Once again, my mom has an employee who is having a baby. :-) This time, mom's friend requested a specific outfit. She had seen a picture of a pair of crocheted pants that looked like chaps. From what I could tell in the picture, I figured I could do one better. I purchased this pattern (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cowboy--cowgirl-accessories) from Carolyn Van Ostran on Ravelry. I did not use the exact pattern, but made some adjustments.
Her original pattern had the chaps tie in front, which I didn't love. I saw another version on pinterest that used a belt and belt loops, so I modified the purchased pattern to match. I also copied her styling and accents (I thought it was adorable) and added them to the pattern. Here is the version I found on pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/pin/171207223308309878/) and here is what I did:
As you can see, I copied her styling pretty closely. The pattern I bought also included instructions for the vest, which I think came out realy cute (although I did not add the fringe or leave the attachment points for it). Mostly, I just needed the dimensions for both the chaps and the vest, and the pattern was pretty inexpensive.
To add the stars on the vest and chaps (also, there is one on the butt of the diaper cover that shows in between the chaps in the back) I modified this pattern (http://rubyandcustard.com/free-stuff/easy-crochet-star-pattern-and-tutorial/)
This is the above pattern with my changes marked
Round 1 – Make a ring using the magic ring technique, chain 2, make 9hdc into the ring. Pull the ring closed and slip into top of the 2 chain to create a complete circle. (10 stitches) Round 2 – Join new color, chain 2, hdc into the first stitch. Chain 1, bobble stitch, and continue with chain 1, bobble stitch until last stitch. Slip into top of first stitch to join the circle. (20 stitches) I made one star using the bobble stitch, but I did not like the way it came out. So I instead did 2 HDC in place of each bobble. Also, I made them all one color.
Round 3 – this round is broken down into 5 sets of stitch groups each worked across 4 stitches. Join new colour. (Sc, hdc) in first stitch, (dc, trb, chain 2) in second stitch, (trb, dc) in third stitch, (hdc, sc) in fourth stitch . This creates the first star point. Follow the same pattern across each set of four stitches to create 5 points.
I also wanted to make some little cowboy boots to go with the outfit, and I used this pattern (http://www.thecrochetcrowd.com/en/baby-crochet/623-baby-cowboy-booties-crochet-pattern.html) from The Crochet Crowd. I used the pattern as written, excluding row 5 (because I didn't like the boot heel) and I did not use her accenting. Instead I made a little star (which looks a little bit like a flower, but who is counting?) and put one on each boot. Overall, the pattern was easy to follow, and I'm happy with the results.
To make the little star flower thing, I used the same basic structure as the star above, but scaled down. In a magic circle, I did: ch 2, (sc, hdc, hdc, sc) x5, sl st to the beg ch, fasten off. Make sure to leave a long enough tail for sewing in later. I think next time I might do (sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc) instead. But obviously I was okay enough with it to use them, lol.
Hopefully I will get a picture of the little cowboy and I can add it to my blog and you can see it in action. :-) Let me know if you have any questions about any of it.
