• 0 items$0.00
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

  • BLOG
    • Knitting
    • Crochet
    • Latch Hook
    • Macramé
    • Punch Needle
  • ABOUT
  • Shop
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • TikTok
    • YouTube

crochet ornament

Have a little fun with your handmade gifts this holiday! Crochet an amigurumi coal ornament for your Christmas tree or as a funny stocking stuffer with this free pattern.

Crochet Lump of Coal Ornament

December 18, 2017 Leave a Comment

This lump of coal ornament makes a great gag gift, and it can double as a placeholder stocking stuffer for a gift too large for a stocking if someone’s been extra good this year.

Crochet an adorable holly ornament to hang on your tree for years to come. Get the free pattern for this quick, three dimensional ornament.

Crochet Holly Ornament

December 11, 2017 3 Comments

This little ornament is crocheted in 7 pieces, joined with seaming, and stuffed for a unique look that won’t fall flat on your Christmas tree. If you’re not big into crocheting ornaments, you could 100% incorporate a pin back and wear this as a brooch! I think I know what I’m going to be accessorizing with for the next three weeks… 

Get a free pattern for this crochet snowman Christmas ornament. Practice your amigurumi skills with this fun pattern!

Amigurumi Snowman Ornament

November 27, 2017 Leave a Comment

Get a free pattern for this crochet snowman Christmas ornament. Practice your amigurumi skills with this fun pattern!

Christmas comes just once a year - celebrate with cute crochet ornaments! Click through for three free amigurumi patterns for a jaunty Santa hat, cheery mug & a sweet mini Christmas tree ornament!

Crochet Christmas Cheer Ornaments

December 19, 2016 2 Comments

Christmas comes just once a year – celebrate with cute crochet ornaments! Check out this post for three free amigurumi patterns for a jaunty Santa hat, cheery mug & a sweet mini Christmas tree ornament!

How to crochet holiday treat-inspired ornaments three ways! Click through for the free patterns. #crochetornament #freepattern #crochet #chirstmasornament

Crochet Festive Candy Ornaments Three Ways

December 6, 2016 Leave a Comment

These ornaments are inspired by holiday treats, and we’re going way beyond the classic sugar cookies and gingerbread men! We’ve got a super cute little meringue, cookies and milk for Santa and a colorful piece of wrapped Christmas candy to brighten our trees.

Knit or crochet some adorable ornaments to trim your tree! Join Hands Occupied this holiday season to make Christmas ornaments with free patterns all season along. Each ornament doubles as a great gift topper & stocking stuffer!

Twelve Ornaments of Christmas, Volume Two!

November 16, 2016 2 Comments

Tuck in with your yarn and a cup of cocoa to to create something sweet this holiday season. We’ll knit and crochet ornaments to trim our trees, top our presents, and stuff our stockings starting November 28.

A set of free crochet patterns for making super cute milk and cookies ornaments for your Christmas tree. Click through for the free patterns.

Crochet Milk & Cookies Ornaments – 12 Ornaments of Christmas

December 23, 2015 Leave a Comment

Santa’s visit wouldn’t be complete without milk and cookies! Crochet a quick cup of milk to match the cookie ornament in this series. The two of them add the sweetest touch to any tree.

A pattern for a crochet Christmas tree ornament that works up super quick! Click through for the free pattern.

Crochet Christmas Tree – 12 Ornaments of Christmas

December 16, 2015 1 Comment

This super festive little tree is so simple, but you can tell right away that it’s supposed to be a Christmas tree. Decorated with scrap yarn and simple straight pins, this little crochet ornament comes together quick!

A free crochet pattern for a quick and festive peppermint ornament. Click through for the free pattern!

Crochet Peppermint Ornament – 12 Ornaments of Christmas

December 7, 2015 Leave a Comment

Shifting gears to explicitly holiday vibes is the seventh ornament in our series, a crochet peppermint.

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

learn more / work with me

Find Me on Social Media

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
Latch Hook by Heidi Gustad

Footer

INSTAGRAM

Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
.
Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
.
Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
.
#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
.
During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
.
Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
.
These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
.
I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
.
#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
.
In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
.
Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
.
You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
.
#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
.
Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
.
Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
.
Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
.
Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
.
Image descriptions available in alt text. 
.
#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
.
P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
.
Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
.
#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2025 / Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework / Branding by Ink + Mortar
All Site & Shop Policies / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy