Crib or Toddle Bed Sheets: Easy Sewing Project

One of the things I wish I had done several years earlier was to create sheet sets for my Duckling.  I never even thought of making crib sheets.  (Silly me!)  When she moved to a toddler bed, I wanted to make her something fun for her "big girl"  bed.  After research, I found this great pattern.

How cute is this bed?  The chevrons and turtles are colorful and fun!  When she first saw her new sheet and pillowcase, she squealed and rolled around on the bed.  Nothing better than watching her eyes light up when I make something for her.  

Pattern:
How to Make a Crib Sheet

Supplies:
2 yards 45" wide fabric
2 yards 1/4" elastic
Basic sewing supplies

If you want to coordinate a pillowcase and sheet set similar to what is pictured, you'll need 2 1/4 yard of fabric for the sheet and pillow trim and 3/4 yard of a coordinating fabric.  

The tutorial for the sheet is well written with lots of pictures to make it easy to follow along.

The pillowcase pattern was shared in a previous blog post.

Pin this on Pinterest.

Happy Crafting!

💗 Grandma Duck 💗

Pillowcases: Easy Sewing Project

With high school graduations just around the corner, I thought I'd share one of my favorite projects to give to teens that are headed off to college.  I've made dozens of these pillowcases.  Just before graduation, I made the pillowcase seen on the right for my son and his best friend. (Sorry about the poor quality of the photo!)   It gave me a small measure of comfort to know that after 18 years of being best buddies, they would have matching pillowcases to sleep on while away at college.  It's the little things, right?  Both of the boys loved the fabric - crazy monsters riding on rollercoasters.  

Supplies:

3/4 yard of cotton fabric 

1/4 yard of coordinating cotton fabric

Thread

Sewing machine

Rotary cutter and supplies (or scissors)

Pattern: All People Quilt Roll It Up Pillowcase

    

I've made these pillowcases not only for grads but for children and adults too.  Pictured above and to the right is an assortment of pillowcases made and donated to friends of mine who are a foster care family.  Each of the precious children in their care gets to pick a pillowcase when they arrive and take it with them when they leave.  I've heard back that the children really love having something that is just for them, especially at bedtime.  Pictured below is a pillowcase I made for a dear friend of mine.

    

Pin the pattern on Pinterest

Happy Crafting!

💗 Grandma Duck 💗

Tub Time Trio, Set 2

Tub Time Trio #4: HHDC 

Since writing the pattern for my first set of Tub Time Trio baby washcloths, I've made several sets for baby gifts. Recently, I tried the Herringbone Half Double Crochet stitch. Ooooooooo! I really like it! (Expect to see it again soon in a few upcoming patterns.) I thought that it would be a perfect stitch for a baby washcloth, which set me on a journey to find two more washcloth textures for another set of Tub Time Trio Baby Washcloths.

I recently published a Suzette Stitch Dishcloth pattern. So I downsized the pattern to baby washcloth size and added a beginning row and ending row of single crochet.

Next was to find a third textured stitch to complete the trio. I tried Moss Stitch, but wasn't thrilled with the results. I thought about using the Sedge stitch, but decided it was too similar in feel to the Suzette stitch. I skimmed over my list of stitches that I want to try and decided to test the Crunch Stitch. Yes! That was the perfect stitch to complete my trio.

New moms will love these soft washcloths for giving babies baths or washing sweet little faces. There are now six washcloths patterns sized just for little ones. If you make a washcloth, I'd love to see a picture in the comments/

Supplies:
1 skein of I Love This Cotton yarn 
H size crochet hook
yarn needle 
Scissors

Stitches and Abbreviations:
CH = Chain
SC = Single Crochet
HHDC = Herringbone Half Double Crochet
DC = Double Crochet
HDC = Half Double Crochet
SL ST = Slip Stitch
ST = Stitch

Special Stitches:
Instructions for the HHDC can be found here: Herringbone Half Double Crochet

Finished size about 5.5 square inches each.

Tub Time Trio #4: Herringbone Half Double Crochet Washcloth
Uses approximately 30 yards

Chain 21
Row 1: SC in 2nd CH from Hook and in each CH across. (20 stitches)
Row 2: CH 1, turn, HHDC in first ST, HHDC in each stitch across (20 stitches)
Row 3-15: Repeat Row 2
Row 16: CH 1, turn, SC in first ST, SC in each stitch across

For the striped washcloth, change color every two rows.

