Easy Beginner Women's Hat and Mittens Crochet Patterns

I am always on the lookout for unique and stylish winter accessories. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the perfect winter hat in stores. That's when I turned to Pinterest, where I stumbled upon the ideal beanie - but as a crochet pattern, not for sale. With the help of my talented mother-in-law, I rediscovered the art of crocheting, which I had learned as a child from my grandmother.

I spent countless hours perfecting my skills, starting with simple wash and dust cloths and gradually working my way up to a scarf made from practice yarn. Finally, I felt confident enough to tackle the hat pattern that started the relearning process, so I splurged on some luxurious alpaca blend yarn (you can buy alpaca blend yarn similar to the type I used here ) and followed Crochet Dreamz's DIY Crochet Hat pattern the Jenna Beanie. To add a touch of fun, I topped it off with a leopard print pom pom (you can buy similar faux fur pom poms like I used here.) (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience.)

 

But then, as fate would have it, I finished the hat just in time for Spring. So it sat untouched until this December, when I finally had the chance to wear a winter hat. Let me tell you, it was worth the wait! The chunky alpaca yarn keeps me toasty warm, and the softness of the fibers is the most luxurious I've ever felt (and I have many, many knit and crochet gifts that I love and use.) 

 

This is the warmest winter hat I own 

Some may argue that I should have used 100% alpaca fiber yarn for this project, but as someone who is forgetful when it comes to chucking all of the laundry from the hamper and into the washer and dryer, I prefer blends that will survive a machine wash. 

 

With one skein of yarn left over, I was in search of a one skein project that I could work on while traveling. That's when I discovered Make and Do Crew's 3-Hour Crochet Mittens pattern. I've always struggled to find gloves that fit my small hands, so I was excited to try my hand at crocheting my own. Though the pattern proved to be a little more challenging than I anticipated, I still managed to complete a cozy pair of custom size mittens (which took me longer than three hours, because I crochet slow.) 

 

I am smitten with my chunky crochet mittens! 

I also learned through this project that the best way for me to actually finish a crochet project is to be either be trapped in an airport or in a metal tube hurtling through the sky. Good to know. 

 

 

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How to Repair an Adjustable Dress Form

Lola, my trusty adjustable dress form mannequin, has been through some wear and tear. Her cover is peeling and her base is constantly falling over. It's no wonder, really. After so many years of being poked and prodded with pins I’d be a bit tipsy and unglued too.

Poor Lola.

Lola is still usable and I especially rely my dress form’s adjustability and functionality for commissioned sewing projects. She just needs a little makeover and refurbish that keeps her adjustable and not as a decoration. 

 

The sewing mannequin's plastic dials are difficult to adjust and need attention too.

 To renovate my adjustable dressmaker mannequin I decided to start at the bottom and work my way up.

How to Make a Faux Holly Berry Garland

I bought a prelit holly garland to use as a Christmas decoration. Almost immediately, the fake foam holly berries either chipped to show the white foam underneath or fell off the plastic stems completely.

The LED lights still work and the holly leaves look fine although the garland looks a little naked without the holly berries.

I made faux holly berries for my Christmas garland. Here’s how.

 

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How to Make Faux Fake Holly Berries

How to Make a Christmas Dinosaur Decoration

I took part in the best Christmas Gift Exchange where the theme was Handmade, Regifted, or Thrifted. I made my person some lovely chocolates and wanted to tuck a little extra thing into their gift.

Once I spotted a plastic T Rex toy, I found my joy, and went about turning the T Rex toy into Chompy the Christmas Dinosaur decoration. Chompy not only delivers presents to the good little girls and boys, but he also takes care of your enemies and those who give you grief.

Let’s make Christmas Dinosaur Decorations!

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You will need:

How to Use Any Brand Razor Blade in a Leaf Safety Razor

I decided to give shaving with a safety razor similar to this one a try after seeing the rising cost of disposable razors and cartridge razor blades. I got a nice, nick free shave the first time I used my standard safety razor. Great! I finally found a solution I thought. (Disclosure I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)

Until I nicked, gashed, and cut myself on every shave since.

I was ready to dump the safety razor until I read a thread from someone in a similar situation on a frugal living forum. Many folks in the comment section empathized and even more recommended shaving with a Leaf safety razor like this one. The difference being that the Leaf safety razor has three blades and a pivoting head just like the cartridge razors I used with much better success.

The Leaf is more expensive than a standard safety razor but I decided to buy one because that was the only negative anyone had to say about it. Particularly since this was a frugal living group who want good results for less money (eventually) and not a green living group that will put up with bad performance for the sake of a zero waste living (glares at my safety razor.)

The only concern I had was that Leaf razors use what looked like a proprietary safety razor blade. Turns out, you can use any brand of safety razor blade that looks like this in a Leaf razor if you cut the razor blade in half. 

How to Install Standard Safety Razor Blades in to a Leaf Safety Razor

 

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How to Make a DIY Yeti Cooler

Our coolers don't keep food cold enough for as long as we'd like. While the body has insulation, the lids do not. I began searching for an upgrade.

When it comes to coolers and cold boxes, it seems there are only two options:

1. Fairly cheap eskies with minimal insulation in the lid and body that only keep food cold for a day or less.

2. Expensive chilly bins that are heavily insulated, bear-proof, and keep food cold for almost a week.

While I value quality, I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars just to keep food cold for a few weekends a year. Additionally, I'm struggling to find a well-insulated cooler in the compact size of our favorite Playmate cooler.

Wondering if you can insulate a Playmate cooler to match the performance of a Yeti cooler? Yes you can! Not only that, but your DIY Yeti cooler will also weigh much less when it is empty.

Here's how to do it.

How to Hack a Cooler to Make it Colder

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