The Statue of Liberty was…amazing! We went up to the crown, walking the stairs all the way. The spiral staircase was really fun. My legs are definitely tired…but it was so worth it!

I love traveling to see different national parks and monuments all over the country. While we are staying near D.C. and New York on this trip, I would love to visit other parks like ones near Chicago.

As you can see, this pattern is a wall hanging made from Corner to Corner Crochet. I can’t wait to put it on my wall as a memento when we get home!

The Yarn

Real quick, before we get to the pattern…lets talk about the yarn!I used Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice for my sign. I absolutely love this yarn. It’s worsted weight, but softer than a lot of other standard worsted weight yarns out there. Get some for yourself HERE.

Now to the pattern!

I Love New York Sign

By Desert Blossom Crafts

• To Pin this pattern to your Pinterest boards, click HERE.
• The PDF version of this pattern on Etsy will become available when I get home from the East Coast!

Materials:

• Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice Yarn (or any worsted weight yarn)
• H/8 Crochet Hook
• Yarn needle
• Shadow Box Frame

Notes:

1. This pattern is made with the C2C (corner to corner) crochet method. If you are unfamiliar with this method, here are some helpful tutorials:

How to Crochet Corner to Corner

How to change colors in C2C

2. Start in the bottom right corner of the color chart, where there are two number 1’s. Then work diagonally as you normally would in C2C, changing colors as indicated.Here’s the color chart; enjoy!

After you’ve finished all the crocheting, you can leave it as is, or frame it as I did. I used an 8″ by 8″ shadow box frame. All I had to do was stick it inside!

I hope you enjoyed this pattern; I had so much fun designing it! To view more of my free patterns, click here. And if you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me. 

Want to follow along as I continue my trip across the East Coast? My next stop will be Philadelphia…then Washington D.C.! Don’t miss next patterns in my travel series! Click HERE to view all the patterns published in this series.

Happy crocheting!

— Rachel

© 2018 All rights reserved. You may print this pattern for private use only. You may not reproduce or distribute this pattern in any way for any public or commercial use. Your finished items are yours to do with as you wish.

The post I Love New York Crochet Wall Hanging appeared first on .

Some people love big purses, but I happen to be a tiny-purse kind of gal. My stuff gets lost easily enough in a small purse—I don’t know how I would ever manage with a bigger one!

While we were on our big tour of the East Coast this summer, I knew I wanted to something small and light for my wallet and a few other necessities—so I designed this purse! (Literally, I made most of it on the plane)

I used it throughout our three-week trip, and it held up really well!

The Yarn

The yarn I used for this purse is Lion Brand Flikka. This yarn was so much fun to work with. I loved how the colors made a neat pattern as I worked.

It is a worsted weight cotton, so it has a good amount of durability. My handbag held up well even after 3 weeks of heavy use!

Get Lion Brand Flikka for yourself HERE.

Now for the pattern!

Woodland Tote

BY DESERT BLOSSOM CRAFTS

• Pin this pattern to your Pinterest Boards HERE
• Add this pattern to your Ravelry queue HERE
• Buy the inexpensive, ad-free PDF version of this pattern on Etsy HERE

  MATERIALS:

• Lion Brand Flikka Yarn
• G Hook (or a size that gives you a tight tension. You don’t want the bag to be super loose)
• Yarn needle

NOTES:

1. Bag is made from the bottom up and is worked in continuous rounds. Do not join at the end of rounds unless otherwise specified.

ABBREVIATIONS/STITCHES USED:

Chain – ch

Slip Stitch — sl st

Single Crochet — sc

Double crochet – dc

Repeat – rep

Round — rnd

Skip – sk

Stitch(es) – st(s)

Free Crochet Patterns I Love (and you should too!)

1. Niagara Cardigan / 2. New York Sign / 3. Wave shawl

MEASUREMENTS:

When laid out flat, from base to top edge: approximately 8″

Width at widest point: 6 1/2″

INSTRUCTIONS:

Ch 2.

Rnd 1: 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook. Do not join.

Rnd 2: 2 sc in ea sc around. (12 sc) Place marker in last stitch, and move up at the end of each round.

Rnd 3: *Sc in 1st sc, 2 sc in next sc. Rep from * around. (18 sc)

Rnd 4: *Sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc. Rep from * around. (24 sc)

Rnd 5: *Sc in next 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc. Rep from * around. (30 sc)

Rnd 6: *Sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc. Rep from * around. (36 sc)

Rnd 7: *Sc in next 5 sc, 2 sc in next sc. Rep from * around. (42 sc)

Rnd 8: *Sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc. Rep from * around (48 sc)

Rnd 9: *Sc in next 7 sc, 2 sc in next sc. Rep from * around. (54 sc)

Rnd 10: *Sc in next 8 sc, 2 sc in next sc. Rep from * around. (60 sc)

Rnds 11-34: sc in each sc around. (60 sc). At the end of rnd 34, JOIN with a sl st to first sc in that rnd.

