Tag Archives: DIY

Crochet Brioche Beanie – WIP

Posted on November 20, 2015 | 4 comments

Last week I shared with you the beginning of a new project, using a crochet Brioche stitch that I’ve figured out.

This week I’m showing you some of the work in progress.

I love the stitch pattern, the colour change is so effective. At first glance it really looks like knit!

And then there’s the decrease:

This took a bit of figuring out, but the overall effect is amazing.

Then there’s the trim:

I’m considering making this a bit longer, because it’s going also turn up:

And the final touch? The pom pom! According to The Guardian, pom pom beanies are right on trend in 2015, and lucky for me I’m all over it!

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But aren’t these colours just insane? The vibrancy of the Scheepjes Colour Crafter is amazing. I haven’t edited the images to boost the saturation at all. Quite the opposite, in fact! Orange and hot pink (or is it really Shocking Pink?) are probably my favourite colour combination. They’re just such happy shades. I have a cousin who would rock these colours and my aunt would easily pull off decorating her house using these two. In fact I think she may have even done it!

Next week, the reveal! And you know what the best part is, I’ve made this hat to be One Size Fits All! Well, most…

You can pick up the yarn at Scheepjes retailers all over the Benelux, or internationally from Deramores, Wool Warehouse, and at Paradise Fibers in North America!

4 Comments

Posted in Projects, Scheepjes, Uncategorized

Tagged crochet, crochet beanie, crochet hat, crochet pattern, DIY, haken, MissNeriss, pattern, pom pom, projects, scheepjes

It’s Yarn Day!

Posted on September 23, 2015 | 3 comments

Look what arrived a few days ago:

It’s a lovely pile of Scheepjes Catona Denim.

Scheepjes Catona, the start of a new project

I chose a selection of some of my favourite colours with the intention of working on a tapestry crochet project.

Doesn’t it look gorgeous, just as a decoration?

The yarn itself is a 100% cotton yarn, in a very similar style to the famous cotton 8, but with a lovely denim effect and ever so slight colour variation. It’s suited to a 3mm hook and is soft and easy on the hands.

I’m making a stool cover for a little “krukje” that I picked up in Action last week, and I’m hoping that I can even write the pattern for it in Dutch!

Check back next week, I’ll have the finished project for you. I’ve been powering through it and there’ll be more photos on Instagram through the week, so please nip over there to keep up to date! It feels great to be overflowing with Crochet Mojo.

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3 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged catona denim, cotton, crochet, DIY, project, scheepjes, yarn

How-To: DIY Photography Backdrop

Posted on July 6, 2015 | 8 comments

If you’re anything like me, you have backdrop envy. You see photos all over Pinterest and ask yourself: How do they have such beautiful surfaces? How come my yellow flowery tablecloth isn’t this nice? Well, that’s because it’s magic. Magic and lies I tell you!

It had never occurred to me for one second that people were faking it, I honestly thought I was the only person in the entire world with an ugly table/floor that was totally unsuitable to use for photographing my projects. (I have a lovely floor, by the way. My husband laid it himself which makes it all the better!)

Well, no more! I’ve just finished my own fabulous “Fakedrop” and I’m going to show you how I did it. I spent weeks searching Etsy and other sites for perfect vinyl sheets to use as backdrops, but they’re fairly pricey and I couldn’t find anything local, meaning I’d likely be stung for import duty on top of the cost of the backdrop and then shipping.

So I decided that I could do this and I jumped on my bicycle and headed to the local hardware store to see what was on offer. I went straight to the wallpaper aisle and found a great white worn timber print, along with a roll of seriously strong double sided tape and a sheet of the cheapest lightweight plywood I could find. It was the sort of wood that you find in caravans, you know the stuff?

I then proved to the world how dutch I am by carrying a huge sheet of wood home under my bike under my arm. I should have picked up a bunch of flowers on my way home, just for fun.

Here’s what you need:A sheet of lightweight plywood, a roll of wallpaper that you love, a stanley knife to cut it all, plus some double sided tape. You could also use wallpaper glue, but I didn’t want to wait around for it to dry, or clean up the mess. You’ll also need some gaffer tape to hold it down on the back.

