scarf, intended for a 5-year-old girl, ended up about 45” long.

If you want to make it longer or change the pattern of the squares, here’s what I can suggest: Figure out how many squares you need by dividing your desired finished scarf length by 5” (12.75cm) and rounding to nearest whole number. Decide how many face squares you want to include, then figure how many granny squares you need to reach your total. Also, decide on the pattern or order in which to attach the squares.

I’ll mention what you’ll need and then finish with a quick run-down of the steps I’ll be posting….

Materials:

5.00mm/US H(8) crochet hook
6.00mm/US J(10) crochet hook
Yarn needle
Worsted weight yarn for:

• face (white)
• outline (your choice; I used grey; red is also very nice)
• background (your choice; I used bright pink)
• eyes and whiskers (black)
• nose (yellow, or light pink if you don’t care about being “authentic”)
• flower or bow (your choice; I used yellow)
• granny square colors 1, 2, 3 (I used white, pink and grey)

(Model made with Caron Simply Soft)

Gauge:

4 sc = 1” (2.5 cm), 4-5 rows of sc = 1” (2.5 cm)
(if gauge even matters here)

Finished Size:

Width: about 7” (18 cm)
Length: depends on number of squares you use
Each granny square*: 5” x 6” (13 cm x 16 cm)
Face appliqué only: 3¼” x 4” (8 cm x 11 cm)

*The finished “square” is actually not square. But who’s ever heard of a Granny Rectangle? So I’m just going to call them all squares.

Experience Level:

Basic stitches, repetitive stitch patterns, simple color changes, and simple shaping and finishing.

(Or is it the next level up?)

Overview of Method:

I’m going to give instructions so we can join these squares as we go (as seen here at Lucy’s beautifully bright blog, attic24.typepad.com). 

• First, we’ll make the squares up until the last color change. That means: the outlined Hello Kitty faces (I’ll be making six, two for each scarf) and the first three rounds of the regular grannies, slightly altered to make them rectangles instead of actual squares (I’ll be making… not yet sure how many; I think I’ll make Eldest’s scarf longer).
• Next, we’ll add the final rounds to all the faces and squares, joining them to each other as we go. (Granny square in photo at right does not match the squares in the scarf – the first grey round should have been pink. Just FYI, for those of you who catch little details like that.)
• Then, we’ll add the picot border to the scarf.
• And we’ll finish up by embroidering the face and crocheting a flower for her ear. (Or a bow if someone wants to provide the steps. I’ve tried two and didn’t like either…)

Tomorrow (assuming our morning out followed by an afternoon birthday party at Bouncy House doesn’t get the best of us me; otherwise Friday) I’ll post the directions for the face and slightly-altered granny square… But now, off to bed! : )

(Ooh, just realized… a couple hours watching kiddoes bounce away – before eating birthday cake I hope? – equals great time to get more of my three scarves done. Yippee!)

Hello Kitty Granny Square Scarf Pattern and Crochet-Along

OK, so people keep asking for the pattern for this scarf. I wrote it up and have been sending it out, but I keep finding out about more mistakes and confusing parts and and and.

I want to help people enjoy making this scarf, not pull their hair out while they muddle through.

So next idea, put the pattern here instead. Not sure why I didn’t do that in the first place. (Yes, I do – because I tend to do things the hard way, thinking I’m being efficient but ending up amazingly convoluted.)

And since I’m in the midst of making three more of these scarves (for two very eager girls and one little sister who usually wants anything her sisters want so I’m assuming she’s eager too), I thought it would be fun to host a little crochet-along.

So if you’d like to crochet a Hello Kitty Granny Square Scarf along with me, just check back over the next few days as I post the directions. And keep me posted on how you’re doing.

(If someone wants to tell me a non-hard, non-convoluted, actually-efficient method of group sharing, I’m all ears… Until then, there’s always comments. And links to/from your own blog, if you have one…)

Off to type up Part 1…

Yummy Turkeys for your Thanksgiving Table…

I haven’t posted since Halloween and now it’s already Thanksgiving here in the States. How did that happen?

Anyway, here’s a fun little snack we made with the kids a few years ago: tasty turkeys… that my kids didn’t complain about eating!

