Lightening Race Car Crochet Wall Plaque

Hello, nice to see you again. If this is your first visit to my Blog, I hope you enjoy it and like what you see.
I have four granddaughters and 2 grandsons and I enjoy making nice things for all of them. I can find lots and lots of pretty patterns for the girls but the selections for boys is more limited. Boys deserve equal attention. Don't you agree? It took me less than a day to make this plaque. Considering I had to create the pattern as well, it came together very fast. Assuming you know the basic crochet stitches, this should be an easy project to complete.
I try to make some improvements with each new post. My goal with this post was to give you the instructions in PDF format. As I was trying to upload, using the PDF feature, I found out that this feature is not available with Blogger. After doing a little research, I found another way to include this feature in my post. I am a bit literate when it comes to HTML and was hoping to create a clickable link. However, in the post previous, it shows the document in its entirety. Since I have not tried this method before, I hope it is still an improvement over the cut and paste method, you had to use before. Please let me know how this works for you. Feedback is always welcome and greatly appreciated.

When writing up the pattern for this, I forgot to include a few photos and descriptions of the Embroidery stitches I used. If you have any questions please refer back to this Blog.

Embroidery stitches used: French Knot - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytiI5nhV2HM
How to make a Back Stitch - http://www.wikihow.com/Backstitch

When instruction direct to sc down side of the windshield, sc evenly down side and all around outline of the car.

Back view of tire after attaching it to the car. 

Front view for placement of tires

Trace the outline of the project to a stiff piece of cardboard or foam board.

I cut away an additional 1/8 of an inch from the template. This is a back view of my plaque after gluing the front to the board 

My finished plaque. Hoping my grandson will love this as much as I loved making it for him.

Cottontail Bunny, Easter Beanie and Diaper Cover

Where has time gone? Didn't realize until yesterday that Easter is just around the corner. I normally associate this holiday with spring. Winter decided to get a late start this year and we still have a lot of snow on the ground. Feels like it's still January rather than March. When I was working on the Don't eat the Daisy's Diaper set, I also did another cute little set for Easter. I love crocheting those little tiny baby items. This set uses the same pattern for the diaper cover but the beanie is worked in half double crochets. This will make it easier to embroider or to add appliques. Hope you enjoy this pattern as well.

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Bunny Beanie Pattern

Size - Newborn 14 inch diameter and 5 1/2 inches deep. 

Supplies: MC 3/4 skein of Worsted weight yarn (I used Hobby Lobby's I love this yarn in Iced Aqua and small amounts of White and Pink for the ears). CC  1/2 skein of Bernat Pipsqueak in white for the trim of the diaper cover, beanie and ears. Very small amount of black embroidery thread for eyes and mouth.(You can also separate worsted weight yarn into 2 strands.)

Size J - 5.50 mm Crochet hook for body of beanie and diaper cover. 

Size F - 3.75 mm Crochet hook for ears and nose of beanie.

My stitch gauge for a 4 inch square is as follows: 14 hdc and 10 rows

Special stitches: Sc tog. Insert hook into first stitch, draw up a loop, insert hook into next stitch, yarn over and draw through all loops on hook.

Rd 1:  Ch 4, slip stitch to first chain (or in magic ring) ch 2, 8 hdc into ring, do not slip stitch, work in continues rounds. Use stitch marker to mark beginning or end of rounds. (8 hdc)

Rd 2: 2 hdc into each stitch (16 hdc)

Rd 3: *Hdc into first st, 2 hdc into next st*. Repeat *-* for the end of round. (24 hdc)

Rd 4: *Hdc into first 2 st's, 2 hdc in next stitch*. Repeat *-* for the end of round. (32 hdc)

Rd 5: *Hdc into first 3 st's, 2 hdc in next stitch*. Repeat *-* for the end of round. (40 hdc)

Rd 6: *Hdc into first 4 st's, 2 hdc in next stitch*. Repeat *-* for the end of round. (48 hdc)

Rd 7: *Hdc into each stitch around. (48 hdc)

Rd 8 - 13 : Hdc into each stitch around. At the end of round 13, slip stitch into next stitch, change to CC. (48 hdc)
Rd 14: Ch 1, sc in each stitch around. If using textured or furry yarn finish off, for regular yarn, slip stitch in first stitch, ch 1, turn and repeat row before finishing off. Work in any loose ends.

