basic slouch hat (free crochet pattern!)

hey everyone! hope you're all having a great week so far!

today I've got a free crochet pattern for you guys!

this hat is a really great project for beginning/intermediate crocheters that have a good handle on the fundamentals of crochet, and want to try something a little more advanced, but nothing too crazy. if that sounds like you, then be sure to pin/bookmark this pattern, because i think you'll really like it. 

i mean, 1. its cute, 2. it only takes a couple hours start-to-finish, 2. it doesn't even use a whole skein of yarn, and 4. the basic pattern really has a lot of room as far as customization is concerned (colors, stripes, embellishments, etc.). honestly its one of my favorite quick crochet projects. 

(funny side note: back in the myspace days, i made a LOT of money one summer making custom hats for teenagers who usually paid me by mailing me envelopes of cash exactly like the post office tells you not to do)

just like my spiral lace slouch hat knitting pattern, my favorite yarn to use for this is cannas choice by lion brand, but any worsted weight yarn (or two strands of very thin yarn if you feel like getting crazy) will work wonderfully. just don't use a yarn thats too thick, or your hat WILL be stiff and not slouchy at all. don't say i didn't warn you. 

anyway, heres the pattern:

i really hope you get a chance to try this pattern out, and if you do, PLEASE send me a picture of your cute hats! id love to see what you do with this pattern!

oh! one more thing, if you REALLY want a pdf copy to download to your computer/kindle/ipad/whatever, you can buy one for just $2 right here.

spiral lace slouch hat (free pattern!)

so, ive been thinking about my knitting patterns a lot lately. 

you know, the ones i wouldnt shut up about a couple months ago that you havent heard about in a very long time?

well, as much as i love knitting and crocheting and am SO grateful that i get paid to teach what i love to so many people, i dont really think "knitwear designer" is a hat that i feel comfortable wearing right now (you see what i did there?). 

because me and knitting patterns dont exactly have the healthiest of relationships right now. 

see, ive had this little notebook of patterns that ive been writing for AGES, and ive always wanted to publish and share them but i wasnt sure how, and then i finally learned how and it seemed like a really great side project for poverty luxe and might make a good source of passive income because thats like a really important business thing and maybe i got a little too carried away and didnt realize that writing and developing and testing patterns was as labor intensive and time consuming as it is and the patterns became a huge distraction from the work i really needed to be focusing on like blog content and sewing inventory for the shop. 

so we need to take a break. 

but the thing is, ive worked really, REALLY hard on these patterns and i just HAVE to share them with as many people as possible. i just cant give up on my babies. 

and since this month im changing, oh, i dont know, everything about how things work over here at poverty luxe....

ive decided to offer my knitting patterns for free on the blog. and if you just so happen to REALLY want a pdf copy to save to your kindle or ipad or whatever (or you just, really want to be nice), theyre only $2 in the shop. 

so without any further ado, here is how to make a spiral lace slouch hat (the first knitting pattern i ever wrote entirely on my own!):

i even included a handy-dandy list of abbreviations for you!

quick side note: vannas choice by lion brand is probably my favorite yarn to use for this hat. also, it looks really cute in stripes. 

i hope you get a chance to try this pattern out, and if you do, PLEASE send me a picture of your cute hats! id love to see what you do with this pattern!

happy weekend!

arm-knit infinity scarf tutorial.

hello friends! hope everyones having a good week so far! this week is my first week back to juggling all three of my jobs after christmas break, and it hasnt exactly been the smoothest transition. BUT james worked three days (so far) at his regular job AND (thanks to a really weird assortment of food left from last weeks botched meal plan) i managed to pull together a meal plan for this week that only required $15 of groceries! and that makes me pretty happy. 

but not as happy as i am to show you how to make this super cozy giant knit infinity scarf:

which, by the way, is knit using your arms, and only your arms. im serious. i first tried this technique maybe 5 or 6 years ago when i read about it in one of the stitch n bitch books (i made a few scarves from strips of recycled tshirts), and then didnt really think about it again until a recent youtube search for an unrelated knitting technique revealed that arm knitting is totally a thing now. 

then a few days later it was double-discount day at work (meaning we got an extra forty percent off sale prices instead of twenty) and i saw this dash yarn by red heart and i knew that it would be the perfect christmas gift for my sister. 

and then i started making it and realized i HAD to share this project with you guys. why? well one, its super cute and practical and on trend. and two, it only uses one skein of yarn that retails for about $10 (meaning, as long as you go to joanns with a coupon you wont pay more than $6). and three, it takes less than an hour from start to finish. 

so what im getting at here is that you can make a super impressive handmade gift in less than an hour for $6. 

and heres how you do it:

