Super Easy Crochet Infinity Scarf

I have to admit that I have a long-term love affair with infinity scarves. It all started a little over a year ago when my sister brought me a beautiful gift from the US when she came to Madrid for my wedding. I pulled out a gorgeous slate grey and turquoise piece of material, smiled, and said "Please tell me this isn't a dress."

It was my first infinity scarf, and I was hooked (pardon the pun). In fact, I'm wearing that very scarf as I write this post!

Crochet infinity scarves are all over the place. Just look at these beautiful examples found on Pinterest:

Although I've made more than a few crochet infinity scarves, I wanted to develop a super easy infinity scarf that isn't worked in the round. This scarf is easy for beginners and experienced crocheters, and it doesn't require you to work in the round to get that a beautiful looped scarf!

Here are a few photo ops of the easiest infinity scarf ever!

Wound three times around the neck!

Wound twice!

Up close and personal

Ok, here's the pattern! It's super easy. You can use any yarn and hook size you like and repeat as many beginning chains as you like to achieve the length you want. Just be sure to add an extra 2ch at the end of the beginning chain to account for the turn (so you will always start your first dc on the 3rd chain from the hook!).

Yarn: Katia Alaska (bulky)
Hook: 7.00mm
Number of skeins: 2 (200g total)

Ch 182.
Round 1: Dc in 3rd chain from hook and across (180dc). Ch 2 and turn.
Round 2: Hdc in each st across (180hdc). Ch 2 and turn.
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until the scarf is the desired width.
When final round is complete, ch 1, turn and loosely slip stitch across the entire row. Then line up the two ends of the scarf and stitch them together with slip stitches (this will be an inside seam that you won't see later!). Slip stitch around the length of the other row.
Tie off and weave in ends.

There you go! You've made a long scarf with a very easy, yet beautiful, pattern. The slip stitch around the edges gives it a nice finish, and stitching the ends together with slip stitches gives you an infinity scarf with a seam that will be on the inside of the scarf, so you will never see it!

Super simple and super gorgeous! Enjoy, and happy holidays from MadridMetroMod!

Super easy unisex scarf!

One of my favorite crochet gifts to give and receive is a scarf! They are so easy to make, they have that zen-calming effect, and they add pizazz to any wardrobe (not to mention the wonderful warmth you get from a scarf in Madrid's chilly season!).

To me, a really great scarf pattern has to have three characteristics:

• easily resizable pattern
• very few, uncomplicated stitches but with some texture
• can be finished in less than one month of once-a-week leisure crocheting or one week of intense crocheting

A few weeks ago, my husband and I visited Lanas Sixto since he reminded me that the last scarf that I made for him was over 2.5 years ago. (Check out my post on Lanas Sixto in Madrid here!) He picked out a dark grey Alaska Katia yarn (colorway 10) and I started looking for patterns that night! I used a 7.00mm hook with this yarn and was really satisfied with the results (I would have tightened the chain just a touch in retrospect). After practically two years of being solely dedicated to our wedding and my doctoral thesis, I was so excited to get some yarn in my hands again!

I found this great pattern on Ravelry called the Easy-Wear Scarf by Lion Brands Yarn. I loved the fact that it was simple but had a nice unisex texture. I started hooking in my downtime - 1 or 2 hours per week - and two weeks later, I have a beautiful finished scarf that I'll gift to Jorge this afternoon at our family lunch!

Of course, I made some adjustments to the pattern:

• I repeated the chain stitch until Jorge liked where it fell when looped around his neck one time (more like 180 ch stitches plus the 1ch for the turn).
• I completed about 18 rows rather than 14 to make the scarf a bit thicker.
• I slip stitched loosely all the way around the scarf (2 sl st in each corner!) when finished, and I love the look that it gave the final product.

You can check out all the details in my Ravelry notebook, and here are some images of the finished scarf:

Wedding Pictures of My Crochet Bridal Bouquet!

Hello, everyone! Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated three months of wedded bliss! These months have been a bit crazy - honeymoon in Paris!, lots and lots of immigration paperwork, and more hours of our "real jobs" - so our blogging time has been minimal. Rest assured that we are healthy and happy in Madrid, and that MadridMetroMod will be re-opening on Etsy soon! And perhaps with a new surprise!

Today I wanted to share with you some of my favorite shots of my crochet bridal bouquet. You might remember from this post that I spent about 100 hours crocheting and arranging my bridal bouquet, and after seeing these pictures, I can definitely say that it was worth every minute.

So many people stopped me on my wedding day to admire my bouquet. It appears in almost every guest's photos, and even the wedding coordinators said that they had never seen such a beautiful and unique bouquet!

Please enjoy these photos! Also, if you (or someone you know) is looking for a crochet bridal bouquet, please contact me at madridmetromod @ gmail . com for ideas and a free price quote!

I would also like to thank Alberto Desna Photography for these amazing photos!

How to Make a Crochet Flower Bouquet

Wow, it has been a long time since my last post! I have been so busy this summer writing my dissertation and planning my wedding!! that my Etsy shop and blog have been running on autopilot.

Yes, that's right: I said planning my wedding!

My boyfriend and I got engaged on May 4, and we have been busily planning the wedding since we wanted to get married in the fall so that my parents could attend here in Madrid.

My one crochet project for the wedding (although more than a few have tempted me) was a crochet bridal bouquet. So here it is:

A view from above!

Please check out our photographer's photos of my bouquet on the Big Day here!

I was inspired by these beautiful bouquets to make my own:

After spending a lot of time researching floral patterns and bouquet techniques, I started crocheting.

And I crocheted. And crocheted. And crocheted. And then, just when I thought my fingers would fall off, I crocheted some more. All in all, I made about 30 crocheted flowers, 27 of which I used in the final bouquet. Some were discarded because of color - I started with yellow and white before deciding that I wanted different red and white tones.

