dawnknits

02 December 2009 @ 12:02 am

This was the project I picked up while doing gansey and other urgent knitting avoidance! I am very pleased with it, although not too impressed that the suggested number of stitches to increase to before starting the chart, means that the chart needs a couple of extra stitches adding in to make it work. But I am pleased with it and have had quite a few comments about it - someone assumed it was machine made as "you could never knit anything that looked so good", very tempting to reply "well you might not be able to, but lots of people can!" - but I was good and didn't!

Because there was a knot in the Zauberball, it messed up the colours near the end and I really didn't want to end on murky yellow which was looking likely, so I did the last few rows and changed colour near the beginning of each row, so there was some continuity, but I could use the nicer colours up!Despite pinning all the points out most carefully they don't seem to have lasted very long, but fortunately I'm not too bothered about them. (and yes I did cast off with a bigger needle and do the p2tog cast off method)

I didn't have a right lot of yarn left either!

One of my teenagers has requested a hand knit gansey for Christmas - or as he put it "one of the jumpers from that shop in Whitby you always used to drag us in when we were little". And while I'm delighted that this is what he really wants, I could have done with a little over 5 weeks notice! He does know that it's unlikely to be finsihed for Christmas Day, but I've promised it will be ready to take back to uni in January...... It also didn't help that his first lot of measurements weren't too accurate.....
It's now a couple of inches short of the armhole gusset, but I've decided to concentrate on some of the other more urgent knitting for a couple of days and as I'm paranoid about sizing, so might try and try it on ex-husband this week if I can manage that, just to see what it actually looks like on and whether it will be right for DS.

And something I meant to post about ages ago, but being a bear of little brain didn't......
Verity at my local wool shop Baa Ram Ewe asked those of us who wanted to to knit a nativity figure for display in the shop window and here is my shepherd:

Now of course I want to knit the whole set for myself, but I don't think that's really realistic - at least not for this Christmas!

Dragged my mum off into the Yorkshire Dales on Sunday afternoon (and a very wet and wild Yorkshire Dales it was too) - but got a lovely warm welcome from Beckside Yarns in Clapham and I now have everything I need for the Christmas/New Year knitting. Fortunately mum didn't fall in love with anything in there (I always tell her I'm happy to knit for her if she'll buy the wool), as I really don't think I can cope with anything else being added to the To Do list in the next couple of months!

Tags: fizzi, gansey, shepherd

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25 November 2009 @ 03:48 pm

Lidl sock yarn

A while ago, lidl were selling sock yarn at a rather advantageous price and I bought a couple of packs. In the last couple of days there have been rumours flying round Ravelry about it shrinking. I rang customer services and was assured that there weren't any problems, but if I did have any they would refund providing I had my reciept.

So I decided it was worth doing a test before I start including it in my sock blanket and using it for swaps.

I cast on 24sts and worked 24 rows on 2.5mm needles and then washed it at 40deg gentle with a normal load of washing which included towels. The 2 pairs of socks which were in there were absolutely fine, but the sample shrunk. So to make it easy for the Lidl staff I did another sample to compare - bit of a difference! And the washed one has cast on/off edges which are rolled up and felted so that I can't undo them.

Think I'll be taking this back and asking for a full refund - grrrrr

Tags: lidl, sock yarn

Current Mood:

annoyed

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18 November 2009 @ 03:28 pm

Lake District Socks

So named because a lot of the knitting has been done sat outside in the sun while visiting the Lakes (and yes there was some really nice weather at the beginning and end of October), looking at amazing scenery while knitting away.

These are not beginner socks – I have tested the pattern and so has a friend, but can’t guarantee it’s free from errors. Please let me know if you find any or have difficulties and I’ll do my best to sort it out. I am happy for you to knit these as gifts, but ask you not to sell them at all.