Ears: Work 2 in White (for this part I used regular worsted weight) and 2 in Pink
Rd 1: Ch 4, sc in 2nd ch from hook and next 2 ch. Ch 1, turn (3 sc)
Rd 2: Sc in each stitch across, ch 1, turn (3 sc)
Rd 3 and 4: repeat rd 2
Rd 5: 2 sc in first stitch, sc in next st, 2 sc in last st., ch 1, turn (5 sc)
Rd 6 and 7: Sc in each stitch, ch 1, turn. (5 sc)
Rd 8: Sc together first 2 stitches, sc in next, sc tog. last 2 stitches. (3 sc)
Rd 9: Sc in each stitch across, ch 1, turn (3 sc)
Rd: 10: Sc tog. first 2 stitches, sc next, ch 1, turn (2 sc)
Rd 11: Sc tog. both remaining stitches, fasten off, leaving long tail for sewing. (1 sc)
Holding wrong sides together, whip stitch 1 white and 1 pink together. Repeat with other ear.
Attach White (I used Pipsqueak) yarn to bottom corner of ear and sc around, leaving very bottom of ear unworked. (Working through both parts of the ear.)
Hint: When working with textured and furry yarns, work with backside facing. This way your flat stitches will be in the back of the work and you will get a more textured or furrier look on the front.
Work in any loose ends and attach to beanie.
Nose: You can simply embroider your nose directly on to your beanie, or work as follows: Ch 3, 4 hdc into 3rd chain from hook, slip stitch to top of first stitch, break yarn.
Eyes: With all 6 strands of black embroidery floss, make French knot for each eye. http://www.ehow.com/how_5978_make-embroidery-french.html
Use Back stitches to embroider mouth.
http://www.purlbee.com/embroidery-tutorial/2007/2/12/backstitch.html

Diaper Cover is made using the pattern for the Don't Eat the Daisy Diaper Set. Sorry, haven't been able to figure out yet how to Hyper link a word, so here is the direct link to the pattern: http://anniespictureperfect.blogspot.com/search/label/hat%20and%20diaper%20cover

If you are using textured or furry yarn for the trim, only add one round of trim instead of two.

To make small pompom: Wrap yarn several times around 3 closed fingers, tie off center and cut open loops. Fluff and attach to the back of the diaper cover. Enjoy!
If you find any errors or have questions about this pattern, please let me know.


This pattern and photos are my originals. They are not to be posted or reproduced without my consent. You may use your finished product for any purpose. If you wish to share this pattern, please provide a link back to this Blog.

Dino Tales, Earflap Hat Pattern

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This hat came about because of another unfinished project. A few months ago I started a Dino hat. The spines where crochet individually, as little cones. I hated making and attaching those tight little cones and did't see another Dino or Dragon hat in my future. Standing in line at a store last week, I noticed a little boy wearing a a cute Dragon hat. The spine was constructed in one piece. I like this idea much better. After a little experimentation, I came up with this version. It's much easier to crochet and sew to a hat, than the individual cones.
This pattern can easily be adjusted to fit any size hat. I am quite pleased with the results. The large spines are made using 6 single crochets and the small spines are made with 4 single crochets. I made two hats in different sizes. Using the first one as a guide, I adjusted the pattern by subtracting one small spine. Allowing one single crochet per row of double crochets or one single crochet for 2 rows of half double crochets, it's easy to adjust the pattern either way. By changing the size of a scale, adding a small or a large one, I can adjust in 2, 4 and 6 stitch increments.

                                                       
                                     

Earflap Hat Pattern   

This hat is worked with half double crochets to fit size 18 - 24 months. If you prefer to crochet with double crochets, make sure the dimensions of your hat are approximately the same as mine, or adjust the number of chains for your spine accordingly. 

My hat measures 16 inches in diameter and is 7 inches deep. The tail of my hat measures approximately 8 inches.

I used  close to a half a skein of  Hobby Lobby's I Love this Yarn for the main color and less than 1/4 of a skein in the coordinating color. My hat is done in Neon Green and Neon orange but these colors are currently not available. I used a size I - 5.5 mm hook.
Stitch gauge for 4 inch square: 14 stitches across and 10 rows deep.
Small amounts of Polyfill to stuff the scales
Large embroidery needle to work in ends and attach scales and ears.

Stitches used: ch, sc and hdc.
Special stitches used:  Hdc tog. (To hdc tog: Yarn over, insert hook into first stitch, pull up a loop, insert hook into next stitch, pull up a loop (5 loops on hook), pull through all 5 loops on hook).

