Toilet Paper Alternative

In light of the current worldwide coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, and accompanying shortages, I’ve decided to save my dwindling toilet paper supplies for #2s. (Aka bowel movements, poopies, doo doos, or whatever euphemism you prefer.)

I’ve been informed that you men-folk don’t require TP for #1s, but us women and girls need to “dry off.”  And really, that’s all we’re doing... drying off.  Well, I’ve got a few things around that I can use to dry off.  Although urine is sterile, and Bear Grylls even drinks his, unless I’m desperate, I don’t REALLY want to use something (like a washcloth) that I may someday want to use to clean my face!

Enter some old cotton t-shirts that have seen better days.  Hmmm, these will work...

Here’s the plan... I’m going to have 2 buckets next to my toilet.  One for clean wipes, and the other for dirty.  As luck would have it, thanks to my dear friend Julie, I’m lucky enough to have a bucket with a lid for those dirty wipes.  Thanks, Julie! When the clean ones are running low, I’m going to give the dirty ones a nice hot wash and dry and back into the clean bucket they’ll go.

A few tips:

1 - Cotton or bamboo are both absorbent and delicate to your sensitive areas.
2 - You can use old t-shirts, old underwear, old hankies, old sheets, old cotton towels, or old cotton baby nappies/diapers!
3 - Wash those wipes in hot water with a bit of NapiSan or WhiteKing laundry powder.
4 - If available, try to use a laundry detergent with no dyes or perfumes.
5 - Don’t use fabric softener (it’s scented).
6 - Remember, these can’t be flushed!

I only had a pair of very strange kitchen scissors to use, so these wipes ain’t pretty, but honestly who cares!  I’ve cut up my first t-shirt (avoiding the decoration in the middle) and was able to get 22 wipes out of one XL T-shirt, even though the front had a decoration that made that part unusable.

Yes, my wipes are all cut a bit higgledy-piggledy, but that really doesn’t matter.  I’ve decided to be quite generous in my sizing for this first batch, because I have plenty of old shirts I can cut up in the future.

Are you going to try this out?  Let me know what you think and if you have any tips that you’d like to share.  Stay safe

Supplies: I actually only used one T-shirt for now

4 wipes from just the sleeves

And my gorgeous dog.  Just because she’s cute! 

Bobble Hanger Cover - Free Crochet Pattern

Copyright © October 2011 by Letitia Sherriff

Materials Needed:•
* Approximately 35 grams of Lily Sugar’n Cream Cotton (or substitute any worsted weight yarn)
* 4.00mm crochet hook (US size G)
* One adult-sized wooden craft hanger
* Yarn needle for finishing
* Scissors
* (Optional) Approximately 15 cms (6 inches) of plastic tubing



Abbreviations Used:
CH = chain
SC = single crochet
ST = stitch
WS = wrong side
RS = right side
(US crochet terminology used)

Special Stitches:
Bobble Stitch = yarn over and insert hook in stitch, yarn over and draw up a loop (3 loops on hook), yarn over and draw through two loops (two loops on hook). Yarn over and insert hook in same stitch, yarn over and draw up a loop (four loops on hook), yarn over and draw through two loops (three loops on hook). Yarn over and insert hook in same stitch again, yarn over and draw up a loop (5 loops on hook), yarn over and draw through two loops (4 loops on hook), yarn over and draw through all four loops, leaving one loop on hook.

Hanger Cover:
Ch-52
Row 1: SC in 2nd CH from hook and each CH to end (51 SC).
Row 2: CH-1, turn. (WS) *SC in first ST, bobble (see special stitches) in next ST*. Repeat from * to * 24 times ending with SC in last ST. (26 SC & 25 bobbles made).
Tip: try to pull your SC stitches tight so the bobbles will “pop” more.
Row 3: ch-1, turn. (RS) SC in each ST. (51 sc)
Row 4: (WS) repeat row 3.
Row 5: (RS) repeat row 3.
Row 6: (WS) repeat row 2.
Row 7: (RS) repeat row 3.
Row 8: (WS) repeat row 3.

Finishing: Leaving tail of approximately 60 centimetres (24 inches), break yarn and secure last stitch. With RS facing out, whipstitch last row and beginning chain together. Insert hanger and align so bobbles are on the sides of the hanger, and whip stitch ends closed as well. Put plastic tubing over hanger hook if desired. You’re done!