So what I did first was cut the length of ply in half, because it was about 1mx2m, so I really didn’t need something that large. I just used the Stanley knife for that, so you don’t need a saw or anything, but watch your fingers! Then I edged the ply with the double sided tape before cutting lengths of the wall paper (about 10cm overhang at each end).

Then I carefully laid the wallpaper out so that it was square to the plywood then made sure it was pulled tight. I folded it over the edges and taped it all down with gaffer tape.

I also used some clear tape at the corners to protect the paper a bit – it might not last too long kicking around my living room otherwise!

And all that was left was to start taking photos!

And see how fake it is?

You’re welcome!

All in all it cost me about 30 euros to make. The wallpaper wasn’t cheap, but I’m sure you can find it cheaper at a large hardware store or online. I wanted to make it while I was motivated, so didn’t mind the price tag. And plus, if this one wears out I can make another. Or I can use the wallpaper to cover something else! I did use the leftover piece of timber to create a white reflector board too actually. I just attached the wallpaper facedown instead. Perfect!

Don’t forget to follow me on Social Media. Instagram is where I hang out most, so I’d love to see you there! Come share your Fakedrops if you have any, don’t forget to tag me: @miss__neriss

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8 Comments

Posted in Tutorials

Tagged DIY, how to make a photography backdrop, photography backdrop

Home from Holidays and it’s Yarn Day!

Posted on March 19, 2015 | 6 comments

I’m back! I can’t say if I’m happy to be back home from my “Other” home or not, but one thing’s for sure, I’m very happy to find this huge pile of yarn waiting for me!

I have a really cool project in mind for all of this. A while back my Mother in Law asked me if I could make her a vest for days and nights when it’s too warm for a coat and too cold without, so I’m working on something that I think will be great.

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The colour and texture of the Scheepjes Stone Washed XL is just perfect for this project, the colour variation adds interest, and the fluffiness adds serious warmth! What do you think of the start? I just couldn’t wait to crack on, so have been measuring and counting and doing what I can to beat the jetlag.

I also chose these enormous coconut shell buttons, which will be both a feature and functional.

More progress photos to come, stay tuned!

PS. If you’re looking for this yarn but don’t know where to find it, you can pick it up at loads of great retailers (in person or online) in the Netherlands here, or internationally from deramores.com. Happy hunting!

6 Comments

Posted in Projects, Scheepjes, Stone Washed, Yarn

Tagged crochet, DIY, haken, MissNeriss, Obsessed with Crochet, scheepjes, scheepjeswol, stone washed, yarn

Christmas Bunting

Posted on December 10, 2014 | 1 comment

Today is the very last day of the Scheepjeswol Christmas Blog Hop and I’m so sad that it’s over, yet very happy to be able to send it off, hopefully in style!

How incredibly beautiful is Heike from Made with Loops bag? Fair Isle, I promise you, will be absolutely THE biggest yarn trend of 2015, so get onto it!

Here’s today’s project from me, some lovely and very simple Christmas Bunting.

I had some left over yarn once I had finished my Christmas Wreath and I wanted to use it up for something fun to decorate the house with this Christmas, and I just love bunting, so bunting it was!

I came up with a very simple half double crochet pattern that works up in a jiffy. Each flag can be made in under ten minutes! It’s a great scrap project too, so you don’t have to worry too much about how much yarn you have lying around.

What you’ll need:

Scheepjeswol Stone Washed in five colours. I used the same as in my wreath: 801, 807, 815, 813 and 814.
4mm hook
Scissors
Tapestry needle
Measuring tape

How To:

Choose one of your colours, then start with a slip stitch, and chain 2. Half double crochet into the second chain from the hook and there you will have the foundation of the triangle to start building your bunting.
From here on, you will need to increase at the end of each row with 2 half double crochets into the last stitch.
Row 2: Chain 2, 2 HDC (half double crochet) into the next stitch (3 stitches in total), turn.
Row 3: Chain 2, HDC into the next stitch, 2 HDC into the last stitch (4 stitches), turn.
Row 4: Chain 2, HDC into the next 2 stitches, 2 HDC into the last stitch (5 stitches), turn.
Continue this pattern until you have a stitch count of 17 (16 rows in total), then tie off and weave in the ends, making sure you keep the nice point at the bottom of the triangle.

