Flower Child's Toddler Sweater

Little Miss Dolly recently celebrated her third birthday, and in honor of the occasion I wanted to make her a special handmade present. Dolly is quick on her feet and if you're not careful, you'll just see a streak as she runs past you (on to her next adventure)! With the intricate detailing on the back of this sweater, I thought this free crochet pattern would be perfect for our fleet-footed flower child!

I ended up completing the size 4T Flower Child's Sweater free crochet pattern with a size I hook using these stash yarns:

• Red Heart Super Saver Pale Plum
• Big Twist Blueberry
• I Love This Yarn! Ivory

Modifications to the Pattern

I completed the pattern as written for the back, sleeves, attaching both sleeves, and collar. The original pattern had multiple ties in the front, which I did not think was very practical for a young child, so I modified both front pieces and finishing as follows:

Front pieces:

Row 1: as written

Rows 2-8: Ch 2, dc in each dc across. Turn.

Rows 9-10: Ch 1 (counts as hdc), hdc in each stitch across. Turn.

Row 11: Change to color B. Ch 2, ch 1. DC, ch 1 across. Fasten off.

Finishing:

With right side facing, join A in the bottom right DC stitch. Ch 1. Work 2 hdc in corner stitch (this counts as 3 hdc in corner). Hdc in each stitch around lower edge of back to back point underneath flower. Work 3 hdc in this stitch and in each corner around. Work evenly around entire piece (rather than just back portion as described in original pattern). Fasten off.

This new method of finishing will give a final row of the main color over the decorative stitching at the front placket and at the front bottom of the piece.

I added a button to the top front of the sweater instead of the the ties that were with the original pattern and I varied the colors on the collar a bit from the pattern (but I completed the stitches in the same order):

Overall, this is not a very difficult pattern to complete. It does involve some finishing work, which might be new to some beginner crocheters. But the pattern only uses basic stitches, so it might be a fun one to try if you're new to the world of finishing.

You can add this pattern to your Ravelry queue here:

Flower Child's Sweater

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Idlewild Girl's Dress

Today, I'm sharing with you a Quarantine Crochet project that I completed for niece Lexi's birthday. I found the free crochet pattern for this little girl's dress online, and it had video tutorials with each section of the dress in addition to the written pattern.

I ended up completing the pattern for the Idlewild Dress in a size 6 using a size G crochet hook and three balls of Bernat Softee Baby: Baby Denim Marl yarn that I already had in my stash at home. The pattern is available in children's sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 and women's sizes S, M, L, 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X, and 5X.

The lacy bottom (skirt) part is worked in rows of four that are each started and finished slightly differently from one another. This means that it was hard to just pick up the project and work on it when I only had 15 minutes of free time. I learned quickly that if I didn't have enough time to devote to completing all four rows, it was better for me to not get started so that I wouldn't lose my place since I was working from the pattern on my iPad.

The video tutorials were a great help too, so keep them in mind if you'd like to tackle this pattern. I would definitely say that it is more for intermediate crocheters than beginners. While many of the stitches are basic, the pattern involves seaming, blocking, and some more advanced stitches like the crab stitch.

The pattern is also written somewhat like a "choose your own adventure" book - so the crocheter has to make some decisions along the way about how she wants to proceed, and those decisions will inform which parts of the pattern to follow next. That may confuse someone who is new to reading patterns.

Thumbs up for this pattern - it may be the perfect project for you to complete this season! Doesn't little Lexi look adorable in her new dress?

Add this pattern to your Ravelry queue here: Idlewild Dress

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Circus Themed Family Photo Shoot

If you follow us on Facebook or on Instagram, you know that The Harris Sisters take nearly every opportunity we're together to get family photos. We thought we'd share some tips and tricks we used to take photos the last time the whole group was together.

Spring is approaching, so for this photo shoot we had a concept that was based loosely on Mother's Day and a celebration of mothers in general, which is why we incorporated all the kiddos into the shoot. (You'll notice we snuck Daddy into one of the shots, too, because you just can't pass up an opportunity to get a photo of Granddaddy with all the grandkids when you've got everybody in the same place at the same time.)

The theme of this photo shoot was the circus! Why? Well, because as a mom, you've always got some sort of three-ring circus going on - you're performing a balancing act (schedules, play dates, dinner, school activities, sports, plays, dance rehearsals and recitals, scout meetings, the list goes on!), jumping through flaming hoops for your kids, keeping all the plates spinning, and you'd bend over backwards for any of your kiddos.

Most days, it's a High Wire Act AND you're the Ring Master AND the Strong (Wo)Man all rolled into one. To paraphrase The Greatest Showman,

Motherhood IS The Greatest Show

Oh, this is the greatest show
It's everything you ever want
It's everything you ever need
And it's here right in front of you
This is where you wanna be (this is where you wanna be)
It's everything you ever want
It's everything you ever need
And it's here right in front of you
This is where you wanna be
This is where you wanna be

How To Plan Your Own Circus Photoshoot

Make a Shot List

We started off with list of photos we were interested in getting during this photoshoot.

That way, we had a plan and we wouldn't miss out on any of the photos we wanted while we were all together and in costume. Our mission was to get photos of:

• the sisters
• the sisters and all the kiddos
• all the kiddos
• Daddy with all the grandchildren
• individual shots of each sister with her children

What to Wear for Your Circus Themed Photoshoot

When we plan photoshoots, we are all in charge of our own clothing. For this particular shoot, we decided on a color scheme and then kept each other updated with photos of costume choices as they were purchased. None of your circus themed outfits need to be particularly expensive.

For example, both boys, who are the Strong Men in our circus, are wearing black and white striped shirts that were purchased at a thrift store. They both already had plain black basketball shorts and black Converse tennis shoes. 

Donna's Ring Master costume was also pieced together from items that she already owned: a white button down shirt, a vest, a bow tie, a red blazer, black shorts, fishnet tights, and black boots. Deanna found the red top hat at an estate sale to complete the look. 

Lexi's costume is a repurposed dance recital costume. Misty crafted her own feather headdress. Other costume pieces for Showgirl costumes can be purchased from Amazon, Etsy, or eBay. 

And make sure to shop your local theater company or your closet too for other costume pieces and accessories!

Make Sure to Add Props and Accessories

You'll notice a few extra details in these photos, and they weren't difficult or expensive to add at all! See if you can spot these circus themed props and accessories:

• trunk
• circus stand (this is a planter painted and turned upside down)
• large ball (this is an exercise ball painted with a large star on it)
• umbrella for the Tight Rope Walker
• accordion
• Ring Master's cane (this is a wooden dowel painted black with silver tips)
• tattoo sleeves for the Strong Men

A Million Dreams

'Cause every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
A million dreams, a million dreams
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it's gonna take
A million dreams for the world we're gonna make

We hope this post inspires you to plan your own circus themed photo shoot for your family. This was a fun one for the Harris Sisters to do. And remember: Life's a circus - enjoy the show!

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