Abbreviations
K knit
P purl
K2tog knit the next 2 stitches together
K3tog knit the next 3 stitches together
P2togtbl purl 2 together through the back of the loops
M1 make one by picking up the loop before the next stitch and knitting into the back of it
C2L slip the next stitch onto a spare needle and hold at the front of the sock, knit the next stitch and then knit the one on the spare needle C2R slip the next stitch onto a spare needle and hold at the back of the sock, knit the next stitch and then knit the one on the spare needle
C4F slip next 2 stitches onto a spare needle and hold at the front of the sock, knit the next 2 stitches and then knit the ones on the spare needle
C4B slip next 2 stitches onto a spare needle and hold at the back of the sock, knit the next 2 stitches and then knit the ones on the spare needle
WK1 hold the yarn as if to purl, but then knit the first stitch - it will wrap over the right hand needle and create a doubled stitch
WP1 hold the yarn as if to knit, but then purl the first stitch - it will wrap round over the right hand needle and create a doubled stitch
SSK slip 2 stitches as if to knit them, then knit them together
U1 untwist 1 by slipping the next stitch from left hand needle through the back of the loop onto the right hand needle and then back onto the left hand so it is untwisted and ready to knit
U2 untwist 2 as above, but slip across both and then replace in the same order they were in
Instructions in brackets - work the entire set the number of times given.

Skills needed
Knit, purl, increase, decrease, rib, cable, short row heel, toe shaping and kitchener stitch. I have tried to give instructions for each step of the pattern, but please feel free to substitute your own tried and tested heel construction etc!

Yarn
These were knitted in Cygnet 4ply using 2mm needles - BUT I knit very loosely so use whatever sock needles you normally use or try 2.5mm to begin with.

Cuff
Cast on 62 stitches loosely and join into a round, being careful not to twist them.
Rib
P1, (K2, P2, K3, P2)x3, K2, P2, (K2, P2, K3, P2)x3, K2, P1
repeat until rib is as long as required – I did 3cm
Increase Row
P1, (K2, P2, K2, M1, K1, P2)x3, K2, P2, (K2, P2, K2, M1, K1, P2)x3, K2, P1 68sts

Cable Pattern (you will probably need to rearrange the number of stitches on each needle to make the cabling easier)
Round 1
P1, (C2L, P2, C4F, P2)x2, C2R, P2, C4F, P2, C2R, P2, (C2L, P2, C4F, P2)x2, C2R, P2, C4F, P2, C2R, P1
Round 2
P1, (K2, P2, K4, P2)x3, K2, P2, (K2, P2, K4, P2)x3, K2, P1
Round 3
P1, (C2L, P2, K4, P2)x2, C2R, P2, K4, P2, C2R, P2, (C2L, P2, K4, P2)x2, C2R, P2, K4, P2, C2R, P1
Round 4
P1, (K2, P2, K4, P2)x3, K2, P2, (K2, P2, K4, P2)x3, K2, P1

Continue until leg is the desired length, ending at the end of Round 1. Now rearrange the stitches so that there are 17 stitches on each of the first 2 needles and that the first needle begins with the P1 from the beginning of the round

Short Row Heel
Not my invention, but I'll try and talk you through how I do it! (and if you have your own preferred version use that instead)

For the heel you will just work on needles 1 and 2 (17 sts on each with needle 1 starting P1)

Row 1 WK1, K32, turn (so 1 unworked stitch is left on the needle)
Row 2 WP1, P31, turn (leaving 1 doubled stitch unworked)

Row 3 WK1, K30, turn
Row 4 WP1, P29, turn
Continue working in this way and leaving 1 extra stitch each row, until you have completed W1P, P11

Now you need to work back up the heel:
Row 1 WK1, K11 (you will now have knitted the first part of the doubled stitch), U1, K2tog (ie the wrap you've just untwisted and the stitch after it), turn
Row 2 WP1, P12 (you will now have purled the first part of the doubled stitch), P2togtbl (ie one wrap and the stitch after it), turn

Row 3 **WK1, K13, U2, K3tog (ie the 2 wraps you’ve just untwisted and the next stitch), turn
Row 4 WP1, P14, P3togtbl, turn**

Repeat these last 2 rows** ** incorporating an extra stitch at the end of each row until you have completed WP1, P32, P3togtbl, turn

1st knit row which will incorporate the stitches on all 4 needles
WK1, K6, K2tog, (K7, K2tog)x2, K7, (worked over needle 1 & 2)
working on needle 3 & 4: P3tog (the last st on needle 2, M1from the gap between the needles, and the P1), (K2, P2, K4, P2)x3, K2, P3togtbl(stitch, M1 from the gap between the needles, & the wrap from needle 1)