Make 3 of each colour (or more if you’d like to make it longer)

Here’s a chart to help make it a bit easier:

To join the bunting, take your lightest colour (801) and start chaining, working the end in as you go. Chain for 60cm to create a long enough tie, then attach to the first bunting triangle by single crocheting into the first and then all 17 stitches along. Continue to chain, leaving about 8cm in between triangles. Repeat this pattern until you have attached all your triangles to the chain, then to finish off, chain a further 60cm before cutting the yarn and weaving in the end. The finished bunting will measure about 4m in length.

And you’re all done! Now all that’s left to do is find the perfect spot to hang it!

On a wall…

Or in a window…?

And that’s it. The Christmas Blog Hop is over for this year *sob*. I hope you found some wonderful inspiration – I certainly did. But before I go, here’s a recap of what we’ve seen in the last ten days:

The beautiful Knitted Star motif from Crafts from theCwtch

The seriously cute Reindeer Mug Cozy (including fluffy butt – haha!) by Haak Maar Raak

Jellina-Creation’s lovely Christmas Tree Garland

Atty’s cool Bauble Coasters

My Christmas Wreath

The most beautiful Christmas Baubles you’ve ever seen, by 50 Shades of 4 Ply

The deliciously warm Fair Isle mittens by Canadutch

Vicarnos adorable little snowman

and finally,

This spectacular Fair Isle Christmas gift bag from Made with Loops.

What a collection of designs, I’m so happy to have been involved – surrounded by such talent!

Merry Christmas.

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Posted in Christmas, Scheepjes, Scheepjeswol, Stone Washed, Tutorials

Tagged 50 shades of 4 ply, attys, canadutch, Christmas, craft, crafts from the cwtch, crochet, crochet pattern, DIY, free pattern, haak maar raak, Jellina-creations, made with loops, MissNeriss, Obsessed with Crochet, pattern, projects, Santa, scheepjes, scheepjeswol, stone washed, vicarno, yarn

A Christmas Wreath

Posted on December 5, 2014 | 1 comment

If you follow me on Facebook at all (you should, btw), you would have seen me posting about the Scheepjes Christmas Blog Hop all week, and today it’s my turn!

Thanks so much to Atty’s for yesterday’s post, wasn’t it just fabulous? I’m definitely going to make some of those coasters, but I don’t know if I’ll actually use them as coasters, or get some Christmas washi tape and decorate my walls!

So let’s get to my contribution for this fabulous event, a yarn wreath.

For this I used a couple of different techniques instead of just crochet. I made pom poms in varying sizes, and also made yarn-wrapped balls to decorate this gorgeous wreath.

What do you think of my palette? I wanted something different, yet a little bit Christmas-sy and so I took Kirsten’s advice and spent countless hours (days?) trawling through Design Seeds for just the right colours and I thought that this one was just perfect.

So let’s get to the instructions, shall we?

What you’ll need:

3 mm crochet hook
Scheepjeswol Stone Washed yarn in five shades (801, 807, 815, 813, 814)
A 25cm Styrofoam ring that has a flat side
About 20 Styrofoam balls in three sizes (4, 5 and 6 cm)
Fabric glue
Cardboard to make pom poms (or a pom pom maker if you prefer)
Scissors

How to:

First start working on the ring. Using the glue, fasten the end of the lightest shade of yarn (801) to the Styrofoam ring. Once it’s a little dry, start working the yarn around and around, adding dobs of glue as you go to ensure it all stays in place. Once you come back to the beginning, snip the yarn, and fasten it all in place. Set aside to dry thoroughly.

To make the Yarn Wrapped balls, take the colour of choice (make multiple in each size and colour), fasten the end of the yarn to the ball with the glue and start winding the yarn around the ball, like you’re just winding any old ball of wool. Make sure that you add dobs of glue every now and then to keep the yarn in place. Once it’s completely covered, snip the yarn and glue the end in place.

To make the pom poms, first cut two pieces of cardboard into corresponding sizes to your balls and make them into doughnuts. I like to cut an opening to help wind the yarn around, but you should use your favourite pom pom method. Using the various colours, wind the yarn around the cardboard until it’s very full, then cut and fasten it all together, trimming it to be a nice, round ball.

To make the crochet balls, you’ll need the different size styrofoam balls and a matching stitch count.

4cm ball:
Start with a magic ring, and stitch 6 single crochets (UK double crochet) into the ring, tightening it once you’re done.
For the second round, increase into each stitch around with single crochet so that you have 12 stitches around.
Round 3: Increase, then single crochet into the next stitch, repeating around until you have 18 stitches.
Round 4: Increase, then single crochet into the next 2 stitches, repeating around until you have 24 stitches.
For the next 5 rounds, single crochet around, before beginning your decrease at round 10. Insert the ball here too.
Round 10: Decrease (2 single crochet together), then single crochet into the next 2 stitches, repeating around until you have 18 stitches.
Round 11: Decrease, then single crochet into the next stitch, repeating around until you have 12 stitches.
Round 12: Decrease around until you have 6 stitches, cut the yarn, tie off and using a tapestry needle close up the ball.

5 cm ball:
Follow the above instructions until you’ve completed round 4.
Round 5: Increase, single crochet into the next 3 stitches, repeating around until you have 30 stitches.
Round 6-13: Single crochet around and after round 13 insert the ball.
Round 14: Decrease, single crochet into the next 3 stitches, repeating around until you have 24 stitches.
Continue with the instructions from round 10 of the 4 cm ball.

6 cm ball:
Follow the instructions for the 5 cm ball until you’ve completed round 5.
Round 6: Increase, single crochet into the next 4 stitches, repeating around until you have 36 stitches.
Round 7-19: single crochet around, and after round 19 insert the ball
Round 20: Decrease, single crochet into the next 4 stitches, repeating around until you have 30 stitches.
Complete the ball as per the instructions from round 14 of the 5 cm ball.

Assembly

Now is the time to put it all together. I like to vary the colours, sizes and textures, trying to make sure that no two balls of the same size and texture are next to one another. Start building your wreath using the fabric glue to attach each ball to the wreath and its neighbour. This will take some time as the glue needs to dry a little before you can proceed. Make sure you hold the wreath up to see how it’s coming together often so you can get a feel for the result.

Once you’re happy, leave it to dry properly over night, and then you’re ready to hang it!

What do you think? Will you try to make one? I’ve really enjoyed the process and I absolutely love the result. I’ve started buying all my Christmas decorations in matching colours and if you check back here in a few days, you’ll see that I have something to go with this that I think you’ll love. I’m also using the leftover balls as baubles for the tree – fun!

In the mean time, be sure to visit 50 Shades of 4ply tomorrow for the next installment of the Scheepjes Christmas Blog Hop!

Love,
Nerissa

1 Comment

Posted in Christmas, Scheepjes, Scheepjeswol, Stone Washed, Uncategorized

Tagged Christmas, crochet, crochet pattern, DIY, free pattern, haken, kerst, MissNeriss, Obsessed with Crochet, pattern, projects, scheepjes, scheepjeswol, stone washed, tutorial, yarn

Miniman’s Nursing Necklace – The Tutorial

Posted on October 14, 2014 | 14 comments

As promised, I’ve put together a tutorial on how to make your very own nursing necklace, which is designed to keep small ones occupied while nursing, saving mama’s sensitive skin from sharp fingernails, hair from being yanked, and general mischief making while baby is nursing. Of course this is not only for nursing mamas; it’s such a lovely necklace that it looks stylish on everybody!

