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Sew Sweet Crochet Fabric Toddler Dress – FREE PATTERN!

Posted in Knit & Crochet, Sewing, Tutorials , on August 2, 2015 ,

Lila wearing her first Sew Sweet Crochet Fabric Toddler Dress by me!I laughed when I saw that my most recent post before this one was the baby blanket I was making just before my daughter was born and now I’m updating to share a new free pattern I’ve put together of the toddler dress I just made for her… let’s just say 18 months between posts is a long time! Don’t worry, I’ve still been crafting away all this time, I just haven’t documented it really well. I’m always very busy with my small business, GEEKSOAP, which hit its 5 year anniversary back in February (YAY!) and have made several new designs over there for you to check out.

Recently on a 3-hour road trip, I got the itch to knit or crochet something and decided I wanted to make a dress for my now-17-month-old daughter. Back before she was born, I had purchased a newborn pattern that was a crochet top with fabric skirt combined, and I loved the idea. (My sewing machine was collecting dust – I missed it!) but when I looked at the pattern again a few weeks ago, I found that it was only written in a newborn size with no real “recipe” that I felt comfortable modifying to fit my daughter now. It was also very heavy with a lot of puffy crochet stitches, meant for cooler weather, which just wouldn’t work in July! I started researching free crochet dress patterns online to figure out a method for making just a collar or bodice that could be adapted for different sizes. After I made a top that fit, I was hooked! (haha.) I tried again and again with different hooks and things like holding multiple strands together for different effect, and finally loved the end result. After making my first dress – which had a bit of an empire waist – I made some adjustments to have a bit more length. And then I couldn’t stop making dresses…

Lila modeling her Sew Sweet Crochet Fabric Toddler DressesI had a lot of people ask me how I did it, so I just threw together all of my notes and tried to create a pattern for others to follow if they also want to make dresses for their little ones. I haven’t personally tested the larger sizes on kids, but I did include notes on suggestions where to make adaptations in order to make the crochet bodice larger for older kids. I would imagine that changing the yarn and hook size could also help you make a smaller size if you wanted, too. You could also adapt the pattern to start with 2 less stitches and adjust the rest of the numbers in the other rounds accordingly to go smaller.

As for the skirt – the pattern includes all of the notes and dimensions I used for making the skirts for my dresses, which includes notes to help you decide what dimensions you need to use when making yours. I’m no seamstress, though, so this isn’t fancy stuff. I just sort of “winged it” from doing past sewing projects and it all worked out just fine!

The pattern is now over on Ravelry as a free download – be sure to grab a copy and give it a try! And if you try some of the larger size adaptations, let me know how it goes. Also don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions! Hope you enjoy. :)

Pattern specifications:

Materials Needed
• Size I crochet hook, or whatever hook to reach gauge
• Medium weight yarn, like a cotton or acrylic
• At least 1/2 yard of coordinating fabric
• Coordinating thread
• Sewing machine

Optional
• Double folded bias tape
• Buttons

Gauge
13 sts = 4” and 9 rows = 4” in hdc

Bodice Size
This pattern is for size 2 years with a 21” chest. Pattern includes suggestions for adapting to larger sizes: 4, 6, and 8. This theory could be used to go smaller, too. (Or try a smaller hook!)

Stitches Required
Fhdc = foundation half double crochet. This creates a foundation chain and a first row of half double crochet stitches all in one.
sl st = slip stitch
ch = chain
hdc = half double crochet stitch
sc = single crochet stitch
blo = back loops only. Insert your hook into the back loop only instead of both loops of the st.

Pattern also includes 16 different variations and ideas for spicing up your dresses!

Enjoy :)


Lila: A Combination Knit & Crochet Baby Blanket – FREE Pattern!

Posted in Knit & Crochet, Showcase, Tutorials , on January 8, 2014 ,

Lila baby blanket pattern by Lesley Karpiuk of thepinktoque.comWith our second baby, Lila, on the way (I can’t believe she’s due next month!) I of course had to whip up a baby blanket. I didn’t want to use the same pattern that I used for Liam just to mix things up a bit, and spent days going through patterns on Ravelry to find just the right blanket but couldn’t decide. I was torn on whether I wanted to knit or crochet; I prefer the look of knit, but crochet is so much quicker for me. What’s an indecisive pregnant mama to do?! I stumbled upon a Lion Brand pattern that both my husband and I liked the concept of, but I wasn’t super fond of the look of the particular lace it used, nor the fact that it was knit from the corner and increased from there. It got me thinking of doing something similar with alternating lace and garter panels, but with “prettier” lace. And knit flat across, back and forth, instead of increased from the corner.

I somewhat recently learned broomstick lace crochet, and I remember thinking it could easily transition to knitting needles to do a combo project, and the idea was born to make a baby blanket from alternating broomstick lace crochet and garter knit stitch panels. I couldn’t find anything like it, so I just decided to take notes and possibly write up the pattern to share later. I finished the blanket about a week before Christmas, but just got around to formatting the pattern to share publicly this weekend.

Lila baby blanket by Lesley Karpiuk of thepinktoque.com

I don’t go into detail on how to do broomstick lace in the pattern, so it assumes you are familiar with the technique ahead of time. However, I did add two links in the pattern to the resources I used to teach myself:

Video Tutorial (4 mins)

Written Tutorial

And as I’ve mentioned that it’s a combination of crochet (broomstick lace) and knit (garter stitch), you need to be able to do these two different techniques to be successful with following the blanket pattern, but I promise it’s super easy otherwise. I also included a quick video clip I took of myself transferring the stitches from the knitting needles after doing a garter panel back to do another broomstick crochet panel, so I think that will help. Of course, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to let me know either in the comments or via email.

Materials Needed for the Lila Baby Blanket
Size J crochet hook
Worsted weight yarn (I used Hobby Lobby Yarn Secret in Lilac, 2 skeins)
Size 8 knitting needles on 32″ cable (You’ll knit back and forth like on straights)
Size 35 or 50 knitting needle, or broomstick (I literally took the plastic broomstick off of my toddler’s play broom and used that!), referred to as broomstick throughout the pattern

GRAB THE PATTERN ON RAVELRY HERE!

I really love how the blanket turned out! Mine ended up being 20″ x 30″ unblocked. I really need to block it, because in my test swatch, blocking really made the broomstick lace panels pop beautifully. I’m sure I’ll get that done before Lila arrives next month, right?

Happy knit/crochet! Hope you enjoy the pattern.


Scarfthulhu Cthulhu Scarf

Posted in Crochet, Knit & Crochet , on October 1, 2010 ,

Introducing the Scarfthulhu Cthulhu Scarf – the perfect complement to my Cthulhu Toque! This is a truly evil, yet fashionable statement in keeping warm this season.

The Scarfthulhu Cthulhu Scarf is another original Cthulhu pattern design of mine. Made from soft worsted weight acrylic yarn, this scarf is 100% handmade and features Cthulhu tentacles and sewn on buttons for eyes. Due to the button eyes, this product is not recommended for children. Approximately 63″ (over 5ft!) of awesome. Available for purchase at The Pink Toque shop!

Love the plush Cthulhu you see pictured wrapped in the scarf? He’s a creation by Ruth of CthulhuChick.com. Be sure to go and grab one of your very own, and let her know that Lesley sent you!

Washing instructions: Your Cthulhu scarf is machine washable on a gentle cycle, however, I recommend handwashing with lukewarm water and laying it flat to dry.

Goes well with my Cthulhu soap and Baththulhu Cthulhu Bath Mitt over at geeksoap.net, too! :)

Scarfthulhu Cthulhu scarf Scarfthulhu Cthulhu scarf Scarfthulhu Cthulhu scarf Scarfthulhu Cthulhu scarf Scarfthulhu Cthulhu scarf Scarfthulhu Cthulhu scarf


Venture Brothers Paintings – The Monarch & Dr. Mrs. The Monarch

Posted in Miscellaneous , on September 26, 2010 ,

Hiya!