You should now have 31 sts over needles 1 & 2 and 34 over 2 & 3

Continue in pattern working all K stitches for the sole on needles 1 &2, and cable pattern as set commencing on Row 3 for the top, until correct length. Finish on a row 1 (big cable row)

Next row
K16 sts from needle one K15 sts from needle two
K6, (K2tog, K8)x2, K2tog, K6 over needles three and four. Divide these stitches so there are 15 on needle three and 16 on needle four

Toe
Shaping is done as follows
Needles 1 & 3 K1, SSK, K to end of needle
Needles 2 & 4 K to last 3 sts on needle, K2tog, K1

Row 1 decrease as above
Work 3 rounds straight
Row 5 decrease as above
work 2 rows straight
Row 8 decrease as above
work 2 rows straight
Row 11 decrease as above
work 1 row straight
Decrease every row till 14 sts left - put onto 2 needles and kitchener together

2^nd Sock
Either make it identical or switch to K4B instead of K4F so they are symmetrical.

Kitchener Stitch
Arrange so the stitches are on 2 needles parallel to each other and use the tail of yarn left to sew them together as follows (needle with tail of yarn attached needs to be at the back)

Insert p wise into first stitch on front needle – do not slip off
Insert k wise into first stitch on back needle – do not slip off

1) Insert k wise into first stitch on front needle – slip off
2) Insert p wise into next stitch on front needle – do not slip off
3) Insert p wise into first stitch on back needle – slip off
4) Insert k wise into next stitch on back needle - do not slip off

repeat steps 1-4 until all stitches are used up, pull yarn through to inside and it should tidy up the last stitch so it all looks smooth and even

Tags: lake district socks, socks

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09 November 2009 @ 10:01 pm

(no subject)

I've been struggling with my asthma recently, the upside to this is that it's meant some quality time on the settee with my knitting.....

While in the Lake District a couple of weeks ago, there was a bit of a convention:

The large one is the knitted doorstop (birthday present for a friend), the small grey is the very first one I ever knitted (for the same person ) and Michael was knitting the rather splendid orange and black one for his sister's birthday.

Since then I appear to have finished a pair of socks (but still need to write up the pattern properly, will try and get that done later tonight/this week) and somehow on Saturday night I cast on for an Ishbel. Despite there being a few people struggling with it on Ravelry, I've found it remarkably quick and easy. I'm doing the small stocking stitch part with large lace and only have 15 rows to go....... It's very tempting to try and get it finished tonight so it can block and I can wear it this week while I'm away........

What I should have been doing of course is the small gifts that I promised people way back in September and was hoping to get in the post tomorrow - sorry those that I owe things to, I got sidetracked!

Tags: dalek, ishbel, knitting

Current Mood:

creative

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24 October 2009 @ 01:18 am

Sheep Cushion Pattern

I did mean to write this up as I went along, but somehow (as usual) that didn’t quite happen and I’m left trying to reconstruct it from scrappy notes on bits of paper, often other knitting patterns I’m working on, just to add to the confusion!

So, please treat this more as a guide than as a pattern! It also hasn’t been knitted up apart from my original design, please contact me if there are any errors in it.

Skills needed
Cast on & off
Knitting, purling, stocking stitch, moss stitch, increase, decrease
Working with 2 colours in a row
Sewing up and sewing on Velcro
Crochet – nothing too technical, You Tube etc should be able to help if you’ve not done a lot
Making a twisted cord

Materials
I used a very cheap quite thick acrylic dk for the front – I started with 2 x 100g balls and had some left over (by the time I thought to weigh it, I’d already started the next project with it)
I used standard acrylic in bright colours for the back, grid and the sheep, again I was using up odd balls.
Beads for the sheep eyes, or just embroider
Velcro – I used the stuff that comes in a long strip and just cut off what I needed both for the sheep and the join at the back
50cm cushion pad (just like IKEA sell) – the cushion cover needs to be smaller than the pad for it to work nicely as a plump cushion, my finished size of knitting is approx 42 cm wide x 44 long (and yes, it was meant to be square!)
Pair 5mm needles (for the cushion)
Pair 3mm needles (for the sheep face and legs)
4.5 hook (goodness knows what my tension is like in crochet) for the sheep body

