This is something I did a few years ago, while I was looking for the perfect crocheted summer top.

It's a pattern from Phildar Spécial Crochet printemps-été 1999 “aux couleurs de l’été", which is a very good pattern catalogue, loaded with elegant and colourful little things, mainly tops and shirts.

Yarn : I think it's a bland of cotton and acrylic, it's softly shiny; 6 skeins says the pattern, I don't remember how much of it I used either. I would say 250g.
Crochet hook crochet n°3, back in those days I would use those with a plastic handle, I broke most of them because I used to crochet too tight.
Design : simple but effective. Read more »

I've just finished the shawl I was working on as part of a French Crochetalong, except I didn't make a shawl (God I cannot make myself follow a pattern!), I crocheted in the round and made a kind of capelet.

I call it my cajube :

• CA stands for CAPELET,
• JU stands for JUPE (the french for skirt),
• and B stands for BUSTIER (which is the French for tube top)

When doing so I thought to myself hey! this would be another cool way to use a doily pattern!

What is a cajube?

Well it's just a tube with a kind of closing in the front (draw string or buttons or whatever you fancy) that you can wear either as

1. a capelet, or "poncho" (the dreaded one),
2. a skirt,
3. a strapless top, or even strapless mini-dress,

How to do it?

Change a doily pattern Read more »

This is for my daughter.

I couldn't find any of her summer hats and it's starting to be hot out there.... So I made this hat modifying the pattern of a doily.

It's quite easy:

• you start the doily as explained in the pattern,
• then, when you reach the width you need to engulf the head, you just repeat one or two rows according to the shape you want to obtain (1 row to make a tube, 1 row - let's say row 5 - twice, then the following one - row 6 - for a bowl),
• and then you just finish the doily as the pattern says to obtain the brim.

I tried blocking-stiffening with sugared water, it didn't work (obviously). I'm going to wash it and try again with plain starch, it should work then.
I'll use one of those methods:

• StarGazer's
• Crochet Memories'
• Almanach de la servante chrétienne (an ancient guide about cloth care for XIXth century house maids )