Crocheter’s Gift Guide

November 28, 2017 by Bethany 2 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Whistle and Ivy!

I absolutely love the holidays. I love the warm, inviting lights, the crackling fire, the family traditions and of course, the nostalgia from 29 past Christmases. I also love finding the perfect gift. Starting your gift hunting early can help alleviate stress that the holidays can bring (I am sad that the holidays bring stress to so many). And in my house, we express interest in things we want. What easier way to express your interests than with a handy, dandy list? The Crocheter’s Gift Guide was crowdsourced by crocheters FOR crocheters. It is filled favorite items and gifts on current wish lists. It should hopefully be a help to those in YOUR life who are wanting to get YOU the perfect gift (or if you want to get yourself a gift!).

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Crochet Snowfall Stocking

November 20, 2017 by Bethany 27 Comments

Oh, how I love food. Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the simply wonderful treats and food that are in store until the New Year. Growing up, my favorite parts about Thanksgiving were the single-sized pies for all the grandkids and my grandma’s famous cheeseball with Ritz crackers. Even though things have changed, I am still very excited for Thanksgiving and what it represents in our family, a time of love and gratitude. It also means that I will be posting lots of fun Christmas patterns, yay! Isn’t it crazy how, as a child, the stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas would drag on forever, but as an adult it’s barely time to trim the tree and get to everyone on your list. Well, today I am sharing this pretty Crochet Snowfall Stocking, in hopes you will have time to complete all the projects on your list, because it’s time to get going!

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Crochet Nativity Set CAL 2017

November 1, 2017 by Bethany 38 Comments

This post contains affiliate links(click here for more info). This means I get a small commission with no cost to you! Thank you for supporting Whistle and Ivy!

UPDATE: The CAL is over but you can still get the patterns for FREE! Scroll to the bottom and click each photo for the individual patterns. If you prefer, you can buy an ad-free PDF on Ravelry or Etsy.

Some of you may remember the Crochet Nativity Set CAL from last year. It was a beautiful, rustic little set. Very minimalistic and lovely. I still love my small set with just the characters of Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus, but I decided to expand the set this year and add the rest of the visitors. Also, I figured there may be many who didn’t have a chance to make the set last year and it would be fun to participate as a group again this year.

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Crochet Plaid Tree Skirt – Free Crochet Pattern

October 15, 2017 by Bethany 37 Comments

This post is sponsored by Yarnspirations, all opinions are 100% my own. Thank you!

This crochet plaid tree skirt was something I wanted to design last year, but I couldn’t quite figure it out. How do you make a circle out of squares? Then the idea of making an octagon shape came to me randomly and it worked beautifully (Once I figured out the angles!). Since this crochet plaid tree skirt is a rather large project (in my opinion) I figured a big, chunky yarn would make it easier to make. I chose Bernat Softee Chunky and it couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. Yarnspirations was wonderful in offering its sponsorship so be sure to get on Facebook or Twitter and give Yarnspirations a big thank you for bringing you this free pattern!

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Crochet Plaid Stocking

October 14, 2017 by Bethany 5 Comments

I really wondered if this Crochet Plaid Stocking would be a good choice for Plaid Week 2017. Too early for Christmas, perhaps? I guess YOU will be the judge; you will have to let me know your thoughts. Regardless, a Crochet Plaid Stocking was something that I got several requests for (but not as many as plaid mittens!), so I figured it might be something you would be excited about. I am planning on finishing a set for my family in different colors (a couple in classic buffalo plaid and a black and white one, I think) but the holidays are so crazy, we will see what happens!

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Crochet Plaid Wreath

December 10, 2016 by Bethany 6 Comments

Welcome to Day 6 of PLAID WEEK! This crochet plaid wreath is another project I knew from the beginning that I wanted to try. I love red plaid during the holiday season, so I naturally though of making a gorgeous buffalo plaid wreath. I haven’t tried many crochet wreaths, but I am very happy with how this one turned out.

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Crochet Plaid Pillow

December 5, 2016 by Bethany 17 Comments

Welcome everyone to plaid week! I am absolutely humbled by your positive feedback and loving encouragement on this project, and I truly hope you find a project that you absolutely love this week! Today is the first day of plaid week and I am sharing this quickest pattern of all, this chunky crochet plaid pillow.

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Crochet S’more Ornament

November 26, 2016 by Bethany 11 Comments

Happy weekend friends! I hope those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving had a fabulous time eating and spending time with family. Our Thanksgiving was not great as none of us felt too well, but I am hoping next week will be better for us (and our tummies). Needless to say, this week’s free crochet pattern is getting published by the skin of my teeth!