Tension
On the grey, 13sts and 24 rows over 10cm moss stitch on 5mm needles
On the coloured acrylic, 14sts and 21 rows over 10cm stocking stitch on 5mm needles

Front (work throughout in doubled yarn)
Cast on 56sts (not too tight) using doubled grey yarn
Row 1 (k1,p1) repeat to end
Row 2 (p1,k1) repeat to end
This forms the moss stitch pattern. Continue working in this till you’ve worked about 11 cm

Grid pattern:
Row 1 (k1,p1)x7, k28, (k1,p1)x7
Row 2 (p1,k1)x7, p28, (p1,k1)x7

You now need to introduce the red for the grid, to be honest it may just be easier to swiss darn the vertical stripes and knit the horizontal ones only. If you do wish to knit the vertical ones, I found it easiest to take two long lengths of doubled red and use one for each stripe, rather than trying to knit from the ball.

Row 3 (k1,p1)x7, k9grey, k1red, k8grey, k1red, k9grey, (k1,p1)x7
Row 4 (p1,k1)x7, p9grey, p1red, p8grey, p1red, p9grey, (p1,k1)x7
Work 14 more rows like this (the cushion should now measure around 18cm)

Row 19 (k1,p1)x7, k2grey, k24red, k2grey, (k1,p1)x7
Row 20 (p1,k1)x7, p9grey, p1red, p8grey, p1red, p9grey, (p1,k1)x7
Work another 15 rows of grid pattern

Row 36 (p1,k1)x7, p2grey, p24red, p2grey, (p1,k1)x7
Row 37 (k1,p1)x7, k9grey, k1red, k8grey, k1red, k9grey, (k1,p1)x7
Work another 15 rows of grid pattern

Row 53 (k1,p1)x7, k28, (k1,p1)x7
Row 54 (p1,k1)x7, p28, (p1,k1)x7
Row 55 (k1,p1) repeat to end
Continue with all moss stitch to match the bottom – if it is getting a bit long or not quite long enough do a couple less/more rows to compensate
Cast off

Back again worked in doubled yarn throughout
Cast on 60 sts in dark purple
Stocking stitch (1 row knit, 1 row purl) for 12 rows

Row 13 introduces light purple (k1dp, k1lp) to end
Row 14 (p1dp, p1lp) to end
Row 15 (k1dp, k1lp) to end
Now work 11 rows with light purple only

Row 27, 28 & 29 introduce the blue just as you did for the light purple
Work 11 rows with blue only

Row 41, 42 & 43 introduce the green just as you did for the blue
Work 11 rows in green only and cast off

To make the other half of the cushion, cast on 60 sts in doubled red and proceed in exactly to same way, BUT introduce the colour by:
(k1orange, k1red) and (p1 orange, p1 red) as this will make it match when the cushion is sewn together.

Sheep

I did try knitting various styles of sheep, but none of them seemed just right, I wanted a big curly sheep, rather like the logo of my favourite knitting shop (Baa Ram Ewe in Leeds). In the end I gave in and found the crochet hook……

BIG disclaimer here, I taught myself to crochet when I was about 9, and haven’t done any for at least 20 years other than round knitted things to finish them off. I have looked in the book (Patons First Steps in Crochet) and this is what I think I did!

Sheep body (make 2 per sheep):
Chain 4 stitches and join into a round.
Round 1 double crochet 5 stitches going right into the middle of the circle
Round 2 (chain 1 stitch, then double crochet into the next stitch)x5, do a single crochet to join it together neatly
Round 3 (chain 2 stitches, then do 2 treble stitches into a loop, and then one single crochet into the same loop) x 5 You need to space the 5 clumps of stitches out evenly round the circle – as it was quite dense I gave up on counting and stabbed where I thought it looked best!
Fasten off - I left a long end to use for sewing up

If you wish to make a rainbow sheep, use white yarn for the cast on and rounds 1 and 2, then do each “clump” in a different colour – I used red, orange, yellow, green and blue

Sheep face (make 1 per sheep): (back to nice straightforward knitting here!)
Use 3mm needles and doubled wool cast on 2 stitches
Row 1 knit
Row 2 knit into the front and back of each stitch (4sts)
Row 3 knit
Row 4 knit
Row 5 cast on 2 stitches and then knit all 6 stitches
Row 6 cast on 2 stitches, then cast off all 8 stitches - I left a long end to use for sewing up

