Category Archives: Women’s Craft Projects

Fall Brings Sweater Weather

Autumn is the time of year that many knitters and crocheters most look forward to. We can’t wait to savor pumpkin spice lattes, and we’re excited to cheer for our favorite college football teams. But, best of all, we love to get out our handmade sweaters and flaunt them — and fall is definitely the best season for that.

When the trees decide it’s time to transform from green to rich hues of orange and gold and red, we’re there with our cameras in hand, ready to snap selfies showing off every intricate cable or colorwork motif in our handiwork.

Fashion trends come and go, but sweaters are eternal. And, if you knit or crochet, you can never have too many sweater patterns.

Are you thinking of knitting or crocheting a new fall sweater any time soon? If so, there are some outstanding sweater pattern books you should be aware of.

Traditional Danish Sweaters for Fall and Winter

Traditional Danish Sweaters -- A Knitting Pattern Book Published by Trafalgar Square Books

Traditional Danish Sweaters — A Knitting Pattern Book Published by Trafalgar Square Books

If you’re interested in knitting warm wool sweaters featuring classic Scandinavian motifs and styling, you’ll definitely want to take a look at a lovely pattern book called Traditional Danish Sweaters. This book is a unique combination of history book, design workbook, sweater knitting pattern book and knitting stitch dictionary. The designs included in this book are all wearable ones that I think will be of interest to knitters who are interested in working sweater patterns.

The Crochet Closet

The Crochet Closet: A Crochet Sweater Pattern Book by Lisa Gentr

The Crochet Closet: A Crochet Sweater Pattern Book by Lisa Gentry, Published by Leisure Arts. Photo Courtesy of Leisure Arts.

The Crochet Closet is not a new book, but it features lovely crocheted sweater designs that look as fresh and new now as they did when they were originally published.

One of the best things about this book is the inclusive size range. The book includes sweaters patterns that have been graded for a broad range of sizes, including extra large sizes.

If you enjoy crocheting sweaters, this book is definitely worth your consideration.

Learn More About The Crochet Closet Book by Lisa Gentry

Enjoy the sweater weather this year, my friends! Happy knitting and crocheting!

By Amy Solovay

Bead Crafts for Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is coming up soon. This year, in the USA, Mother’s Day will occur on Sunday, May 12, 2024. As of right now, you still have plenty of time to make or buy Mother’s Day cards and gifts for all the mother figures in your life.


If you love and adore making pretty things for the people you love, there are zillions of possible things you could make for your mom, grandmas, mother-in-law and / or stepmom. If you aren’t sure what to make, bead crafts offer you a fantastic starting point to consider because beads are beautiful, popular, readily available, reasonably affordable and really easy to work with.


If your mom and other gift recipients enjoy wearing jewelry, there are many pretty beaded baubles you could be making for them.


Furthermore, if you wear beaded jewelry yourself, and you’re taking any of the moms in your life out to Mother’s Day breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner, you might also want to make something pretty for yourself to wear when you go out. Why not?

Beautiful Beaded Jewelry for Mother’s Day

Beaded Lace Crochet Choker Necklace Pattern

Beaded Lace Crochet Choker Necklace Pattern

This pretty beaded choker is easy and inexpensive to make, but it turns out stunning if you do a careful job of crocheting it. It’s also really easy to personalize, because you can easily make it exactly the right length for its intended wearer. Beyond that, you can choose just about any color and shape of small beads for embellishing it, and pretty much any fine yarn or crochet thread for working it. The crochet pattern for making it is available on this website for free, and the materials for making it can be reasonably affordable if you choose inexpensive beads, crochet thread and findings; it’s also possible to splurge on precious metals and other exquisite materials to make the finished project truly, luxuriously spectacular. So if you’re thinking of making a choker-style necklace for your mom, this one gets my vote as one that’s ideal for most crafters to try. You can get the free crochet choker pattern HERE.


The only exception: This really isn’t a fantastic choice if you’ve never crocheted anything before, ever; in that case, I recommend taking a look at this list of crochet projects for total beginners and choosing an item from that list to make first. Then after you’ve made an item or two to get comfortable with crocheting, you’d be better equipped to succeed at making this project. But if you’ve already made a few crochet projects before, I’m positive that you could handle making this beaded choker necklace easily.

If you want to find more ideas for pretty beaded jewelry you could make for Mother’s Day, check out this list of jewelry making ideas and this list of crochet bracelets HERE.

Beaded Gadget Cozy

Beaded Crochet Gadget Cozy: Free Crochet Pattern

Beaded Crochet Gadget Cozy: Free Crochet Pattern


If your mom carries a cell phone, camera, or other similar small gadget, this pretty beaded gadget cozy might be a useful gift for her. Alternatively, this little pouch could be a pretty way to giftwrap a small gift.

These ideas only just scratch the surface of what is possible to make for Mother’s Day using beads. Want even more ideas? Check these out:

Posted By: Amy Solovay

Accessorize for Fourth of July With a Red, White and Blue Bracelet

Independence Day is coming up soon; this year, it’ll happen on Tuesday, July 4, 2023. If you’re hoping to make some fun craft projects to celebrate this holiday, one of the things you might want to plan on is creating some fun wearable accessories ahead of time, so you can wear them out to whichever picnics, barbecues, parties or fireworks festivities you plan on attending.


Red and Blue Beaded Bracelet for Fourth of July or Every Day Wear

Red and Blue Beaded Bracelet for Fourth of July or Every Day Wear


You can make this simple-but-lovely bracelet using metallic floss and round glass beads. If you’ve never crocheted with beads before, this bracelet is a fantastic introduction to the technique; it’s a quick project that proves that bead crochet does not have to be difficult, despite what you may have heard to the contrary.

For those of you in the USA, this bracelet is an ideal way to accessorize for patriotic holidays such as the Fourth of July. It’s a fabulous everyday accessory as well; you could make it for Fourth of July and then wear it whenever you’re dressing in red or blue in the days following.

Related Crochet Resources:

Knitting Stylish Ponchos for Fall

In the Northern Hemisphere, today — September 22, 2020 — is the first day of fall. You know what that means: If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to put away your shorts and t-shirts, and start getting out your ponchos, mittens, hats, scarves and sweaters to prepare for the chillier days ahead.

If you don’t already own any lovely ponchos, perhaps you’d enjoy knitting yourself a new one. There are bunches of gorgeous poncho patterns to consider. Check out this one:

Boho Knit Poncho Pattern

The knitting pattern for this colorful boho poncho is included in the book Knitting for the Fun of It! by Frida Ponten, published by Trafalgar Square Books. You can knit this pattern using a random mix of leftover yarns, or emulate the colors and textures used in Frida’s sample poncho. This photo is courtesy of the publisher and reprinted here with their permission.

Knitting for the Fun of It! is one of my all-time favorite knitting books. In addition to poncho patterns, the book also includes patterns for making shawls, fingerless gloves, sweaters and bunches of other lovely items that are suitable for wearing in fall. It also has some interesting articles on topics like how to dye your own yarn. I find the book highly inspiring — and if you knit, I bet you’ll love it, too.

If you’d rather knit a shawl or a wrap than a poncho, another fabulous book to consider is Vogue Knitting Shawls & Wraps 2. The entire book is dedicated to giving you knitting patterns for making pretty, feminine shawls and wraps that will ward off the chill on crisp fall days.

If ponchos and shawls aren’t what you feel like working on right now, no worries. We have bunches of other craft ideas you might enjoy. You’re invited to check out our list of fall patterns to discover ideas for crocheting or knitting just about any type of knitwear you might want to get started on making this fall. Happy crafting!

By Amy Solovay