Having worked at the library for several months, I have met many wonderful staff members who help keep our building running and who support students. Among these staff members (and student employees), a running theme between them that I have noticed is that many partake in fabric arts (things like crochet, knitting, quilting, etc.). So, I thought it was only fitting to write a blog post about different library-themed crocheted crafts. I myself am only a beginner crocheter with just a few projects under my belt, so the crafts that I will be recommending are best suited for beginners.

If you are new to crochet and need help figuring out where to get your supplies, there are a lot of places to buy from. I typically buy my yarn and hooks from Michael’s or Joann Fabrics and Crafts. These stores have a great selection of both value yarn and expensive yarn. If you go to these stores and nothing piques your interest, Hobbii is also a great website to check out for yarn supplies (bear in mind, Hobbii is based in Denmark, so you will have to account for shipping costs). Additionally, you can go to any local yarn store and have a wonderful selection to choose from.

Starting off in a new hobby can be overwhelming because you do not always know what to buy. As a beginner, I would recommend that you buy the yarn of your choice, a hook, and some sort of sewing needle (I like to use these ones from Susan Bates). When buying the hook, make sure the size of it corresponds to the yarn that you purchased. To find out what hook size you need, check out the label on the yarn you buy (the label typically has information like the weight of the yarn, the type of yarn, hook size, and needle size).

Tassel Bookmark

This pattern is easy to follow with both a written and video tutorial to work from! If you would prefer the bookmark without the tassel, you can totally skip that step; the bookmark will look very nice regardless! This pattern has single crochets together, which (if you have never done those before) is essentially 2 or more unfinished single crochets crocheted together. If you know how to single crochet, you can do single crochets together.

Stitches to know: single crochet, double crochet, slip stitch, chain stitch
Yarn I used: Sirdar Cotton DK Sunshine
Hook size: 4 mm (G/6)

Flower Bookmark

This pattern is easy to follow and results in a very cute flower bookmark! This pattern is divided into 2 parts, one part dedicated to the petal portion of the flower and the other part for the stem. Because these two parts are crocheted separately, the petals need to be sewed on to the stem. If you have not sown crocheted pieces together before, here is a helpful video to watch!

Stitches to know: single crochet, double crochet, triple crochet, half double crochet, slip stitch, chain stitch
Yarn I used: Solid Worsted Value Yarn Big Twist Orange, Luxe Merino Solid Yarn Loops and Threads Avacado
Hook size: 5.00 mm (H/8) for flower and 4.00 mm (G/6) for stem

Glasses pouch

This pattern might look intimidating at first because of the drawstrings you need to make, but it is actually pretty easy! While this pattern does not have a video tutorial, the instructions are easy to follow and the pictures illustrate the steps well. If you have bigger frames, then I would recommend chaining more for the starting chain than what the pattern suggests.

Stitches to know: single crochet, double crochet, slip stitch, chain stitch
Yarn I used: Winter Glow Light Worsted Pale Lavender/Powder/Green Tea/Cardamom
Hook size: 5 mm (H/8)

Book sleeve

Book sleeves are perfect for protecting your book. If you do not feel comfortable crocheting with two strands at once (as suggested in the tutorial), then you can certainly size up the yarn you use and crochet with just the one strand. If you choose to size up, I would recommend using a bulky weight yarn (weight 5). This pattern requires you to sew on a button, which might sound difficult, but the tutorial (which is a video) will show you how to do it. If you prefer, you can always omit the button step, just know that your book would have a chance of falling out of the sleeve.

Stitches to know: single crochet, half double crochet, slip stitch, chain stitch
Yarn I used: Solid Worsted Value Yarn Big Twist Grape, Solid Worsted Value Yarn Big Twist Orange
Hook size: 6.00 mm (J/10)

Book worm

Who better to accompany you to the library than a book worm? This pattern recommends 80 chains, but I preferred a shorter tail and only chained 65. You will need extra supplies for this pattern, such as small googly eyes and a hot glue gun. Sadly, I did not manage to find any googly eyes small enough for my worm, so I ended up stitching on some yarn with black thread instead.

