Crocheting was one of my first creative outlets, once I felt the distinct urge to make. When I had a crochet hook in hand, making hats, scarves, bags, whatever I might need, the process came to me like second nature.  Often, I couldn’t find patterns to fit what I needed so I ended up making them myself, using trial and error. When Natalie asked me to review the book, So Pretty! Crochet! Inspiration and Instructions for 24 Stylish Projects, I was hesitant; I felt like I had already seen every book and pattern on the market. For me, crochet books rarely used the right kind of yarn, they were at times overly wordy, the photos weren’t always helpful, the patterns were sometimes hard to read, etc. As you can tell, I’m a harsh critic when it comes to this type of book.

However, as I scanned through the pages of So Pretty! Crochet, I felt inspired. We adapted a pattern from this book to make the nesting bowls found on page 115. Instead of using the cotton yarn they suggest, we made our own yarn out of ½ inch strips of the organic cotton jersey fabric that we use to make our yarn balls. The bowls seemed a unique use for our scrap materials. The instructions in the book are easy to follow and exact, when using yarn. Our sizing is slightly different because we used cotton jersey rope rather than cotton yarn, but it doesn’t cause much of a problem. I used the size crochet hook they suggested, but you may want to experiment to see which size hook works best for you.

And, of course, it will depend upon what size jersey strips or yarn you use.

Additionally, we chose to finish our baskets with liners of reverse appliqued cotton jersey that fit neatly into the bottom of the circular structures.

YARN BALL BASKETS:

Size D/3/3.25 mm crochet hook
Size E/4-3.5 mm crochet hook (for finishing)
1 yard white 100% organic cotton jersey, cut with the grain in ½ inch strips, pulled and tied together. I used a box knot (right over left and left over right) to join the ends together.
2-8” circles of white 100% organic cotton jersey. This size will vary depending on the bottom of your finished bowl. We used a 4 1/2” circle for the smaller bowl.

Follow the instructions found on page 115-117 of So Pretty! Crochet, replacing the yarn with jersey ties.

Use a smaller crochet hook to tuck in the tails of the ties (if you wish, they can also be left showing- as a design decision)

Stencil the fabric circles liners with your stencil and paint of choice. We used the Bloomers stencil from Alabama Stitch Book with a beige colors as the stencil paint.

We opted to work our liners with white Button Craft thread, knots on the inside, with our reverse appliqué technique.

These bowls would be great holding clean towels or as a welcome gift to a new neighbor, holding fresh eggs or homemade biscuits.

I enjoyed this book for its simplicity and inspirational quality. I’m already gearing up for my next project: the rag rug on page 51-53. A perfect project for all of our cotton jersey scraps.

–Olivia