Category Archives: DIY

Hello, faithful readers!  How’s everyone’s Christmas shopping going?  I still have quite a bit left to do and not a whole lot of time to do it!  If you’re like me, I’m always looking for new easy and inexpensive ideas.  If holiday shopping and DIY gift-making is your plan this week, I’ve got a special treat for you today!

I’m sure many of you remember the DIY Beard Hat Pattern I shared earlier this year.  I made this beard hat for Daniel as a Christmas gift last year.  He loved it so much, I wanted to share it with all of you, since I know I had a hard time finding the perfect pattern.  I had no idea so many of you would love it too!

Knitting a beard hat for someone is a great DIY Christmas gift on its own, but if you know someone that wants to learn to knit, there’s an even better way to present this gift.  A knitting kit!

I had a very sweet and talented reader contact me with this great idea.  She’s a graphic designer from Spain, and she created a wonderful printed tutorial based on my beard hat pattern.  She originally created it for her sister-in-law to include in a knitting kit for her, but she generously wants to share it with all of you as well!

You can download the Beard Hat Pattern tutorial here, and then simply print out the guide on standard letter sized paper.  You’ll notice there are small black lines on each corner.  Those are just guide lines for cutting each side, as the graphic is smaller than the paper.

She also included this handy guide on how to fold the printed tutorial.

Here’s how I followed the guide:

1. With the blank side of the paper facing up, and the Knit Beard Pattern cover closest to me.  Fold the cover side up.  You will now have steps 7-16 facing up and upside down.  This is Step 2 on the graphic.
2. Fold over the right side of the tutorial, you will now have steps 3-6 facing up (upside down).  This is Step 3 on the graphic.  This is just to create a crease, so then you will unfold the right side of the tutorial.
3. I then flipped the tutorial over, so steps 1-6 were facing up.  Then following Step 4 on the graphic, I folded both the left side and right side of the tutorial to the crease I just made.  You will now see the Knit Beard Pattern cover and steps 7-10 facing up.
4. I then folded the right side of the tutorial back (steps 7-10).  You should now be left with a little accordion booklet, with the cover facing up at you.  You can flip through to make sure all the steps are in order.

Here’s the finished Beard Hat Pattern printed tutorial!  Super cute, right?

This is such a great idea to include with a knitting kit, and a really easy, fast and inexpensive DIY Christmas gift!

If you’re not sure what to include in a knitting kit, you could always buy a pre-made kit.  This is actually the one I got as a kid, and how I taught myself to knit.  I still use a lot of the tools that came with it!

Here are a few more options for those that like to comparative shop:  Red Heart Knitting Made Easy Kit and the Learn Knitting! Kit.

I want to say a BIG thank you to Laia for her awesome idea for a printed tutorial and knitting kit.  And especially for being so kind and sharing her wonderful tutorial.  Be sure to head over to her website and check out more of her work!

Happy Day After St. Patrick’s Day!  Hope you all had an awesome holiday, and hopefully you’re not feeling the after effects of last night too hard today.  Daniel and I had a low key St. Paddy’s, which included a homemade meal of corned beef, cabbage, and mashed potatoes.  Plus a couple of pints of Guinness (of course), mint green cupcakes, and a few Irish movies!  It was nice not dealing with the typical crowded bars, and since I didn’t have too wild a night, I was able to put up a new Etsy listing today!

My newest knitted creation is this super cute knit Bowtie Headband!  It is 100% handmade, super soft and warm, and looks great with a top knot.  It’s my new favorite winter accessory to wear for the last bit of the season.  Check it out!

This is another original design by moi, and you can get it at my Etsy Shop: MicheleVenleeDesigns!  You can also find other fun items there too!

As always, if you love it, please share it!  And be sure to come back soon, because I’ll be sharing the FREE pattern for this Knit Bowtie Headband in the spring!

Woo hoo, it’s Friday!  I bet you’re all super excited it’s almost the weekend, I know I am!  To make your Friday (hopefully) even better, I’m going to share another free knitting pattern with you all!