Body of the hat:

The hat is worked in continues rounds, use stitch marker to mark the end or beginning of rounds.   

Rd 1: With MC use your preferred method. I did 8 hdc in magic ring. You can also ch 4, slip stitch, chain 2 and 8 hdc into ring. Do not slip stitch, work next round continuously. (8 hdc)

Rd 2: 2 hdc into each stitch (16 hdc)

Rd 3: *Hdc into first st, 2 hdc into next st*. Repeat *-* for the end of round. (24 hdc)

Rd 4: *Hdc into first 2 st's, 2 hdc in next stitch*. Repeat *-* for the end of round. (32 hdc)

Rd 5: *Hdc into first 3 st's, 2 hdc in next stitch*. Repeat *-* for the end of round. (40 hdc)

Rd 6: *Hdc into first 4 st's, 2 hdc in next stitch*. Repeat *-* for the end of round. (48 hdc)

Rd 7: *Hdc into first 5 st's, 2 hdc in next stitch*. Repeat *-* for the end of round. (54 hdc)

My flat circle now measures 5 1/2 inches in diameter. If your work is done to the correct gauge, it should measure the same. I am now done making increase rounds and the rest of my rows are worked with 54 hdc per row. 

Rd 8 - 17: Hdc into each stitch. (54 hdc) Do not break yarn. At the end of row 17, ch 2 turn.

Earflaps:

Rd 1: Work 12 hdc into next 12 stitches, ch 2, turn (12 hdc)

Rd 2: Work hdc into each stitch, ch 2, turn (12 hdc)

Rd 3 - 4: Repeat rd 2, 

Rd 5: Hdc tog. first 2 stitches, hdc into each of the next 8, hdc tog. last 2 stitches. Ch 2, turn. (10 hdc)

Rd 6: Hdc tog. first 2 stitches, hdc into each of the next 6, hdc tog. last 2 stitches. Ch 2, turn. (8 hdc)

Rd 7: Hdc tog. first 2 stitches, hdc into each of the next 4, hdc tog. last 2 stitches. Ch 2, turn. (6 hdc)

Rd 8: Hdc tog. first 2 stitches, hdc into each of the next 2, hdc tog. last 2 stitches. Ch 2, turn. (4 hdc)

Rd 9: Hdc tog. first and last 2 stitches, break yarn. 

For second earflap. On right side of hat, skipping 12 stitches to left edge of completed earflap, attach yarn into 13th stitch. (see photo below)

Skip 12 hdc's, attach yarn into the 13th stitch.

Rd 1: Chain 2, hdc into same stitch and into next 11 stitches. (12 hdc)

Rd 2 - 9: Repeat as for first earflap. Finnish off, break yarn.

Tail:
Working on right side and back of hat (skipped 12 hdc's), skip 2 hdc's on the left edge of first earflap worked. (See photo below.)

Insert hook into the 3rd stitch.

Rd 1: Attach yarn into 3rd hdc, ch 2, hdc into same st and each of the next 7 st's. Ch 2, turn. (8 hdc)

Rd 2: Hdc into each stitch across. (8 hdc)

Rd 3 - 18: Repeat rd 2, ch 2, turn (8 hdc)

Rd 19: Hdc tog. first 2 stitches, hdc into each of the next 4, hdc tog. last 2 stitches. (6 hdc)

Rd 20: Hdc tog. first 2 stitches, hdc into each of the next 2, hdc tog. last 2 stitches. (4 hdc)

Rd 21: Hdc tog. first 2 and last 2 stitches, finish off, break yarn. (2 hdc)

Edging: Starting on the front edge, I attached yarn at the first stitch next to the right earflap. To imitate scales, I worked a large shell over the front of the hat and small shells over the rest. Including ear flaps and tail. Or  use any edging you prefer. 

Large Shell: *Sc into first stitch, skip next stitch, 5 dc's into next stitch, skip  next stitch*, repeat from *-*. 

Small Shell: *Sc into first stitch, skip next stitch, 5 hdc into next stitch, skip next stitch*, repeat *-* around. 

Scales:

Special stitch: sc tog.: Insert hook into first st, draw up a loop, insert hook into next stitch, draw up a loop, yarn over, draw through all loops on hook.