  

Tub Time Trio #5: Suzette Stitch Washcloth
Uses approximately 30 yards

Chain 22
Row 1: SC in 2nd CH from hook, SC across row (21 stitches)
Row 2: CH 1, Turn, SC & DC in the first ST skip one ST, (SC & DC in next, skip one ST) repeat across, SC in last st (21 stitches)
Row 3-18: Repeat Row 2
Row 19: SC in each ST across



  
Tub Time Trio #6: Crunch Stitch Washcloth
Uses approximately 35 yards

Chain 23
Row 1: SC in 2nd CH from hook, SC across row (22 stitches)
Row 2: HDC in the first ST, SL ST in the next [*HDC in the next ST, SL ST in the next*] Repeat across row (11 HDC, 11 SL ST)
Row 3-22: Repeat Row 2
Row 23: SC in each ST across





One skein of I Love This cotton was enough to make two Herringbone Half Double Crochet, two Suzette, and two Crunch Stitch washcloths. I probably had enough yarn to make both HHDC washcloths out of the same yarn, but I wanted to see how stripes would look.

Put this pattern in your Ravelry Queue
Pin this pattern on Pinterest

Happy Crafting!

💗 Grandma Duck 💗

"Sometimes the littlest things take up the most room in your heart." --Winnie the Pooh

Speedy Hats - Donate to My Community

One of the things that I try to do is to give back to the community.  Last fall I made 18 hats to donate, half went to a local elementary school and the other half went to a local community organization.

I used the Lickety Split Chunky Crochet Beanie pattern from Slipstitch Hollow.  I really like this pattern!  It's easy to follow, and just like the name promises, it is quick to make.




The pattern calls for bulky yarn.  I used up the bulky yarn I had and then used double strands of weight 4 yarn to make the rest. It was fun picking out yarn colors that would complement each other.  I really love the look of the variegated with a solid yarn!  I wonder what combinations I should try this year.  If you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment.

This year, my goal is 24 hats donated in my community.  I know I will be using this pattern again.

 Happy Stitching!
💗 Grandma Duck 💗

Little Girl Purse

What is a nearly universal truth about little girls?  They LOVE having purses, bags, containers to carry around or store their "treasures."  (I feel like this is a truth for most grown-up little girls as well.)  

This little purse was fun to make.  I let duckling pick out both the fabric and the button.  I think she did a great job!  It is perfectly sized for toddlers through early elementary age.  Finished size is about 5" x 8".  This morning she used this purse to carry around puppies. 

The next one I make, I will increase the length of the strap so that it could also be used as a cross body bag.  


The tutorial: Little Girl Pleated Purse is easy to follow.  The only thing I would do differently next time is to use the recommended interfacing.  The stuff that I had on hand was too stiff and hard to work with.  

Pin this Pattern on Pinterest

 Happy Crafting!
💗 Grandma Duck 💗

Easy Round Dishcloths

Do you ever just fall in love with a pattern and keep making it over and over?  The Easy Round Dishcloth is one of those patterns.  It's easy, it's pretty, and it works great for washing dishes or faces! It takes me about 35-40 minutes to make one, so it is quick too.

I made over two dozen of these in the past few weeks, even crocheted five of them on a Saturday afternoon!  Seriously, if you haven't tried this pattern you should!

    

  

When I make mine, I add a second row of the chain 3 edging around the outside.  I do the first row as written and then I slip stitch twice into the first ch3-space.  Then I ch 3, sl-st into the next ch3-sp all the way around.  

Pattern: Easy Round Dishcloth

Pin it on Pinterest

 Happy Crafting!
💗 Grandma Duck 💗

Goal Progress: April

April was another great month for Grandma Duck Designs.  I've been blogging now for about four months.  One of the highlights was submitting Northern Lights Winter Scarf to the Hooking on Humpday Linky party and being featured!

Here's my year-to-date progress on my goals.

• Crochet, knit, or sew fifty items.  
• I went a little crazy crocheting dishcloths and playing around with possible designs.  I completed 19 dishcloths.
• Total projects year to date: 51
• Since I met this goal, I've increased it to 75 items. 

Some of my April Projects

• Blog fifty times.
• This is my 31st blog post!
• Design 12 crochet patterns.
• Total year to date: 7
• New April Design:
• Northern Lights Winter Hat to coordinate with the Northern Lights Winter Scarf I designed earlier this year.  This was fun to figure out how to do the Lemon Peel stitch in the round.
• Design one hundred graphghan block patterns.
• Total Year-To-Date: 47
•  No new designs in April
• Blog update: 
• 5,223 total page views,  2,274 in April
• Other items:
• This month I worked on creating eye-catching pins and images for Pinterest and Instagram.  Navigating social media is confusing at times!
• I packaged up dishcloths & washcloths for a craft sale.  
• Watch for more fun designs coming in May!

 Happy Crafting!
💗 Grandma Duck 💗