I’ve recently been obsessing over the knit headband trend, and since I’m back in a colder climate, I decided to make one for myself!  After searching endlessly for a pattern I liked, I finally found this pattern from the blog Transient Expression.  I completed the headband and while it’s super cute, it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for.  So a new search began for the perfect pattern.  I’ve come to realize the reason I rarely buy new clothes, shoes or accessories is because I’m constantly looking for the perfect item.  I’m not sure yet if that’s a good or bad quality, but in this case I think it was definitely good.  My desire for perfection pushed me to create a brand new pattern, and now I have a knit headband that I LOVE!

After a little bit of trial and error at the start, I eventually perfected the Cable Knit Headband Pattern and here it is for all of you to try out.  Happy Knitting!

Here’s what you need:

• 1 ball Impeccable Impecable in True Grey (100% acrylic, medium)
• Size 8 (5mm) knitting needles
• Cable needle
• Yarn needle for seaming and weaving in ends

Abbreviations:

• K:  Knit
• P:  Purl
• C8F:  Cable eight stitches in front

Gauge:  8 stitches and 15 rows in garter stitch = 2 inches.

Here’s what you do:

Cast on 20 stitches.

Row 1:  K2, P1, K1, P2, K8, P2, K1, P1, K2

Row 2: K3, P1, K2, P8, K2, P1, K3

Row 3: K2, P1, K1, P2, K8, P2, K1, P1, K2

Row 4: K3, P1, K2, P8, K2, P1, K3

Row 5: K2, P1, K1, P2, K8, P2, K1, P1, K2

Row 6: K3, P1, K2, P8, K2, P1, K3

Row 7:  K2, P1, K1, P2, C8F, P2, K1, P1, K2.  Here are some detailed images of Row 7…

Knit pattern until you reach “C8F”

Slip 4 stitches onto your cable needle and hold it in front of your work (this is part of the C8F)

Knit 4 stitches from knitting needle (C8F)

Knit stitches from your cable needle to complete C8F

Complete Row 7.  This is what the cable twist will look like

Repeat rows 2-7 until desired length, for me it was when the whole piece measured 15 ½ inches long.  It’s best to make it a bit tight, since the headband will stretch.

Bind off, sew seams together, weave in ends and then you’re done!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions in the comments section.  If any of you make a headband for yourself, I’d love to see photos of your completed project!  AND if you don’t know how to knit or simply don’t have the time, I’m excited to announce that I’m in the process of opening an Etsy shop!  So hopefully in the near future you’ll be able to buy some of the knitting products you see on here!

Can’t wait to share it with you all!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Hi guys, so today I’m super excited to share my very first knitting pattern with you all!

I was a pretty avid knitter in high school and college, but involuntarily took a break from it while I was focusing on acting in LA. One of the reasons I started this blog was to share my progress in improving new skills, as well as old skills that got pushed aside.  I recently started knitting again because I wanted to make a beard hat for my boyfriend Daniel.

I had a lot of trouble finding a knit beard pattern I liked, especially a free one. I found a pattern that was pretty close to what I wanted, but when I tried it out, I couldn’t get some of the rows to turn out correctly. I adapted it in a way that made more sense to me, and decided to write out the pattern for anyone looking for more beard hat options! Please bear in mind though – this is the first pattern I’ve written out, so it may be a little rough around the edges.

Here’s what you need:

• Size 8 (5 mm) needles
• Worsted weight wool, acrylic, or blend yarn in a natural color (I used a dark brown)
• Needle for weaving in ends

Gauge:  16 stitches and 26 rows = 4 inches in moss stitch

Here’s what you do:

Cast on 55 stitches.

Rows 1-2:  Moss stitch.  For those unfamiliar, to create a moss stitch you knit the purls and purl the knits.  You will be using moss stitch for the entire pattern.

Row 3:  K20, BO15, and then continue the row and K20.  You are creating the mouth opening.

Row 4:  Knit 20, CO15…

Turn work to the right side…

And then knit the rest of Row 4.

Here’s what the finished mouth opening will look like.

Row 5-10:  Continue moss stitch until the beard just reaches the bottom of your chin.  It was row 10 for me!

Now you will start your decreases to shape the bottom of the beard.

Row 11:  BO7, knit the rest of the row (48 st. remaining).

Row 12:  BO7, knit the rest of the row (41 st. remaining).

Decrease using the following pattern.  You will have 25 st. remaining

Rows 13-16:  K2tog, knit the rest of the row.