I know, I know. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but I’ve been busy! (Excuses, excuses.) After Gen Con I started a brand new, amazing job right away, and then Lucas and I just moved closer to my work last weekend. Between the new job (which used to have a long daily commute), continuing to create huge amounts of soap to fulfill customer orders, and our recent move, I’ve not had as much time to create other things or update. Now that we’re finally settled, I’m excited about how inspired I am to get crafty again to create new works of art to decorate our new home.

I LOVE the fact that all of the art on our walls are original prints and artwork by friends and geeky artists, or something I’ve painted myself. My latest creations are acrylic paintings of my favorite animated couple in one of my favorite TV shows of all time, The Venture Brothers. Introducing… The Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch! (Note: I have yet to do the solid magenta backgrounds on these that I’m planning, so stay tuned to see them 100% completed and on the wall in our office in a future post!)

I based my paintings on images I found online of the pair, which came from screen captures taken from the show. You can see the images I used on the floor in front of each painting in the first photo. The Dr. Mrs. The Monarch was originally going to be done à la Dr. Girlfriend, but as I worked on her I decided to modify the design to transform her into the Queen Butterfly instead. It seemed fitting; the paintings will soon be hanging above Lucas and I’s matching computer desks next to each other in the new office, and the color scheme of the two together will be more consistent.

It’s been awhile since I’ve painted; I was so tickled with how well these turned out that I may just have to do a few other pieces for the new place. Besides painting, I’m also excited about some digital art I created for our guest bathroom, which I am using to display some geeky-themed soap of mine and @KyleeLane‘s. I envisioned this Andy Warhol-esque design of my Game Cartridge soap and Kylee’s NES Controller soap. I wanted the colors used to match the four colors of the shower curtain and accompanying accessories to tie everything together between the curtain, the walls, and the soap on display. These will be printed at 12″ x 12″ and I created them in Photoshop using photographs I took of our soap. Not bad, hey? I can’t wait to see them up!

In digital scrapbooking news, I’ve even found time to FINALLY update our Family Life 2010 digital scrapbook. Even though it’s been months since I’ve updated, My Memories Suite is always so user friendly and fun that I found myself getting back into the zone and creating new pages quickly to share some of the things that has happened in my family’s life this year. And wow, has 2010 been our year! It’s only September, and already the Family Life 2010 album looks to be on course to surpass last year’s album in length. Which makes sense since there has just been so much good stuff in 2010 and so much that we want to share and remember. :)

So while soap orders still keep pouring in and there are some exciting things for GEEKSOAP on the horizon (Like being approached for an upcoming feature on an NBC TV segment!), I’ve managed to find time to revisit some of my other crafty passions like painting and scrapbooking, too, and I’m loving this inspirational and creative energy flowing through me right now.  And now that it’s fall, I’ve got people wanting to purchase my Cthulhu toques again, so I’ve been craving a little knit and crochet time. I’ve got the toques AND some new Cthulhu accessories coming very soon to their own storefront; look for that in the near future! (Like next week.)

So much good stuff going on in my life right now, it’s hard not to be ecstatic and want to shout it from the rooftops. I am truly blessed with an amazing husband and some amazing friends, family, and customers who just really inspire me with their love and support to keep on creating in all facets of my life. Thank you. I hope you’ll like what you see coming from me in the near future! <3


GenCon Wrap Up

Posted in Miscellaneous , on August 28, 2010 ,

I already wrote and posted this up over on G33Kmade.com, but I thought I’d also share the post here as well, as a way to wrap up how Gen Con went for me :)

Wow. Just… wow. Gen Con Indy was amazing! Thank you SO much to all of the fabulous people that stopped by our booth and supported handmade geek at the best four days in gaming!

