Soft Gifts of Love

 Hi, Sweet Friends,

This year I'm making all my Christmas Gifts with my two hands. It isn't something new for me or my family, but making these Soft Gifts of Love, is a true "labor of love".  When making multiple handmade gifts, it is important that you stay focused on finishing. But beginning each new one is such fun! I found my yarn at JoAnn, for $4.99 each, but it is cheaper on the links below.

My Pinterest Collection "Crochet"

The pattern is from Pinterest, though I basically it is two large rectangles and a collar that folds down (mine is a shorter collar).

I chose yarns from "Premier Yarns", Deborah Norville Collection, Everyday, Soft Worsted Yarn. The colors are "Moss Oak", "Beach", "Toasted Marshmallow", and "Oat Heather". It's a medium weight yarn, that is machine washable, warm, tumble dry, normal. Which means that the item you make is wash & wear. This is a wonderfully soft yarn and easy to work with.

However, if you choose a hand wash yarn, then make sure that you do as directed, to keep the shape and wear of the piece in good condition. And include the washing directions, found on the tag of the yarn.

 Here are the directions to hand wash your piece: First, look over the piece before it is washed. Make note of the shape and size of the piece. Handwash the piece in tepid water with a mild detergent. Rinse gently, taking care to not stretch or wring the piece. Compress gently, to remove water, then lay flat on a towel and "roll" it up to remove excess water.  Reshape it to the original shape and size of the piece. Lay flat to dry.

Pattern available here.

I have a few photos of the ones I have made for Christmas Gifts, but not on my models...yet!

Three Pieces: Front, Back, Neck (this one is short neck for Grandson).

I stiched the neck with a size 3 crochet hook and the body with a  6 crochet hook.

The SMALL took 2 1/2 skeins of yarn,

 The MEDIUM took 4 skeins of yarn kid size. The LARGE/Adult took 5 1/2 to 6 skeins of yarn. I took shoulder and waist measurements, the largest, I added 8 inches to it.

I  added two large buttons on each side of the ponchos.

 I really loved the way these came out. I don't have photos of the other two colors, but you can get an idea of how they looked when finished.

UPDATE: I did an adorable little version for a one year old friend!

I learned to Crochet from my Grandmother, she loved to craft, crochet, and paint. I'm happy to pass on these wonderful crafts & projects thru my blog posts!

Enjoy!

http://customgemcutter.com