Mickey / Minnie Mouse Crochet Hat

I found a crochet pattern for a Mickey/Minnie Mouse hat for a baby. I have a friend who is mad about  those mice, and is expecting a baby, so I thought I'd whip her up one.

Biggest. Mistake. Ever. The pattern was all messed up so I ended up making up my own. Then I couldn't get those freakishly big ears to stand up; they kept flopping over. It was such a pain. But I friggin did it.

Then I thought about my bestie Katelyn. Who is mad about Disney. She also had a birthday coming up. And apparently I am a glutton for punishment.

And also the best friend ever.

So I had to make her a hat. I am just picturing her in it on a cold day at Disneyland.

Here is the crochet pattern for the ears:

Stitch Marker needed.

Baby ears: Hook G

Adult ears: Hook I
Scroll down to learn the secret to get the ears to stand up.

Round 1: 8 HDC in magic loop. (8)

Round 2: 2 HDC in each stitch around. (16)

Round 3: *1 HDC in first stitch, 2 HDC in next stitch* repeat around. (24)

Round 4: *1 HDC in first two stitches, 2 HDC in next stitch* repeat around. (32)

Round 5: 1 HDC in each stitch (this gives curve to ear) (32)

I'm not going to include a pattern for a beanie hat - there are millions for free on the internet. Hopefully if you crochet you already have a simple DC pattern saved somewhere. Or you could fancy it up with a shell stitch or something and then do the ears. Do whatever you want.

So how did I get the ears to stand up?

I tried fabric stiffener. Don't try that. It just looks crusty.

The secret is to crochet the hat and ears with two strands of yarn and then use black pipe cleaner. I crocheted the pipe cleaner into the ears on the last row and left it sticking out as I sewed the ears on.

Then I weaved the ends of the pipe cleaner into the hat to give the ears stability. I made sure it wasn't sticking out in a way that it would stab the person (or baby) wearing the hat.

It totally worked. And Katelyn loved it. I am so glad. Her hubby wants a Mickey one now.

So how to make the Minnie Mouse bow? If you I to tie a bow normally, it looks weird. Maybe there is some secret way to do it, but I haven't figured it out.

Seriously. It's weird.

So I manufacture one and then attach it to a clip. I bought these clips from Sally's years ago. Since it's a pack of 100, I still have a few left.

Some people sew the middle of the bows to give it that scrunched look. I found out that I am not a fan of sewing. So I use hot glue.

First I cut a piece of ribbon and then glue the ends together so it makes a circle. 

This is the loopy-bow part.

 Then I pinch the middle together.

I squish it and glue the middle together on both sides and on the inside. Then I cut another piece of ribbon for the end piece, as if you actually tied a bow.

I fold it in half and cut it so that the ends look nice.

You can take a lighter and just slightly melt the end pieces so that they don't fray.

I squish it and glue it in the middle, the same as the first piece, then I glue the two pieces together.

I did the same for the top ribbon part and the bottom ribbon end piece. Then I glued them together.

Then I covered it up with a piece of smaller black ribbon.

And covered up the top part of the clip with the black ribbon (the 3/8" ribbon works best).

And annoyed my J by making him model it. Oh he is so handsome when he pretends he is angry.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my little project.

Crocheted Fox Gloves

My sister posted something on Facebook that she wanted from Etsy but it was sold out. It was some really cute fox gloves.

I tried finding a pattern for this with no luck. I gave up for a bit. And then Christmas came around and I thought it might be a nice surprise. Checked the Etsy listing. Still sold out. Rude. I was going to have to attempt to make the gloves.

I found a free pattern for fingerless gloves easy. It was too large, so I modified it down until it fit my hand.

I found the fingerless gloves pattern here:

http://www.straw.com/cpy/patterns2/accessories/m5-CrctFgrlessGlves.html

Here's how I modified it (my notes in red):

Note:  Except for the first rnd and last rnd of the glove, you will not join the rnds with a sl st.  Instead, you will just continue to work sc in a spiral.

Ch 26.  (Ch 22 instead.) Join with sl st.  Place marker to mark beg of rnd.  (You will slip the marker up at the beg of each rnd.)
Rnd 1:  Ch 3, work dc in next and each rem st. [26 sts] 22 sts
Rnd 2:  Work sc in each dc.
Rnd 3:  Work sc in each sc.
Repeat Rnd 3 until piece measures 4".

