Baby Archives - engineeredcreations

December 6, 2019

House Spirit Cardigan Pattern

The shower theme for my new nephew was Harry Potter, so naturally I wanted to make him something Harry Potter themed. I searched for existing Harry Potter patterns, because I knew there were a lot of them, but nothing really stood out to me. A lot of the fashion from the movies prominently used stripes (in the scarves, in the ties, etc.). My mind kept coming back to the thought of a cardigan and stripes. I decided to make a baby cardigan that while not explicitly referencing Harry Potter, nodded at the theme with the color choices. The pattern features four areas of bi-colored stripes. I decided to use the color schemes from the four houses from Harry Potter for the four regions. The idea of using the colors also added some symbolism. Using all four represented wishing the best qualities of each house on the baby: courage, loyalty, intelligence, and leadership. I chose to use a variety of buttons to add a little whimsy. I ended up making a second sweater for my daughter because it was just too cute!

The pattern is available in sizes 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, and 18-24 months. If you need another size, I can make that happen!

Buy the pattern for $5 on Etsy here or on Ravelry here.

Materials:

Go to this link to buy a kit with everything you need to make this cardigan on Amazon.

Worsted weight yarn in two to nine colors (You may choose to use two alternating colors for all of the striping or use different colors for each quadrant and the band, as I did. I used yarn I already had at my house, but most of it was Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice. The colors I used where charcoal grey [A] for the bands, scarlet [B], gold [C], green [D], silver [E], blue [F], bronze [G], yellow [H], and black [I])
US 8 24” circular needles
US 8 double pointed needles
Tapestry needle
Buttons
Needle and thread to sew on buttons

Stitches Used:

Please comment below with any questions!

January 20, 2019January 20, 2019

Sweetheart Hat Pattern

I wrote a guest blog this week over at Her Exchange about self-care through creativity, especially knitting and crocheting. If you read the article, you’ll read about how after having kids, I really lost the joy in knitting in crocheting due to real or self-imposed deadlines and closed down my Etsy shop. I have decided to change the focus of my shop and reopen! Instead of selling finished products, I’m going to try to start selling my patterns. And if I’m being truthful, I really enjoy the design aspect of coming up with a new pattern more than I enjoy making that pattern over and over for clients.

Without further ado, here is my first pattern: the Sweetheart Hat. I designed this hat for my daughter as a Valentine’s seasonal hat, but hearts are really always in season, so she doesn’t have to put it away after the holiday. The pattern features my favorite heart cable that I’ve been putting on everything since college. The hat can be worked in sizes baby through adult, but the cable size does not change so the cable will be more prominent on the baby sizes and less prominent on the adult sizes.

Buy the pattern on Etsy here or on Ravelry here.

Materials:

Go to this link to buy a kit with everything you need to make this hat on Amazon.

Worsted weight yarn
2 Size US 8 needles for cable
5 Size US 6 double pointed needles for remainder of hat
Cable needle
Tapestry needle

Stitches Used:

Please comment below with any questions!

January 5, 2019

Mandala Madness Nursery Rug

While I was pregnant with Zoe I found a pattern on Pinterest called Mandala Madness. It looked like so much fun! The pattern created a giant, whimsical circle of crazy crochet techniques and looked like a blast. But what does one do with a giant whimsical circle? I decided to make it and use it as a rug in the nursery.

This project was FUN. It is probably the most fun I have every had crocheting a project. Every row was a different color or texture. I finished all but the last two rows on it before having Zoe. Since her brother moved to a big boy bed last night and she now has a crib in her room, I decided I had better finish the rug so we can finish the nursery. (I’m not finished with her crib blanket, either.) So, eight months later, the rug is finished! I actually didn’t finish the 18 part pattern, I stopped when I got to the rug dimensions that I wanted. I can always add more rows onto it later if I decide to reuse it as a larger circular blanket. Right now it is about 4.5 feet in diameter, which is a great rug but a small blanket.

January 2, 2019

Horizontal Cable Knit Hat

Life got busy around the holidays, and I got behind on posting! One of my recent projects has been a new hat for Zoe. Baby heads grow so fast and none of her hats fit! The little jacket she wears all the time doesn’t have a hood, so she needed something to keep her little downy noggin’ warm. I was in love with some horizontal cabled hats I saw on Pinterest. I often make up my own patterns, but was interested in the construction techniques of this hat, so I bought a pattern I liked at Posh Patterns on Etsy. The pattern was quick, easy, and I love the way it turned out. We’ve already had many comments on it as we are out about town. The pattern can also easily be adjusted to use a different type of cable and now I have new ideas for how to construct a hat!

October 29, 2018October 29, 2018

Elmo and Zoe Halloween Costumes

A couple of months ago I started getting emails advertising Halloween costumes. I looked at the options online, and had a hard time justifying the cost of the available costumes. It would be a little different if Zoe was six, obsessed with Moana, and would play dress up in her costume for the next year.

