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Unlike last year, I got an early start crocheting Christmas gifts this year. But I still ended up hooking gifts on Christmas Eve. This wasn’t such a big deal because I had great patterns to work with, four of which I could crochet in one evening. Fortunately, I got them all finished and wrapped by Christmas Eve.

Here are the finished gifts with links to the patterns I used.

Wine (or Alcohol) Bottle Cozy

This gift was for my daughter (yes, she’s old enough!) who is a HUGE scull fan. I was inspired by wine bottle cozy patterns I saw on Rhelena’s Crochet ‘N Crafts blog and free-handed this one, alternating rows of single crochet with half double crochet so it wouldn’t take forever to work up. I used worsted weight acrylic yarn and an H/5 mm hook.

I also added an edging of reverse single crochet at the bottom and top of the cozy, working the last round of the cozy base in one loop only, so I could add the reverse single crochet stitches in the skipped loops once the body was done. The tie consists of three long chains tied together in knots at each end.

I wasn’t too thrilled with how the skull turned out. I worked it separately and then completed the unfinished rounds by attaching the ends to the skull with slip stitches. The skull is worked on a chain of 12 stitches and comes from this skull hat pattern  I found on Ravelry. If I make this again, I’m going to create a skull appliqué and sew it on the cozy instead of trying to incorporate it into the body of the piece.

My daughter loved the cozy, as well as what was inside it!

Easiest Ever Infinity Scarf

As soon as I saw this Infinity scarf pattern, I knew I would be making several. I recently started crocheting scarves when a friend reminded me that, even though it’s hot just about year round in Hawaii, many people work in cold, air-conditioned offices and would appreciate a scarf like this. So I made four of them.

The pattern uses Lion Brand Homespun, a soft, bulky-weight yarn and a Q/15.75 mm hook. I only had a P/15 mm hook, so the “holes” in my scarf are a little smaller than they should be, but they still came out nicely. And one scarf only took about 90 minutes to make. The lacy effect comes from using the big hook. No fancy stitching – it’s all single crochet!

Brain Wave Beanie

This beanie pattern has become a favorite; I love the wave-like pattern which is achieved by varying the height of the stitches (i.e., sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc). I hadn’t been crocheting many hats, for the same reason as the scarves, but I figured a beanie wouldn’t be too warm. Plus, it got down into the upper 50s last night, and a hat like this would keep a head warm.

I used worsted weight acrylic yarn I had in my stash for these, but I think cotton yarn would work as well. And if I started early enough, I could make one beanie per day.

Berry Harvest Bandana Cowl

Here’s another pattern that, as soon as I saw it, I knew I’d be making some to give away at Christmas. It’s Moogly’s Berry Harvest Bandana Cowl. I could finish one of these over two evenings of crocheting in front of the tv.

I used Caron Simply Soft for a turquoise cowl and Red Heart Super Saver for this light blue one. The downside of using acrylic yarn for this pattern is that the piece needs to be blocked after it’s finished to open up the lace pattern. And as you may know, acrylic yarn is tough to block. It’s not impossible but you have to be careful not to “melt” the fabric.

I threw my two cowls in the washer and dryer which loosened up the fibers a bit. But I would recommend using the pattern yarn, a DK-weight wool or a similar substitute yarn that can be wet blocked.

Kitty Pillow

This was the only gift I had to start in September because I knew it would take me a couple of months to complete. I worked it from a crochet photo pattern that I created from a photo I took of our housemate’s cat, General Meow. Her eyes are so expressive!

After finishing the pattern, I made a piece for the back, crocheting the same amount of rows and stitches as the front piece. Then I single crocheted up the three sides of both pieces, inserted a pillow form purchased at our big box craft store, and crocheted the final side closed.

This is the gift I was finishing up on Christmas Eve. Too bad I didn’t look at it after I finished the two main pieces in November because the pillow form was a size too small. Thank goodness I had some poly-fiber fill that I could use to stuff where the pillow form left gaps. Next time, I’ll purchase one that is an inch or two wider and longer than the crocheted pieces.

I hope your Christmas gift making was as easy as mine was. These patterns make perfect gifts no matter what time of the year it is.