Rows 17-20:  K2tog, K2tog, knit the rest of the row.

Rows 21-24:  K2tog, knit the rest of the row.

Bind off the remaining 25 stitches and weave in ends.

I chose to fasten buttons on each end of the beard, and then (with my uncrafty ways) pulled each button through a stitch on the hat I made. Very technical, I know. You could certainly create button holes in the hat you’re using, I chose not to in case Daniel wanted to wear it without the beard.

You can use any technique you’d like to attach the beard to your hat – elastic, sew it on directly, buttons, etc. Whatever works for you!

Daniel loved his finished beard hat!  It’s incredibly warm and perfect for cold winter days!

I hope this knit beard hat pattern comes in handy for anyone looking!  Let me know in the comments section if you have any questions!

Bonus! Check out the hat pattern I used, and my pattern for the color blocking below!

I used this simple hat pattern for the hat pictured here.  I followed the pattern for the medium size pretty much exact, except I continued the K1, P1 ribbing until it reached 1 1/2″.

As you can see, I also did some color blocking. In case you like it, here’s what I did:

Tan:  2 rows.

Light green:  5 rows.

Tan: 2 rows.

It was a really easy and fast pattern – great for a beginner! Happy knitting!

Hi guys, so today I’m going to share some Valentine’s Day gift ideas with you.  These gift ideas come from some of my favorite presents that Daniel and I have given to each other throughout the years, and most of them will work for either a girl or a guy!

If you’ve been to my blog before, you know that I’ve mentioned that puzzles have long been a theme in our relationship.  So I’m sure you can imagine that this has influenced a lot of the gifts we’ve given each other!

One year I had the idea to get Daniel a puzzle piece necklace.  I personally think jewelry for a guy is an unexpected gift, which is the kind of gift I strive for.  Unique, personal, and meaningful is my mantra when searching for a gift (especially for Daniel).

After searching and searching, I finally turned my attention to Etsy and found the perfect puzzle piece necklace.  This necklace was by far the most masculine looking one I found.  The seller was super nice, and the necklace came quickly and looked just as pictured.  Daniel loved it, and I love it whenever he wears it!  It also gave Daniel the idea to have a friend of his make me a matching puzzle necklace in silver!

Staying with the puzzle theme, Daniel gave me this amazingly romantic and sentimental gift (originally for our 1st year anniversary)!  Yes, that’s right, he made a puzzle for me.  I was so surprised and in love with this gift, not only when I first got it but every time we put it together.

Another gift that keeps on giving is… a fondue pot!  Daniel also got me this during our first year together.  It was particularly sentimental to us because of an amazing fondue dinner during our first trip together, but this would make a fabulous gift for anyone.

He was also very clever and made it a two-in-one gift by including the ingredients for chocolate fondue!  We exchanged gifts after dinner and were able to try out the fondue pot that night!  Yes, I know, I’m an incredibly lucky girl.

Since then, we’ve elevated countless stay at home date nights and celebrated special occasions with a fondue dinner (as you can see below).  It’s amazing how it can invoke so many wonderful memories every time we use it!

I don’t know about you, but we have numerous songs that have become very meaningful to our relationship and signified different stages of it.  For that reason, another gift I love giving are records.  This originally stemmed from Daniel having a beautiful record player, but no records!  Also, I’m not sure why, but I’ve always found vinyl to be more romantic than a CD.

Of course, if your significant other doesn’t have a record player, Valentine’s Day would be a great excuse to get one!  I personally think this would be an awesome gift for a guy, and a more unique and unexpected gift as well!

This is the one Daniel has, which doesn’t appear to be sold new anymore, but I love the look and features!

Another favorite gift that Daniel gave me was a picnic basket!

Talk about a sweet gift!  Would you not melt after unwrapping this?  We’ve used it SO many times during the summer months, and it makes me smile every single time.

And last but certainly not least, Daniel started making awesome paintings last year, and he made this WALL-E and Eva pair for me for Valentine’s Day!

As you can see, I was pretty happy!  You can visit his Etsy page to get these adorable paintings for your significant other.  I’m sure any Pixar-loving girl (such as myself) would LOVE to have these hanging on her wall!

There you have it, a few unique and meaningful Valentine’s Day gift ideas for your guy or girl!

I hope you all have a very special Day of Love!