Crocheted & felted Witch's Cauldron

Just in time for Halloween! Make one as a table decoration and fill it with all sorts of gruesome goodies, or put a long handle on it and take it with you as a candy basket when you go Trick or Treating :) It measures 20cm across and 25cm from top to bottom before felting, and 17 and 22cm respectively after felting.

This basket is crocheted rather loosely and then felted. If you don't want to felt it you should adjust the hook size to get a firmer fabric. This will make a smaller basket, so you will probably need to use thicker yarn if you want a bigger, non-felted cauldron.

You will need:

* 6mm crochet hook

* Bulky pure wool yarn in black (make sure it's not Superwash - that won't felt!)

* Needle for sewing

* Small amount of polyester stuffing

Please note: 

The cauldron, the lid and the lid handle are all made in joined rounds. Always substitute the first stitch of a round with 'chain 2' (this counts as the first stitch), and always close the round with a sl st in the first stitch. The legs and pot handles are made in continous rounds, so use a stitch marker to keep track :)

Special stitches:

There are two unsusual stitches in this pattern: The bobble stitch, and something I call triple increase, which is nothing more fancy than three sts in the same space :) 

Make the bobble as follows:

*yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through two loops on hook; repeat from * five more times, until you have a total of 7 loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all loops at once.  (The bobble will want to pop to the back of your work, and for this pattern that's the whole point :) In other patterns you have to poke the bobble to the front of the work with your crochet hook or something.) Continue crocheting like normal.

The Cauldron:

Make ring, chain 2, 

7 hdc in ring, pull ring closed, sl st in top of chain 2 to join - 8 sts

Inc in each stitch around - 16 sts

*1 hdc, inc* eight times - 24 sts

*2 hdc, inc* eight times - 32 sts

*3 hdc, inc* eight times - 40 sts

*4 hdc, inc* eight times - 48 sts

*5 hdc, inc* eight times - 56 sts

*6 hdc, inc* eight times - 64 sts

Hdc around

*7 hdc, inc* eight times - 72 sts

Hdc around

*8 hdc, inc* eight times - 80 sts

Hdc around for 10 rounds

*8 hdc, dec* eight times - 72 sts

Hdc around

*7 hdc, dec* eight times - 64 sts

*7 hdc, bobble* eight times - 64 sts

*7 hdc, inc* eight times - 72 sts

*8 hdc, tr inc* eight times - 88 sts

Break yarn and weave in end...

Legs:

6 sc in ring

Inc around - 12 sts

*1 sc, inc* six times - 18 sts

Sc around 4 rounds

*1 sc, dec* six times - 12 sts

Sl st in next, break yarn, leave end for sewing...

Make three legs, stuff them lightly and sew them to the bottom of the cauldron, approx. 7 rounds from the center.

Handles:

6 sc in ring

Inc around - 12 sts

Sc around

Dec around - 6 sts

Sc around for 20 rounds

Inc around - 12 sts

Sc around

Dec around - 6 sts

Break yarn, weave end through the front loops of the 6 last sts, pull tight to close the hole...

Make two handles and use yarns end to sew the handles on each side of the pot, approx. 3 rounds from the top.

The lid:

Make ring, chain 2, 

7 hdc in ring, pull ring closed, sl st in top of chain 2 to join - 8 sts

Inc in each stitch around - 16 sts

*1 hdc, inc* eight times - 24 sts

*2 hdc, inc* eight times - 32 sts

*3 hdc, inc* eight times - 40 sts

*4 hdc, inc* eight times - 48 sts

*5 hdc, inc* eight times - 56 sts

*6 hdc, inc* eight times - 64 sts

*7 hdc, inc* eight times - 72 sts

Hdc around

Break yarn, weave in ends and set aside...

Make another part like the first, but do not break the yarn when finished. Place the first piece behind the last and crochet them together with a round of single crochet, stitching through both layers.

Handle:

Make ring, chain 2, 

9 hdc in ring, pull ring closed, sl st in top of chain 2 to join - 10 sts

Inc in each stitch around - 20 sts

*1 hdc, inc* eight times - 30 sts

Break yarn, leave end for sewing... 

Place the circle with the right side down on the middle of the lid and use the yarn end to stitch across the middle of the circle, stitching all the way through the lid.

Then, fold the handle up along the stitched line and sew the edges together to make a half-circle. Weave in the ends, and you're done! :)

Felting:

Put the parts in the washing machine on a normal or quick cycle at 40-60 degrees C. If possible, use a setting with less water as this increases the felting. Put a pair of jeans or towels of matching colors in to help with agitation. You can also skip the spinning cycle at the end if possible, because this can cause creases in the felted fabric that will be hard to fix later. And remember it's better to use lower temperature and felt several times than to over-felt it the first time :)

I felted the cauldron once, and then I stretched and pulled it into the shape I wanted before leaving it to dry properly.When it's dry, it will keep its shape nicely. Enjoy your cauldron and have a happy Halloween! :D

Crocheted & felted Leprechaun hat

This hat will fit a small doll, or you can simply use it as a decoration for St. Patrick's Day :) I used a whole 50g ball of green for this hat, with only a yard to spare, so I suggest you have more than one ball at hand, or you can use a smaller hook. The hat is 13cm tall and the bottom opening is about 5cm across.

