The Botanic Hat

Hello friends!
Just before Christmas I suddenly realised I needed a present for a man, that would be easy & quick to make, but still be wonderful (to match the recipient :-) ). So I started searching through Ravelry and stumbled upon the Botanic Hat by Stephen West (he's awesome, check out the rest of his patterns on Ravelry too!)

 I was SO happy to find this pattern. I made the first one, using local alpaca and Noro Kureyon, as soon as I downloaded the pattern, it's very well written, easy to understand and it's REVERSIBLE! Then I still had some of the same yarn left... so I made another one...

Then I remembered my brothers Birthday was only a few days away as well, so he got one too... For this one I used some Scheepjeswol Stone Washed XL (which I absolutely LOVE).

Then I remembered the beautiful handspun wool from EIisabet's Handspun, that I had been saving for something special, but I'd been busting to use it... So I made another one. needless to say, this is now my new go-to pattern when I need something for a man!

HOT TIP: When making this hat there is only one colour of yarn used per round, you don't cut the yarn after each round to change colour, you just carry it up the side of the hat. But, make sure you leave the yarn not in use at the FRONT of the work until it is time to use that colour again. This will result in the yarn carried up the side being invisible, which is a bonus, especially, when this pattern is reversible :-)

Welcome 2015!

Hello friends!
It's time to welcome in 2015! I hope you all had a stress free and relaxing Festive Season, and hopefully a bit of time to get crafty as well :-) I have been a bit slow on the yarn craft front so far this year because the weather has been rather warm, and really not conducive to working on a massive woollen blanket that's draped across my lap, for example. So I've been trying to work on a few small things, like fingerless mitts (still in the testing phase, so I'll show you some pics soon :-) ) and a few new sock patterns as well. I aim to get a few more patterns released this year than I did last year.

Some of the patterns currently being tested are 4 different womens cardigans, knitted in 10 ply/Aran/Worsted weight yarn, one plain, and 3 with some simple but effective colour work. Yay! More adult garments! And another 2 womens pieces in 8 ply/DK/Light Worsted weight yarn, with options for a cardigan or a sweater,  one with stripes and the addition of some fruity knit or crochet embellishments, and the other with some simple colour work. 

There are also a few sock patterns in the pipeline, a shawl pattern, and one fingerless mitts pattern (so far). I'm also working on some new 4 ply/FIngering weight cardigans, one knit, one crochet :-)

And for the little ones, there will be another e-book of crochet sweaters/jumpers coming out very soon,  and it will have patterns suitable for boys and girls, and in sizes, from newborn to 6 years!

So stay tuned for some more Shara Made patterns in 2015! I hope this year is the craftiest yet, for all of us!

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 :-)

Sparrow Hat Pattern

Hello friends!
I have been busy writing some new patterns for you! Yes, that's right, more knitty fun for everyone :-)
A collection of four little hats is ready for release. I'm so happy to finally have the patterns ready after all the designing, playing and testing.
The first pattern to be released is the Sparrow Hat. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you would have been seeing this hat design for quite some time now. It's one of my most popular designs, so I was pretty excited to be able to share the pattern too :-)
You've probably figured out by now that the "Fishtail" lace used in the Sparrow Hat is my favourite lace stitch. I use it a LOT. It's easy to remember and very effective :-)
Knit all-in-one, in the round, with a seamless construction, which means now seams to sew! And as you can see from the pictures above, the ear flaps and ties are optional, with instructions given for both styles in the pattern.
The sizing goes all the way from newborn to 5 years, so all the little Sparrows in your life can be warm and cosy :-)
This hat uses only a small amount of yarn, approximately 55m-120m (depending on the size you're making), so it's a great stash buster and you can use up all the little bits of delicious yarn that have been languishing in your knitting basket.
A quick and surprisingly easy knit, you can have one finished in a few hours, making it the perfect last minute gift for a new arrival or special birthday girl :-)
This hat is part of a collection of four little hats, so stay tuned for the release of the other designs. You can look forward to the Mio Hat, which is a plain and simple hat, perfect for both a little boy or girl, great for playing with stripes or a lovely hand dyed yarn :-) The Pip Hat is also lovely for a little boy or girl, with a deceptively simply textured stitch in 2 colours :-) And the Miel Hat, lovely for a boy or a girl with a simple, but effective eyelet pattern!
All 4 patterns will be available separately and as part of an E-book via Etsy, Ravelry & Craftsy :-)

Little Pixie Bonnet

Hello friends!
I knows it's been a little while since my last post! Sorry! but I have been very busy making lots of fun new things and writing a bunch of new patterns, due for release in the coming weeks! (Yes, exciting times!)
Here is a little bonnet I made yesterday :-) it is crocheted using a combination of Australian alpaca, cashmere and organic Australian wool!
Even though this one is for a baby, I am a little bit tempted to make one big enough for me :-)
This hat is available in my store HERE
Have a wonderfully crafty weekend!

SEAGULL Self Striping Sock Yarn

Hello friends!

Well, here is ANOTHER skein of self striping sock yarn that I have dyed. The colours of this skein were inspired by the beautiful colours of the seagull. I know that seagulls can be annoying at times, like when you're trying to enjoy a picnic by the sea, for example, but have you ever really looked at one? They're quite beautiful! I really love their bright, vibrant orange beaks and legs and I REALLY love their magnificently smooth feathers and the way the grey graduates into the white. it almost looks as if they've been painted :-)

The sample photographed is a 60 stitch sock knit on 2.5mm needles, so you can get an idea of what it looks like when it's knit up into socks :-) 

The skein is 100g & 420m and is enough for a pair of socks :-) With 75% soft squishy wool for comfort and warmth and 25% nylon for durability :-)

You can find this yarn in my online store HERE along with a few other skeins :-)

What sorts of things inspire you in your crafty pursuits? Do you see colours in nature/the city/your garden that you love and try to recreate? Tell us in the comments! :-)

COAST Self Patterning Sock Yarn

Hello friends!

Here is another sock yarn that I have hand dyed, this time in a colour way called "Coast". The special way that this yarn has been dyed means that when it's knit in the round into socks it creates a "spiral" pattern around the sock, and the best part is all you have to do is knit! 

The sample photographed is a 60 stitch sock, knit on 2.75mm needles, so you can get an idea of what it looks like when it's knit up into socks :-) 

The skein is 100g & 420m and is enough for a pair of socks :-) With 75% soft squishy wool for comfort and warmth and 25% nylon for durability :-)

You can find this yarn in my online store HERE along with a few other skeins :-)

Do you knit socks? Did you find yourself addicted to knitting socks once you had started?? I did!

Watermelon Hand Dyed Sock Yarn

Hello friends!

I have been busy dyeing up a storm... well, some sock yarn really :-)

I've been experimenting with the dyeing process for self-striping sock yarn. I really LOVE knitting with any sort of self striping yarn, it adds an extra dimension to your knitting, and it's fun waiting to see what the next colour will be. Another thing is that you get a lot of bang for your buck, if you know what I mean, you get a lot of fun and colour etc in your knitting with very little effort: you knit and the stripes happen!

You might remember a pair of socks I made last year using some other yarn I dyed so that it would knit up in a "Watermelon" effect. I used a similar method to dye this yarn :-)

The sample photographed is a 60 stitch sock knit on 2.75mm needles, so you can get an idea of what it looks like when it's knit up into socks :-) 

The skein is 100g & 420m and is enough for a pair of socks :-) With 75% soft squishy wool for comfort and warmth and 25% nylon for durability :-)

You can find this yarn in my online store HERE along with a few other skeins :-)

Crochet Jacket Extraordinaire!

Hello friends!
Well, here it is! Remember when I posted a few little pics of some mysterious crochet recently? A little while ago a lovely friend of mine sent me an email with a photograph a crochet jacket that she'd stumbled upon on the internet. She really wanted it... so I obliged...and made this! There was no pattern for the jacket available, so I improvised the design, construction and a pattern of sorts from the photograph my friend had sent me.
I had a lot of fun working with my friend choosing the colours :-)
Some of the yarn is 100% pure wool yarn and 100% Alpaca yarn from the Bendigo Woollen Mills, some is 100% wool that I hand dyed, some is a random alpaca that had been languishing in my yarn stash for a little while and some is a Cleckheaton 100% wool :-) I think the colours look pretty amazing together :-)
Just in case you are curious the yarns are as follows:
-Dark green is Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 8ply/DK in Pine colour way.
-Bright green is Bendigo Classic 8ply/DK which was originally in Magnolia colour way that I dyed a neon/Granny Smith Apple colour using a Wiltons food dye in Kelly Green (using vinegar and heat to set the colour)
-Coral is a Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 8ply/DK that was originally Magnolia colour way that I dyed Coral using a Landscape Dye in Coral colour way (these dyes are available from KraftKolour)
-Deep Red is Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 8ply/DK in Cranberry colour way.
-Deep Purple is Bendigo Woollen Mills Persian 8ply/DK in Eggplant colour way.
-Rust wool is Cleckheaton Country Colours Naturals in #1832 colour way.
-Bright Blue is The Rare Yarns Company Rare Essentials alpaca/merino in Lapis colour way.