The scales are worked as one piece. (Make 2)

Rd 1: With CC (I used Neon Orange) Chain 65. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and each chain across. (64 sc)

Rd 2: On this round each scale is worked individually, in rows.

         The large scale is worked as follows: sc into each of the next 6 st's. Ch 1, turn (6 sc)

        * Work 6 sc into each st. ch 1, turn (6 sc)

         sc tog. first 2 stitches, sc into each of the next 2, sc tog. last 2 stitches, ch 1, turn (4 sc)

         sc tog. first 2 and last 2 stitches, ch 1 turn (2 sc)

         sc in each of the next 2 stitches, do not break yarn.

         Make 3 sc down the side of the scale, make a 2nd sc into the 6th sc of the base row*  (first 6 sc row of the scale just made)

work a sc into next 6 hdc's and repeat from *-* to complete next scale. Repeat steps until you have a total of 8 large scales. 

Work sc's down the side of the scale just made

At this point you should have a total of 16 hdc's unworked. 

To make small scales: 1 sc in each of the next 4 stitches. ch 1, turn (4 sc)

                                  Sc tog. first 2 and last 2 stitches, ch 1, turn  (2 sc)

                                  Sc tog. remaining 2 stitches, do not break yarn,

                                  make 2 sc down side of scale just completed. Sc again into first sc of  base row for scale. Repeat small scale 3 more times. Finish off, break yarn.

This is how your finished scales should look.

Matching up small and large scales, whip stitch ends and scales of both pieces together, leaving long bottom edge of scales unworked. Fill each scale with small amounts of Polyfill. Slip stitch opening at bottom edge and attach to center of hat and tail.

After whip stitching both pieces of the spine together, stuff lightly and whip stitch  bottom
edge closed.

To find the center line, fold hat in half, matching earflaps. Pin or bast in place. Whip stitch spine to hat.

Ears: 

Use a smaller hook to work ears. I used a size F-3.75 mm hook. It produces a stiffer fabric and eliminates unsightly holes, left by a bigger hook. Work 2 pieces in MC and 2 pieces in CC of your choice. 

Rd 1: Ch 7, sc in 2nd ch from hook and each st around. Ch 1, turn. (6 sc)

Rd 2: Sc into first and each stitch around, ch 1, turn. (6 sc)

Rd 3 - 7: repeat round 2

Rd 8: Sc tog. first 2 stitches, sc in each of next 2, sc tog. last 2 stitches, ch 1, turn. (4 sc)

Rd 9: Sc tog. first 2 stitches and last 2 stitches, ch 1, turn. (2 sc)

Rd 10: Sc tog. remaining 2 stitches. Fasten off, leaving long tail for sewing.

Holding wrong sides together, whip stitch 1 MC and one CC together. When attaching folded ear, I found it easier for me to fold the ear and stitch together before attaching it to the hat.

For folded ears, fold in half and run a few stitches through the bottom edge. 

Attach ears, work in any remaining loose ends. Have fun accessorizing you hat. As you can see, I had a a lot of fun with mine.  

 Let your imagination go wild. This is the final, Deluxe version of  the first one I made. 

This pattern and photos are my originals. They are not to be posted or reproduced without my consent. You may use your finished product for any purpose. If you wish to share this pattern, please provide a link back to this Blog.

Update to the Don't eat the Daisy's Pattern

Marianne was kind enough to point out an error in the diaper cover pattern. I omitted line 3. I have since corrected the mistake. The pattern itself was correct, I had a slight slip in the numeration of the lines and didn't catch it when I was proofing it. Sorry if this has inconvenienced any of you.

I also forgot to include my stitch gauge for the patterns. For items I crochet a lot, like hats and baby items. I stick with the same brand of yarn. This eliminates the need for me to do a gauge because I know, how many increase rows I need to work, to get the correct size for a hat. Same with baby shoes. Working them all with the same brand of yarn not only eliminates the gauge, it also ensures the correct size every time. The gauge is now also added to the pattern.

If you enjoy this project and have a picture to share, please click on the link at the top and share with my Facebook group. I would love to see how your projects turned out. I am working hard to make both my Blog and Facebook page a fun place for all of my crocheting friends. Stay up-to date on new patterns, techniques, share your projects and get help if needed by liking the page.

I am currently working on several cute projects to post. Have so many ideas and can't wait until they are done. Look for the unisex Bunny and Ladybug versions of this set to post very soon. Thank you all for visiting and looking forward to seeing you all again.