Kotori Jacket

Hello friends!
While I might have been quiet on my blog, I have been very busy in the pattern writing department (yippee!). This particular pattern has been available for a little while now, and it is already one of my most popular patterns (thank you lovely crafters!!) and I have made approximately a squillion of them so far :-) I can almost make them in my sleep now (it would be pretty handy to be able to crochet whilst sleeping, right?)

I like to try and write my patterns in LOTS of different sizes, so you can make one for all the little people in your life, and so you can keep using the same pattern and make a new jacket as your child grows :-) This one is available in sizes from newborn to 6 years! That's a lot of sizes!

It's a simple style, that is suitable for both boys and girls, and can be made with long or short sleeves. This pattern works just as well in cotton, for a Spring/Summer jacket, as it does in wool for a Winter/Autumn jacket. The simple design also means it the perfect "canvas" to play around with stripes or some gorgeous hand dyed yarn :-) And even an adventurous beginner could make this jacket in a few evenings! And did you know that I am always happy to help with any questions you have when making anything from my patterns. I promise you, there are never any silly questions :-) You can leave a comment here on my blog (I always get a notification so I don't miss any questions) or drop me a line via my Facebook page HERE

The Kotori Jacket pattern is available on Ravelry, Etsy & Craftsy!

I'm also thinking about making and adult version, with a bit of subtle waist shaping. What do you think?

Libertas Collection

Hello friends!
Wow! It's been a REALLY long time since I last posted anything to this blog! Apologies! I do get into Instagram a lot, almost everyday, so if you like to have regular contact and see exactly what I'm working on each day you can follow me there @shara_made . I really LOVE seeing what everyone else is up with their creative pursuits too, so let me know you Instagram name in the comments below so I can find you there too :-)
Hopefully these new patterns will make up for my lack of contact over the last few months :-)
The Libertas collection includes, a cardigan, fingerless mitts and a hat, and they've been so much fun to work on and develop. You might be familiar with some of my knitted scallop beanies and a few little cardigans I've knitted with the same scallop pattern?? Well, I really love it! It could be petals, or maybe shells, or waves, or just a pretty pattern :-) Lots of my lovely friends who are strictly crocheters love the scallop pattern as well and wondered if I might be able to make a crochet version... Well, I do love a challenge, so I got busy and soon enough I had a crochet scallop pattern that I was able to incorporate in to various garments and accessories :-) Besides the cardigan, fingerless mitts and hat, I am presently working on a blanket using the same pattern, as well as a scallop scarf, cowl, and skirt!
For this series I have had some extra wonderful test crocheters who have been extremely helpful too!
The cardigan is made from the top down, all in one piece (no seams to sew, woo hoo!) and has a v-neck & button closure, with 3/4 length sleeves (my favourite, and very practical for busy crafty folks).

The hat uses 3 different colours (but you could use as many or as few colours as you like) and only uses a small amount of each colour, so it's a perfect stash busting pattern (and remember, the more of your stash you use, the more NEW YARN you can justify) On a side note, I have been doing a MASSIVE stash bust this year and you can see the results on Instagram by searching the tag #operationstashbust2014. I still have a lot more stash to bust, but I'm making a big dent in it.... Yaaaay!
You can find this pattern on Ravelry, Etsy & Craftsy!

The fingerless mitts also use 3 colours, but just like the hat, you can use as few or as many colours as you like here, and once again, it's the perfect stash buster! These work up really quickly and you could easily have a pair finished in an evening. They make a great last minute gift for when you suddenly remember that you forgot you favourite workmates Birthday! Or there is an extra guest coming for Christmas dinner :-) You can find this pattern on Ravelry, Etsy & Craftsy!

For the hat and mitts pictured I have used Australian Superfine Merino by Cleckheaton and if you haven't already tried it, I urge you to get your hands on some! Oh my goodness! It is SO soft and squishy and delicious and it has a gorgeous drape, but is still very springy and has great stretch and recoil. And it seriously comes in the most amazing colours!!! It costs a little more than a regular 50g ball of wool, but it's actually a bit bigger (65g) and the yardage is about equivalent to 1.3 balls of yarn, so it works out quite economical :-) I'm looking forward to the Southern Hemisphere to roll around to I can make myself a delicious sweater or cardigan with this yarn (and it will definitely be some sort of colourwork  number, so I can use lots of the pretty colours!)

The cardigan pictured is made using a combination of Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury (the main colour, Slate), Bendigo Classic (hot pink, "Deep Rose"), Cleckheaton Coutnry Naturals (mustard/ochre) and Utiku Corridale (oatmeal/natural). You can find this pattern on Ravelry, Etsy & Craftsy!

And all three patterns are available together in an e-book on Ravelry, Etsy & Craftsy :-)