You will need:

* 8mm crochet hook

* Green pure wool yarn (bulky)

* Black wool yarn
* A scrap of yellow wool yarn

Pattern:

With 8mm hook and green yarn,

Sc 8 in ring

Inc around - 16 sts

*1 sc, inc* eight times - 24 sts

*2 sc, inc* eight times - 32 sts

*3 sc, inc* eight times - 40 sts

*4 sc, inc* eight times - 48 sts

BLO: *10 sc, dec* four times - 44 sts

*9 sc, dec* four times - 40 sts

*8 sc, dec* four times - 36 sts

*7 sc, dec* four times - 32 sts

*6 sc, dec* four times - 28 sts
Sc around 5 rounds - 28 sts
Change to black yarn
Sc around 3 rounds - 28 sts
Change to green yarn
*5 sc, dec* four times - 24 sts
FLO: *2 sc, inc* eight times - 32 sts
*3 sc, inc* eight times - 40 sts
*3 sc, inc* eight times - 48 sts
*4 sc, inc* eight times - 56 sts
*5 sc, inc* eight times - 64 sts
Sl st in next, fasten off

Finishing:
To make the buckle, slip stitch or embroider chain stitch with a scrap of yellow yarn. Using the picture as guide, make the buckle 5 sts wide and 3 sts high. Fasten off and weave in the ends.

Slip stitch or chain stitch with black yarn around the edges of the hat band. Weave in all ends.

Felting:

To felt the hat, put it in the washing machine on a normal cycle, 40-60 degrees C. If possible, reduce the amount of water to increase agitation. Add a pair of jeans or a towel with similar colors for added agitation. Skip the spinning cycle at the end because this can create creases in the hat and cause some areas to felt less than the rest. Repeat the felting if necessary, it's always better to felt several times than to felt it too much the first time :)

Shape the hat while it's wet and leave it to dry in shape.

Crocheted & felted Easter basket

This can be used for an Easter egg hunt, or as a decoration on the Easter breakfast table. Change the colors, and you have a basket for every occasion :) Note that this basket is fairly deep (to have room for lots and lots of candy, of course!), so if you'd like a lower basket you can simply skip a round or two before the colored band.

You will need:

* 8mm crochet hook

* Brown pure wool yarn (bulky)

* A little green wool yarn (or the color you prefer)

Pattern:

With brown yarn and 8mm hook,

Chain 5, join with sl st to make a ring

Chain 3, 11 dc in the ring, sl st to close round - 12 sts

Chain 3, dc in same space, dc inc in each st around, sl st to close - 24 sts

Chain 3, dc in same space, dc in next, *dc inc, dc* around, sl st to close - 36 sts

Chain 3, dc in next 4 sts, dc inc, *5 dc, dc inc* around, sl st to close - 42 sts

Chain 3, dc around 3 rounds

Change to green yarn

Chain 3, dc around 2 rounds

Change to brown yarn

Chain 2, hdc around, sl st to close

Edge:

This is made with backwards single crochet, or crab stitch. If you don't know how to do it, check out this video tutorial.

Crab stitch all the way around the edge

Fasten off

Handle:

With brown yarn and 8mm hook,

Chain 8, dc in 4th chain from hook, dc to end - 5 sts

Chain 3, turn, dc across - 5 sts

Repeat the last row until the handle is 23 rows long

Fasten off

Assembly:

Sew the ends of the handle to the inside of the basket, leaving 16 stitches on either side of the handle.

Felting:

Put the basket in the washing machine on a normal cycle on 40-60 degrees C. Use a small amount of detergent, and if possible, reduce the amount of water. Add a towel or two to increase agitation, but I recommend that you use similar colors and towels that leave little lent.

Remember that you can always repeat the washing if you want it to felt more. It's better to felt it twice than to ruin it the first time :)

Shape the basket while it's wet and let it dry in shape. If you want a flat bottom, press it lightly against a flat surface and let it dry standing.

If you don't want to felt your basket you can just use a smaller hook to get firmer stitches. For this example (to the right on the picture) I have used a slightly thicker yarn and a 4mm hook, and the handle is also shortened by about five rows.

Knitted & felted Christmas tree cone

This is meant to be a small thing, but the pattern is easily converted to make any size you want! Fill it with nuts or candy or leave it as is is, it makes a cute ornament either way :)

You will need:

* pair of 6.5mm knitting needles

* 4mm crochet hook (optional)

* small amount of red pure wool yarn

* scrap of white eyelash/fuzzy yarn

Pattern:

Cast on 8 stitches with red yarn

Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch

*Increase, knit to end of row, increase in last stitch - 10 sts

Purl

Knit

Purl*

Repeat from * to * until you have 18 stitches

Cast off with white fuzzy yarn, leave a long end of red yarn for the handle

Finishing:

Sew up the cone. With the red yarn end, chain 20 and slip stitch in the edge of the cone to make the loop. Weave in all ends. Felt in washing machine (40-60 degrees C) along with a pair of jeans (or a towel of similar color). Shape the cone when wet, leave to dry. Tamtadam :)

Crocheted & felted napkin ring

This is a very simple, but cute design. My example is made in red with Christmas in mind, but you can make them in any colors to match the seasons :)

You will need:

*pure wool yarn

*4mm crochet hook

Pattern:

Chain 27, slip stitch in the first chain to form a ring

Chain 2, hdc in every stitch around, - 28

Repeat first round five more times (6 rounds total)

*Chain 3, 2 dc in same space, 3 dc in every stitch around, join with a slip stitch in top of the chain 3

Break yarn, fasten off

Attach yarn to the other side of the ring, repeat from *

Weave in all ends before felting

Felting:

Felt in washing machine on a normal cycle (40-60 degrees C) and a small amount of mild detergent (no bleach), and less water if you have the option. Pull into shape when the rings are wet, leave to dry. All done :)