Category Archives: Etsy

How to Crochet: A Triforce

I used to (am) a big Nintendo fan.. I had it painted on my wall, every system, the works. Why do I mention that? Well because the new Nintendo system, the Wii U, just came out this week and because of my love for Nintendo I felt the need to come out with a new pattern.

One of my favorite game series, like many others, is The Legend of Zelda, and obviously, one of the best of them is the Majora’s Mask. Check out my versions of the Deku, Zora, and Majora’s Masks available now in the Ravelry, Etsy, and Craftsy Store!! But that’s not it, check out the free pattern below of how to make a simple, yet effective triforce!

You can get the Deku, Zora, and Majora’s Mask patterns all for $5 on Ravelry or Etsy, or by simply clicking –>HERE<–

But what good is Link without a Triforce, right?

Here’s how to make tiny but simple triangles, which when put together make a perfect triforce, as seen here on an iPhone cover (available in my Etsy store here).

So here’s the quick and easy triangle pattern:

Materials:

Lion Brand Cotton/Lily Sugar’n Cream

/Lion Brand Cotton-Ease

(basically any 100% cotton works)

–Crochet Hook-Size G6 4.00mm

–Needle to sew in ends with

Abbreviations:

-SL.ST = Slip Stitch

-SC = Single Crochet

-Ch = Chain

-Rnd = Round

Ch 4

Rnd 1: Skip first ch, Sc one in next 3, turn (3).

Rnd 2: Don’t ch, skip first st, sc on in next 2, turn (2).

Rnd 3: Don’t ch, skip first st, sc on in next, turn (1).

Here’s the tricky part…

Rnd 4: Sc one in each Rnd and st around the little triangle, and at the corners, sc 1, m.p. (ch 2, sl.st in first ch), sc 1. Continue this pattern around the triangle then, after your 3rd m.p, sl.st 1 into the first sc made in this Rnd.

Cut and pull through, leaving a long end to sew onto your project. Make three of these and put them together to form a simple, and tiny, triforce.

I know today’s Thanksgiving, and I need to apologize for not coming out with a new pattern related to that, but here’s a little gift. Tomorrow, as you may know, is Black Friday, and this Monday is Cyber Monday, you know… the days of the year where sales in store and online go out the ying yang. Check back tomorrow to get some coupons to go along side the awesome sales on my Etsy!

Makeably

So I’ve got something really cool to share with you guys. A few weeks ago I got a message from some guys asking me to be part of a new website they were making, I happily abliged, and here I am to tell you about the awesome site: Makeably.

Makeably is a place where people go to buy handcrafted things from crafty people. Wait this sounds a lot like Etsy you say? Nope. The awesome thing about Makeably is that you make what you buy. Not literally, but you choose the idea. The sites really cool because it allows makers and buyers to work together to create something completely customizable for you!

Basically, how it works is you go to the site, see a template for something to be made, like… I don’t know.. a baby hat for example ;). This listing isn’t for the hat itself but for the idea. You see some stuff the maker can do in images and written down, then if you’re interested, you send the maker a message and say something like, “hey, I saw your stuff and I was thinking could you make a hat that looks like a purple pumpkin eater with wings and a horn?” and the maker says, “Heck yah! Send me some photos of what you were thinking and I’ll go see if I can find the right yarn for you and lets get this awesome hat made!”

The best part about this site is that it encourages makers like me and buyers to create not only something completely original, but also forces those creative juices to flow! Do me a favor and check out the site and if you like the idea sign up to be a part of it! It’s free of course and it’s way awesome, trust me.

You can check out my shop here: http://makeably.com/p/15

And the site itself here: http://makeably.com/

Thanks Ryan and Ana for letting me be a part of your site! I’m super excited to work with you and buyers from all over to make something awesome!

New Halloween Patterns (With COUPON!) + iPhone Cases!

For Halloween, I made and posted a couple patterns for some Halloween themed hats that I made last year in the Etsy and Ravelry stores!

Check out the Bat and Frankenstein’s Monster Earflap Hat Patterns today!

And if you hurry to buy these before Halloween, and use the code “MONSTER” on any of the patterns for sale in my Etsy store, you’ll 15% off!!