What you’ll need

Scheepjeswol Cotton 8* in four shades. I used 527, 711, 652 and 700. In the Netherlands you can pick Cotton 8 up at just about any great yarn seller, and internationally you can buy via deramores.com*.

A 3mm crochet hook, scissors, and you’ll also need wooden beads in varying sizes. I used five 35mm balls and two 25mm balls. For added interest, you can also add a wooden ring or two – babies love the different elements and textures.

Abbreviations

(American terms)

CH – chain stitch
SC – single crochet (UK double crochet)
INC – increase; two single crochet stitches into the same stitch
DEC – decrease; two single crochet stitches together
STS – stitch count

Notes

This project is worked in the round. You will also need to crochet your stitches very tightly to ensure that they keep the form of the beads. If you crochet loosely, use a smaller hook.

Don’t forget, I’m a leftie so you might have to flip the images in your mind. I like to keep the images for us lefties because there just aren’t that many left handed tutorials out there. If you need help, ping me using the contact page or on Facebook.

Make one ball in the darkest colour, two in the second darkest, two in the third darkest, and two in the lightest (the 25mm balls).

35mm Bead

Round 1

CH 5, close with a slip stitch, CH 1.

Round 2

SC x 6 into the ring (6 STS)

Round 3

INC in each stitch around (12 STS)

Round 4

(INC, 1 SC) x 6 (18 STS)

Round 5

(INC, 2 SC) x 6 (24 STS)

Round 6-10

SC x 24 (24 STS). Insert the bead to measure how progress is going at each round.

Round 11

(DEC, 2 SC) x 6 (18 STS). Make sure the bead is inserted here and continue working around it.

Round 12

(DEC, 1 SC) x 6 (12 STS).

Round 13

DEC in each stitch around (6 STS)

Finish off and hide the tail.

For the 25mm bead, follow the same instructions, skipping round 5 (and round 11 as a consequence).

Once you’ve finished all five balls in the colour combination of your choice, it’s time to thread them onto a chain. First you need to make yourself one. I used the lightest shade and chained stitched until I had about 90 cm. This way the necklace would have plenty of room to become longer or shorter as necessary.

Thread the beads and tie the ends into a little knot and then together using a slip stitch so that one end can slip easily (but not too easily) to adjust the length of the necklace.

And you’re all done! Looks beautiful, doesn’t it? I love seeing projects by others, so don’t forget to brag about what you’ve made on my Facebook page or upload to Pinterest, tagging me @missneriss. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram while you’re at it!

*Affiliate link

14 Comments

Posted in Pattern, Patterns, Scheepjes, Scheepjeswol, Tutorials

Tagged amigurumi, baby, baby necklace, cotton 8, craft, crochet, crochet pattern, DIY, free pattern, haken, hand crafted, hand made, handcrafted, handmade, jewellery, MissNeriss, nursing beads, nursing necklace, Obsessed with Crochet, pattern, projects, ravelry, scheepjes, scheepjeswol, teething, teething necklace

What is this Baby Project..?

Posted on September 30, 2014 | 3 comments

So here it is. A work in progress. Wooden beads, blue yarn, what will it be?

I love working with this Scheepjes Cotton 8, it really is becoming one of my favourite yarns. Although, for it to be perfect, it would be DK weight. I just like to use a bigger hook and heavier yarn, so projects work up quicker. But that’s just my instant gratification personality shining through!

I’m busy covering the wooden beads with the yarn. In the past I’ve just made balls and stuffed them with filling, but the roundness was just lacking a bit, and by using a wooden bead it just adds the right amount of weight and shape.

And look who I caught trying to run steal one as I was taking pictures. Isn’t that chubby little hand delicious? No wonder she’s always covered in kisses and cuddles!

It’s nearly finished and ready to be shipped to its new home in America, but you’ll have to wait until next week to see the end result!

3 Comments

Posted in Projects, Scheepjes, Scheepjeswol, Uncategorized, WIP, Yarn

Tagged cotton 8, crochet pattern, DIY, free pattern, haken, handcrafted, handmade, MissNeriss, scheepjes, scheepjeswol, WIP, yarn

Jasper V Pattern – All the Sizes!! (S, M, L, XL)

Posted on August 19, 2014 | 6 comments

Here it is! The biggest and most daunting crochet project I have ever undertaken, completely finished!

