Hobbies – Life Lately with Elle https://lifeofelle.online A journal Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:24:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.1 https://lifeofelle.online/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/cropped-android-chrome-512x512-1-32x32.png Hobbies – Life Lately with Elle https://lifeofelle.online 32 32 The Rug https://lifeofelle.online/2026/02/the-rug/ https://lifeofelle.online/2026/02/the-rug/#respond Wed, 04 Feb 2026 15:00:52 +0000 https://lifeofelle.online/?p=884
Posted in: Journal > Hobbies

The Rug

MATERIALS

Time to Make

Start Date

Generic – 4 mm cotton cord
7.0 mm hook
In progress
August 2024

MATERIALS

Generic – 4 mm cotton cord
7.0 mm hook

TIME TO MAKE

In progress

START DATE

August 2024

Journal

I feel like I’ve been remaking this rug over and over again.

I bought my first spool of 4mm macramé cotton cord back in August 2024… which, wow, I didn’t realize was that long ago. Time really does slip by when you’re lost in projects.

The original plan was an alpine stitch edge rug for my bedroom. I got pretty far until I ran out of cord. Turns out I actually needed six spools to make it work, so you can imagine how comically short that first version ended up being.

Then I moved apartments.

With a completely different bedroom layout, the rug needed adjusting again. So … I unraveled it. 

Again. I resized it. And yet again, even though the new version was meant to be much smaller, one spool of cotton cord was still nowhere near enough.

This week, I decided to start fresh – again – but this time with a clearer vision. The new design is 60 stitches across and 25 rows of alternating alpine stitches, making it the largest version I’ve attempted so far. I now have three spools in total… though realistically, I think I’ll need to buy four more before this rug is finished.

Why a rug?

Honestly? It’s the puppy’s fault.

No matter how often I groom Namilee or vacuum the apartment, dog hair always finds its way into my bedroom. Since I’m terribly allergic, I need a buffer – a collection point between our pet-friendly spaces and my more isolated areas – to catch as much fur as possible before it travels any further. Hence, the rug.

Cotton cord is a tough material to work with. It’s thick, textured, and creates a lot of friction while crocheting, which means this project demands patience and a lot of attention to consistency. It’s slow work, both physically and mentally.

I’m also juggling three crochet projects at the moment, so I’m not expecting this rug to be finished anytime soon. But maybe that’s the point. Some projects aren’t meant to be rushed – they just keep evolving alongside you.

]]> https://lifeofelle.online/2026/02/the-rug/feed/ 0 Haori – Teal Heather https://lifeofelle.online/2025/09/haori-teal-heather/ https://lifeofelle.online/2025/09/haori-teal-heather/#respond Fri, 12 Sep 2025 19:50:42 +0000 https://lifeofelle.online/?p=700
I finally finished the back of the haori! I am very happy with the length and the overall look.
I had a few hiccups because I missed a stitch, but I quickly got back on track.

I had to take a moment, but I figured out the neckline on the spot.

I am now two rows into the front – I realized that I do not need to separate the front and back panels, so the torso is made up of two panels instead of 4. This will save me some time when I have to connect the panels together.

I am now at 11 hours.

Progress Update – August 31, 2025

Right now, I’m only at 41 rows—not even halfway! My plan calls for 100 rows total, so it’s going to be a bit of a marathon.

Each row takes me about 4.5 minutes, which means it’ll be roughly five hours just to finish one half of the back panel!

First Attempts – August 7, 2025

The beginning was… let’s just say, a test of patience. After taking a break from crocheting, I couldn’t remember which stitch was which, and I must have unraveled my work over a dozen times. Each time I thought I had it right, I’d look closer and realize—nope, not quite.

Finally, it clicked: I had been crocheting the extended single crochet stitch the whole time. Mystery solved, and project back on track! I’m quite happy with how even the work is turning out!

 

Inspiration

I’ve been a fan of Japanese Fusion fashion for quite some time. Back in 2018, I released my first collaboration with Amilee, and our collection debuted at Western Canada Fashion Week that fall. The line featured jackets, tops, skirts, and pants – all inspired by the elegant silhouettes of kimono and hakama.

Since last year, I began exploring crochet as a creative outlet. While making my first cozy garment, I noticed the natural grid of holes in the fabric and thought, What if I could embroider onto this? During my search for inspiration, I discovered Susannah Kate and instantly fell in love with her concept of combining sashiko embroidery with modern garments.

I’ve been learning sashiko techniques for both laser-cut designs and traditional embroidery, and I’m excited to bring that same artistry into my crochet work.

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