Working up some Fall goodies with Rag Yarn!

So here's how I did it. First off the rag yarn you can get here: Fine Linen and Scarlett.etsy.com (my etsy shop of course ;) OR You can make your own. For each ball of approximately 65 yards you will need 1 yard of 100% cotton fabric. 

Snip from cut edge of fabric just inside the salvage edge (about 1/2 inch) and tear the edge off. Snip into the cut edge of the fabric again (1/2 inch from salvage edge) and tear! Strip the entire yard into 1/2 inch strips. I like to strip the fabric one strip from one end then the other, the crosswise threads in your fabric will stay stronger this way; tearing all strips from one end weakens the crosswise threads too much. There will be lots of loose threads to gather up!

I have my sewing machine up at all times so it's easy for me to stitch the strips end to end by machine. To do that I choose a matching color tread and turn my stitch length short, on my machine that is about 2.5. If you don't have a sewing machine it is easy enough to secure the ends together with a few hand stitches. I prefer stitching rather than knots and slits because it is very smooth to crochet or knit over.

Cornucopia! 10 inches long and 7 inches across the opening.
1 ball of Rag Yarn will make this Cornucopia.

I haven't written crochet or knitting patterns for anyone except myself....I'm working on patterns for the Cornucopia and Candy Corn. I assure you I will not offer the patterns until I have them right and readable! Until then you can use the cornucopia pattern from Lion Brand (if you click on that a new window will open, you may need to sign in to see the pattern but it is a free download). I did change up the pattern to make the ridges and make it longer but the one they offer is cute. REMEMBER the rag yarn is going to make up bigger and I used an L-8.00mm crochet hook. Just a side note: I like the Boye brand hooks for rag yarn because they have a pointier hook end than other brands and can slip easier though the rag yarn as it does not have the stretch of spun yarns.

                                                                            

Candy Corn! 7 inches tall, bottom diameter is just over
7 inches, the top opening is 4 inches in diameter.
You can make this with one ball of each color with
plenty of yarn left over for mug mats or even another
Candy Corn basket.

The Candy Corn pattern....Let me just say, if you know how to work up a circle for a coaster, basket bottom, work the circle to 2sc every 9th stitch. Now work up the sides (stop increasing). I worked 4 rounds of yellow. Change your color, work one sc round. The next round decrease 3 stitches evenly around. Work a sc round and a decrease round 8 times. Now change color again. Work the same 8 rows, sc a round, decrease a round, decreasing 3 evenly. And your done!

hAVe fUN AND tHANk yOu fOR sToPPiNg bY!