When I take a break from making cute crochet toys, which is rare, I try to come up with “practical” projects to make. (Well, I think cute crochet toys are practical, but that’s another story). I tend to stick to things I can wear, such as scarves or hats, but in summer weather? No thanks! The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the house, the source of edible goodness and culinary creativity. It only makes sense to throw some creative crochet into the mix.

“Crochet for the Kitchen” immediately makes me think of dishcloths, because of the inevitable clean-up involved in all-things-kitchen. Here are five dishcloth patterns for whoever is on clean-up duty. Maybe they’ll actually make it fun?

How about some thick potholders? Crochet potholders are quick to whip up, even when they have multiple layers. And you’ll need those multiple layers, if say you want them to be…practical!

A cozy mug sweater and a pot handle cozy combine the best of cute and functional–keeping your fingertips safe from heat and dressing up plain kitchenware to boot.

Placemats are one of those “extras” that I may not ever want to spend the money on, but if I can crochet something to my liking using some multi-colored yarn? I’m in!

What do you like to crochet for your kitchen?

When I was a little girl I was obsessed with my grandma’s crochet hooks. There were so many different sizes, colors and in a few cases, different shapes.  My favorite was a large size N aluminum hook in Gold.  I thought it looked more like jewelry than a tool for making afghans and also made for an awesome (and blunt) sword.

She quit crocheting when I was in my late teens due to arthritis and gave me all of her hooks and supplies.  I spent lots of days getting them out, looking them over and playing around with them, but never learned to use them.  Later, while on bedrest with my second daughter, I finally learned.

At first everything I made was completely incorrectly sized, mainly due to the fact that I insisted on using the shiny gold hook for every pattern I was trying to make¸ regardless of what size hook the pattern called for.  Soon I learned the difference between the hooks I found in the large tin box, and which ones I preferred over the rest.
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New to the Crochet Spot Store, the Nylon Cleaning Set includes 5 patterns, each uses nylon netting to give an extra scrubbing power. If you’ve never crocheted with nylon netting, no worries, instructions for working with netting are also included.

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One way of crocheting in the round is to chain 2 and then make a certain number of stitches into the 2nd chain from the hook (you can do so with any kind of crochet stitch–sc, hdc, dc, etc.–but for this tutorial, I’ll be using sc. This tutorial is for both right and left handed people. For left handed pictures, roll your mouse over the image and it will change for you. When you have the desired number of stitches and you join to the first single crochet, you’ll notice a little something–a hole! Right there in the middle. The way around this? The magic adjustable ring, a really simple technique that prevents a hole from appearing.

Making a magic adjustable ring only requires a few extra steps and will give your  in-the-round projects a smooth start. For this one in particular, I’ll make a magic adjustable ring with 5 single crochet stitches. read more »

This versatile pattern contains instructions on creating a popular accessory that’s easy to make;  a scarf with buttons placed in two rows  to turn the scarf into a cowl that can be used everyday for warmth or for a touch of style.   Wild it up by using contrasting colored buttons or even mismatched ones!