Please note: This pattern is for free PERSONAL USE ONLY. You may not sell items made from this pattern, or republish this pattern in any form without the express written permission from the author.

Hang up

Perhaps it's from seeing Mommie Dearest too many times growing up, but I can NOT bring myself to use wire hangers.



The next natural choice, of course, is plastic. I've been using plastic hangers for as long as I can remember and have never had any problems. Now either they just don't make them like they used to, or the plastic hangers available here in Australia are just bad quality. But between my husband and I, we seem to break an average of 2 or 3 plastic hangers a week. It's expensive, it's wasteful, and it's frustrating.



I NEVER thought I'd be the kind of person who would want, or use, a crocheted hanger. I've always thought they were a bit daggy. Not to mention op shops / thrift stores seem to be choking with old unwanted ones. I suppose part of me never wanted to make one because it made me sad to think it would end up some day as an unwanted item in an op shop. But as they say, never say never.

Due to my frustration of the broken plastic hangers, I used some of my leftover Sugar & Cream and Peaches & Cream cotton to cover two hangers. Hhhhmmm, not too bad. They aren't too ugly. And they help cushion the clothes a bit versus just plain wood (and don't seem to leave those little pointed shoulder marks).





Recently the Crochet Lover's Victoria group on Ravelry had a trio of hangers swap. After looking up some of my partner's likes & dislikes in regard to colour, I got to work. First out of the gate was a plain SC hanger cover made from Moda Vera Isabella. It's acrylic but very soft and squishy. It's a fun bright blue with little flecks in it as well. I was worried my partner would think the hanger was a bit plain as is, so I picked up the yellow and orange of some of the flecks, and added a crocheted flower to it.







One down. Two to go. Second on the list was a lovely Tiffany-esque blue in Kate Espiga cotton. It's super soft and really shows off stitches well. I winged my own pattern of bobble stitches for the second hanger. I'm super happy with the results. I had a little bit of trouble sending this one off, I have to say!





Two down. One to go! For the third and final hanger, I decided to make a striped hanger. My partner's birthday is the 5th of December so I alternated the stripes based on those numbers... 5, 1, 2, repeat. This idea is good in theory, and I think it came out well, but the ends.... oh the ends!!!!! I didn't realise until I was about halfway done how many ends I would have to weave in! Trust me when I say I won't be doing this again. It took me about two hours to weave all those ends in. Way too much work for a hanger! Live and learn. For the finishing touch, I used the two colours together to add a little curlique.









I also received three lovely hangers in return from the person who had me for the swap.



While I was feeling the hanger vibe, I decided to make a couple more for myself. I'd eventually like to get rid of all those plastic hangers. I'm sure it won't take long. I'm not buying any more, and with how many break each week...

















These may well end up unwanted in an op shop someday, but I'm okay with that now. In the mean time they will be used and appreciated. And they will save me from all the frustration of nearly daily snapped plastic hangers. I think Mommie Dearest would be proud, too.

The Babette is Done!

Yippee, it's done, it's done!!!! Even after having to put it on hold for two weeks due to running out of the main colour, I still finished this sucker in less than a month. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm so proud of myself. I usually get "start-itis" - love starting things, but the finishing? Not so much.

Here are some (okay, a lot) of pics of the finished product.











Okay, I'm off to go do my happy dance now :)

Edited to add: I posted the following information for a fellow Babette-maker on Ravelry and was told it was very useful. So, I've decided to post it here in case anyone else is interested.

SPECIAL NOTES - HOW MUCH YARN I USED…

Well, I used 14 colours - and they were all 200 gram balls. But with the exception of the almond/cream which I ended up using a total of 280 grams of, I had heaps left over of the other 13 colours.

Being a bit of a nerd, and so I’d know for future Babette making, I actually went and weighed all my balls at the end to see how much I’d actually used. So in addition to the 280 grams of almond, here’s what else I used.

Celery (light green) = 115 grams
Guava (dark green) = 49 grams
Aster (lavender) = 115 grams
Blueberry (dark purple) = 90 grams
Butternut (peach) = 98 grams
Pumpkin (orange) = 92 grams
Rose pink (light pink) = 86 grams
Lipstick pink (dark pink) = 88 grams
Maize (light yellow) = 76 grams
Seaquest (light turquoise) = 72 grams
Poseidon (dark turquoise) = 85 grams
Iris (blue) = 97 grams
Periwinkle (light blue) = 88 grams

So that’s 1431 grams all up, which includes the SC join and two rounds of SC border. The actual blanket probably weights a little bit less as that includes all the yarn I used… so tails have been eliminated. I used a 4mm hook and BWM 8ply wool.

