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March / April 2021 Marly Bird’s Michaels Online Knit and Crochet Classes

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Michaels Free Online Knit and Crochet Classes with Marly Bird

I love teaching knitting and crochet to others. There are so many ways to do that, but of course live instructions is always the best option. While we don’t get the chance to be live in person a lot lately, Michaels Online Knit and Crochet classes are a nice alternative. You can sign up for a class and join me live for instruction including tips and assistance with any questions that you might have. Here are my March and April 2021 Michaels Online Knit and Crochet Classes

March 2021 Michaels Online Crochet Classes with Marly Bird

You have the opportunity to take two terrific online crochet classes in March. Both of these classes have great spring vibes.

Colorful Crochet Bunting

March 11, 2021 at 1 pm ET

Dress up your home for spring with this beautiful crochet bunting project. We’ll use Lily Sugar’n Cream cotton yarn to crochet pennant triangles inspired by granny squares. Then we’ll join them together with a single crochet string to create the bunting that allows you to easily use this as springtime decor. Sign up for this class today.

Colorful Crochet Bunting Class with Marly Bird at Michaels online

Crochet Bunny Motif

March 25, 2021 at 1 pm ET is the date to put on your calendar if you’re a beginner crocheter. This is the only one of my March/April Michaels Online Knit and Crochet Classes that’s designed for beginners. All of the rest are for intermediate-level crocheters.

In this class, we will crochet adorable little bunnies. These are perfect as coasters, bunting, appliqués and other additions to spring projects. We’ll be using Red Heart Super Saver Yarn for this one. Sign up for this class today.

crochet bunny motif class free online with Marly Bird and michaels

Marly Bird’s April 2021 Michaels Online Knit and Crochet Classes

In April, I have the opportunity to teach both knit and crochet classes. Therefore, you have the opportunity to join me in creating some tops and accessories for spring and summer.

Easy Summer Knit Top

April 8, 2021 at 1 pm ET

This is the only knitting class we’ll be having as part of the March / April 2021 Michaels Online Knit and Crochet Classes. But it’s a good one! In this class, we’ll work together to create this beautiful easy summer knit top. We will be using Caron Cotton Cakes yarn for this top, which makes it a perfect weight for warmer weather. Sign up for this class now.

easy summer knit top michaels online free class with Marly Bird


Crochet a Shawl for Mom

April 15, 2021 at 1 pm ET

Make the perfect Mother’s Day gift for your own mom or another mom you know who deserves something special. Or make one for yourself! We’ll be using a fun yarn on this one: Caron Cotton Ripple Cakes. Sign up for this class now.

Crochet a Shawl for Mom online class with Marly Bird at Michaels


Crochet Summer Top

April 29, 2021 at 1 pm ET

The last class of the March / April 2021 Michaels Online Knit and Crochet Class series gives intermediate crocheters the opportunity to crochet a top for summer. Sign up for this class now.

Crochet Summer Top online Michaels Class with Marly Bird

Other Marly Bird Knit and Crochet Classes

You can take classes with Marly Bird in a variety of different places including:

38 Free Bottle and Can Cozies, Bags and Toppers

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Cover your bottles and cans with these free bottle and can cozies, bags, and toppers! Whether you’re dressing up a wine bottle to give as a hostess gift, keeping your drink cool and your hand warm, or decorating a bottle on the counter, these are the projects you’ll use over and over again.

38 Free Crochet and Knit Bottle and Can Cozies

Wine Bottle Cozies

A nice bottle of wine or sparkling cider is a classic hostess gift. Make it even more special by wrapping it in one of these covers! With both slip-on cozies and more traditional bags, you’ll find the right pattern for your occasion.

Wooly Wine Cozy Free Knitting Pattern

Bottle and Can Cozies

It’s no fun when your drink gets warm quickly, or your hand freezes! Wrap bottles and cans with these cozies to make your day so much better. Plus, make themed ones just for your holiday party!

Buffalo Plaid Bottle Cozy Free Crochet Pattern

Bottle Toppers

These cute little toppers let you dress up the bottles out on the counter! They’re also great for last-minute gifts. Themed for winter holidays, incorporate the extra drinks into your decor by adding fun toppers you can use year after year. Make them in your favorite team colors!

Dressed-to-Party Bottle Accessories Free Crochet Pattern

We hope you’ve enjoyed making these free bottle and can cozies, bags, and bottle topper patterns. Check out the links below for more snuggly cozies.

More Cozies

Absolute Beginner Preemie Baby Hat Free Pattern for Charity

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Absolute Beginner Preemie Baby Hat Free Pattern for Charity

If you are new to knitting, then you might find yourself wondering what types of things you would like to knit. One great option is to start knitting for charity. This preemie baby hat free pattern is specifically designed to donate to charity. Moreover, the pattern is designed for absolute beginner knitters. Therefore, you can start knitting right away and soon have something in hand that will help a baby in need.

*This post contains affiliate links. By clicking one of the links and making a purchase a small portion will go to support the blog. The price that you pay is not changed. Thank you for your support of the blog.*

Why Knit for Charity?

You can knit for anyone, of course. And it’s always nice to knit for the people that you love. But there are also so many strangers out there in need. Knitting for them is often a very satisfying experience.

You start with just yarn and needles. Then you end up with a functional, beautiful item. Gifting it to charity, you improve someone else’s life. It’s a truly magical thing.

Knitting heals the knitter in many different ways. Knitting for charity helps you feel connected to your community, useful and productive, and able to do something for causes that matter to you. Therefore, even beginner knitters might want to consider knitting for charity.

charity preemie knit hat free pattern

Why Knit Preemie Baby Hats?

As I shared in the written portion of this free baby hat pattern, I designed this preemie baby hat because I learned that there are many prematurely born babies in hospitals who are need of comforting knit hats.

Knitting for Charity explains that these tiny little babies have a lot of difficulty regulating their body temperature. Of course there are gadgets and incubators to help them with that. However, nothing helps more than the cozy softness of knit hats on their heads and knit booties on their feet.

Therefore, you’re really helping out someone in need when you knit preemie baby hats. In fact, you’re helping someone who doesn’t yet have the ability to help themselves. What’s a more wonderful thing to do than that?

Why This is the Best Preemie Baby Hat Free Pattern

Of course, there are a lot free knit hat patterns out there including plenty that offer preemie sizes. So what makes this one the the best preemie baby hat free pattern? Here are a few of the key reasons:

  • It’s a really simple pattern written specifically for beginners. I’ve included a step-by-step video tutorial to help you along the way. Therefore, you should have no problem completing this hat.
  • I’ve chosen the yarn for this hat very carefully. Preemie babies have sensitive skin. The Red Heart Baby Hugs yarn in this preemie baby hat free pattern is healthy for their skin. It has Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Certification, which means that it’s been tested for levels of more than 300 chemicals and found to be safe.
  • This yarn is also durable. You can wash and dry it in a machine. That’s perfect for new parents who are busy trying to take care of their preemie babies. Nevertheless, it’s a soft yarn that feels good on the baby’s skin.

Get the Preemie Baby Hat Free Pattern

Are you ready to start knitting these hats for charity? Just click the image below to go to the pattern. If you would prefer an ad-free PDF, then you can purchase one on Ravelry. The link for that is available in the free pattern.

Preemie Baby Hat Free Knit Pattern

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Colorful One Ball Knit Scarf Cowl Free Pattern

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lace knit scarf cowl free pattern

You have one ball of really colorful yarn. You want to make something interesting. Therefore, you should definitely check out this one ball knit scarf cowl pattern. What’s a scarf cowl? It’s a single accessory that you can wear either as a scarf or as a cowl, depending on your mood. It’s the perfect accessory.

Beginners should find this to be a fairly easy knit pattern to work with. You don’t need to know how to do buttonholes. There is only one special stitch. And since it’s a one-ball project, it doesn’t take you very long to craft it.

Beautiful Yarn Makes for a Luxurious Knit Scarf Cowl

Colorscape Yarn

When you work on a one ball knitting pattern, you really want to choose a terrific yarn. (And working with your best yarn is good for you!) This pattern was designed with Colorscape yarn in mind. This is a #4 worsted weight yarn. What makes it special is the way that the colors intertwine with one another and flow into each other in an artistic, almost painterly way. Each ball is 100 g/3.5 oz and 171 meters/187 yards of 100% acrylic yarn. Therefore, it’s machine washable, durable, and easy to work with.

That said, if you have another type of yarn that’s comparable to this one, don’t be afraid to use it for your one ball knit scarf cowl. Make sure that you use a worsted weight yarn with at least 187 yards to the ball. That’s enough for this accessory that can be either a scarf or a cowl. Therefore, just check your labels, and see if what you have in your stash will work.

The Rib and Lace Pattern

super simple rib and lace knit scarf cowl pattern

There are two major features to the one ball knit scarf cowl free pattern:

  • The lace pattern
  • The ribbing

The lace pattern is an easy, meditative pattern repeat that creates a lovely lacy texture. It’s simple to learn. Therefore, you shouldn’t have any difficulty picking up on this pattern. It uses one special stitch:

SK2P: Slip 1 stitch as if to knit, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over the resulting stitch of the k2tog.

The ribbing serves to separate the lace rows from one another. This gives the scarf cowl both stretch and design appeal.

The Button Details

You don’t have to know how to knit buttonholes in order to create this scarf cowl. The pattern itself does that for you. The yarn-overs that you work while creating the pattern serve as functional buttonholes. Therefore, you simply need to sew on your buttons. They make a terrific design detail on your scarf. Moreover, they allow you to button it up to turn the scarf into a cowl.

Get The Pattern for the One Ball Knit Scarf Cowl

Ready to start working on the one-ball knit scarf cowl? Grab the free pattern by clicking the image below. That page also has a link to the Ad-Free PDF for purchase if you’d rather work with it that way. Have fun!

One Ball Knit Scarf Cowl Free Pattern

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Add a Latvian Braid to a Fair Isle Knit Hat for Beautiful Finish (Free Knitting Pattern)

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If you’re a knitter whose yet to discover the Latvian Braid, then you’re really missing out. This beautiful detail gives a special finished look to any item. In the case of this free pattern, the Latvian braid polishes off a Fair Isle knit hat design.