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Crochet Candle Cozies

November 11, 2016 by Bethany 9 Comments

Happy Friday! The weather in my neck of the woods has been unseasonably warm, it’s been unbelievable. A trip to the park left us all wore out but happy to be soaked in warm sunshine. It’s hard to believe that the Holidays are just around the corner. I am holding off to get my tree out until after Thanskgiving, but these little pops of holiday cheer make me so happy! These adorable crochet candle cozies are a cute and quick way to bring some holiday color to your decor.

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Crochet Mini Stocking Advent Calendar Board Tutorial

November 24, 2015 by Bethany 5 Comments

Hello all!
If you had a chance to finish all your stockings, then you are ready to make the board to hang them on. I have seen some really great ideas in the Facebook Group of how to hang the stockings, but if you are interested in how I hung mine, I wanted to show you.

What you need:

16″ x 48″ precut board (check lumber or home improvement stores
medium grit sand paper
wood stain
mug hooks
Vinyl words (you can also hand-paint them)
Square tool
Pencil
Straight edge
Measuring tape or ruler

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Vintage Half Doily Christmas Garland

November 10, 2015 by Bethany 51 Comments

A special thanks to Simplicity and Red Heart for providing yarn and tools for this project!

Although we haven’t hit Thanksgiving yet, those of us who create in blogland like to get going a little early. After all, ideas of how to decorate for Christmas don’t really help unless you have plenty of time to make them happen (at least at my house). Forgive me if this is a bit early (I have had a few blogger friends get heckled for their Holiday posts), but I am excited to share this pretty half doily Christmas garland pattern with you, along with a few more fun things!

These little half-circle are so fun to make. I am cooking up other ways to use them, and I love how adorable they look as a garland. And if you want more adorable and festive garlands, I have teamed up with some talented bloggers to bring you Christmas garlands ALL WEEK. Check back for the updated links!

Monday November 9 – Make and Takes and Flamingo Toes

Tuesday November 10 – Whistle and Ivy and Twin Dragonfly Designs

Wednesday November 11 – Persia Lou

Thursday November 12 – Sugar Bee Crafts

Friday November 13 – 733 Blog

Crochet Holiday Garland

What you need:

G Hook
Red Heart Soft in White, Teal, Really Red and Sea Foam
Yarn Needle

Start with White. Work a magic ring (make 10 – or however many you need)

1. Hdc 4 in the ring. Pull the ring tight, but DO NO close the ring, leave it as a half circle. Turn.
2. Ch 1. Hdc 2 in same st. Hdc 2 in each remaining st. Turn .(8 sts)
3. Ch 1. Hdc in same st. Hdc 2 in next st. *Hdc, hdc 2 in next st* work 3 times. Turn. (12 sts)
4. Ch 1. Hdc in same st. Hdc in next st. Hdc 2 in next st. *hdc 2, hdc 2 in next st* work 3 times. Turn. (16 sts)
5. Ch 1. Hdc in same st. Hdc 2. Hdc 2 in next st. *Hdc 3, hdc 2 in next st.* work 3 times. Turn. (20 sts)

Join second color on the right, with right sides facing you.

6. Ch 2. Dc 2 in same st. *sk 1 st, sl st into next st. Sk 1 st, dc 5 in next st* work 4 times. Sk 1 st. Sl st into next st. Dc 2 in last st.
Tie off, and weave in ends.

Line your pretty half-circles in a line, creating pattern that you love. Then, take a long piece of Really Red yarn, thread your yarn needle with it. Stitch your circle together. Try to keep your stitches as even as possible, and your half-circles as evenly-spaced as possible–it’s hard to adjust them later.

String your garland up and enjoy the pretty!

Plus there’s more.

Our giveaway is brought to you by Boye Yarn Crafts, Red Heart Yarns and SOAK. It includes:

A crochet master set from Boye Yarn Crafts – a pretty zipper case full of a huge assortment of hooks
A SOAK set – products perfect for washing and care of your delicate crochet and fine fabric items
A Red Heart Yarns Assortment (8 skeins) – enough to make any crochet garland in the blog hop!

Enter your info in the widget below (or click the link if you are on mobile) and enter for a chance to win!

Good luck :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Crochet Stocking Advent Calendar Crochet Along

November 7, 2015 by Bethany 42 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. For more info, click here.

(UPDATE: Get an Ad-free PDF with ALL stocking patterns and board tutorial! Get it on Ravelry, Etsy or Craftsy.

Today I am excited to show share fun project I have been working on. It’s crazy how fast time flies between Thanksgiving and Christmas anymore, but as a child it seemed to drag on forever. We had a close family friend who would send a cute little Christmas coundown to my sisters and me each year. I can’t remember exactly how they looked, but they had 25 small cardboard doors, and behind each door was a piece of chocolate, smooth and creamy, and shaped like a Christmas character or shape. I had such fond memories of my chocolate advent that I wanted to keep the fun alive with my son. As I was making this Crochet Stocking Advent Calendar, I thought it would be even more fun to make it together as a group, so it will be the first-ever Whistle and Ivy Crochet Along.

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