Current Day: August 18, 2021 – Wow, what a summer. It has been quite some time since I have been able to sit at this computer and post about anything at all. I’m so excited for life to be returning somewhat to it’s normal pace. Before I jump in and start telling you all the details about this adorable Purple Sparkle Flower Headband, why don’t I tell you a little bit about where I’ve been the last few months.
Summer Travel ~ Part One
For anyone who has been following this blog for a little bit, you may be aware that I have four children. My oldest, and my only boy, graduated this past June. His request was to take a trip back to Nebraska which is where he, for the longest time, considered “Home”. He has grown up as a military brat, but this is the place he looked back on, and wished to move back to, for many years after we left. Additionally, my husband had submitted his retirement paperwork which meant for the first time in forever, we all had the summer off.
So, as my son’s graduation gift, we packed up our camper and headed west. We took a 2 and a half, almost 3 week trip across the country. We went up through Kentucky, and on to Missouri to see the Arch and visit friends. Then we took off to Nebraska and spent a few days with friends, down through Kansas and on to settle in Texas to visit family for a few days. Then we headed home via Arkansas and Tennessee. It was a memory filled trip, mostly good with a few hiccups to make it all the more memorable. I could write blog posts for days about all the things this trip contained, but I will spare you the details for now.
Summer Travel ~ Part Two
You would think that would have been the extent of our summer travels, but it wasn’t. We got home long enough to do laundry and re-pack. Then my 2 oldest children went with our church youth group on a mission trip to Wilmington, NC while my youngest 2 got to spend the week with their closest friends. What did my husband and I do with all of our children away? Why, we took a trip for our 20th wedding anniversary back to Pigeon Forge where we honeymooned 20 years earlier. We have not taken a trip like this in our whole marriage, and it was such a blessing! More memories made for our whole family, even though we were all off in different directions.
Summer Travel ~ Part Three
As if we hadn’t already traveled enough, we threw one more trip in there for good measure. We once again stopped home long enough to all do laundry and repack our bags. Then we loaded up in our mini van and headed north to NY to visit my parents for a week. The kids cherish our trips to Nana and Poppy’s. More than a time or two have they told me that is their favorite place on earth….and they’ve been to Disneyworld, so that says a lot!
New York was our final trip of the summer. After we returned back from that we had to hit the ground running. The summer was quickly coming to a close. My husband, who officially retired at the end of July, had to start a new job. My son was also starting a new job at Chick-Fil-A and he’s getting ready to take some online college courses. And my 3 girls and I had to cram in a bunch of school shopping to get ready for the start of school on August 9th. A whirlwind of a summer for sure, but we enjoyed every second of it! Now the kids are back in school 5 days a week and life is somewhat looking a little more pre-covid normal these days. Almost.
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March 21, 2013
Now that my life story has been told…at least the summer 2021 portion of it, we can now move on to the nitty gritty of this post. The purple sparkle flower headband of course!! Looking back this is one of my favorite headbands that I made. I just love the shades of purple together and the size of the flower.
What about gauge?
One great thing about stitching a crochet flower headband is that gauge doesn’t really matter. With that in mind, if they come out a little bigger or a little smaller than you had planned, they are still usable projects for something. Not only can they be used as crochet flowers for headbands, they can also be added to a hat or a bag or something else you have creatively thought of.
What Pattern was used for this crochet flower headband?
For this crochet flower headband I used the four layer flower in the book 200 Crochet Flowers, Embellishments & Trims by Claire Crompton. Click the link below to take you to it on Amazon. Additionally I have created my own personal crochet flower pattern. I do offer this pattern for free on this website, so be sure to check it out. If none of these flower choices seem to work for you, there are many other flower pattern options in the book as well.
What yarn was used for this crochet flower headband?
Quite honestly, for a project like this, you could use just about any size yarn you would like. If you wanted to make this project exactly as I did, then you will need Caron Simply Soft Party yarn in the purple sparkle colorway. This is a size 4 yarn. However, as I’ve said before, you could really use any size yarn you prefer for this type of project. Great yarn websites to check out would be: LoveCrafts, Lion Brand, CreateforLess, Knitpicks/We Crochet and Knitcrate.
What hooks and tools are needed to make this crochet flower headband?
If you are just starting your stitching journey, chances are you don’t have tools yet. I highly recommend doing your research and reading reviews to figure out what you like best. I will include my recommendations, but definitely read and find what works best for you.
My favorite brand of hooks to use are the Knit Picks brand. They are so beautiful and well made. I have a wood set of the crochet hooks as well as this padded handle set. I love them both! For these smaller flower projects you will need the smaller hooks, so make sure you check the sizes of the sets you are ordering. I posted an additional option for a complete set you can find on Amazon below.
As promised here are a few sets from Amazon that would be great too. I don’t think the light up set pictured below has the smallest hook sizes but I think that looks kind of awesome and it would work for the bigger flowers and other crochet projects you would make. I love that it’s rechargeable! Again, be sure to do your research and read the reviews. If you buy a good set of hooks it’s likely you will never need to buy another set again, or at least not for a very long time. Doing your homework to make sure you are making a sound purchase is always a good idea.
What other supplies will be needed?
In addition to the supplies above, you will need a few other things to recreate these crochet flower headbands. First you need the headbands themselves. Second you may want different kinds of embellishments to create all different finished looks. You may want ribbon. You may also like to add the non-slip option by adding felt and the non slip grip material underneath the top part of the headband. Below you will see some links for what I can find that would be similar to what I used. But likely your best bet would be to run into your local beauty retailer and/or craft store and grab what you need. While it may be easier to purchase online, some of these things are easier to buy in person. Indeed this way you can see a little more clearly what you are getting.
Additional Tools for when your wrists and/or hands ache
If you are like me and you knit and crochet a lot, something that I have found is useful at times is a pair of stress relief gloves. I own a few different kinds, but I do think any of them is better than not using anything at all if your hands and wrists are bothering you. I’ll include a few links for you to check out.
Need a little more help?
In conclusion, that should be about all you need if you want to try this one out. If you feel like you might need a little extra assistance and want online classes to help you, check out the link below for Annie’s and Crafty websites. I take online classes often to improve and advance my skills. You can always learn something new!
I taught myself to knit and crochet through kits that I found at my local craft store, so there is always that option as well. I’ll share links to kits similar to what I used that you can also find on Amazon if you can’t find at your local craft store or can’t get to one soon.
That should be about all you need if you want to try this one out. Please let me know if you have any questions or need any help.
Happy Stitching!
🧶💖
~Mindy~
Be sure to check out the links below for Knitcrate. This is by far one of my favorite subscriptions. It is totally worth the cost and it is such a fun thing to look forward to each month.