For the rainbow sheep I used the light purple

Sheep legs (make 2 per sheep):
Use 3mm needles and doubled wool cast on 3 stitches
Knit 5 rows
Cast off - I left a long end to use for sewing up

For the rainbow sheep I used dark purple

Making Up
Cushion:
Overlap the 2 back pieces and sew them together at the edges so that the cast off row is in the right place for the pattern to look right.
Sew Velcro in place on both pieces (don’t put it too near the edge as it will show – mine is a bit too close to the cast off edge)
Sew the back and front of the cushion together, try to be as neat as possible, I was in a real rush so there are stitches showing and gaps if you look too closely!

Cord:
I used 12 strands of black and twisted it tightly to make a cord – you do need an insanely long piece of yarn to begin with as it tightens up and shrinks (really sorry but I didn’t make a note of just how long – probably around 6 metres, but you may want to experiment first before cutting it)
Sew it on all the way round

Sheep:
The sheep needs to have one “clump” at the top, one at each side and then two at the bottom
Sew 2 legs to the two bottom clumps, so that they meet in the middle at the body, but are angled slightly outwards
Match up your halves of sheep body (not all mine ended up quite the same size/shape, so it was puzzle time!) then sew in all the ends and sew together
Position the head in the middle, and pull the “ears” up a little, sew into place
Sew on two beads as eyes, or embroider if this will be for really small people
Sew a piece of Velcro onto the back of each sheep and a corresponding piece on each grid space

Challenge someone to a game!
I'd also like to see what you can come up with as differnt playing pieces - flowers would be easy as it's the same basic shape as the sheep body with a different coloured centre, but I'd love to see some quirky things!

Tags: baa ram ewe, cushion, fun, rainbow, sheep

Current Mood:

accomplished

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14 October 2009 @ 06:18 pm

Being a bear of very little brain.....

When I first started the blanket I made a pact with myself that if I was going to repeat any colour, then it would be at least 8 rows apart and preferably not on the same row in any direction.

So how on earth did THIS happen............

And, WHY didn't I realise till I'd finished that row and done 3/4 of the next........

I did contemplate leaving it, but after some prodding from a friend on Ravelry, I eventually recognised that it would bug me to pieces for ever and if I was going to sort it, better sooner rather than later.

First job was to undo the very top of the square, i was quite worried about this as my method of picking up the middle stitch of the block on top is to jab in anywhere and hope! However I managed that and put that securely onto a safety pin. Then, without undoing the rest of the square, I picked up all the stitches down the side

then, very carefully undid the rest of the square. There was the added complication that I'd already worked in all the ends of both that square and three of the ones surrounding it, so had to disentangle those as well.
As I am doing the pick up row and the next row in black, I stopped when I got back to those and picked those up on 2 more needles

At this point I decided it was time for a glass of wine and after that thought I'd better leave it till today to finish it off!

So I then found a different wool and double and triple checked that it hadn't been used before and then very carefully knit the first row using it as follows:
~slip the first stitch knitwise (NOT purlwise) - I discovered this after about 4 rows, but decided I couldn't face undoing it again
~don't forget to do the decreasing in the middle (I was concentrating so hard on the ends..........)
~at the end of the row, knit the last stitch together with the first stitch from the side (knit normally NOT through the back of the loop)

Then breathe a deep sigh of relief.

Turn it around and knit back as follows:
~slip the first stitch knitwise (NOT purlwise), and pull the yarn quite tight
~knit all the way along to the last stitch
~knit this together with the first stitch from the side (knit normally NOT through the back of the loop)

Then breathe another deep sigh of relief.

Continue in this way - do not panic about the number of stitches on the side needles, at some point you will be worried about having not enough and at some point you will panic that you have too many........ I actually ended up with one missing on one side so just picked up a suitable loop and used that and it looked fine.

This is what it looked like about half way through:

Again due to my grab and pull method of picking up the centre loop I was a bit concerned about how I'd sort that one out.

