Vintage Tablecloth Motif

VINTAGE TABLECLOTH MOTIF This motif was used in a tablecloth made by my Grandmother in the 1950's. I couldn't find a copy of the original pattern so in order to properly repair some damage it became necessary to recreate it. Read about my restoration efforts here.

Supplies needed: Crochet hook: 10 Size 20 thread Special Stitches: Beginning Petal Tip Stitch: : Ch 4, (yo 2 times, insert hook into next stitch, yo, draw lp through, yo, draw through 2 lps on hook 2 times) 5 times, yo, draw through 6 lps on hook, ch 1. Petal Tip Stitch: (Yo 2 times, insert hook into next stitch, yo, draw lp through, yo, draw through 2 lps on hook 2 times) 6 times, yo, draw through 7 lps on hook, ch 1. Notes: Work tight chains. All joins are with a sl st to the first stitch of the round. PATTERN Begin: Chain 8, join to form circle. Rnd 1: Ch 1, work 16 sc in circle; join. Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc in same st, ch 3, *sk 1 st, sc in next st, ch 3, repeat from * around; join. (8 spaces) Rnd 3: Sl st into first ch 3 space, ch 4, 3 tr in same sp, ch 2, * 4 tr in next ch 3 space, ch 2, repeat from * around; join. Rnd 4: Ch 4, tr in same sp, tr in next 2 sts, 2 tr in next st, *ch 3, sk ch 2 sp, 2 tr in next st, tr in next 2 sts, work 2 tr in next st, ch 3, repeat from * around; join. Rnd 5: Ch 4, tr in next 5 sts, * (ch 4, sk ch-3 sp, 2 tr in next st, tr in next 2 sts, ch 4, tr in next 2 sts, 2 tr in next st, ch 4), sk ch-3 sp, tr in next 6 sts, * repeat from * to * 2 times more, then repeat from ( to ) once, join. Rnd 6: Work beginning petal tip stitch, *[ch 5, sk ch-4 sp, tr in next 4 sts, ch 3, in ch-4 sp work (tr, ch 5, tr), ch 3, tr in next 4 sts, ch 5], sk ch-4 sp, work petal tip stitch,* repeat from * to * 2 times more then repeat from [ to ] once, join to beg. petal tip. Rnd 7: Ch 1, sc in same st, *[ch 4, sk ch-5 sp, tr in next 4 sts, ch 4, in corner ch-5 sp work (4 tr, ch 4, 4 tr) ch 4, sk ch-3 space, tr in next 4 sts, ch 4], sc in tip of petal,* repeat from * to * 2 times more then repeat from [ to ] once, join. Rnd 8: Ch 1, sc in same st, *[ch 5, sk ch-4 sp, tr in next 4 sts] 2 times, ch 3, in corner ch-4 sp work (tr, ch 5, tr), ch 3, tr in next 4 sts, repeat from [ to ] 2 times, ch 5, sk ch-4 sp, sc in next st, repeat from * to * around ending with a join to beg. sc. Joining motifs: Attach motifs when working the chains of Round 8. Substitute the middle chains of the motif being worked with a slip stitch into the corresponding middle chain of the motif being attaching to. You may print this pattern out and use it for your own personal use. DO NOT copy it to use on your own site or for any other reason. You may link to this blog page. Every effort has been made to provide accurate and complete instructions.

Crochet Collars - Vintage Pattern

Crochet Collars Vintage patterns from: Gift Bazaar Book by Bernat (Handicrafter • No. 54)

