Striped Pillow Cover

This is a fun pillow cover to make, and can easily be made to fit into any decor.  You can change up the colors however you like, and there are options to make it easy to remove from the pillow and throw in the wash.

Materials:

Your choice of yarn - Seriously, you could make this with just about any kind of yarn.  I used Red Heart Super Saver yarn in Aruba and Grey Heather, because I  know how rough my kids are on our couch pillows. ;)

Hook size recommended for the yarn you choose.  In my case, I hook.

Yarn Needle.

*Keep in mind that not all pillows are the same size.  This was made for a standard decor pillow, measuring 18"x18".  You may want to measure your pillows and go from there.  I tend to crochet fairly loosely, so you may want to make more/less chains in the beginning depending on how big of a pillow cover you want to make.

The pattern is written for 2 colors, but you can change your rows any way you like to match your style.

Begin with color 1 (Aruba)

Ch 52. 

R1:  Dc in 3rd ch from hook and each ch to end.  3 dc in last ch.  Dc in each ch again, working back to first ch from other side of ch.  Join with sl st.

R2: Ch 2.  Dc in each stitch around.  Join with sl st.  

Optional: Change to color 2 (Grey Heather).

R3-R28:  Repeat R2, change colors when you like.

I changed colors every 2 rounds, so I would have 2 rounds of each color, creating a medium-thick stripe.

At the end of your rounds, place pillow in the cover.  You can either A) sew up the seam, or B) add buttons to one side and button the seams together, or C) add a zipper closure.

Bow Front:

You will first make one thick panel (shown in Aruba), then you will make a small panel (shown in Grey Heather) to wrap around the bigger panel.  

Thick panel:

(Aruba) 

Ch 22.

R1: Dc in 3rd ch from hook, and each ch to end.  

R2-R28: Ch 2.  Dc in each st across.  

Tie off, hide ends.

Small Panel:

(Grey Heather)

Ch 10.

R1:  Dc in 3rd ch from hook and each ch across.

R2-R6:  Ch 2.  Dc in each st across.

At the end of R6, wrap the small panel around the larger panel.  This is like the center of the bow.  When it is wrapped, stitch up the ends up the small panel.

Sew ends of large panel onto cover.

Back To School: Apple Covers for Lunchboxes

These are great for lunchboxes and backpacks!  I have homeschooled my kids for about 4 years now, but I am sending them to a charter school this year.  Uniforms and sack lunches!  Yay!  (Haha)  Since kids tend to be rough with their backpacks, they often end up with bruised fruit at lunch.  This cuts down on that significantly!  Plus, it's cute!  ;)  I made these up in about 15 minutes - and that includes writing the pattern and getting my daughter a drink.  SUPER fast!

Materials:

Cotton Yarn

H Hook

Yarn Needle

Magic Circle (or ch 3 and join to make circle)
R1: Ch 2 (counts as first sc).  7 sc in center (total of 8 sc). Join with sl st.
R2: Ch 2 (counts as first sc).  1 sc in same st.  2 sc in each st around.  Join with sl st.
R3: Ch 4 (counts as dc, ch 1).  Dc in same st.  *Sk 1 st.  Dc, ch1, dc in next st.*  Repeat to end.  Join with sl st in 3rd ch of ch 4.
R4: Sl st in next sp.  Ch 3.  2 dc in same sp.  3 dc in each space around (3dc cluster).  Join with sl st in top of ch 3.
R5: Sl st in next st (center st of a 3dc cluster).  Ch 4 (counts as dc, ch 1).  Dc in same st. *Sk 2 st.  Dc, ch 1, dc in next st.*  Repeat to end.  Join with sl st in 3rd ch of ch 4.
R6-R7:  Repeat R4 & R5.
R8:  Ch 2.  Sc in each st.  Do not join.  Tie off and hide ends.

Using blunt yarn needle and long piece of yarn, weave yarn under both loops of sc stitches, beginning with needle going from outside to inside of apple cover on first stitch, then inside to outside on next stitch.  Repeat this all the way around.  Leave a long tail to use to tie up when an apple is inside.