Stitches to know: double crochet, slip stitch, chain stitch
Yarn I used: Winter Glow Light Worsted Pale Lavender/Powder/Green Tea/Cardamom
Hook size: 5.00 mm (H/8)

———————————————————————————————————

If you want to crochet more things but don’t know where to start, you can check out some crocheting books from our library!

Retro crochet: vibrant vintage-inspired looks from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s
- A book on retro designs and clothing to crochet (ebook)
Knot bad amigurumi: learn crochet stitches and techniques to create cute creatures with 25 easy patterns
- A book on different amigurumi (small, stuffed plushies) patterns (ebook)
A new look at crochet: using basic stitches to create modern designs
- A book on how to create fun and exciting designs with basic stitches (book)

DISCLAIMER: The books mentioned above contain a range of difficulty levels, so they may not be as beginner friendly. Don’t let that stop you from giving them a try though!

Each month, the Campus Library staff create multiple thoughtful displays that can be found on the first and second floors. This post documents two of the library displays put out during March 2020.

March Displays

Open Education Week (March 2-6) – 1st Floor

Created by the Campus Library OER Team: Myra Waddell, Suzan Parker, Mary Yutani, Denise Hattwig, Heather Cyre, and Anne Tuominen

Panel for Open Education Week panel display.

Section of panel display titled "tell us what you could have spent that money on", referring to money spent on textbooks. Students provided cards telling how much they've spent on textbooks and what else they could have used the money for.

Open Education Week is a week to raise awareness and showcase the impact of open education on teaching and learning worldwide. Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research resources that allow for free use and repurposing by others. Replacing high-cost textbooks with open educational or library-licensed materials can:

Provide equitable access to instructional materials
Foster inspiration, innovation, and collaboration in teaching
Support student success, retention, and graduation

Geared primarily toward faculty, the OE Week display provided an overview to OER and how OER can be incorporated into courses. The panel was also paired with a book truck of several printed OER textbooks to allow faculty to see first hand examples of what an open textbook offers. The display also includes an interactive element, asking students what they could spend money on if they didn’t have to purchase textbooks as textbook affordability has a direct impact on the lives of students.

On this display, multiple students reported that they could have spent the hundreds of dollars from textbooks on other aspects of life such as their health, food, rent, and travel.

Arts and Crafts – 2nd Floor

Created by Kathy Vuu (Circulation Student Employee)

“March is National Craft Month, but I didn’t want to put my focus on only crafts for this month’s display. Therefore, I decided to expand the theme to arts and crafts! Throughout the process of looking for library items and creating decorations, I recognized the variety of activities that were considered “artsy” or “crafty.” My intention for balancing both elements is to present the idea where one should not be overly praised, while the other is underappreciated. Initially, I was only searching for items that were on different artists and their history or their methods in doing art. Although that may seem to be another interesting display idea, that was not my ultimate goal for this display. I eventually had to do some research on what activities or projects were considered art-based and craft-based. Thankfully, I found a number of books that displayed quite the variety of activities and projects within the theme of arts and crafts!” – Kathy

Cover for Children's Book: Cherries and Cherry Pits — Request Cherries and Cherry Pits (Audio, KCLS)

Cover for Children's Book: Henri's Scissors — Request Henri’s Scissors (eBook, KCLS)

Cover for Children's Book: The Patchwork Quilt — Request The Patchwork Quilt (Audio, Sno-Isle)

For more online children’s materials, such as eBooks and eAudioBooks, find out if you’re eligible for an eCard with your local public library:

As the Campus Library building is closed until further notice, library displays are temporarily paused. In the meantime, check out some of our past displays.

If you’d like to receive notifications whenever our student employees post on this blog, please follow us by clicking on the “Follow” button on the bottom right corner of the screen.

Library Voices

Tag: crafts

Crochet Crafts: Library Themed