I have to say, I’m a bit sad that it’s all over and I can move on to focus on the next big project, but I’m so relieved to have all the sizes worked out and ready to go.

What I have done for the smaller sizes is to update the diagram only. I’m not re-writing the entire pattern; instead that can be used as a guide to get started, and the diagram has all the stitch and row counts, which is the clearest description. The edging is so straight forward that I feel what is written in the original pattern will get you through.

Remember though, if you need any help at all, please just contact me. I’ve added a contact form below so you can do it painlessly.

Here we go!

The original pattern post with all the written instructions is found at this link.

The attachments with the different sizes are all attached to this post as pdf files. You will need a program such as Adobe Reader (or similar) to be able to read this file.

Jasper V Size Small

Jasper V Size Medium

Jasper V Size Large

Jasper V Size XL

Please, please do note: the only size that has been tested by me is the XL – the smaller sizes have been created using mathematical magic and are not tested. I’m relying on your help for that! If you’re making the top and it feels like it will be a little tight, please don’t panic – the stitch has a lot of give; a good 5-10 cm! Think about the yardage of the smaller sizes, you won’t need as much as I did making the XL size (about 1100 metres).

I do value any and all feedback, but please don’t be mean. And remember above all that this is a free pattern – together we can improve it.

This is an original design by Nerissa Muijs. Please do not reproduce this pattern or sell this pattern as your own work. Please share it on your social networks, linking it back to the original source. Please also feel free to sell items made from this pattern and please credit me by linking my website: missneriss.com. All images are the property of Nerissa Muijs, and if you would like to repost the originals, please send me a message to ask my permission before the fact.

Most importantly though, please share pictures of your work with me, by adding them to Ravelry or to my Facebook page, or even via an email.

Enjoy!

Need help, or want to ask a question, go for it here:

6 Comments

Posted in Pattern, Patterns, Projects, Scheepjes, Scheepjeswol, Tutorials

Tagged crochet, crochet pattern, crochet v-neck, DIY, free pattern, haken, handcrafted, handmade, MissNeriss, Obsessed with Crochet, pattern, projects, ravelry, scheepjes, scheepjeswol, stone washed, tutorial, v-neck, yarn

The Big Reveal!

Posted on August 5, 2014 | 18 comments

This has been one almighty labour of love and a huge learning curve. It’s the first time that I’ve designed something that I can wear that’s not a hat or a shawl. Can you tell how proud I am?The first thing that really strikes me is how warm it is! When I first started rolling the idea around in my head I thought perhaps it could be something for the beach, but no! This is really something for chilly mornings or late summer evening BBQs. I’m sitting at my laptop in my garden wearing it this morning while there’s still a slight chill in the air and it’s perfect.

I love the wide open V-neck and how versatile it will be. I already wore it walking the dog this morning, and I also plan to wear it when I go out for dinner next, paired with my favourite jeans and a white top. For the first time I have an outfit ready!

I’m so happy that I chose the Scheepjeswol Stone Washed for this project. I love the Red Jasper, but I have to be honest, I chose this colour when it first came available and if I had to choose now, I don’t know what I would do as the collection has since doubled in size, with so many amazing colour choices!

Here are a few more photos for you to get an idea of the texture and how the colour-play works together.

Isn’t the V-Neck just fantastic?

It didn’t stay hanging over that chair for long this morning, believe me!

And now comes the almighty task of putting the pattern together! I’ll have to dig though pages and pages of notes to make it more concise for you to be able to follow, and I’ll be figuring out a few sizes while I’m at it.

But first, I need your help! This design does not have a name yet and I have no idea what I should call it. What do you think?

If you want to get your hands on the Stone Washed there are loads of options within the Netherlands. Scheepjeswol has a list of stockists on their website and for those of you who aren’t lucky enough to live in Holland, you can pick it up via Deramores!