Firstly, we have SO MUCH LOVE for all of the independent geek artists that made up G33Kmade’s booth. Though Kylee and I were there as the face promoting our cause, G33Kmade was more than just soap; we had amazing prints by GEEKLEETIST, fantastically detailed nerd pillows by Victoria the Germ, and epic dice bags designed by Lyndsay of Dragon Chow.  And not only that, we also represented other featured G33Kmade artists and friends such as GeekyCookies, UberDork Cafe, and Ruth of CthulhuChick, whose plush Cthulhu was our booth mascot. We were givin’ out super sweet geeky buttons made by Wendy of GeekyBoutiquey left and right, and tried to ensure our mission of spreading the love between everyone that made G33Kmade’s booth a success to anyone that would listen. And boy, did we have a lot of listeners!

Wil Wheaton came by the G33Kmade booth on Saturday and picked out a Dragon Chow dice bag as part of his mission to collect as many dice as possible at Gen Con. Getting a Dragon Chow dice bag was part of another spread-the-love geeky mission initiated by @cmdrsue via Twitter. It’s the kind of thing that makes you feel weak in the knees and love what you do that much more: seeing so many people come together under one banner for one awesome purpose… to support each other’s handmade geek. It’s the foundation that G33Kmade was built upon. Share. Support. Promote. Love. Geek. Wil picked up some of our soap sculptures of awesome offerings and chose a dice bag. When he realized what G33Kmade was and what we were all about, he told Kylee and I how PROUD he was of us. Of what we had started with G33Kmade. Of promoting independent geek artists and all of us working together. The fact that so many of you were on board doing this together. He compared it to how he got started and all of the people he’s worked with, and just kept repeating how proud he was. It was surreal. And awesome.

Who would’ve thought? Independent artists working together. G33Kmade is not just two people. It’s one giant geeky dogpile of epic proportions and each and every person supporting us – whether from the sidelines or as a featured artist – is an important part of that pile. It really was amazing to see how well received the whole concept was. People loved hearing stories about the artists of G33Kmade as they browsed geeky wares from all over North America. They were surprised to see Kylee and I selling soap side-by-side and promoting and cheering each other on instead of competing. But that’s what it’s all about, and the warm fuzzy feelings I got from being able to work with so many thoughtful, giving geeks had me glowing all weekend. I am proud to be a crafty geek.

The famously clean superheroine you all know as @DeodorantDame even came by so we could help aid her in her quest for cleanliness at cons everywhere! Equipped with her deodorant spray and a D20 Soap on a Rope, she was unstoppable. United we stand for a meaningful cause!

So enough gushing already, right? BRING ON THE PICTURES! For your viewing pleasure… (There are multiple pages, so don’t forget to click the Next links!)

[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157624575006329″]

THANK YOU to every single person who has supported G33Kmade. Handmade FTW!

As you can imagine, it’s been busy ever since Gen Con around here. On a personal note, I got a job offer for a school district on the north side of town about 10 minutes before our Gen Con booth opened, and started said job at 7:30am the Monday morning after Gen Con. The good news is that the job is amazing; I love it! The bad news is that it’s an hour commute for now, so not only am I juggling a successful small business in what little spare time I have, I also have a new full time job AND we’re planning to move in a few weeks to be closer to work. As if I needed more things on my plate, Lucas and I are going with a bunch of friends down to Atlanta, GA next weekend to attend Dragon Con, too. Should be a really fun time!

In crafting news, expect a few new little things coming to GEEKSOAP soon, and my Cthulhu Toque should be back in stock both on Etsy and over on geeksoap.net in the next few weeks as we get closer to fall and hat season. I’m also planning a slight redesign to my Baththulhu Cthulhu Bath Mitt pattern to create Cthulhu Mittens for this holiday season as well :) Oh, and did I mention that Lucas and I are trying new recipes each week and attempting to stay on top of our family blog, too? Stay tuned! Somehow I’ll accomplish all of this in the midst of a move ;) Take care!


Baththulhu Cthulhu Bath Mitt

Posted in Crochet, Showcase , on July 5, 2010 ,

Brace yourself for something beyond epic… introducing Baththulhuâ„¢ the Cthulhu Bath Mitt!