I finished the last sl1k2togpsso and was left with one stitch which I somehow had to link in with the black loop from the square above. As I hadn't finished off the ends of the ones on the next row, I pulled through a convenient black and and used that to knit the black loop and the last stitch together

Then it was just a case of pulling both ends through (including the slight "lump" from the k2tog) and working them in. And while I was at it, I was a good girl and worked in all the other outstanding ones.

Front view:

You can see the bigger loops where I slipped the stitch purlwise, but I think I can live with that

And this is the back:

So at least I know now that I can replace squares if I need to, and it did take less time than unpicking and re-knitting all the squares on top of it

Tags: b*lls up, blanket, unpick

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08 October 2009 @ 09:38 pm

Very excited!

Went to knit night tonight at Baa Ram Ewe and discovered that my cushion has won first prize! It was judged by Debbie Abrahams, who is THE knitted cushion expert so I'm just so excited that she likes my work.
I've won a large hamper (which will be great for keeping yarn in) and lots of different yarns and several books and it's all so exciting!

The cushion I designed myself and is mainly knitting with the sheep base being crocheted and a twisted cord round the edge. I haven't done any crochet for years and worked totally on the "this looks right" approach, and then had to panic about what I'd actually done so I can write it up. Fortunately I still have my trusty copy of First Steps in Crochet that I taught myself to crochet from when I was 9 or 10.

I will write up the patterns (hopefully next week) and publish them on here and link from Ravelry.

The sheep are velcoed on, so you can take them off and play noughts and crosses (or rather black sheep v white sheep) on the grid on the cushion.

The back of the cushion is rainbow striped and fastens with velcro

I can't post photos of what I've won as my camera will only let me download once a day and I've already done that today (I know, time for a new camera)

Tags: baa ram ewe, cushion

Current Mood:

excited

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20 September 2009 @ 11:43 pm

Knitting progress over the summer - or rather the lack of

Oh dear, I've not been very good on updating this over the summer. I have been putting a lot of time and energy into a project, but that will have to remain secret for a little bit longer as it's not my project to blog about.

I did start some socks while at a festival, but have got rather stalled over the heel and getting them to look as I want them too, so no photos of them yet. And there were several attempts to make a handbag using noro, but I think I've firmly joined the anti-Noro camp. Too splitty, too many manky bits of colour, too many knots and too much randomness plus too many bits of stuff which aren't wool......

However the positive news is the blanket has had some attention, this afternoon was glorious so it had a trip outside

and by the end of the afternoon I'd reached 10% (and a square over!) of the expected size. So far I've used up a whole ball of black wool and lots of small bits of coloured.

My local knitting shop (Baa Ram Ewe in Leeds) is having a design a cushion cover competition and despite knowing about this for at least 2 months I started work on it this evening. The closing date is Saturday and knit night is on Thursday, so no pressure at all...... So far I've got about 10 cm done on the front of it (50 x 50 cm) so off to do a bit more before bed.

Tags: baa ram ewe, blanket, cushion

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23 July 2009 @ 11:19 pm

(no subject)

So excited! Look what I got in the post today from Littleberry on Rav

Lots and lots of gorgeous sock yarn for the blanket!

Tags: blanket

Current Mood:

excited

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19 July 2009 @ 07:08 pm

Sock Yarn Blanket

I do have quite a couple of finished things to post on here, but am going to start with the biggie. Yep I was finally persuaded to start the sock wool blanket that I've been talking of doing for ages. I'm following Shelly Kang's design, but am edging each square with black - which means even more ends to sew in. I am being very strict with myself and sewing in all the ends every 2 or 3 squares so it doesn't become a big chore.

The 2 long black ends are left deliberately as they can be used to pick up the edging for the next square and I'm all for saving sewing in ends wherever I can on this.

I actually started it in June and the aim is to have it double bed sized. It is currently about 1/2 metre along the 2 black edges, so a long way to go! At the moment I'm planning on keeping it a triangle until it's as wide as I want and then I'll start to work up and fill in. It is being made of 4ply sock yarn and I'm planning to only use machine washable as I want this blanket to be used when it's finished, so it needs to be able to be shoved in the laundarette (definitely won't fit in my washing machine!) Despite my copious sock yarn collection I'm not going to have enough to get this finished, so if anyone reading this has any odds and ends of machine washable sock yarn they could spare, I'd be very grateful and am happy to pay postage. I only need around 6.5 metres of a colour - but can always combine shorter lengths.