Rnd 35: Ch 3 (counts as dc) dc in next st. Ch 1. *Sk next st, Dc in next 2 sts. Ch 1. Rep from * around. Join with a sl st to beg ch 3.

Rnd 36: Ch 1 (counts as sc) sc in each dc and each ch-1 sp around. (60 sc). Join with a sl st to beg ch 1.

Rnd 37: Ch 1, work the crab stitch (backward single crochet) around. For a tutorial on the crab stitch, click here. Do not fasten off.

Strap

Ch 130 (or ch to desired strap length). I made my chain slightly shorter than I wanted the strap to be, since it did stretch a couple inches after use.

Being careful not to twist ch, sl st to the opposite side of the bag. Turn.

Last row: Sl st across all ch. Do one last sl st to the edge of the bag to secure. Fasten off and weave in ends.

If desired, weave an extra piece of yarn through the open holes in the double-crochet round as a drawstring.

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I hope you have enjoyed this pattern. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I would love to help!

To view all of my free patterns, click HERE. 

Happy crocheting!

— Rachel 

© 2018 All rights reserved. You may print this pattern for private use only. You may not reproduce or distribute this pattern in any way for any public or commercial use. Your finished items are yours to do with as you wish.

The post Woodland Tote—Free Crochet Pattern appeared first on .

(Have you heard about this series of patterns yet? I’m doing a special group of themed patterns while my family is on the East Coast of the U.S. You can view all the posts so far HERE. Or view the the previous pattern, from New York, HERE.)

Yesterday we left New York for good and went on our way to Philadelphia. We spent all of Monday touring the city, and then made our way to the place we’re staying (which is actually out of the city). It is absolutely beautiful here—so green and luscious. If you want to view even more pictures, make sure and follow me on Instagram! I post lots of fun pictures in my stories.

Anyway…so I crocheted a mini Liberty Bell, and here I am holding it in front of the REAL Liberty Bell. So exciting!

Besides going to the Liberty Bell, we also went on a tour of Independence Hall, where we got to see some neat History.  We saw the very room where America’s Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, as well as the room where the first U.S. Congress met.

The Yarn

All right, before getting to the Bell pattern, let’s talk about the yarn. I used sport-weight yarn from Knit Picks— called Wool of the Andes Sport. I find this yarn to be perfect for little projects like this bell. It’s affordable, and comes in lots of amazing colors.

Click HERE to buy some for yourself!

By the way, pretty much any sport weight yarn would work for this pattern. You could also use a heavier yarn, but your bell would obviously turn out much bigger.

Crochet Liberty Bell

By Desert Blossom Crafts

• To Pin this pattern to your Pinterest boards, click HERE.
• The PDF version of this pattern will become available after I get home from the East Coast!

Materials:

• Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Sport (or any sport weight yarn)
• F/3.75mm Crochet Hook
• Yarn needle

Instructions

Bottom of the Bell

Ch 2.

Rnd 1: 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook.

Rnd 2: 2 sc in ea sc around (12 sc)

Rnd 3: (Sc in next st, 2 sc in next st) around. (18 sc)

Rnd 4: sc in the back loop of each sc around. (18 sc)

Rnd 5-7: sc in each sc around. (18 sc)

Rnd 8-9: (2 sc in next sc, sc in next 2 sc) around (24 sc after Rnd 8. 32 sc after Rnd 9)

Rnd 10-11: sc in each st around. (32 sc) Sl st to first sc to join. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Turn the bell with the WRONG side facing out. It just looks more like the Liberty Bell this way!

Top of Bell

Ch 11.

Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and each sc across. Turn. (10 sc)

Row 2: ch 1 (does NOT count as st), sc in each sc across. Turn.

Row 3: ch 1, sc in next 2 sc. TURN.

Row 4-5: repeat row 3. Fasten off.

Join yarn on the other end of Row 2. Then repeat rows 3-5.

You should have 6 sc left in the middle of Row 2. Join yarn in the 4th sc over. Then sc in the middle 2 sc. Fasten Off, leaving a long tail for sewing the top to the bottom. Weave in all other ends.

Here is what the top should look like!

Finishing:

1. Block the top piece. I promise, blocking is not scary. It’s very easy. To read about the 3 different methods, click here. Blocking the top of your bell will stop it from curling. It will make it firm so it’s not flopping around once you sew it on the bottom.

2. After blocking, simply sew the top onto the bottom. Attach the middle 2 sc of the top to the 1st round of the bottom.

I hope you enjoyed this pattern! I had so much fun designing it! To view more of my free patterns, click here. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me. 

Happy crocheting!

— Rachel 

© 2018 All rights reserved. You may print this pattern for private use only. You may not reproduce or distribute this pattern in any way for any public or commercial use. Your finished items are yours to do with as you wish.

The post Mini Liberty Bell – Free Crochet Pattern appeared first on .