Jack was almost two and had just become obsessed with Elmo. Elmo’s best friend is Zoe, and it was just too perfect for our Zoe to be dressed as Zoe. (Apparently I have a thing for matching names. Last year Jack was Jack-Jack from the Incredibles.)

While Elmo costumes are available commercially, I was not going to put my 2-year-old in a fur costume in Texas. He doesn’t understand the concept of dressing up for Halloween, I wasn’t sure he would even recognize the fur costume as “Melmo,” and it would be very uncomfortable.

Instead, I decided to knit/crochet hats for them and fill out the rest of their costumes with clothes from their closet. They would give the impression of the characters while still being comfortable.

For Jack, I made his hat. Can’t knit or crochet? You can buy an Elmo hat on Amazon or Etsy. I added a solid red Elmo t-shirt and jeans. He could still run around being himself, and he had “Melmo” on his clothes, which was pretty cool. At a party we attended this weekend, another toddler was following him around calling him Elmo, so I call that a success.

I also made Zoe’s hat. If you can’t knit or crochet, Zoe hats are a little harder to come by, but are still available on Etsy. Because Zoe (the character) loves to dance and often wears a ballet costume, we put our Zoe in a solid pink onesie and leggings with a tutu she wore during her newborn pictures and socks made to look like pointe shoes.

January 6, 2015

Baby Baseball Hat

In honor of Craig Biggio being elected for the baseball hall of fame today, I will finish my summer of baby hats (I know… I’m super behind. Other hats included: Chappy Newsboy Cap, Lacey Summer Baby Cap, Elmo Inspired Baby Hat, and Emory Beanie.) with my baby baseball hat. Some friends of mine are huge Astros fans, so when they had a baby I naturally wanted to make them a baseball hat. I had seen pictures of hats I liked, but couldn’t find a pattern. I ended up remaking the Chappy Newsboy Cap with same alterations. Instead of single crocheting in the front and back loops, I single crocheted in both loops to give a smoother texture. I crocheted the hat in white with a red brim and embroidered baseball stitching over the white. It turned out super cute!

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 2 Movies

Overall Experience: Good

October 5, 2014

Emery Beanie

This post adds to my summer of baby hats. (See: Elmo Inspired Baby Hat, Chappy Newsboy Caps, and Lacey Summer Baby Cap.) The Emery Beanie pattern is a free pattern on Ravelry. This hat crocheted up quickly with an adorable flower accent. I only increased up to 40 stitches in circumference because the hat was being made for a sweet preemie baby girl.

Difficulty: Moderate

Time Required: 1 Movies

Overall Experience: Excellent

August 27, 2014October 27, 2018

Elmo Inspired Baby Hat

Note: I have created a second version of this hat with a simpler eyes and nose pattern (that I think looks a little better) and no mouth. Check it out here.

To continue my summer of baby hats (see Chappy Newsboy Caps and Lacey Summer Baby Cap), one of my coworkers had a baby (or rather his wife did). They also have a toddler at home that loves Elmo. I decided to rework my Oscar the Grouch hat for a newborn size and make an Elmo hat for their toddler. I was rewarded with adorable pictures and videos of both babies the next day. The Elmo hat was a huge hit! I love that he liked it so much. Usually when I make things, I don’t know if the item just sits in a drawer (meaning I wasted hours of my life) or is loved by the recipient. The later makes me happy. 🙂

Disclaimer: Feel free to make this pattern for your personal use, for your platypus, for charity, or to sell. The only thing I ask is that you please do not sell it on Etsy. If you are interested in purchasing a hat from my Etsy store, you may do so here.

Gauge: 9 stitches x 13 rows = 2 in Stockinette

This hat was about 16 inches in circumference when finished. It is quite stretchy and will stretch several inches.

Materials:

5 Size US 7 double pointed needles
US Size G Crochet Hook
Tapestry needle
Vanna’s Choice yarn in Scarlet (R)
Vanna’s Choice yarn in Black (B)
Vanna’s Choice yarn in White (W)
Vanna’s Choice yarn in Terracotta (O)

Stitches Used:

Instructions:

Cast on 72 with R and distribute evenly on four needles

R1-R7: Knitting in round, KR 72

R8: KR 28, KB 16, KR 28

R9: KR 26, KB 20, KR 26

R10: KR 25, KB 22, KR 25

R11-R12: KR 24, KB 24, KR 24

R13: KR 23, KB26, KR 23

Continuing only in R:

R14-R34: K 72

R35: (K4, k2tog, ssk, K4) six times

R36: K60

R37: (K3, k2tog, ssk, K3) six times

R38: K48

R39: (K2, k2tog, ssk, K2) six times

R40: K36

R41: (K, k2tog, ssk, K) six times

R42: K24

R43: (k2tog, ssk) six times

Cut the yarn with several spare inches. Thread a tapestry needle and pull yarn through all 12 stitches on needles. Work in ends.