I worked on it for 4 days, crocheting, measuring, stitching and weaving in ALL THOSE YARN ENDS!! Oh, then yarns ends! In the end the jacket weighed just over 1 kilogram!
As I said, I didn't have a pattern to work from, so a lot of "designing" and planning was involved, but it worked very well :-)
After making this one, I'm pretty tempted to make myself one as well :-)

If you already follow me on Facebook at Shara Lambeth Designs or on Instagram at shara_made 
 you may have already seen some little sneak peeks of this jacket. If you would like to see more images of the things I make, or what I get up to on my travels, you can follow me on Facebook and Instagram too :-)
P.S. It was a little tricky to find the origins of the original images of the jacket that my friend emailed me that inspired this jacket, however after a bit of searching we discovered that it was from a blog post that now no longer exists, which is a shame as the jacket in that blog post, that was such an inspiration, is quite spectacular and I would have loved to have included a link here :-)

Hmmm, what could it be?

Hello friends!

I hope you've all been well and happy and productive with your creative pursuits :-)

I have been very busy!

I went on a mini holiday (I'll show you some pictures soon!), I have been cooking up a storm and I have begun working on a big commission piece for someone :-)

 I'm going to keep a little quiet about the commission piece until it's completely finished... but these photographs are little pieces of it. I'm really loving the ways it's all coming together. It's not something I have made before, and it's using all my powers of mathematics, but I'm loving every minute of it.... Well, actually that's not entirely true, you should see all the little yarn ends I have to weave in!!!! Insanity, LOL!

 I'm looking forward to showing you more pictures soon!
xo Shara

Pieces of Gold

Hello friends!

So today is the last day of my "March Marathon" where I managed to write something on my blog everyday during March! I have loved the interaction with you all and i think I've been inspired to continue updating my blog a lot more regularly :-) And I think it keep me busier than usual because I wanted to have something interesting to write about and show you. That can only be a good thing! 

 I have been very busy indeed, making lots of new necklaces :-) I've been experimenting with using more than one colour in each bead and I'm really happy with the results :-)
I'm a huge fan of red, turquoise and gold together.

 The classic black and gold together has also become a new favourite :-)
Even though I wear a LOT of black clothes I realised that I didn't really have much black jewellery... so I thought I ought to remedy this!
I hope you're enjoying your weekend and I'll be back in April with lots more to write about and lots more to show you :-)
xo Shara

Owl Necklace

Hello friends!
I hope you're enjoying your Easter Good Friday today :-) And if Easter is not your thing, then I hope you're enjoying the fact that it's Friday!
Today I thought I would show you one of the necklaces I have been working on recently. As well as the round beads I usually make I have added a little owl bead as well :-) He was lots of fun to make :-) I almost felt like he should have name, hehehe...
Enjoy your weekend!!
xo Shara

Colour Block Mittens

Hello friends!
It's been a productive week here at at SLD HQ :-) I've released another pattern for everyone to enjoy :-)

The Colour Block Mittens are fast and easy to make and only use a small amount of each yarn colour. Perfect for using up all those little bits of beautiful left over yarn from other projects :-) 
You can easily make a pair in a few evenings, so they are a perfect last minute gift :-) 
Knit in the round on double pointed means in one piece, so there are no seams to sew to finish the project :-)Yippee! 
Easily customisable too! 
These mittens will quickly become a favourite “go to” pattern.

And you don't even have to have matching colour blocks on each mitten, you could simply use all the little bits of left over yarns hanging around in your stash!

Materials: 
Set of 4mm double pointed needles 
50-55m DK/8 ply yarn in Colour A (Cuff & Thumb Tip) 
50-55m DK/8 ply yarn in Colour B (Palm & Thumb Gusset) 
50-55m DK/8 ply yarn in Colour C (Finger Section) 
3 stitch markers 
Tapestry Needle for Weaving in yarn ends

Size: Designed to fit an average women’s hand. The mitten is quite stretchy & will accommodate a variety of sizes. The length is easily customisable.

Tension/Gauge: 22 stitches & 30 rows = 10cm (4”)

The pattern is available via Ravelry, Etsy and Craftsy!

You can also find finished mittens in my store HERE :-)

xo Shara

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Glorieux Mitts

Hello friends!
Today I can show you one of the patterns I have been working on recently, introducing the Glorieux Mitts!
There is a 4ply/Fingering weight version and an 8ply/DK weight version. They use hardly any yarn, so they are the perfect stash buster. And the 4ply/Fingering weight ones are excellent for using up that little bit of gorgeous left over sock yarn :-)
They're quick and easy to crochet and you could EASILY make a pair in an evening :-)
The yellow pair above are made using Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 4ply that I have hand dyed using Landscape dye in Sulphur Yellow.
The colourful pair pictured next to them is made using some leftover Regia Random Stripe by Kaffe Fassett. And the grey DK version pictured below are made using a Loyal Dk by Naturally. They're very soft and squishy :-)

The patterns are available on Etsy, Ravelry and Craftsy. You can buy each pattern individually or they can be bought together as a pair :-)

Primary Aztec Necklace

Hello friends!
I hope you had a lovely weekend! I did! :-) I went on a little trip to visit friends in the countryside with my sweetheart :-) Lots of good music, good food, good wine and most importantly, good company :-)
Anyway, it's back to the real world now, hehe...
So here is a new necklace I have been working on recently. One of my favourite things about working with polymer clay is all the textures and designs you can play with. It's very simple, but I love it! :-)
The photo doesn't really do it justice, because there are actually little specks of glitter in these beads, which is really fun... but they don't really show in the pic... never mind :-)
You can see some of my other necklaces HERE and HERE :-)
xo Shara

Alegria Socks Pattern

Hello friends!

Let me introduce the Alegria Sock Pattern!

You may remember seeing this sock a few times during Socktober 2012? Well finally the pattern is available, via Ravelry, Etsy, and Craftsy :-)

 The sock above is made using Regia Design Line Random Stripe by Kaffe Fassett sock yarn. I loved working with this yarn. The "random" colours are fantastic, and worked really well with this pattern :-) This yarn comes in 50g skeins and I was easily able to get a whole pair of socks from one skein, using this pattern, with approximately 10g left over :-) According to my calculations you should be able to get up to an Aus size 8 (Eur 38-39) from one skein :-)

 The sock above is made using Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 4ply that I hand dyed. I'm really happy with the semi-solid effect of the yarn :-)

 The sock pictured above is made using Rico Design Superba Bamboo sock yarn. I've written about how much I love working with this yarn before. The bamboo makes it quite silky and soft. I think the long colour repeats work really well with this pattern too. What do you think?
Also, just in case you were wondering, each sock used 19g of yarn, and because it's a 100g skein you could easily get two pairs of socks from it!! That's great value. One pair for you, one pair for a friend :-)

 The pictures above and below are a close up detail of the lace pattern. It's an easy to follow and easy to memorise lace pattern repeat, so it's good for when you need some knitting that is not too taxing on the mind, such as tv watching or s'n'b's when you want to engage in your fellow stitchers company :-)

The pattern is available via Ravelry, Etsy & Craftsy. This sock is the first in the series of sock patterns that will be released this year :-) 

Swan Dive Scarf

Hello friends!

You may remember me writing about all the new patterns I had been working on over the last few months? Well here is the first of the new series!

The Swan Dive Scarf is stylish and easy to wear and fast and easy to make :-) 
Short rows and simple increases combine to make a deep v-shaped scarf. 
When worn “Highwayman” style (with the point at the front) it keeps your neck and chest lovely and warm from chilly winter winds. 
The Swan Dive Scarf is suitable for both men and women, making it the perfect go-to pattern when you need a last minute gift :-)

Materials: 
5mm 100-120cm circular knitting needles. 
240-250m 8 ply or DK yarn in Main Colour 
50-60m contrast yarn for Pom Poms (optional) 
Tools to make Pom Pom (optional) 
Tapestry needle to weave in yarn ends 
1 stitch marker

Tension/Gauge: 15 sts & 28 rows = 10cm (4”) Although tension is not essential to the outcome of this scarf it is important to use a slightly larger needle than you would normally need for your yarn to create a slightly loose fabric so that your scarf has a nice drape :-)

 The pompoms are optional, of course, but I think they might be my favourite part! :-) The yarn I used to make this sample is DK or 8 ply Cameo (wool/angora) from Bendigo Woollen Mills for the main grey colour. The pompoms are made using Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic that I hand dyed using Landscape Dyes in Sulphur Yellow :-) You can find this pattern on Ravelry, Etsy and Craftsy :-)