2011 was such a fun and exciting year for me. Opening my crochet pattern shop has been a huge blessing for my family and I want to thank all of you for your support. I hope you have enjoyed the patterns and I’m looking forward to coming up with some great new designs in 2012!

I want to start the year off with another free pattern, the Versatile Earflap Hat Pattern. The instructions in this pattern will show you how to make a basic, solid-color hat with rounded earflaps. I call this hat versatile because there are so many different things you can do with it, which I plan to share with you throughout the year. Go get your free download today, and stay tuned for some fun ideas.

Thanks again for a great year, and from our family to yours, we wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

Thank you to everyone for entering to win my latest pattern, the Hugs & Kisses Headwrap! It looks like most of us are still working on our handmade gifts. I hope everyone can get them done with as little stress as possible and enjoy their holidays!! If you didn’t win, don’t forget that this pattern will be 30% off  (that’s only $2.76!) through December 19th in the pattern store.

And the winners are….

I am so excited to announce the release of my newest pattern – the Hugs & Kisses Headwrap! I love the headwrap trend and am happy to finally have one in my shop. This pattern works up so quickly and uses so little yarn. I am going to keep whipping them out and hopefully have a special handmade gift for all the women and girls on my list.

To celebrate the new release, the Hugs & Kisses Headwrap Pattern will be 30% off through December 19th, 2011, no promo code needed. In addition to the savings, three lucky winners will get this pattern free!

HOW TO ENTER:

There will be four chances to win this pattern! Leave a separate comment on this blog post below for each entry to get your four chances:

1. Have you been making handmade holiday gifts this year, and are you still working on them like me?
2. Like Micah Makes on Facebook (just post “AAF” in the comment section if you are already a fan).
3. Share a link to this blog post on your Facebook page or blog; be sure to tag Micah Makes on FB or link to your blog.
4. Subscribe to my monthly newsletter (again,you can post if you are already signed up too).

Three winners will be chosen at random at midnight PST on Wednesday, December 14th, and will be announced Thursday morning. Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

Thank you to everyone for entering to win the crochet hook roll! It was fun to read everyone’s tips on how to store your crochet hooks. I may use some to take control of my craft supplies. Plus I totally want to go to the thrift store to find cool sweaters to make more hook rolls.

And the winner is….

Congratulations, Megan! Check your inbox for a message from me. Hope everyone has a great day. Thanks for stopping by!

Remember how in the Crochet Hook Roll DIY post I said that you could use the other side of your sweater to make one for a friend? Well I did…for one of you!

This hook roll is exactly like the one in the tutorial. It has slots to hold 8 crochet hooks up to size K, and ties closed with a cute ribbon.

HOW TO ENTER:

To enter, simply leave one comment below. If you have a great tip for storing your crochet hooks or other craft supplies, please share. Or just say hi. It’s up to you. The winner will be chosen at random at midnight PST on Saturday, December 3rd, and will be announced Sunday morning. Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

This giveaway is now closed – winner announced here.

As a craft addict, I have accumulated tons of supplies over the years and have a constant struggle with finding the best way to organize and store things. My crochet hooks are currently stored in an old baby wipes tub. I think they deserve a better home – how about you? So I found an old sweater that had been felted in with my fabric stash and got to work.

Supplies

• 100% Wool Felted Sweater – felting a sweater is so simple and there are great tutorials all over the web, such as here or here
• Fabric Scissors
• Ruler
• Ribbon to tie roll closed
• Needle and Thread for sewing (you can use a sewing machine or sew by hand)

Instructions

Step 1: Lay your hooks on top of your sweater and decide how wide you want to cut your fabric. You should make your cut at least 3 inches wider than your longest hook.

Step 2: Make your cuts at your desired width as far up the sweater as possible, and then cut across. My measurements after cutting were approximately 9″ x 12″.

Step 3: Fold one long side up 2″ and pin in place. There is no need to finish the edges; they will not fray.

Step 4: Sew a straight line down the edge of the folded part

Step 5: Depending on how many slots you want and how wide you want them to be, continue sewing straight lines down through the folded part. To keep things easy, I made my slots even and followed the stripes as a guide. They are about 1/2″ wide and I made 8 slots to hold hooks B, E, F, G, H, I, J and K.

Step 6: Insert your hooks into the slots, fold the top edge over the hook tips and pin in place.

Step 7: Remove the hooks and sew a straight line down the edge of the top fold and a straight line down the top fold at a distance equal the the edge of your last slot.

Step 8: Trim the fabric along the folds to the end and next to the last slot on both the top and bottom.

Step 9: Cut a piece of ribbon 30″ long. Sew the center of the ribbon down 3″ to 4″ from the end.

Step 10: Insert crochet hooks.

Step 11: Roll.

Step 12: Tie closed and trim your ribbon ends to the desired length.

Now you have a lovely place to keep all your hooks, and the best part is you still have the other side of your sweater to make one for a friend!