Note: For alternative eye and nose pattern that has a more even eye iris, check out this post.

Eyes (make 2):

R1: With B use magic ring technique to start round, ch 1, sc 8, sl st to first sc. Cut yarn and work in ends. (8 stitches)

Continue with W

R2: 2 sc in first stitch from R1 and in each sc around, sl st to first sc (16 stitches)

R3: Ch 1, sc in same stitch as sl st, sc in next stitch * 2 sc in next stitch, 1 sc in next 2 stitches, repeat from * 2 more times, 2 sc in last stitch, sl st to first sc (20 stitches)

R4-R6: Ch 1, sc in each stitch around, sl st to first sc (20 stitches)

R7: Ch 1, sc in same stitch as sl st, sc in next stitch * sc2tog, 1 sc in next 2 stitches, repeat from * 2 more times, sc2tog, sl st to first sc (16 stitches)

R8: Ch 1, sc2tog around, sl st to first sc (8 stitches)

R9: Ch 1, sc four together by slipping hook under the stitch from the row below, wrapping the yarn, and pulling a loop through, slip hook under next stitch and pull another loop, repeat until you have done this four times and there are five loops on your hook, yarn over and pull loop through all five loops, sc last four stitches together using the same method, sl st to first stitch (2 stitches)

Cut yarn and work in ends.

Nose:

R1: With O use magic ring technique to start round, ch 1, sc 8, sl st to first sc (8 stitches)

R2: 2 sc in first stitch from R1 and in each sc around, sl st to first sc (16 stitches)

R3: Ch 1, sc in same stitch as sl st, sc in next stitch * 2 sc in next stitch, 1 sc in next 2 stitches, repeat from * 2 more times, 2 sc in last stitch, sl st to first sc (20 stitches)

R4-R10: Ch 1, sc in each stitch around, sl st to first sc (20 stitches)

R11: Ch 1, sc in same stitch as sl st, sc in next stitch * sc2tog, 1 sc in next 2 stitches, repeat from * 2 more times, sc2tog, sl st to first sc (16 stitches)

R12: Ch 1, sc2tog around, sl st to first sc (8 stitches)

R13: Ch 1, sc four together by slipping hook under the stitch from the row below, wrapping the yarn, and pulling a loop through, slip hook under next stitch and pull another loop, repeat until you have done this four times and there are five loops on your hook, yarn over and pull loop through all five loops, sc last four stitches together using the same method, sl st to first stitch (2 stitches)

Cut yarn and work in ends.

Using a picture of Elmo as inspiration, tack the eyes and nose onto the hat using a tapestry needle and yarn. I would also suggest tacking the eyes and nose to each other.

Difficulty: Moderate

Time Required: 2 Movies

Overall Experience: Excellent

August 25, 2014

Lacey Summer Baby Cap

As mentioned in my previous post, I have a lot of friends who have had babies lately. Next up: the Halas. The Halas have an awesome adoption story that I would not do justice. Check out the story on their blog. I simply made a hat for their beautiful baby girl, Evie.

I recently purchased a new book, Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders, and wanted to make something out of it. I combined Alpaca and Silk Baby Cap with the flower from Angora Baby Bunny Cap. I also added some pearl details to the flower. It turned out so precious!

Difficulty: Moderate

Time Required: One movie

Overall Experience: Excellent

April 6, 2014

Crafternoon Tea Preemie Hats

Some ladies in my Sunday School class are interested in learning to knit and crochet. We decided to add a missions component to the learning experience and make preemie hats to donate to local NICUs. We had our first meeting yesterday and it was a blast! We taught some crochet skills and made some hats. I wanted to show off some of the hats and give the ladies some digital resources concerning what we learned yesterday.

Stitches Learned

Yesterday we taught the basics of crochet to the beginners. We taught some combination of the following stitches. If you didn’t learn all of them, no big deal! You can learn them next time. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Shanda or me anything you would like. The links below describe the stitches using words and figures. The Crochet Crowd also provides a great series of YouTube videos for beginners. After you learn these basic stitches, you can make any of the hats featured above!

Patterns

I had several patterns printed out yesterday and wanted to make them digitally available to everyone. I found these patterns on Ravelry, which is a great source for everything knitting/crocheting. If you join Ravelry, friend me! My profile is here. Feel free to be creative with the patterns!

Micro Preemie Hats – Crochet

Both of the hats we made have an added on edging.

Wrapped with Love – Crochet

Baby Cowboy Hat – Crochet

This turned out looking a little more like a Fedora than a cowboy hat. I might edit it a little next time I made it.

Baby Bear Hat – Knit

I made one edit to this pattern. The pattern calls to knit until the hat is 6″ long. That is very long for a preemie hat. I knit it to 4.5″. It looks about right.

Preemie Football Hat – Knit

Enjoy the patterns and feel free to ask me questions!