Wait… you thought that was all? Ha! Check out the brand new crocheted iPhone cases in the Etsy store today!! Here’s some photo’s and the spiel on the listing:

Keep your iPhone safe and customized with a hand crocheted iPhone case! Handmade in a silky soft, yet strong and durable cotton / acrylic blend, these iPhone cases come in either iPhone 4 or 5 sizes. They’re made with openings for charging, headphones, and switching on and off vibrate so you never have to take it off! Speaking of which, the cases slip on easily and stay very secure while still keeping both the front and back cameras, mics, and flash open for the perfect photos!

Best part is, you choose the color! These cases come in a rainbow of colors, here’s a list:
White, Light Gray, Dark Gray, Black, Ocean Blue, Tadis Blue, Yellow, Lime Green, Hazelnut, Red, Pink, Azalea, Purple, Sand
Not in photos above, but still available in: Light Blue, Navy Blue, Green, Fern Green, and Brown

Fat-free and calorie-free cupcakes!

I know what you’re thinking… “Haven’t I seen this before on sweetsimplestuff.com?” The answer is totally yah, but some people haven’t yet so here it is yet again, a free pattern for some really quick and easy Crocheted Cupcake Coasters (I sure to love alliterations).

These cupcakes are for sale in my Etsy store here!

Here are some photo’s:

Materials:

Lion Brand Cotton/Lily Sugar’n Cream

/Lion Brand Cotton-Ease

(basically any 100% cotton works)

–Crochet Hook-Size G6 4.00mm

–Needle to sew in ends with

Abbreviations:

-SL.ST = Slip Stitch

-SC = Single Crochet

-HDC = Half Double Crochet

-DC = Double Crochet

-Ch = Chain

-Rnd = Round

In color A (brown) Ch 10

Rnd 1: Sc 8, turn.

Rnd 2: ch 1, sc 8 in back stitches

Rnd 3 – 14: Repeat x 12 (14 total)

Change to color B

Rnd 15: ch 1, Sc 1 in the sides of each row 14, turn. [Don’t cut, Leave color B attached] (14)

Change to color C

Rnd 16: ch 1, sc 2 in first, sc 1 in next 12, sc 2 in next, turn. (16)

Rnd 17: Don’t ch, skip first st, sc 1 in next 14, stop one early, turn. (14)

Rnd 18: ch 1, sc 1 in each, turn. (14)

Rnd 19: Don’t ch, skip first st, sc 1 in next 12, stop one early, turn. (12)

Rnd 20: ch 1, sc 1 in each, turn. (12)

Rnd 21: Repeat (12)

Rnd 22: Don’t ch, skip first st, sc 1 in each, turn. (11)

Rnd 23: Repeat (10)

Rnd 24: Repeat, cut and tie off. (9)

*For Cherry, count in three stitches from top, pull through in the fourth st from end on Rnd 24…

Rnd 25: sc 1 in fourth from the end and next two, turn. (3)

Rnd 26: Don’t ch, skip first st, sc 1 in next 2, turn. (2)

Rnd 27: Don’t ch, skip first st, sc 1 in the last st, cut and tie off. (1)

*For lining

Rnd 28: Using the color B left off and uncut from Rnd 15, pull one through the end of Rnd 15 and sc 1 in each Rnd and st around the piece, cut and tie off, sew the remainders into the piece. (≈59)

Thanks again to Brenda from Sweet Simple Stuff! You’ll be seeing a lot more blog swaps soon I hope! 🙂

Calorie free cupcakes?!

You heard right! Well, they’re not really for eating though (unless you’re a goat).

If you didn’t know, Brenda from Sweet Simple Stuff and I did a blog swap last week. Her blog consists of candy, baked goods, and lots of cute idea’s for sweets, so, for our swap, she posted some not so fat free granny squares, you can check them out here, and I posted a free pattern for my Crocheted Cupcake Coasters (that’s an alliteration for all you grammar geeks out there 😉

You can buy these coasters on my Etsy here.

Along with this free pattern I came out with a cupcake themed beanie, and the pattern for that as well!

You can get the Cupcake Beanie pattern for $4 on Ravelry or Etsy, or by simply clicking –>HERE<–

My Top 5 Favorite Yarns

Today I’d like to share with you my top 5 favorite yarns, why I like them, and what I like to use them for. All these yarns are available at Joanns or online! Here they are starting with number one!

1. Lily Sugar’n Cream
This is by far my favorite yarn and I use it for the majority of my projects. It’s 100% cotton, which is perfect for things like amigurumi because it can be easily morphed and reshaped. The yarn is also a great size for amigurumi, small but still just big enough to work with without it being a hassle. I like to use this yarn for kid hats too because of how soft it is and how many different colors they have. There are other cotton yarns like Lion Brand, but I personally find Lily Sugar’n Cream to be my favorite because its softer, cheaper, and the yarn balls are a perfect size.

2. Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice
This yarn is awesome for one main reason, color. Vanna’s Choice comes in so many different colors, many of which can’t be found in many other types of yarn. It’s 100% Acrylic, but is much different than any of the other acrylic yarns out there. Where other acrylics look cheep, this yarn is more like wool. It’s soft, warm and looks much less cheep looking and a lot nicer to the touch then the Red Heart brand’s out there. The yarn is a great size for hats and is super warm which makes it perfect for the Scarf Hat.

4. Jo-Ann Sensations Beautiful Yarn
The softest yarn you will ever feel. That is the main reason I love this yarn. It’s small, but so fuzzy. Because it is so small, it is tough to use by itself, that’s why I like to either mix it with Lily Sugar’n Cream yarn or make a replica of the body of a hat and use it as the inner linning for them. It only comes in eleven colors, which is just another reason for why you should mix it. Seriously though, this is the softest yarn I have ever felt.

3. Lion Brand Yarn Cotton-Ease
I’m not going to lie, Lion Brand makes some good yarns, and this is no exception. The best part of this yarn is how smooth it is. Because of that smooth quality, it is perfect for beanies and hats that are close to the head. What makes it even more suitable is the pull back that this yarn has. It’s half cotton, which gives it the softness, and half acrylic which gives it strength and pull back. It’s also got a decent amount of colors, both primary and the more vivid.

5. Jo-Ann Sensations Angel Hair Yarn

So this ones a new one to my favorites list, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome. This yarn is like a close cousin of the Jo-Ann Sensations Beautiful Yarn. It’s very similar in softness, but has the aditionall strands of random yarns and fuzz to give it some extra thickness as well as a more spastic color, making it perfect for animal hair and fur. It’s extra thickness makes it so you don’t need to mix it with any other yarns to make hats, but it has the tendency to stretch without the pulling back that Lion Brand Yarn Cotton-Ease will give you.

So what are your favorite yarns and why? Comment on this post and get an extra entry into this months Awesome June Giveaway!!!

The Search is Over

People joked, called it a conspiracy, well I’m here to tell you it’s real.

Yes, the great elusive Sasquatch has been found!

Okay, maybe not that, but still good news! A new item in the shop today!!

Originally I was going for Chewbacca, but he’s got a certain persona that’s hard to grasp.

So check out the Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Chewbacca Earflap Hat in the Etsy store today!

These hats were made using my Aviator Earflap hat pattern, which is also available for purchase in the Etsy shop as well as Ravelry and Craftsy.

Awesome June Giveaway!!

Hey guys, I’ve got a really big giveaway for you guys today! The biggest giveaway I’ve ever offered actually, and there are a bunch of ways to win!

So basically, throughout all of June, I’m going to be posting some new stuff, mostly patterns, but also just blog posts. So I figured why not try to launch off summer with a cool giveaway?

Lets start with what you can win: I’m giving away a $50 (US) gift card to my shop on Etsy to buy what ever you want! It can be a couple hats, patterns, bow ties, even custom orders, what ever you want! Winner will be selected at random. Now, here are a few ways for you to enter the drawing to win!

– One (1) entry by simply “Liking” the Louie’s Loops page on Facebook (Those who are liked
already are in the running)

– One (1) entry by commenting on any of the blog posts from this month (June) per blog post.
Only one entry per blog post (including this one!), not per comment

– One (1) entry by following this blog (Left side) (Those who are following already are in the
running)

– Three (3) entries by purchasing any of the patterns or items up for sale on either Etsy, Ravelry
or Craftsy

– Three (3) entries by taking a photo of something you’ve made using one of my patterns and
sending it to [email protected]

This means you can enter to win more than 9 times to win a $50 gift card to my Etsy shop! Check back often for more chances to enter as well as new patterns and posts! The giveaway ends on June 30th so get your entries in before then!

Here’s a glimpse at just some of the things you can get with a $50 gift card to my Etsy shop:

Feeling Fuzzy

Hey guys, there are a couple new items in the Etsy store today!

First there are the new super fuzzy hats! They are made with two different types of yarn making them the softest, fuzziest and warmest hats yet! I’m planning on expanding the items using this method, but just in time for the Holidays, check out the Grinch and Abominable Snow Man (Yeti) Hats!