The above photo is the only one I could find. But they’re really simple to make. For each turkey you need:

• 2 double stuf oreos
• 5 candy corns
• 1 raisinet (or some other chocolate covered something)

So then to make your little turkeys:

1. Twist/pull one cookie off one of the double stuf oreos so you expose the frosting. There’s your turkey’s body.
2. Eat the cookie so you have the energy needed to finish.
3. Stick the second oreo—standing on edge—into the frosting of the first oreo near the side.
4. Stick the candy corns upsidedown into the top of the second oreo. There’s the tail.
5. Stick the raisinet into the frosting in front of the tail. There’s the head.

And it’s done. Yum.

Short Post-Halloween Recap

So here are my little Catwoman and Cheetah. Picked this photo since it shows not only the costumes but also the current level of health in our house. (My littlest, Purple Cat, didn’t even make it outside…)

At one point last week, I wondered if it was even worth it to finish the costumes since I didn’t think they’d actually get used; the girls had been lethargic all day Thursday and Friday. Happily, by Saturday, they seemed to be on the mend, so we forged ahead and got things done.

But Monday, the Ick started up all over again. And this time, it included me too. So that’s the end of this recap.

Non-droopy Tail for Animal Costume How-To

There seems to be a cat theme in our house for Halloween this year. So that means lots of tails. Lucky for me, there’s only one new one to make this year – the rest are being dug out of the costume box. Like Purple Cat’s tail from last year.

If you want to make your own non-droopy animal tail, here’s how:

You need a wire coat hanger, some stuffing, some fabric and other stuff like needle and thread, pliers, etc. A ribbon* and safety pin will come in handy for turning the tail right-side-out. (*Actually, I used bias tape ’cause that’s what was laying around. Anything long and stringy would do…)

Straighten out the coat hanger, then form it into a loop that fits around the wearer’s waist. Bend a little hook into one end of the loop and a sharp corner at the other so the hook has something to… um, hook on to. (Where's a thesaurus when I need one?) In the photo, the tail portion is also bent into a nice tail shape; don’t do that yet; keep it nice and straight for now. Also, in the photo, the loop is a nice circle. In order to actually be worn comfortably by a human, it should be an oval. But you'd figure that out yourself as soon as your then-3-year-old says "Mommy, too tight!"

(For an adult’s tail, you’ll probably have to first twist two coat hangers together; most of one hanger will be used up for the loop…)

Pin the ribbon onto the right side of some fabric, near the edge. Make sure it’s longer than the tail. (You'll cut the fabric after it's sewn.)

Sometimes, I take all these pictures and then later, am not sure why. Does anyone really need to see what a safety-pinned ribbon end looks like?... Ooh, maybe I wanted to document that you need to keep a little space beyond the pin so you can sew around it?

Next, fold the fabric up over the ribbon, right sides of the fabric together. Pin if you want. The ribbon should lay right along the fold.

Sew a tail-shaped seam, making sure not to catch the ribbon in the seam.

Again with the close-up…. And in the moments between inserting all the pictures then adding all the text so far and now, I forget why I thought this photo would be at all helpful...

Next, cut around the seam. Remember that ribbon on the inside… (I didn’t want to cut mine.)

Turn the tail right side out. The wrinkles in the photo are in the wrong spot – I found it easier to start near the tip of the tail, pulling on the ribbon while I coaxed the fabric to turn in on itself…

Unpin the ribbon, then start stuffing the tail. And finish off by maneuvering the wire through the stuffing. See, that’s why I recommended it stay straight.

I didn’t do anything at the base of the tail to keep it attached near the loop, though some quick basting stitches to pull it tight (or even some well-placed tape) would’ve kept it from raveling unraveling** and wanting to ride up the tail a little or lose a bit of its stuffing. Actually, I just hooked the hook around it; that held it nice enough.

(**Wait, I think “ravel” and “unravel” are synonyms! That’s crazy! )

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: This tail, while so cute and fun, is also very boingy and—depending on how you shape it—right at eye-level of any peers of the person wearing it. So if said person whips around quickly, they might take out an eye of said peers. That would make for one sad cat.

So, use at your own risk. Especially on costumes for preschoolers. Or boys.