COLLAR #1 (shown at upper left) MATERIALS BERNAT Super Angora (10 gram balls) — 1 Main Color(MC) BERNAT Metallo (1,000 ft spools) — 1 Contrasting Color(CC) 1 60 inch string pearls No. P/6 1 aluminum crochet hook No. 6/G DIRECTIONS: Using CC, string pearls. Using 1 strand each of MC and CC, ch 60 sts to measure 14 inches. Row 1: 1 sc in 4th st from hook, * ch 2, skip 2 sts, 1 sc in next st, repeat from * to end of row, ch 3, turn. Row 2: * 1 sc in next ch 2 space working in a pearl, ch 3, repeat from * ending ch 4, turn. Row 3: * 1 sc in next ch 3 space, ch 4, repeat from * ending ch 5, turn. Row 4: * 1 sc in next ch 4 space working in a pearl, ch 5, repeat from * ending ch 7, turn. Row 5: * 1 sc in next ch 5 space, ch 7, repeat from * ending ch 9, turn. Row 6: * 1 sc in next ch 7 space working in a pearl, ch 9, repeat from * to end of row. Fasten off. Row 7: Using 1 strand each of MC and CC, with wrong side facing you join with sl st in first ch 9 space, * 1 sc in ch 9 space, 1 sc in same space working in a pearl, repeat from * twice more, 1 sc in same space, repeat from * around collar. Fasten off. TIES: Make 2. Using 1 strand each of MC and CC, ch 1, * work in a pearl in next ch, repeat from * twice more, join with sl st to first st to form ring; then work in ch st until piece measures 4½ inches, join with sl st to first ch of collar. Fasten off. COLLAR #2 (shown at lower left) MATERIALS BERNAT Beada (75 yd tubes) — 1 1 steel crochet hook No. 0 2 dozen each coins Nos. 1 and 2 DIRECTIONS: String coins on Beada, alternating 1 large size and 1 smaller size. Ch 96 sts to measure 14 inches. Row 1: 1 sc in 2nd st from hook, 1 sc in each st to end of ch, ch 7, turn. Row 2: * Skip 4 sc, 1 sc in next sc, ch 7, repeat from * ending ch 7, turn. Row 3: * 1 sc in next ch 7 space, ch 7, repeat from * ending ch 7, turn. Repeat Row 3 three times more. Fasten off. Row 7: Join yarn in starting ch, 1 sc in first mesh, 1 sc in same mesh working in a coin, 3 sc in same mesh, * 2 sc in next mesh, 1 sc in same mesh working in a coin, 2 sc in same mesh, repeat from * on short edge of collar, ending 1 sc in 5th ch of last mesh working in a coin, ** ch 3, ch 1 working in a coin, ch 3, 1 sc in next ch 7 space working in a coin, repeat from ** to other short end; then repeat from * to starting ch. Fasten off. TIES: Make 2. Ch 1, work in a coin, ch 1, join with sl st to first st; then ch until tie measures 9 inches, join with si st in first st of collar. Fasten off. COLLAR #3 (shown at right) MATERIALS BERNAT Beada (75 yd tubes) — 1 2 60 inch strings of pearls No. P/6 1 steel crochet hook No. 2 GAUGE: 7 meshes = 2 inches 3 rows = 1 inch DIRECTIONS: Ch 102 sts to measure 14 inches. Row 1: 1 dc in 4th ch from hook * ch 1, skip 1 st, 1 dc in next st, repeat from * ending ch 3, turn — 50 meshes. Row 2: * 1 dc in next dc, ch 1, repeat from * ending ch 3, turn. Repeat Row 2 four times more. Fasten off. TIES: Make a ch 6½ inches long. Fasten with sl st to first ch of collar, 1 sc in each st of starting ch, ch 6 inches. Fasten off. FINISHING: Sew a pearl in each mesh of collar. Sew 3 pearls on each end of tie. You may print this pattern out and use it for your own personal use. DO NOT copy it to use on your own site or for any other reason. You may link to this blog page. Every effort has been made to provide accurate and complete instructions.

Plate Ruffle - Vintage Pattern

Plate Ruffle Quick Tricks in Crochet (Book No. 267)

MATERIALS: Clark's Big Ball Three Cord Mercerized Crochet, Size 20: 1 ball of No. 123-A Flamingo. Milwards Steel Crochet Hook No. 9. A white china plate, 6 inches in diameter. A paper plate, 6 inches in diameter. A small decalcomania transfer, 1 yard green satin ribbon, ¾ inch wide. Paste. INSTRUCTIONS: Ruffle . . . Starting at center make a chain to reach around outer edge of plate, 1st rnd: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across until piece is slightly smaller than outer edge of plate. Join with sl st to first sc, being careful not to twist sts. 2nd rnd: Sc in same place as sl st, * ch 5, sc in next sc. Repeat from * around. Join. 3rd, 4th and 5th rnds: Sl st to center of next loop, sc in same loop, * ch 5, sc in next loop. Repeat from * around. Join. 6th to 9th rnds incl: Sl st to center of next loop, sc in same loop, * ch 6, sc in next loop. Repeat from * around. Join. Break off at end of 9th rnd. Starch Ruffle heavily and press. Sew Ruffle around edge of paper plate. Tie ribbon into bow. Sew ends of ribbon to paper plate. Paste china plate on front of paper plate. Place decalcomania transfer in center of china plate. You may print this pattern out and use it for your own personal use. DO NOT copy it to use on your own site or for any other reason. You may link to this blog page. Every effort has been made to provide accurate and complete instructions.

Project #5 - Sarubobo (The 12 UFO projects of Christmas)

This is the Fifth project in The 12 UFO projects of Christmas. An explanation of what I'm doing and a list of all projects can be found here.

Project #5 - Sarubobo

Reason for UFO status: I remember starting this project but I don't really remember what put it into UFO status. I was probably working on multiple projects and this one got pushed aside and forgotten until rediscovered when cleaning.

A Sarubobo doll is a Japanese good luck charm and they're given by mothers to daughters for a good marriage and children. Traditionally they are red colored and faceless (no one knows why the dolls are faceless; it is speculated that the absence of a face allows the owner to imagine it). Modern Sarubobo's are available in many different colors but still remain faceless.

I had been following and reading the blog Mairuru who is a Japanese crafter. She wrote this post - How to make Sarubobo plush - and I was immediately enamoured with the idea of making one. The above picture shows how far I got before the project was derailed by who knows what. All the prep work of supply collection, pattern making and fabric cutting had been done and I had even started stitching the first body so I forged ahead and finished one Sarubobo plush. I had pattern pieces for a second plush cut out and ready to sew but decided to make only one.