Deidre did rows: 4 - 11.

Begin Thumb Gusset:
Next Rnd (Row 12):  (2 sc in next sc) 2x, sc in each rem sc. [28 sts] 24 sts
Next Rnd (Row 13):  sc in each sc around.
Next Rnd (Row 14):  2 sc in 1st sc, work sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in each rem sc. [30 sts] 26 sts
Next Rnd (Row 15):  sc in each sc around.
Next Rnd (Row 16):  2 sc in 1st sc, work sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in each rem sc. [32 sts] 28 sts
Next Rnd (Row 17):  sc in each sc around.

Next Rnd (Row 18):  2 sc in 1st sc, work sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in each rem sc. [34 sts] 30 sts

Next Rnd (Row 19):  sc in each sc around.

Next Rnd (Row 20):  2 sc in 1st sc, work sc in next 8 sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in each rem sc. [36 sts] 32 sts

Next Rnd (Row 21):  sc in each sc around.

Next Rnd (Row 22):  sc in 1st sc, skip 10 sc and sc in next st, pulling taut to connect thumb gusset, sc in each rem sc. [26 sts]. 22 sts

**Continue to work sc's in each sc until piece measures just above beg of fingers (~1½" from top of thumb gusset).  Join last rnd with sl st.  Remove marker and fasten off.  Weave in ends.

********

Then I had to figure out how to make a fox face. I played around with a few different things and this is what I came up with:

Fox ear pattern:

Row 1: Ch 5. Sc in the 2nd ch from hook and each remaining ch. Turn. (4 sc)

Row 2: Ch1, sc2tog, sc2tog (do not use the little nub on the end). Turn.

Row 3: Ch 1, sc2tog (do not use the little nub on the end). Fasten off.

Crochet the ears in both colors (white and the color of the fox). Join the white and fox-colored triangles (more notes below) and Sc around the three sides of the triangles, joining them together. Leave an extra long tail to sew onto the glove.

**As you sew on the ears, make sure it’s tight. I sewed it on loose and tried to tighten it later and it was too hard – I had to unravel it and do it over.

Snout pattern (white):

Ch6

Row1: 4 hdc in third ch from hook. Hcd in next 2 stitches. In last stitch, 5 hdc. Working on other side of ch, hdc in next 2 st, join with sl st to beginning.  Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew on.

Nose (black): 

Chain 3.

Do a single crochet decrease over second and third chains from hook. Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew on.

Eyes: buttons

The ears were a pain because you had these two pieces of yarn to weave in.

So I weaved them to the middle then knotted them together and made sure to sew that side inward.

I hate sewing. It is such a struggle getting things centered correctly and everything weaved in and tied off. It was a relief when this project was completed.

They're not as elegant as the original, but I hope my sister likes them.

Out of Town Joseph

J was in Vegas at a Nerd Conference. I was on my own for the weekend.

I came into the kitchen and spotted a green cup in my sink. And it really, really freaked me out.

I had just watched this video:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/whittygolden/guy-finds-creepy-homeless-woman-living-in-his-apar-aj3l#.pnBG7jYre

It is about a woman who had (supposedly) been living in this guy's apartment. I don't know if it's real or not, but it gave me the creeps. Watch the video and get creepified too.

Secondly, I am weird about dishes in the sink. I wouldn't have put my cup in the sink, it would have gone in the dishwasher.

Thirdly, I have a specific type of cup I use to drink out of, and it's not the green one, it's the awesome big one from Dickey's.

So I immediately assumed someone was in the house. My heart was pounding, and I was searching my brain, trying to figure out where the green cup could have come from.

And then I realized. J asked me to read his rain meter while he was gone.

The last time he asked me to read his rain meter when he was out of town, I had to take it down and wash it. It was so gross. There were two dead bees in it. Plus, that bothered me - that had to mess with the validity of his rain readings.

This time the meter had some kind of mold in it. I don't know how something that collects fresh rainwater can get so nasty.

The rain meter is triangular in shape. When I washed it, I tried to set it against the sink wall but it was sliding down. So I put it in the green cup to keep it upright while the bleach did it's thing.

I had used the green cup. And then scared myself silly.