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pattern: crochet troll doll dress

I’ve had this little troll for almost 20 years. She’s worn a Tae Kwon Do uniform for most of that time. I’m not sure exactly when my daughter decided the troll was hers. Isn’t it funny how kids kind of take over your things without you realizing it?

troll dress crochet pattern

The other night my daughter announced that she was naming the troll Isabel. Apparently, Isabel has grown tired of her Tae Kwon Do uniform and asked for a dress. Could I make one?

I thought there might be some other trolls out there who’d like a dress, so I’m sharing the pattern. It may seem big while you are making it, but remember it has to fit over those cute, chubby feet.

Pattern is written for the four-inch size troll doll.

Materials
sport or dk weight yarn (yarn was from my stash and is 12 wpi)
size F/5 (3.75 mm) crochet hook
small button
needle and thread for sewing button
tapestry needle for weaving ends

gauge: 4 stitches per inch

ch: chain
hdc: half double crochet
hdcDecrease: half double crochet decrease
sl st: slip stitch

half double crochet decrease: yarn over, hook through stitch, yarn over, pull through stitch, yarn over again, hook through next stitch, yarn over, pull through stitch, yarn over one more time, pull through all five loops

  • ch 32, join with sl st in back loop* of first chain to make a circle
  • ch 2, skip next stitch, hdc around in back loops* of chain, join in the round with a sl st in the top chain – 32 stitches
  • ch 2, skip next stitch, [hdc 6, hdcDecrease] around, join in the round with a sl st in the top chain – 28 stitches
  • ch 2, skip next stitch, [hdc 5, hdcDecrease] around, join in the round with a sl st in the top chain – 24 stitches
  • ch 2, skip next stitch, [hdc 4, hdcDecrease] around, join in the round with a sl st in the top chain, break yarn – 20 stitches
  • find the front six stitches of the dress, join yarn, chain 2, hdc next five stitches, turn work
  • ch 2, hdc next five stitches, do not break yarn
  • sew on the button and put the dress on the troll

troll dress crochet pattern

The next step depends on how tightly you chain and the size of your button. Chain 20 stitches or however many you need to make the strap go from one side, around the back of the neck, to the front and around the button. Break yarn and use the tapestry needle to thread the end a few stitches back to make the button loop.

Weave in ends.

*Go into the bumps on the back of the chain, not the stitches on the front of the chain.

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valentine rose redux

Am I going to make these pins for my daughter’s teachers every year? Possibly. They are my favorite crochet flower.

crochet rose valentine pin

This year I did a little something different with the backing. Instead of just sewing it on to the felt, I snipped two holes and poked the pin portion through. That way you don’t have to see the bracket on the back (like last year’s pins).

crochet rose valentine pin

I can’t believe how long it took me to figure that out!

Did you do anything crafty for Valentine’s Day?

project details: Pattern from Crochet Embellishments. All supplies were from my stash.

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finished: noro cowl

noro stockinette cowl

It’s been forever since I talked about this cowl. In fact, it took entirely too long to complete. That’s because my daughter fell in love with fleece and decided wool makes her itchy. (Interestingly enough, she still likes her wool hat and mittens.)

I wasn’t sure whether or not I should keep knitting or rip it out, so it sat in the UFO pile for awhile. Then one day I decided to try it on myself. It fits! It’s snug, but definitely not too small. So I finished it up.

Of course now that I’m thinking of keeping it for myself, she mentioned that she’d wear it if I lined it with fleece. I don’t know. I kind of like finally being finished with this project.

What do you think?

project notes: cowl beginning, noro mittens, noro kitty hat

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valentine’s day notepad cards

valentine card notepads

It’s another year of handmade Valentine’s Day cards. I’m still trying to keep things simple and fun for my daughter. We have less to make this year (only 22!), which is good because it was a struggle to get through all of the (34!) pencil cards last year.

I enlisted some help from technology for these. She wrote her Valentine’s Day message once, I scanned it, printed out a bunch of little versions, and glued them to the back of these cute heart-shaped notepads. I told her that she could decorate them anyway she liked and she chose to just color in the hearts. That was fine with me. We knocked these out Sunday morning and have plenty of time for her to make a few special cards for friends and family.

notes: I found the notepads at Target in the seasonal aisle. Here are cards from past years:

Are you making Valentines this year? Share in the comments!

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review: superheroines isabella, lulu and tille

I’ve been volunteering in my daughter’s school library for over 4 months now. My job is to help the kids pick out books. Not to choose topics, but to help them locate different subjects and authors and to use a shelf marker when browsing so books stay in order.

I usually start with, “What are you interested in reading today? We have lots of books on [insert holiday] and [insert season].” There are usually a few takers on those subjects. Also popular are the usual suspects — Curious George, Scooby Doo, Clifford, Maisy — and the occasional requests for animals and fish. However, the overwhelming answer for boys is football and superheroes. For girls, it’s princesses and fairy tales.

I found it interesting that girls never ask for books about superheroes, especially since I grew up watching Super Friends, so I asked my daughter about it. “Mom, I want to read about girls.” Fair enough. Most superheroes are guys. In fact, I could only find one Wonder Woman book in the entire Easy Reader superhero section at Barnes and Noble.

books for girls

So I set out to see if I could find some superheroine books. It wasn’t easy, but I found a few great stories that my daughter and I really enjoyed. These girls and women are pretty amazing, even without capes. Ok, so one has wings and one sewed herself racing clothes, but you know what I mean. (All book links go to amazon.com)

My Name Is Not Isabella: Just How Big Can a Little Girl Dream?: My daughter really liked how Isabella imagined herself as great women in history: Sally Ride, Annie Oakley, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie and Elizabeth Blackwell. I like that she was learning about women who changed the world without needing a super power. There’s a similar book for boys, My Name Is Not Alexander, which is on our to-read list.

Ladybug Girl: I thought that this was going to be a superhero book, but it’s more about creative and imaginative play. When her mom and dad are too busy to play and her brother says she’s too little, Lulu becomes LadyBug Girl and invents her own fun. (She does save some ants in distress.) I still liked it and so did my daughter. We’ll definitely be checking out the other books in the series.

Tillie the Terrible Swede: How One Woman, a Sewing Needle, and a Bicycle Changed History This by far was my daughter’s favorite book of the three. It’s the story of Tillie Anderson who came to America from Sweden and worked as a seamstress before becoming an avid bicyclist. After realizing that her long skirts were getting in her way, she used her sewing skills to make a “shocking” pants outfit more suited to riding. Today she’s considered the world champion of women’s racing.

What are your favorite superheroine books? Share in the comments!

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this moment: new year’s eve

new year's eve

I’ve been going through pictures from our East Coast vacation and thought I might do a few moments from the past month. This was on New Year’s Eve in Columbia, MD. I’m loving the sparkling white bokeh.

. . . . .

My daughter and I have been doing a lot of reading, lately. I’m going to try and get caught up on my book reviews for the blog. Plus, I haven’t forgotten about the craft book giveaways. More of those to come, too!

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instant cowl

cowl from unraveled sweater

Yesterday I started unraveling this sweater. When I detached the neck, I thought, “This would make a beautiful cowl.” I slipped it around my neck. Lovely. I doubled it up. Toasty.

cowl from unraveled sweater

It’s the fastest cowl I’ve ever made. In fact, it kind of looks like the Burberry-inspired cowl by The Garter Girl, which just happened to be on my to-knit list.

Sorry for the mobile phone pics. It’s been a busy week.