Have you ever been stuck trying to think of a crochet gift for someone who isn’t really into crochet? That was me earlier this month when it was my brother’s birthday, and I had no idea what to make him. He is not exactly a fan of crochet items ( he doesn’t hate crochets, he just kind of believes they are for females)
A sweater would have been a great idea, but he had already told me he doesn’t wear crochet. On top of that, I didn’t have much time because I was in the middle of my exams. I had promised him I’d bring his gift along when coming home after all my exams.
So, I needed something nice, simple, and quick to make.
If you’re familiar with my crochet posts, you’d know I love customising things. So, I decided to customise something for him. I ended up making a hanging car ornament with his initials.
Funny enough, his initials are ‘OTF’, which many might mistake for “Only The Family”, a rap/hip-hop group founded by the rapper Lil Durk. I didn’t even realise this until after I had finished making it.
I considered changing it to just ‘OT’ to avoid any confusion, but I decided to keep it as ‘OTF’ since it was meant for him and not everyone else.
it was easy and fun to make
My Process..
Material needed
- Yarn (colour of your choice)
- Crochet hook
- Darning needle
- Scissors
- Stuffings
Abbreviations
- Sc- Single crochet
- St- Stitch
- Inc- Increase
- Dec- Decrease
- Ch- Chain
- TYW- Turn your work.
For each letter, I made two identical faces because I wanted to stuff them and give them a puffed effect.
To add a bit of design, I used different colours. I used a different yarn colour for the “T” ( Since it was in the middle) and kept the other two letters the same colour for contrast.
Crocheting T
- I made 27 chains to form the horizontal base, then Sc into each St until I reached my desired width
After cutting the yarn, I attached it to the 9th stitch from one end, Sc into 8 St, Ch 1, and TYW (this formed the vertical part of the “T”)
I Sc into each of the 8 St until I reached the desired length, then fastened off and cut the yarn.
Crocheting F
I began with the vertical section. I made 9 Ch and Sc all the way to the point to the horizontal part.
I made 10 more chains at the edge to create the lower horizontal part and Sc into each St until I reached the desired number of rows.
Then, I continued with Sc up the vertical rows, reaching the point for the second horizontal part.
I made 15 Ch for the second horizontal bar, Sc into each St until I reached my desired rows, then fastened off and cut the yarn.
Crocheting O
- I started with 10 Ch, Sc into each, making an Inc at the edges until I reached my desired width.
- To make the inner O, I Sc into 8 St from one end, making an Inc at the outer edge ( of the 8 st) and a Dec at the inner edge.
- After achieving the desired curve, I made a few straight rows.
- I attached another yarn to the other end of the main crochet, Sc into 8 St, and repeated the process
- I joined the two pieces, Dec at the edges until I ended up with the same number of St I started with.
After making two pieces of each letter, I joined them together using Sc and added stuffing as I went along. I also used a black yarn to add a bit of contrast to make the letters pop.
Finally, I used a darning needle to attach the letters together.
The final result didn’t turn out too bad..
❀
When I gave it to my brother, he said he liked it (which I hope he really likes) and added it to his car.
To me, it seemed a little big for the car he attached it to, I made it for his larger car and not the smaller one. This made me have a little regret not making it just “OT”, which would have made it smaller. Besides, no one will mistake it for ‘Only The Family’.. hehe.
But in the end, it all turned out pretty well and I’m glad he liked it.
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Thumbnail designed using Canva. All images are mine.
