Crochet Beard Pattern

Inspired by all the crochet beards online, I desperately wanted to make one myself. Mostly because I don't have a spare $50 to drop on one, and secondly because the level of awesome exponentially increases with the effort put into a project like this. For me at least.

I couldn't really find a crochet pattern that fit what I was looking for, I tried a few and knitted a few and got a basic idea for the shape/lengths to use and then figured out what stitches I liked and came up with my own pattern for a crochet beard.

I have yet to finish the beanie that I will attach the beard too, though, and I haven't photographed it because I'm super busy with school and things, and I can't find my crochet hook right now to finish the beanie. And quite frankly I'm too lazy to go find another of the same size. Though I know I have one. Somewhere.

Ahem. Back to the point of the matter: the pattern.

I used worsted weight yarn and my missing crochet hook is an H or a K. I forget, and since it's missing.....

Ch42 for the base.  Or…Make it the length you want, plus two. (This length is the bottom of the beard…all the way across between fastenings on the hat)

Ch2, turn.

DC in third stitch from hook.

3DC (total of 4 on this row so far)

Popcorn stitch in next stitch: Popcorn = 4DC in same stitch, release loop and insert hook front to back through opening before PC, re-hook end of popcorn and pull through opening)

[DC, PC] repeat across until end: then 3DC last 

*Ch2, turn.

 3DC, [PC,DC] across (this popcorn is done reversed: 4DC in same stitch, release loop and insert hook back to front through opening before PC, re-hook end of popcorn and pull through opening—this pops the stitches towards you, keeping them the same as the previous row) until last 3 stitches: 3DC last.

Ch2, turn.

3DC, [PC, DC] across until last three, 3DC last. *

Repeat from * to * until beard meets the length you’re looking for: just under the bottom lip. Mine is 6 rows, but it covers most of the under side of my chin.

Next we’ll make the mouth opening.

Ch2, turn.

3DC, [PC, DC] 8times.

…if you made yours a different length, you can fold it in half and count 2.5 popcorns in (this will be the mouth opening—mine is about 5 popcorns wide) from that you can count how many remaining popcorns +DC  you need to crochet to get to that opening point. The chain you make has to be equal to the number of stitches you are skipping, one for each DC and one for each PC.

Ch 9 (or the amount required from the math above)

Skip 9 stitches and DC in the 10th stitch. [PC, DC] across to last 3 as before, 3DC in last.

Ch 2, turn. Repeat the popcorn, DC pattern across as before. 

I only needed one more row of popcorn/DC to make it a good size, so from there I finished by doing slip stitch around the perimeter. I added an extra chain or two around the corners to keep it square, but this is all up to you, get the feel for what works with your stitching and yarn weight. 

Once the perimeter was even with a round of slip stitches, I cut the yarn and tied off, weaving in the ends. 

My particular beard covers most of my neck here, which is nice in the cold of winter, but aesthetically you may be looking for something else, adjust your number of rows of popcorn/DC as necessary.

When I have a finished beanie and attached the beard I'll post a photo, in the mean time if any of the above doesn't make sense, just ask! I have only made one and haven't followed the pattern as written (I wrote as I went) so there may be some errors. 

New Crochet Blanket

Well, remember that dishcloth I started? I finished it. But...I was searching for a new edge pattern and found a great blanket pattern in the process. After I finished the dishcloth, I switched gears and started making a baby blanket. I might make a set out of the dishcloths, but I don't know if or when that will happen.

This blanket is made using the V-stitch and it works up SO quickly. I started it on Sunday, and I haven't spent too much time on it. I found the pattern here.

I never would have known this until having a baby myself, but crochet blankets have special powers for babies and new mommies. The holes help calm the mother's fears of suffocation, and babies love them. Aidan loves to chew on his. I'm afraid he's going to break it because he takes a string behind his teeth and pulls.

My problem now is I started this with some yarn I had left over, and now I went to buy more and it's just been clearanced out. I have to either use the dark blue sparingly or find a close match.

I really want to start making whole blankets, but I've never finished a large one myself. Aidan has the biggest one I've made, and it's baby size. I wish I knew the pattern that my great grandmother once taught me. I can try to study her work in the afghan she made for me, but I don't know how well that will go. For now, I'll stick to this V-stitch and finishing this blanket I've started.

A Window Into The Past

I'd like to share with you my latest discovery in my ancestry search. This, my friends, is my great-great-great grandmother, Weltha Decker Kirkbride.

She lived from 31 Jan 1837 to 17 Jan 1917.  She and my grandfather William had 11 children, her first that I know of when she was 18 years old, her last when she was 40. Can you imagine? I suppose that was what life was like for women back then, they started young so they could build their large families before they were considered too old for childbearing. Though 40 was probably "too old" at the time anyway.

I can't find a larger photo of William, but that's him above. He lived from 22 Jun 1835 to 24 Mar 1910. The two of them are buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Findlay, Ohio. I plan on visiting their memorials in my ancestry quest.

All of this ancestry research has me thinking in a different time. It's almost an adventure to imagine how they lived back then. It kind of speaks to me now in particular. I am feeling almost like parts of myself disappear in my role as a mother every day. I need some time to go and be myself without worrying about what Aidan's doing. I can't imagine how women used to live. I suppose that was part of why they had so many kids, because they eventually could help out.

Things were still a lot harder back then. I can't imagine many of the differences in our lives. Of course no air conditioning, and when they went to cook dinner, which took all day, they were in front of a fire. They were moving heavy cast iron. They were harvesting and making things from complete scratch.

Laundry is a different story. Today, I enjoy hanging sheets and the occasional piece of clothing on the line. Back then if it was raining, the laundry didn't dry. They had no choice to use a dryer for it. Then, there's the ironing. They'd fill the bottom or their iron with hot coals to keep it hot, and they ironed everything. Most young women these days don't have an iron.

It's been hot, hot, hot here and we've had no rain. My poor crops are devastated. I haven't been diligent about watering them. I'm...sort of...growing butternut squash, cilantro, and bell peppers. The peppers aren't growing, but they got hit by a truck and knocked over, so I'm not surprised.

I've been inspired to begin more crocheting lately. There are so many things I'd like to make and do with my time, but as always not enough time to do it. Crocheting is something I can take with me when Aidan wants to play outside and I can work on quick projects. I'm working on a dishcloth. I'm around beginner-intermediate in my skills. I can make things much bigger and more ornate than dishcloths, but I've never made a dishcloth. If I have it wasn't made well and not put to use.

For some reason the camera just can't capture the brilliance of the multi-colored yarn. It's beautiful, in my opinion, in person. I've had it for a while, too, and needed to do something with it.

I leave you with a picture of Aidan. I have started cleaning out 20 years of things stored in our attic. I am making great progress. This desk is for my American Girl doll, and it's much too small for Aidan, but he wanted to sit in it anyway.