Free Sun and Cloud Pattern and Fantasy Crochet Kits

Since designing the patterns for Crochet Society Subscription Box 53, I have occasionally thought about what I would include in a crochet kit if I could fill it with anything I wanted. Now that I have the copyright back and the patterns are available in my Ravelry and Etsy shops, I decided to put that idea into practice for two of my friends who crochet a little. I mentioned the idea to them (who would say no to a gift of yarn?), and I started putting the kits together.

These are very much fantasy crochet kits and not the sort of thing I would expect a subscription service to produce on a large scale, but exactly the kind of kit I would make if practicality and production limits weren’t a concern.

This blog post is part extra color/yarn inspiration for my sunshine pattern collection, part me sharing some of my favorite crochet tools and accessories, and also a little free pattern because I felt like it.

Important Links

• JUMP to FREE Sun and Cloud Patterns
• My Sunshine pattern Collection Blog post
• Purchase the patterns on Ravelry
  • Waiting on Sunshine Shawl
  • It’s Alright Bouquet
  • Follow the Sun Bag
  • Don’t Mind the Rain Purse
• Buy the pattern on Etsy
  • Waiting on Sunshine Shawl on Etsy
  • It’s Alright Bouquet on Etsy
  • Follow the Sun Bag on Etsy
  • Don’t Mind the Rain Purse on Etsy

Fantasy Crochet Kits

If my two friends who these are for are reading this, stop here if you would like these to be a little bit of a surprise when I see you next.

These kits will not be a complete surprise for my friends as I asked them before I started and I asked them a few questions to make sure that I was picking things they would actually use and like. For each of them I include the yarn and supplies for them to make the flower bouquet with vase, and I asked them if they would prefer a bag or shawl. As it happens one wanted the shawl and the other the bag, which was perfect. I also included hooks in the right sizes and a few of my favorite crochet accessories.

Throughout this section I will be including affiliate links to some of the products that that I put in the boxes. If you are interested in any of these things, shopping through these links earns me a small commission to support my design work at no additional cost to you.

Yarn

For both of my friends I included yarn and materials for the flower bouquet.  They each got one ball of Scheepjes Color crafters in 1063 Rotterdam for the vase. One friend likes colorful decor and warm colors, so I gave her a Scheepjes Catona Minis Colour Pack, Crème Brûlée. She should be able to make at least two flowers from each 25g ball so she can pick and choose for a bright and cheerful bouquet. The other friend prefers more neutral decor so I gave her some Scheepjes Stone Washed, color 801 Moonstone, I put in two balls to make sure there would be plenty for a full bouquet.

These bouquet illustrations and the two of the accessories below were done by me in procreate. They are to give an idea of what the finished project will look like in these colors.

For my friend that chose the shawl I chose Scheepjes Woolwise in colors 760 Woodland and 759 Deep Moss. This yarn is super soft and squishy and should make a beautiful shawl that is warm but not too warm with the lace. I included two balls of each color so she will have more than enough for a nice big shawl.

For my friend that chose the bag, I think she would like oversize version I did with Scheepjes Truely Scrumptious. I included colors 367 Salted Caramel Brownie and 361 Blueberry Chocolate Tart, both of these colors have a lot of depth and variation. The color of the yarn is also rather hard to capture in a photograph; I think the Salted Caramel Brownie in person looks a lot more like my photo of the yarn and the Blueberry Chocolate Tart looks a lot more like the product photo than my photo in person. My bag in Truely Scrumptious used about 2.5 balls of each color so I have included three balls of each color for her.

If you would like any of these yarns you can look for a Scheepjes Retailer in your area, or you can use my affiliate links below. Shopping through this link earns me a small commission to support my design work at no additional cost to you. Thank You!

My Amazon shop, Jimmy Beans Wool, and Yarn Addicted & Co. on Etsy (US only)

Notions and Extras

Since I included yarn for the bouquets for both friends, I also included the other supplies they needed for the flowers. Each kit gets half of a package of 200 Pcs Floral Wire – 26 Gauge, 14 inch (enough for 20 flowers each), half a package of 30 Wooden 18mm buttons, and a roll of 1/2′ Wide Floral Tapes for Bouquet Stems.

As far as I know nether have an extensive collection of crochet supplies, so I wanted to include nice hooks in the appropriate sizes and a little set of my favorite accessories that I use all the time.

Both of my friends hold their crochet hooks with a knife grip, so I have included Clover Amore hooks in the appropriate sizes.  Clover Amore hooks are the favorite of several of my crochet friends that use a knife grip. 