Babette

At the beginning of the year, when I received my new 2010 shade card from Bendigo Woollen Mills, several of the colours really jumped out at me. I'd previously seen the Babette blanket pattern and was very keen to make one. I pulled the appropriate colours from the shade card & set them aside for future "Babette-making."

Fast forward to October (geez, where'd the time go) and I FINALLY ordered the wool to make a Babette. Isn't it pretty?

Of course, this very wool went on sale less than a week after I'd ordered it all, but hey, them's the breaks.



I got to work that very day on making the Babette. The blanket is assembled in 10 different sections. I decided I would make the sections in order and assemble them as I go to help keep all those many, many squares organised. I also decided that I would follow the pattern as written, substituting my Bendigo Woollen Mills colours for the ones outlined in the pattern. The only main alteration I made was using a single crochet join instead of whipstitch.

It wasn't long before I had sections 1 through 5 complete.


Plus section 6....

Plus section 7...

And sections 8 and 9 ...


Then just as I was starting in to section 10 (the final section), I ran out of the cream/almond main colour! Oops. I quickly ordered some more. I was on such a roll and I'm so bummed I've had to put this project on hold for a week and a half now. Every day I wait for the wool delivery to come, but I'm still waiting... sigh...

In the meantime, my adorable doggie has given the blanket-thus-far her seal of approval.



Now if the postie would just hurry up with that wool already!

It's Snowing - My Snowflake Addiction

I've been going a little snowflake crazy lately. They are just so much fun to make!

Here are the first 19 I made. Since this photo was taken, I've got another 16 or so that I've completed. These suckers are addicting...



*Sorry the photo is a little blurry*

I am using bits and pieces of leftover yarn that I have from different projects, as well as sample yarns from Wangaratta Mills to make the first 5 rounds of the square. I am then doing the last two rows in Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply Luxury in black.

Woolly's Snowflake Square - Free Crochet Patterns

On a recent crochet retreat, one of the members (1woollywombat) shared a beautiful crochet blanket she found at an op shop for only $3 or $4! It's a beautiful blanket and I really love the squares it used.

Later that night I set about trying to replicate the square while I had the original in front of me - I reckon I got it spot on, or at the least, very darn close!

I used a 4mm hook and approximately 8ply yarn (DK weight) which gave me a perfect 6 inch square. I reckon if you were to make it with a worsted weight/10ply yarn and a 5mm hook, it would give you an 8 inch square.

Please be advised, I am NOT claiming credit for this square, and I am NOT claiming to have designed it. Unfortunately I just don't know the origins of the square and/or if a pattern for the original exists somewhere out there.

Woolly's Snowflake Square - FREE Crochet Pattern
6 inch / 8 inch version




To make the 6 inch version, use a 4mm hook and 8ply (DK weight) yarn
To make the 8 inch version, use a 5mm hook and 10 ply (worsted weight) yarn

Stitches Used
Ch = chain
Sl-st = Slip Stitch
SC = Single Crochet
DC = Double Crochet
V-Stitch = DC, ch-1, DC (into same stitch or space)
Double-V-Stitch = 2DC, ch-2, 2DC (into same stitch or space)
Triple-V-Stich = 3DC, ch-3, 3DC (into same stitch or space)

Ch-6. Sl-st to first ch to form a ring.

Round 1: Ch-3. 15 DC into ring. Sl-st to top of beg ch-3. (16 DC made).

Round 2: Sl-st between any two DC of round 1. Ch-4, then DC in the same space (counts as first V-stitch). *Skip next 2DC and V-Stitch between DCs.* Repeat from * to * 6 times. Sl-st to 3rd ch of beg ch-4. (8 V-Stitches made).

Round 3: Sl-st to ch-1 space of any V-Stitch from round 2. (Ch-3, DC, ch-2, 2DC) into same Ch-1 space (first Double-V-Stitch made). *Double-V-Stitch in next ch-1 space.* Repeat from * to * 6 times. Sl-st to top of beg ch-3. (8 Double-V-Stitches made).

Round 4: Sl-st to ch-2 space of any Double-V-Stitch from round 3. (Ch-3, 2DC, ch-3, 3DC) into same ch-2 space (first Triple-V-Stitch made). *Triple-V-Stitch into next ch-2 space.* Repeat from * to * 6 times. Sl-st to top of beg ch-3. (8 Triple-V-Stitches made).

Round 5: Sl-st to ch-3 space of any Triple-V-Stitch from round 4. (Ch-3, 3DC, ch-2, 4DC) into the same ch-3 space (corner made). *8DC in next ch-3 space (side made). (4DC, ch-2, 4DC) in next ch-3 space.* Repeat from * to * 2 times. 8 DC in the last ch-3 space. Sl-st to top of beg ch-3. (4 corners & 4 sides made).

Round 6: Sl-st to any corner ch-2 space. (Note: with the exception of the corners, where you will be working into the chain spaces, all other stitches in this round are worked BETWEEN the stitches... this is what will give the previous round the spikey/snowflake-like appearance).

(Ch-3, DC, ch-2, 2DC) in the same corner space. *Now, do a SC between, the next 2 sts, HDC between the following two sts, and DC between the next two sts. DC between the group of 4 DC and 8 DC. Working between the stitches of the next 8 DC, you will do the following 7 stitches. DC, HDC, SC, SC, SC, HDC, DC. Now DC between the group of 8 and the next group of 4. Between the next 4 DC, you will DC, HDC, SC respectively. This takes you to the next corner ch-2 space. (2DC, ch-2, 2DC) in the corner space.* Repeat from * to * for each side. Sl-st to top of beg ch-3.

Round 7: Sl-st to any corner ch-2 space. (Ch-3, DC, ch-2, 2DC) in same space. DC in each st from previous row. In each corner ch-2 space (2DC, ch-2, 2DC). Continue around square. Sl-st to top of beg ch-3. Finish off.

10 OR 12 INCH VERSION - (Extended Remix Version)

As much as I love the square, I have a blanket of 12 inch squares, so I decided to keep going and create what I like to call the "extended remix."

To make a 10 or 12 inch version of this square, complete all of the instructions for the 6 or 8 inch version then continue on with rounds 8 - 11. Using a 4mm hook and 8ply (DK weight) yearn should give you a 10 inch square. Using a 5mm hook and 10 ply (DK weight) yarn should give you a 12 inch square.

Round 8: Sl-st to any ch-2 corner space. (Ch-3, DC, ch-2, 2DC) in same corner space. *Skip the next two DC of round 7 and V-stich into the third DC. Skip one st. V-stitch - repeat. Skip the last two DC of the side and (2DC, ch-2, 2DC) into the corner ch-2 space.* Repeat from * to * for the remaining three sides. (You should end up with 10 V-stitches on each side - not counting the corner stitches).

Round 9: Repeat row 8.

Round 10: SC in every stich of row 9 and (2SC, ch-2, 2SC) in each corner.

Round 11: Repeat row 10

I hope all of the instructions make sense - I'm a bit under the weather as I post this, so they make sense TO ME... hopefully they'll make sense to you, too! :)

Odyssey 12 inch Square - Free Crochet Pattern

Copyright 2010 by Letitia Sherriff


Materials Used

• Carnival 8ply Acrylic in Turquoise (Colour A)
• Spotlight Marvel 8ply Acrylic in Hot Pink (Colour B)
• 4mm crochet hook

Pattern written using US crochet terminology

Stitch Guide

Treble Cross (Trx) = Yo twice, insert hook in next st, yo and pull up a lp (4 lps on hook), yo, draw through 2 lps (3 lps on hook), sk next st, yo, insert hook in next st, yo and pull up a lp (5 lps on hook), [yo, draw through 2 lps] 4 times (1 lp on hook), ch-1, yo, insert hook halfway down st just made in space where lower legs join, yo and pull up a lp, [yo, draw through 2 lps] twice.

Odyssey 12 inch Square
Ch-4, join with a sl-st to first chain to form ring.

Round 1: With Colour A... ch-3 (counts as first dc), 11 dc into ring. Join with sl-st to beg ch-3. (12 dc)

Round 2: Ch-3, dc into first st, 2 dc into each remaining st. Join with sl-st to beg ch-3. (24 dc)

Round 3: Skip first st of round 2, *5 dc into next st (shell made), skip on st, sl-st in next st, skip st,* repeat from * to * 5 times, sl-st to beg of round (6 shells). Finish off Colour A.

Round 4: Attach Colour B in the middle (3rd) stitch of any shell. Ch-1, *sc in same st, hdc, dc, tc, dc, hdc.* Repeat from * to * 5 times. Sl-st to first sc. (36 sts)

Round 5: Ch-1, *sc in first sc, sc in second st, 2 sc in the next stitch*. Repeat from * to * all the way around. Join with a sl-st to first sc. (48 sc). Finish off Colour B.

Round 6: Attach Colour A with a sl-st in first sc of round 5. Skip first sc of round 5, *5 dc into next st (shell made), skip one st, sl-st in next st, skip st.* Repeat from * to * 11 times, sl-st to beg of round (12 shells). Finish off Colour A.

Round 7: Attach Colour B in the middle (3rd) stitch of any shell. Ch-1, *sc in the same st, hdc, dc, tc, dc, hdc*. Repeat from * to * 11 times. Sl-st to first sc. (72 sts)

Round 8: Ch-1, *one sc in each of the first 4 sts, 2 sc in the next st.* Repeat from * to * all the way around (13 times). Finish off the round with one sc in each of the last two sts. Join with sl-st to first sc. (86 sc). Finish off Colour B.

Round 9: Join Colour A in any sc of round 8. Ch-4, Trx in next st (see special stitches). Repeat with Trx's around. In second to last stitch... yo twice, insert hook in second to last st, you and pull up a lp (4 lps on hook), yo, draw through 2 lps (3 lps on hook), yo, insert hook in 2nd chain of beg ch-4, yo and pull up loop (5 lps on hook), [yo draw through 2 lps] 4 times (1 lp on hook), ch-1, sl-st to 4th chain of beg ch-4. (29 Trx).

Round 10: Ch-1, sc once in each st. Join with sl-st to first sc. (86 sc). (Hint: each Trx of previous round receives three sc - one in the top of the right leg, one in the middle of the two legs, and one in the top of the left leg). Finish off Colour A.

Round 11: Attach Colour B in any sc of round 10. Ch-1, *sc in each of the first four sts, 2 sc in next st.* Repeat from * to * all the way around. Finish off the round with one additional sc, then join with a sl-st to first sc. (103 sc). Finish off Colour B.

Round 12: Join Colour A in a sc that is in line with the centre of one of the six shells from round 3 (this will ensure that your centre motif is straight inside your finished square). Ch-3, one dc in each of the next 12 sts, *tc, tc, (2tc, ch-2, 2tc) in the next st, tc, tc, one dc in each of the next 21 sts*. Repeat from * to * 3 times (ending with 9 dc in the last repeat). Sl-st to top of beg ch-3. Finish off colour A.

Round 13: Join Colour B in any dc of round 12. Ch-1, one sc in each st all the way around, and (2 dc, ch-2, 2 dc] in each corner ch-2 space. Join with sl-st to beg sc. Finish off Colour B. (Special note: no, that is not a typo. This round is all sc, except the corners which are dc).

Round 14: Join Colour A in any sc of round 13. Ch-3, dc in each st, and [2 dc, ch-2, 2 dc] in each corner ch-2 space. Join with sl-st to top of beg ch-3. Finish off Colour A.

Round 15: Join Colour B in any dc of round 14. Ch-1, sc in each st, and [2 dc, ch-2, 2 dc] in each corner ch-2 space. Join with sl-st to beg sc. Finish off Colour B.

Weave in all ends and you're done!

*(21 January 2010). Special thanks to HappyPeacock and Margate of Ravelry for pointing out a few typos on my original!

Barbie's Toilet - Toilet Paper Roll Cover

Once upon a time (back in January & February) the Crochet Lovers Victoria group on Ravelry had a toilet roll cover design competition. We entered our creations anonymously.

After contemplating several different ideas of what I could make for the comp, when falling asleep one night an idea popped into my head. I'd make a toilet! And I could have someone falling into the toilet with their pants around their ankles. I could even make a tiny roll of toilet paper hanging off one side, and a magazine rack on the other. Yep this was the one.

The next morning a sketched out my idea and started to plan how I'd make this come to life.

A few days later I got to work. I started with a large blue circle to represent the water in the toilet (and a hole in the center for the "person" to fall in to. I then moved on to the toilet seat. I worked down from there to create the base of the toilet, and then I attached a toilet lid. I then created the tank or cistern behind this and stuffed it with hobbyfill to make it more solid.

I added two different sized buttons to the top of the tank to represent the half flush and full flush buttons we have here in Australia. I then manipulated a small paper clip and some paper towel into a toilet roll and attached it to the side of the tank. (I have to say, the little roll of toilet paper is probably my favourite part!)

Then it came time to making the person to go down the hole. I got some flesh coloured yarn and started with the legs. Ugh! It looked awful and it definitely didn't look anything like a leg. I grabbed one of my old childhood Barbie dolls to get some perspective and to use as a model for my crocheted person. Well dang - this toilet was the perfect size for Barbie. She looks pretty darn funny sitting there atop the toilet.

That's it! I'll use Barbie. Oh I loved this idea 100 times more than making a crochet person for the toilet. It was like Barbie thumbing her nose at all those people who have made her stand inside a roll of toilet paper in some horrible garrish enormously puffy dress with some equally awful hat on her head. Love it!

Of my Barbies, my Miss Amercia 1970s Quick Curl Barbie won the honours. I changed her into a short dress that one of my other Barbies had been wearing (to hike up around her waist so she could use the toilet). She also had the advantage of having bent arms.... perfect for holding the newspaper! I also love the fact that she looks so much like a TV character Kath, from a show here called "Kath and Kim." The exact same frizzy hair and all.

My one regret is that I didn't not have a tiny pair of Barbie panties to put around Barbie's ankles, but I was still super happy with the result. I know it made me laugh, and I hoped it would give others a good laugh, too. Well, it must of worked because I won the competition! Yippee!

I wrote down the pattern whilst making Barbie's toilet. I will endeavour to get it up here on my blog sometime in the next week or so. So stay tuned!

HERE'S THE PATTERN

Barbie’s Toilet, Toilet Paper Roll Cover Pattern
Copyright August 2009 by Letitia Sherriff

Materials used:
3mm hook
*Carnival 8ply Acrylic White (approx 50 grams)
*Carnival 8ply Acrylic Turquoise (approx 10 grams or less)
*Any DK weight yarn (or 8ply) may be substituted for these yarns
Approximately two handfuls of hobby fiber-fill
Two different sized buttons (or one oblong shaped button)
One small paperclip
A small scrap of toilet paper or paper towel
Two small pieces of clear sticky tape
Two stitch markers
Yarn needle to darn in the ends
Barbie (optional)
Old sheet of newspaper (optional)
Roll of toilet paper to sit inside

TOILET BASE
With turquoise blue colour (this forms the “water” for the inside of the toilet)
Ch-22, slip stitch to first chain to form a ring.

Round 1: ch-1. SC once into each chain around (slip stitch into the first SC to finish the round, for this and every subsequent round). (22 SC made).

Round 2: ch-1. *Two SC into the first stitch. 1 SC into the next stitch.* Repeat from * to * around. (33 SC made).

Round 3: ch-1. *Two SC into the first stitch. 1 SC into each of the next 2 stitches.* Repeat from * to * around. (44 SC made). Finish off blue.

You are now going to be working the “toilet seat”.

Round 4: Attach white yarn in first SC of Round 3. *Ch-1, 2 SC in the first stitch. 1 SC into each of the next 3 stitches.* Repeat from * to * around.

Round 5: Ch-1. *2 SC into first stitch. 1 SC into each of next 5 stitches.* Repeat from * to * around.

Round 6: Repeat Round 5. (You should now check that the circle you’ve made is the same size as the top of the roll of toilet paper you are going to use to put inside the cover. Roll sizes vary greatly from brand to brand. If necessary, you can repeat round 6 to make it larger… or rip out a row if it is too big).

Round 7: TURN WORK OVER TO THE “WRONG SIDE.” You are now going to surface crochet (around the post) on the bottom of side of Round 6. 1 SC around each stitch of Round 6.

You are now going to be woking the base of the toilet, under the toilet seat.

Round 8. Ch-1. 1 SC into each stitch.

Round 9. Ch-1. *1 SC into each of the next 4 stitches. You are now going to do a SC decrease over the next two stitches (aka SC2TOG).* Repeat from * to * around.