(disclaimer: this was jamess very first time shooting a tutorial with me and we had some lighting issues due to not owning studio lights, so please excuse the inconsistent photography)

you will need:

1 skein red heart boutique dash in the color of your choice (i used meadow)

your arms

and maybe some scissors

step 1: start by making a slip knot about 3 feet from the end of your yarn. if you dont know how to make a slip knot, ill show you right now. start by making a fish shape with the cut end (tail) of your yarn crossing over the long (working) end like so:

next, reaching under the "body" side of the fish closest to where the tail crosses over, pinch a little piece of the "tail" like so:

and pull that little bit up through the "body" of the fish shape:

and pull your little loop away from the two ends of the yarn to tighten:

and ta-da! slip knot:

step 2: cast on your first row of stitches by placing your slip knot over your left hand like so:

next, using your right hand, reach through the loop on your left hand and pinch a little bit of the long (working) end of the yarn (not the tail!):

and pull it back through the loop on your left hand:

stretching it out until its big enough to fit onto your left hand next to the first loop:

now repeat this process again with the next loop so that you have three:

four:

five stitches on your left hand:

step 3: start knitting your first row by pulling a loop through your last stitch just as you were before:

only this time, drop the left hand loop off and leave the new loop on your right hand, like so (basically you just did a knit stitch without needles):

and repeat this process in each of the stitches on your left hand:

until you have five loops on your right hand and none on your left:

step 4: knit your second row by reversing the process of your first row, using your left hand to pull the yarn through the loops on your right hand:

dropping the right hand loop, and moving the stitches to your left hand:

all the way across:

step five: repeat steps three and four until you end a row with about 3-4 feet of yarn left over. your scarf will look something like this:

step six: begin the bind-off row by "knitting" your first:

and second loops:

next, begin binding off by taking the first loop (the one on the far right):

and pulling it up and over the second loop, dropping it so that only the second loop remains:

repeat this process, knitting one loop:

and pulling the previous loop over it:

until you only have one loop left:

and pull the last of your yarn through this last loop, forming a knot and the end of your bound off edge:

step seven: finish your scarf by first tucking the tail left from your bind off edge back into the scarf so that its hidden:

then, using the long tail that you left in the beginning:

"sew" the two ends of the scarf together:

making sure to match the rows of stitches so that the edges are straight:

finally, knot the end of your seam:

and weave the last of your tail into the wrong side of the seam to hide it, trimming if necessary:

step eight: go out and show off your super cute new scarf:

and when people compliment it (which they will) you can say, "oh, this old thing? its just something simple that i whipped up one afternoon", because, its true. 

hope youve enjoyed this tutorial, please PLEASE let me know if you end up using it, id LOVE to see the scarves that you make!

weekend update #9

hey everyone! hope youre all having a fantastic weekend! 

were crazy busy these days, and working late every friday night is definitely starting to take its toll on our weekend festivities (seriously, i dont think theres ever been a time in my life that ive been more excited about mondays, and i was a pretty big fan of mondays to begin with), but despite all the chaos and messiness and general busy-ness of this week, i still managed to finish this:

my very first downloadable crochet pattern! i am so, SO excited to be sharing this pattern with the world, because it is one of my favorite projects probably ever. it only uses about 100 yards of worsted weight yarn (and you have tons of that, right?), looks awesome in every color, AND works up super fast in just 14 rounds. this hat is pretty much the perfect handmade gift, if i do say so myself. 

and for just $5, you can make as many as your little heart desires, check it out here. 

ill see you monday for weekly wishes!

weekend update #6

today is a very, very, very important day in poverty luxe history. why? because after weeks and weeks of writing, and checking, and testing, and asking friends for favors (special thanks to allie, shannon, and lisa!), and lots and lots and lots of this:

i can now officially say that YOU CAN BUY KNITTING PATTERNS IN THE POVERTY LUXE SHOP!!!!! ok, maybe just one pattern so far, but i am SO SO SO SO SO SO SO unbelievably happy to finally finish my FIRST EVER DOWNLOADABLE PDF PATTERN!!!!

obviously this is a really huge accomplishment for me. but i like to think that this is also super exciting to you readers that enjoy knitting too, because for the low, low price of $5, you can learn to make this super cute hat:

now not to get all sappy or anything, but this hat was the very first of my completely original designs and i am SO happy to get to share it with as many people as possible (as well as being able to help people improve their knitting skills by making things they actually want to wear)!

the pattern is available for instant download in my shop here if youd like to check it out (or share it with your knitting friends if you dont knit)!

and for my readers that crochet, stay tuned because my next pattern is for you!

have a great weekend and ill see you monday for weekly wishes!