I use a pencil grip and would have included Clover soft touch if they were also pencil holders.  I have used a plain metal hook for years and never liked any of the hooks with handles that I tried, but I tried the Clover Soft touch a few months ago and now I don’t want to use anything else.

For accessories I started by setting up a little tin just like the one that I keep with which ever project I am working on. In this tin is a tiny pair of scissors, an assortment of tapestry needles, and some stitch markers. I included some cute cloud and rainbow stitch markers because they were fun but also some of my more practical favorites for stitch markers. I have been using the bulb shaped safety pin style stitch markers for several years; they are light and stay in place. More recently I found a set of spiral metal stitch markers, these are sturdy and great for projects where I have to move the stitch marker frequently.

I have a small, crocheted heart that I stick my tapestry needles in, so I designed a little cloud and a little sun to put in their kits. I have included a free pattern for these below.

I have also included one of my personal favorite crochet “accessories”; a Bumkins Wet Bag.  I originally got these when my children were babies for their intended purpose but later, I found they were perfect for traveling with projects.  Just about any project that I am going to take with me will fit neatly in the bag and it feels well protected when I throw it in my purse.  I probably have a dozen or so now for various projects.   

Finally, I packaged these kits all up in a magnetic gift box. I panted them for a little more fun. I can’t wait to give these kits to my friends!      

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Free Sun and Cloud Patterns

I designed these little patterns specifically because I keep a similarly sized crocheted heart in the tin I keep with my crochet projects that I put my tapestry needles in. This keeps them together, harder to lose and easier to get out. For my friend’s kits I wanted to include something similar, so I designed these to fit in the little tins and be on theme. I think they turned out rather cute, so I also made little ones with thread to be jewelry. You can use yours as a needle minder, use them as appliques, jewelry, or anything else you think of.

Yarn and Materials

This pattern can be made with a small amount of any yarn of your choice. For the ones I made for needle minders I used Scheepjes Catona. I also made a pair with Scheepjes Maxi sweet treats for jewelry. For both I used colors 208 Yellow Gold and 402 Silver Green. I also added some small beads and jump rings I already had to the smaller ones.

Crochet Abbreviations

US terms used throughout.

• ch chain
• ch-1 sp(s) chain 1 space(s): number denotes number of chains in chain space
• ch-sp(s) chain space(s)
• ss slip stitch(es)
• sc single crochet
• hdc half double crochet
• dc double crochet
• tr treble crochet
• sk skip(ped)
• st(s) stitch(es)

Back Bump: the back bump is behind the front and back loop of the chain. This is sometimes referred to as the third loop.

Needle Join: Fasten off yarn leaving long tail for weaving in end; lift loop with hook until tail emerges then thread tail onto needle. Sk next st and insert needle from front to back through both loops of following st. Insert needle down through st where tail emerged and under back bump through to reverse, pulling gently to create false st identical in size.

Copyright

Copyright © by Jessica Wifall.  All rights reserved. Please do not sell, redistribute, republish, or edit this pattern in any way. Translations and video tutorials are NOT allowed. You may sell any finished products personally made by you but may not use my photos to promote them.

Instructions

CLOUD

Approximately 5x3cm in Catona and 3×1.5cm in Maxi Sweet treats

Round 1: Ch8, working in the back bump, starting in the third chain from the hook: 1hdc, 1dc, 2tr, 1dc, 1hdc, ch2, ss in same ch. (stitch count: 2 ch2-sps, 2 hdc, 2dc, 2tr)

Note: for round 2 we will treat the chains that have been work into as stitches too.

Round 2: Ch1, (2dc in next st) twice [these are worked in chains at the bottom of the dc and tr], 1hdc, 1ss, ch1, 2dc in next st, 3dc in next ch2-sp, (1hdc, ch1, 1ss) in next st, ch1, 1dc, (3dc, 1hdc) in next st, 1ss, ch1, 3dc in next st, (1hdc,1ss) in next st, ch1, (4dc, 1hdc) in ch2-sp, Fasten off and needle join. Weave in ends.

SUN

Approximately 4.5cm in Catona and 3cm in Maxi Sweet treats

Round 1: make a magic ring, ch3 [counts as 1tr], 14tr in the magic ring, close the magic ring and ss in first tr to join (stitch count: 15 tr)

Note: this circle may look like a little dome when closed, it will flatten in the next round.

Round 2: ch1 [does not count as st], * ch3, 1hdc in back bump of third ch from hook, sk 1 tr, 1sc between tr’s, ch3, 1dc in back bump of third ch from hook, sk 2 tr, 1sc between tr’s; repeat from * 5 times total, Fasten off and needle join. Weave in ends.

Pinch the points to get make them pointier.