Fair Isle Knit Hat with Latvian Braid

What is a Latvian Braid?

The Latvian Braid is a unique knitting technique. Usually worked in two colors, it creates the look of a braid that sits atop the knitwork. Of course, there are many ways to work braids into knitting – through iCords, cables, etc. However, the Latvian braid often gets overlooked. This is a shame, because it’s a simple three-round technique that provides great detail to almost any project.

Ashley Little over on Craftsy explains it well when she says that in this technique, you’re “strategically crossing two colors of yarn consistently either under or over one another as you alternate purling each color. It’s much easier than stranded colorwork, because you don’t have to worry about floats or twisting and untwisting the two colors.”

On a hat like this one, the Latvian Braid does a terrific job of visually separating the body of the hat from the brim. Once you’ve tried this technique, you might find yourself wanting to use it often to give your hats that extra finished touch.

Fun Fact: There’s a twist, or lean, to this technique. You can make other a right-leaning or left-leaning Latvian braid.

Learn How to Knit a Latvian Braid

As you’ll see when you visit the pattern for this fair isle knit hat, I’ve created a video tutorial for the Latvian braid. You can also watch that here. However, if you’re planning to knit the whole hat, then you might want to wait until you’re ready for that step of the project.

More About This Fair Isle Knit Hat

fair isle snowflake hat free knitting pattern

The Chill Out Winter Hat is a free knit hat pattern. It’s worked with a traditional snowflake design, which is always popular for Fair Isle knitting. It’s also a great choice for a winter hat. The hat is a warm and cozy celebration of the winter season. And if you happen to fall prey to the unfortunately-common winter blues, the bright pops of color on this two-tone hat might be able to help.

The hat is worked from the brim to the crown. Once you work the brim, you add the Latvian braid. After the third round of the braid, the yarns are no longer twisted, and you can go into the Fair Isle body of the hat.

And although I absolutely love the braid on this hat, it’s actually not my favorite part. My favorite part is the crown. I’ve designed the decreases on the crown in such a way that it doesn’t interrupt the colorwork pattern at all. It’s quite satisfying, and the end result is a very cohesive finished hat pattern.

This pattern uses aran-weight yarn. You’ll use size US 6 – 4.0 mm and US 8 – 5.0 mm knitting needles to complete this project. The hat is designed to end up with a circumference of 21.7”- sized for an adult.

Get The Free Pattern for the Fair Isle Knit Hat with Latvian Braid

Are you ready to try the Latvian Braid and think this fair isle knit hat pattern is the best way to do it? Click the image below to get the free pattern. There’s also an ad-free version available for sale on Ravelry.

Chill Out Winter Hat free knitting pattern

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26 Free Super Bulky Projects to Knit and Crochet

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Stay super cozy with these projects to crochet and knit made using super bulky and jumbo yarn!

Yarn is classified by how thick it is, with smaller numbers being thinner. The biggest classifications are #6 Super Bulky and #7 Jumbo. Projects made in these yarns work up quickly and keep you extra warm, so they’re perfect for this time of year!

DON’T MISS: The Perfect Bulky Knit Hat Pattern For Beginners – this Marly Bird pattern works up so fast because it uses a Jumbo weight yarn. It’s designed for beginners and includes step-by-step video support but it’s also perfect for anyone who wants a hat that they can knit up in an hour or so.

In addition to this great Marly Bird pattern, Yarnspirations has hundreds of patterns that you can make with super bulky and jumbo yarn. We checked them out and rounded up more than two dozen of the best options. Here they are:

26 Super Bulky and Jumbo Free Patterns to Crochet and Knit

Extra Thick Knit and Crochet Blanket Patterns

Blankets are the perfect project to make with extra-thick yarn! They’ll keep you cozy. In fact, they can even work as a type of weighted blanket. These seven blanket patterns all use super bulky yarn or jumbo yarn. You can make a blanket really fast when you use one of these options for the design.

Speedy Striped C2C Crochet Blanket Free Crochet Pattern

Thick and Chunky Home Decor Items

Catch the eye with these home decor items crocheted and knit in big yarn! They won’t take much time to craft, so you can change the look of your home quickly. Add storage or extra seating by quickly making a basket or a pouf! Change up the colors and work something up fast when you want to dress up the house seasonally or for a particular holiday.

Boho Knit Basket Free Knitting Pattern

Bulky Accessories with Chic Style

Hats, cowls, and shawls can all be made in super bulky and jumbo yarn! When you need an accessory quickly, either to wear yourself or to give as a gift, these are the yarns to reach for. And even though the yarns are bulky, the accessories can still look really chic.

Slipper Boots Free Crochet Pattern

Bonus Fun: Toys

Even toys can be made with thick yarn! In fact, the yarn is plush so why wouldn’t kids want to enjoy their tactile delight? These two cuddly friends will provide tons of fun.

Crochet Brock the Broccoli Toy Free Pattern

Other Info on Super Bulky Yarns: