Crocheted Water Bottle Cover - Photo © Erica Jackofsky

Want to keep your water bottle chilled without your hands suffering the same fate? If so, perhaps you'll appreciate this crocheted water bottle cozy. The free pattern is available right here on our website. I think you'll enjoy it; it's interesting to crochet, plus it's a quick project made using affordable yarns. The free pattern is by Erica Jackofsky.

• Check out more free patterns for drink cozies
• See more crochet patterns by Erica Jackofsky
• Discover more free crochet patterns by all About.com designers

Crochet 24 Hour Baby Afghans Book by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss, Published by Leisure Arts

I got my hands on an interesting pattern book called Crochet 24 Hour Baby Afghans. The premise of the book: the authors claim that each of these 16 baby afghan patterns can be crocheted in 24 hours. Want to know more? My book review has more details.

Share Your Experiences With This Book:

I haven't yet crocheted any of the baby afghans presented in this book. Have you? If so, please give us the scoop. Were you able to do it in 24 hours? How'd your baby afghan turn out? Details, please!

Time Frame for Crocheting a Baby Afghan:

I receive occasional emails from new crocheters who ask about how long it takes to make a baby afghan. There isn't a universal answer to this question, but you can get an overall idea of the time frame required by checking out the info experienced crocheters have shared on this page: baby afghan time frame. If you haven't already done so, you're invited to post your opinion too!

Free Patterns for Baby Afghans

I doubt you'd be able to make any of the following patterns in less than 24 hours, but they're still great projects to consider - and the patterns are free:

• Heart sampler patchwork-style baby afghan pattern
• Striped lace baby blanket pattern
• Easy crochet baby blanket pattern
• More free crochet baby blanket patterns

Crochet a Granny Square With a Flower in the Center - Photo © Lori Jean Karluk

This granny square features a lovely aster flower as the focal point. You could crochet either part separately, but together they are stunning!

This granny square design was created by Lori Jean Karluk, guest author for crochet. We've shared the free pattern here on our website, and we hope you'll enjoy it!

• Get the flower granny square pattern
• See a detailed photo of the embroidery
• Learn how to crochet a granny square
• Look at different crochet granny square patterns
• Find more free patterns for crocheted flowers

These Free Crocheted Afghan Square Patterns Are Available From Our Website - Photo © Amy Solovay

I'm a big fan of patchwork-style crocheted afghans, the kind you make out of crocheted squares.

For one thing, I like having small projects, like squares, in progress at all times. I work on them throughout the day - when I'm on hold, and sometimes even when I'm in line at the post office (especially if it's a long line.)

I also enjoy designing small bits and pieces that can be combined like building blocks to create larger projects. It's a fascinating process.

Pictured here: This is a collection of mix and match afghan squares that I've been working on. I've been busy adding the free crocheted afghan square patterns (and charts) to our website. A couple of new additions this week:

• Mini checkerboard afghan squares (I did two different colorways of these)
• Diamond afghan square - The free diamond chart has been posted on our website for awhile, but I just added a large picture of the finished afghan square, which will hopefully help you to have a better idea of how the design turns out.

More Afghan Squares

We've posted a wide variety of free crocheted afghan square patterns on our website. Whether you'd like to crochet a granny afghan, a baby blanket, or anything in between, you'll find many interesting patterns to choose from.