Live on the edge and shower with danger! While those tentacles may wish to suck your soul into Cthulhu’s gaping maw, they are made from completely harmless cotton. (Which may explain the look on Baththulhu’s face.) So instead of doing evil, those tentacles make for an excellent scrubby surface for soapy lather. Yes!

Baththulhu is a hand crocheted bath mitt pattern that I wrote; the first Cthulhu bath mitt in existence! I personally hand crochet each and every bath mitt for my customers from the softest 100% cotton I can find for a uniquely geek bathing experience. For a Cthulhu Clean you can’t get anywhere else, be sure to pair your mitt with the original Cthulhu soap! (#Fact, being Cthulhu Clean wards off horrific nightmares. Yup.)

The Baththulhu bath mitt comes in two mighty sizes and is crafted for right-handed souls by default, but never fear… a lefty-friendly version is available, too! Medium size fits most women perfectly, while Large is more suited for men and/or those with larger hands.

Use: Enjoy with suds in the bath or shower. When finished, rinse thoroughly and lay flat to dry. Made from 100% cotton.

Disclaimer: Not responsible for the loss of your brain should you get Baththulhu too close to your head. Available for purchase at geeksoap.net

Baththulhu is the fourth original Cthulhu-themed design I’ve created. Be sure to check out my Cthulhu toque, Sock-Thulhuâ„¢ sock plush, and Cthulhu GEEKSOAP!

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? YES – I will be creating a matching set of a modified version of these as Cthulhu mittens perfect for winter wear this fall, so stay tuned and keep an eye on The Pink Toque shop!

©2010 Lesley Karpiuk of The Pink Toque (thepinktoque.com) & geeksoap.net


Crochet Cthulhu Toque

Posted in Hats, Showcase , on February 20, 2010 ,

This is a 100% original crochet toque (hat) of the mighty Cthulhu! The hat design and pattern were originally designed and made by Lesley A. Karpiuk… accept no cheap imitations or look-a-likes by others that have started cropping up! This is THE original of its kind.

Made from soft worsted weight yarn, this toque will surely make you the talk of the town during your next outing. This item is handmade and features Cthulhu tentacles, wings, and sewn on buttons for eyes. Due to the button eyes, this product is not recommended for children. The baby version features sewn-on felt eyes instead of buttons or safety eyes.

Note: Wearing a Cthulhu on your head is indicative of a coolness that cannot be surpassed. You know you want one. Pattern copyright to Lesley Karpiuk of the Pink Toque Craft Blog. Available for purchase in The Pink Toque shop.


Baby Crochet Cthulhu Toques

Posted in Hats , on February 20, 2010 ,

This is the baby version of my crochet Cthulhu Toque. Made from soft worsted weight acrylic, with felt eyes sewn on instead of buttons for safety purposes. Your child will be the coolest on the block!

Note: Wearing a Cthulhu on your head is indicative of a coolness that cannot be surpassed. You know you want one. Pattern copyright to Lesley Karpiuk of the Pink Toque Craft Blog. Available for purchase in The Pink Toque shop.


Lucas and Lesley Dolls

Posted in Crochet, Plush , on February 20, 2010 ,

These are crochet amigurumi plush dolls created to look just like my husband and I. They were given as a gift to a friend who lives far away so that we can always be together. I designed the dolls myself and created their accessories to help make them more “Lucas and Lesley like.” They are a good likeness!

Personal pattern not available.


Huug the Hug Monster

Posted in Crochet, Knit, Plush , on February 20, 2010 ,

Huug the Hug Monster is a character and pattern design that I created in February 2008. The original Huug was knit, but I have since created a crochet pattern to make Huug, too. (January 2009.)

Huug was invented randomly one day when I envisioned this cute and cuddly monster who was built with disproportionately large arms meant specifically for hugging. I began knitting and tweaked the dimensions and the pattern until Huug came alive in fiber exactly the way I imagined him in my head.

Personal pattern not available. Character and pattern has been legally copyrighted.