I couldn't resist playing around and taking this picture of the Sarubobo in the pink tulips!

Final Thoughts: I thought this project might be a prototype for a valentine (hence the heart fabric) but I don't want to make a dozen of them. The hand stitching and stuffing were straight forward and easy, but fussy. They're cute but not THAT cute (my daughter Laura thinks they're creepy) and how to use them is a big question. So in the end it's a "meh" project and not going to be developed further.

Project #4 - Web & Blog Updates (The 12 UFO projects of Christmas)

This is the Fourth project in The 12 UFO projects of Christmas. An explanation of what I'm doing and a list of all projects can be found here.

Project #4 - Website and blog updates

Reason for UFO status: A website with a blog is a perpetual UFO. There is always something that needs to be updated, fixed or written.

It takes a fair amount of time to write web pages and blog posts. It takes even more time to solve coding problems with html, php or css. So here's a sampling of recent fixes and updates:

Blog updates:

Blogger "About Me" - Finally got around to deciding out what I wanted to say and then writing a few sentences for the About Me section of the blog. It's a succinct and accurate statement of my crafting philosophy.

Blog fixes:

The Google search box widget on my blog wasn't working. Google widgets stop working periodically and normally I don't have to do anything because Google fixes them before I even know they're broken. This time I noticed because I regularly search my blog to find old posts that I want a link for - so I went looking for a solution. I found this resolution - Is Your Search Box Gadget Broken?, which works, but I prefer the way Google's search widget displayed results so I'm going to have to remember to check back and see if Google has solved the problem.

Updates for mobile devices:
I tested my website and blog on a couple of mobile devices and overall everything looks and functions well. However, I did find some issues that needed to be corrected:

Ladynthread.com Homepage - The homepage of my website wasn't centering on mobile devices so I had to research how to vertically center a div (a coding tag that defines a division or a section in an HTML document). I found this well written blog post about Vertical Centering with CSS which solved the problem.

Additionally, the drop down menu of my navigation bar wasn't working and it took awhile to track down why - it's because the touch interface of mobile devices doesn't support the :hover selector. On computers you use the mouse and "hover" to drop down new menu levels but phones and tablets use only "touch" so some of my site navigation didn't work right on a mobile device. I want my website to be viewable across multiple platforms and this problem had the potential to become a MAJOR code rework or even a site redesign. Luckily, I found an easy and quick fix here that appears to be working.

Website update:
Through the years I've participated in a number of art installations so I've highlighted this activity on my website with a new section.

Final Thoughts: I wanted to complete a couple of updates to my blog and website but wound up fixing more things than I updated! That's par for the course though when it comes to computer/web work.

Project #3 - Été Chic (The 12 UFO projects of Christmas)

This is the third project in The 12 UFO projects of Christmas. An explanation of what I'm doing and a list of all projects can be found here.

Project #3 - Été Chic shawlette

Reason for UFO status: Finishing details - Needed blocking.

I love the design of this shawlette. The lace edging was knit first and then stitches were picked up along the length for the body which was finished with short rows. It's more scarf than shawl or shawlette so I was slightly disappointed by the size but that's a minor complaint because I'll wear it no matter what you call it!

The pattern can be found here. My Ravelry project page is here.

This project was the easiest to find the motivation to finish because all that was needed was to get out the blocking equipment.

Final Thoughts: Perfection!

Project #2 - Microwave Potato Bag (The 12 UFO projects of Christmas)

This is the second project in The 12 UFO projects of Christmas. An explanation of what I'm doing and a list of all projects can be found here.

Project #2 - Microwave Potato Bag

Reason for UFO status: I started the project in a moment of interest but didn't finish.

I was making ironing board covers at work and had bought a bag of cotton batting for padding. On the package were the instructions for making a Microwave Potato Bag. My curiosity was piqued! So after I finished the ironing board covers I cut pieces from batting and scrap cotton fabric to make one. Then I set them aside and forgot about it.

The instructions for the Microwave Potato Bag are online at the Warm Company's web site in the Creative Corner section. The blog Distant Pickles has another good tutorial - You Say Potato, I Say Po-tah-to

Construction notes:

I used muslin for the inside of the bag and then quilted all three together with channel stitching 2" apart.

The two narrow ends were finished with matching yellow bias tape.

I deviated from the pattern and folded my bag to have a 3" flap at the top of the bag. The sides were stitched and then serged.

The finished size is 9½" x 11".

Instructions for using Microwave Potato Bag:

Wash potatoes (do not poke holes).

Wrap in paper towel and put in bag.

Place bag in microwave with the flap facing down.

Bake on high, 4 to 6 minutes, depending on the number, the size of the potatoes and the power of the microwave.

Final Thoughts: I have no idea yet how well the bag works at cooking potatoes but I love the end results. At the very least it would make a novel housewarming or hostess gift.

Update: If there's a turntable in your microwave it's important that the bag rotate freely and not touch the walls. Mine was too big so I had to lop an inch and a half off the bottom. The size of my bag is now a square 9½" x 9½".