Round 10: Ch-1. 1 SC into each stitch.

Round 11: Repeat Round 10.

Round 12: Repeat Round 9.

Rounds 13-22: Ch-1. 1 SC into each stitch.
At the end of round 22, you should make sure to check that your item now adequately covers your roll of toilet paper. If it is not long enough, you can add additional row(s) of SC. Fasten off.

LID
With white… Ch-4. Slip stitch into first chain to form a ring.

Round 1: Ch-1. 10 SC into the center of the ring. Slip stitch to first SC to join round (here and at the end of every subsequent round). (10 SC made).

Round 2: Ch-1. 2 SC into each stitch around. (20 SC made).

Round 3: Ch-1. *2 SC into first stitch. 1 SC into next stitch.* Repeat from * to * around. (30 SC made).

Round 4: Ch-1. *2 SC into first stitch. 1 SC into each of the next 2 stitches.* Repeat from * to * around. (40 SC made).

Round 5: Ch-1. *2 SC into first stitch. 1 SC into each of the next 3 stitches.* Repeat from * to * around. (50 SC made).

Round 6: Ch-1. *2 SC into first stitch. 1 SC into each of the next 4 stitches.* Repeat from * to * around. (60 SC made).

Attached lid to base of toilet by single crocheting the two together over approximately 8 stitches. Attach the lid at the raised round that forms the outside edge of the toilet seat above.

CISTERN / TANK
With white… Ch-17.

Row 1: SC into the 2nd chain from the hook and into each chain across (16 SC made). Ch-1 and turn.

Rows 2-77: SC into each stitch across. Ch-1 and turn. (work should measure 16 inches long. If work is not 16 inches long, you should add additional rows of SC as necessary or rip out rows if too long).

Measure six inches down on each side of the work and place a stitch marker on each side.

Turn your work ¼ turn clockwise. You will now be working one of the sides of the cistern (as indicated by the A & F in the diagram).

Row 1 (Side A/F): Ch-1. Place 10 SC evenly spaced over these 6 inches (as indicated by your stitch marker). Ch-1 and turn.

Row 2 (Side A/F): SC in each stitch across. Ch-1 and turn.

Rows 3-10 (Side A/F): Single crochet in each stitch across… until the side measures 6 inches.

Rotate work ¼ turn clockwise. Work 10 SC over the side of the cistern side you just made (indicated by A in the diagram). Continue with an additional 10 SC over the top of your work (indicated by B in the diagram). Turn work ¼ turn counterclockwise then flip.

You will now repeat the instructions that you did for Side A/F, but now for Side C/G.

Turn work ¼ clockwise and work 10 SC over the side (indicated by C in the diagram). Slip stitch to last adjoining stitch of area B and finish off.

IMPORTANT: At this point please remove about 2 feet of white yarn from your ball or skein and set aside.

Making Up (all will be done with SC).
With white… Join yarn at the corner where G & H meet.
You are now going to join sides G & H together.
Continue by joining areas E & K together.
Continue by joining C & M together.
Continue by joining B & N together.
Continue by joining A & L together.
Continue by joining D & J together.
BEFORE YOU DO THE FINAL JOIN OF F & H…..
Now is a good time to sew on any “flusher buttons” or items that you intend to attach to the cistern while you still have access to both the interior and exterior of your work.

You will also need to attach the cistern to the base of the toilet at this point. Make sure you line it up properly with where the toilet lid is attached to the base. Using the two feet of white yarn you set aside earlier, threaded through a yarn needle, just whip stitch the two together, attaching the front of the cistern to the back of the toilet in a few spots.

Now take your hobby/fiber fill and stuff it into the cistern. I recommend stuffing it pretty full so that the cistern is nice and firm and will stand up well. If you run out of hobby fill you can even use some paper towel, toilet paper, etc to fill it up. I DO recommend using something white to stuff it so no colour shows through your white yarn.

You are now ready to finish up the cistern by joining sides F & H with SC. Finish off and weave in your ends. Ta-da!

You can now add your toilet paper roll to the side by manipulating a small paper clip and using some toilet paper or paper towel. (You may need a small piece of clear sticky tape to start the roll and to finish the roll). Don’t forget to leave some of the roll dangling!

Now you just need to find a Barbie to put on the top and you’re done!