After I finished crocheting each flower, I added a stem using 0.3mm or 0.6mm wires (three in each flower). I inserted the wire into the button, if possible, or directly through multiple layers of the flower if necessary. Then I twisted the wires together (carpal tunnel, anyone?). Each wire stem then had to be covered with green floral tape.

Just a hint: Do all of your taping last, because your hands get quite sticky and you won't want to touch your yarn after taping. I figured this out half-way through my flowers and then spent an afternoon taping the remaining half.

I used patterns from Ravelry - some free and some not - to make my flowers. Some are more traditional roses made with 100% cotton yarn and some are intricate little flowers made with size 8 crochet thread, a 1.6mm hook (ouch!) and 0.3mm metal wire crocheted directly into the petals.

Just when my work station started to look like a floral nightmare, I started wondering: How exactly do I turn these flowers into a bouquet?

Do I use a filler flower? Do I incorporate leaves? How do I get the flowers to stay together without moving around? These are some of the questions that I researched, thought about and discussed with my great crochet buddy Madalena!

After a lot of thinking (and dozens of trial bouquet arrangements without taping) I decided it was time to start making a flower bouquet from all of my crochet flowers!

First, I prepared a large work table with green floral tape and a comfortable chair.

I laid out all of my flowers according to size and color so that I could see what remained as I was arranging.

My bouquet was based on one center rose, four roses surrounding the center rose, four between those surrounding roses, and four between those surrounding roses. This helped me create a rounded bouquet shape, and I chose the smallest rose as the center. Then I added in smaller filler flowers throughout the bouquet.

So I picked up the center rose and one of the surrounding roses and taped them together. You want to leave 2-3" before you start taping so that you have some wiggle room to readjust the flowers once they are all taped together. This goes for all the flowers.

You want to start taping about where my fingers are.

Then I added in another surrounding rose and a filler flower:

This is what the bouquet looked like from the bottom:

Don't mind that random red rose that's perpendicular to the bouquet. He just got in the way!

I continued taping each layer of four roses. You want to run the tape up and down the stems in a length of about 2-3", always remembering to leave some space between the top of the tape and the bud of the flower.

I added in filler flowers on each layer. My hands got very sticky from the tape, and it became hard to see the vision once I had a lot of flowers (which is why it helped to see clearly what I had left on the table in front of me).

Once I finished adding flowers, I taped around everything about 20 times and then broke off the floral tape.

Here's the finished product (for now!)

The next step is to trim up the "stems" and add a satin ribbon so that my hands don't get sticky on the big day!

Have you made a crochet flower bouquet? What tips and tricks helped you?

Criss Cross makes me want to jump

After three (very long) weeks of having these two projects sitting in my basket, waiting on the perfect buttons and a surge of motivation, I have finally finished two pairs of...

Criss Cross Baby Ankle Boots!

These boots are inspired by Mon Petit Violon's Polka Dot Mary Baby Mary Janes, for which the pattern is available in her Etsy shop. Like all of her patterns, I love these high top Mary Janes, and I made a pair last year while on vacation:

However, I wanted to combine the idea of the criss cross in these Mary Janes with an ankle boot. I didn't want it to be too tall, so I made a short ankle and I closed the boot on the bridge of the foot.

I made a pair in grey (with a charcoal button) and a pair in pistachio green (with an amazingly mustardy yellow wooden button!):

My bestest crochet friend M. threw around button ideas with me, and I found these amazing charcoal buttons at her suggestion! Then I looked around in my stash and decided on the mustard yellows for the green pair after holding a button debate session at last night's Madrid Knits! yarn circle.

They are both live on my Etsy shop. The green pair is here and the grey pair is here. I am in love with this design!

I modified the design slightly between each pair, placing the criss cross higher up on the grey pair than on the green pair. I'm still not sure which I like better. What do you think?

Madrid Knits! yarn circle in Madrid

Last week, a member of a Facebook group that I am in asked whether or not there are any knitting or crocheting circles in Madrid. Another member pointed us all towards Madrid Knits!, a yarn circle that meets every week near the Santiago Bernabeu football stadium.

I was so excited about finding a group of yarnies that I wasted no time in packing up my yarn and making my way to the class on Friday evening! I had a great time getting to know all of the men and women of Madrid Knits! and I even finished a bunny crochet hat based on this pattern.

I love this pattern from Sunset Crochet on Etsy!

I still have to sew the ears on the bunny hat from Friday, but here is another one that I made last month:

You can join Madrid Knits! every Friday night (and the first Saturday of each month) if you are in the Madrid area! Here are the details:

Who: Madrid Knits! yarn circle
When: every Friday night from 17:00-21:00
Where: Starbucks, calle Pedro Teixeira, 8 (barrio Tetuán)
How: Just show up, add your name in the notebook and say hello! There are lots of English-speaking members, and it is a great chance to practice your Spanish! (There are also members that speak Dutch and Portuguese!)
Why: You need some motivation to finish that latest project, you want the inside on great yarn shops in Madrid, or you are just looking to meet some guys and gals who share your hobby for yarn crafting!

You can check out a weekly report of Madrid Knits on their blog: Madrid Knits!

Sale!

This week, my Etsy boutique Madrid Metro Mod reached its 30th sale! To celebrate, I am offering a 30% discount on every item in the shop! Now is the perfect time to purchase the hat or baby booties that have caught your eye!

Etsy coupon code: FIRST30SALES
Expires: February 04, 2013

Thank you to everyone who has supported my shop during these first six months! I am more dedicated than ever to bringing you high quality baby items that become family heirlooms for generations!

Hugs and stitches,