Crochet Cable Stitch Head Wrap

 Summer is here and so I reach for the cotton yarns. Still trying a variety of yarns. I have heavier weight cotton yarn and the lighter weight yarn (some with a slight sheen to it). I had several balls leftover from another project and wanted to crochet a new head wrap. I wear my hair naturally and nothing like a cotton head wrap to hold my hair up and back. Added advantage is did the cotton yarn soaks up perspiration, stays in place and keeps me cool. (Some African-American women who wear Their hair in its natural state might also argue that) Others june question why I say head wrap .... well it is apart of my culture, I simply wrap it around the top part of my head and secure it. This Particular one I am working on; I have a new idea as to how to secure it on my head instead of using a tying method or tucking it in.

Here is part of the head wrap. I wanted to see what the crocheted cable stitch would look like in a cotton yarn. It has a bit of thickness but still quite comfortable. and holds well.



Hoping to be finished by Saturday. Stay tuned!

Until next time Keep the Faith and plenty of yarn!

Cheryl

New Crochet Video

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Hi All:

   Please be patient with me as I revamp my blog. Moving all of my material from http://purplebutterflycrochetcollection.com to Blogger.

Wow so far 65 re-pins and 16 Likes for the video on Pinterest..  Take a look at my crochet boards from crochet inspiration, tips,events crochet around the world and of course how-to stitches.

Meanwhile I have just posted a new crochet video ~ Enjoy!

 

 

Crochet ribbon slip knot

 For this ribbon I used a size G crochet hook. In this photograph once I folded the ribbon it is pretty easy to begin crocheting the ribbon. (I had run out of purple ribbon so used the white ribbon for demonstration). Loved this ribbon because it had a slight sheen silver-like in it.

Crocheted ribbon fascinator - handband, bendable ribbon, beads and feathers

 I have to say that is was very comfortable to wear. With everything bending I was 

 able to move feathers out of the way from my eyes. I want to experiment with a different type of feather.

                          Side view of crocheted ribbon fascinator

 Have a lot of other ideas for some summer fascinators. I think I will try another crocheted fascinator soon, thinking of creating one in black.

Until the  next time ~ Keep  the Faith and lots of yarn.

Yours,
Cheryl B.

Crocheted Summer Fascinator

Crocheted Summer Fascinator

It has been quite awhile. 
Life changes but developing a better schedule. So on to one of my favorite activities. I attended a women's conference last week which I greatly enjoyed. We were asked to wear white. I not being one to wear summer hats (unless they are made of straw or a head wrap) decided I needed to wear something different. Just what could I crochet that would be in the "hat" category yet be comfortable in the summer heat?  

Crocheted fascinator to the rescue.  Yarn was going to be out of the question but ribbon was just to my liking: lightweight, sheer and bendable. 


                                                               


Of course my favorite color purple had to be included.  The ribbon pictured to the right was different but great to work with.

Crocheted fascinator materials

              

Crocheted ribbon fascinator -  The materials I used were the bendable ribbon, beads and feathers

crocheted ribbon chain stitch

Crocheted summer fascinator

I have to say that is was very comfortable to wear. With everything bending I was able to move feathers out of the way from my eyes. I want to experiment with a different feathers.

                                

                           Until the  next time ~ Keep  the Faith and lots of yarn.

                           Yours,
                            Cheryl B.

How To Block Crochet Pieces

                                                       
Surfing the internet,the Face Book,Twitter and other artisan/crafter social networks I hear the question: “Ok, Is it really necessary to block my crochet projects.

What is the difference if you do or don't block your crochet?

                       

                         

A little bit of background,When I first learned to crochet I knew nothing about blocking probably because I was concentrating on learning the various crochet stitches and because crochet was not associated with the computer it was a “Come sit by me, let me show you how to crochet. Of course from there you learned to single crochet,double crochet, how to make a circle, a square then stitch them together. I didn’t learn about blocking a crochet garment/accessory until about say six years ago. Before then I washed the item laid it out by hand and it looked pretty good. 

I have some pieces I still own that I crocheted in my twenties. I am now 54. When my mother shared the art of crochet with me she didn’t go into the whole process of blocking your pieces but she did know that if you had an item made of yarn you needed to smooth is out and lay it flat to dry in good shape.

Two crochet pieces that have not been blocked.

Let’s  fast forward to today. Yes I absolutely agree with blocking my crochet projects better yet each piece as I finish them. What a difference in seeing how the crocheting project will look and most importantly fits together. Basically for me the same thing that my mother taught me when washing sweaters, pulling them into shape (well not exactly pulling) and laying it flat to dry. Never hang crochet on hangers. Blocking relaxes the yarn and gives that neat finish.

My crochet blocking board

This is my handmade blocking board. I explain what is made of and how I made my blocking board in my crochet video.  Can you guess what it is made out of?







                    This is a piece of wool before it was blocked and after. Wool for me (because I crochet so tightly wrinkles). Does this happen to you?

Crochet side handbag pieces after they were blocked.

 This is a worsted wool piece for a new handbag. - the same 2 curled crocheted pieces in the photo above. The crochet is quite tight(thus the other need for blocking),  but because they will be the sides I will be reinforcing these sides with a type of interfacing.

  

Until next time Keep The Faith and Plenty of Yarn!

~ Cheryl