And please feel free to nag about
a) am I still knitting it lots
and
b) posting pictures

Tags: blanket, sock yarn

Current Mood:

creative

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06 February 2009 @ 12:26 am

Fingerless Gloves and Glittens

Fingerless Gloves/Glittens

Yarn
Purply pair - Lorna Laces Shepherd Sport 100% superwash wool 200 yards, 70g

Muticoloured - cheap acrylic DK in whatever colour combinations you wish
or any other DK

Needles

Set of 5 plus spare needles to hold stitches not being worked (or use a length of yarn if you don’t have spare needles, but it is harder to slip sts on/off as needed)

I knit the fingers and thumbs on 4 needles as there were so few stitches

Tension

22sts to 4ins/10cms

My tension is quite loose, so I needed to use 3.25mm needles (UK no 10)

Abbreviations

k knit

m1 make a stitch by picking up the loop between the stitch you have just knitted and the next one, place it on the left hand needle and knit into the back of it

sts stitches

k2tog knit the next 2 stitches together (provides a slope to the right)

ssk slip the next stitch from the left hand needle to the right, do this with the next stitch too, then knit them together (provides a slope to the left)

In the pattern I’ve said to use markers, but I hate using ‘em with a passion so just rely on seeing where my cast on/joining new yarn on thread is and rely on that – up to you what you do

If you wish to just make fingerless mittens, then cast off for the thumb when it is the right length (for me 11 rows and ignore the mitten instructions)

Right Hand

Cast on 40 sts and join into a round – place marker at beginning of round

Work in k2p2 rib for approx 6.5 cm (or as long as you want – remember that longer cuffs keep you warmer)

Change colour if required

Round 1 + 2 k

Round 3 k21, m1, k2, m1, k17

Round 4,5,6 k

Round 7 k21, m1, k4, m1, k17

Round 8,9,10 k

Round 11 k21, m1, k6, m1, k17

Round 12,13,14 k

Round 15 k21, m1, k8, m1, k17

Round 16,17,18 k

Round 19 k21, m1, k10, m1, k17 (50sts)

Round 20,21,22 k (measure for length and if necessary miss out these rows or knit a couple more)

Round 23 k21, slip next 12 sts onto a thread/safety pins for the thumb, cast on 2 sts, k17 (40sts)

Knit 15 rounds (or until it fits up to the base of your little finger)

Change colour if required

Little Finger

k5sts, cast on 2 sts, k last 5 sts of the round (12 sts) (place the rest of the stitches onto spare needles or yarn)

Knit 6 rounds (or as desired)

Cast off

Back to hand colour

Rejoin yarn at base of finger and pick up 2 sts where you cast on for the finger, work 1 complete round (32 sts)

Change colour if required

Ring Finger

K7 sts, cast on 2, k last 5 sts (14 sts) (place the rest of the stitches onto spare needles or yarn)

Knit 9 rounds (or as desired)

Cast off

Change colour if required

Middle Finger

Rejoin yarn, pick up 2 sts where you cast on for the previous finger, k5 sts, cast on 2 sts, k last 5 sts (14 sts)

Knit 11 rounds (or as desired)

Cast off

Change colour if required

1^st Finger

Rejoin yarn, pick up 2sts as before, k3, m1, k3, m1, k4 (14 sts)

Knit 9 rounds (or as desired)

Cast off

Change colour if required

Thumb

Pick up 2sts (from the cast on sts), k12 sts and join into a round and place marker (14sts)

Knit 21 rounds (or as desired)

k2tog all round (7sts)

k2tog, k2tog, k1, k2tog (4sts)

cut yarn and thread through sts, draw tight and work end in

Work all ends in, using them to darn in holes at base fingers if necessary

Change colour if required

Right Mitten Top

Pick up 21 sts on back of glove, approximately 10 rows down from the base of the little finger. Do this by slipping a needle into the right side of each stitch and slide it onto the needle (work towards the thumb), EXCEPT for the first and last stitch where I picked up both sides of the stitch.

(Apologies I only took a photo of picking them up on the LEFT hand !)

Again work towards the thumb and knit all these sts, remembering to treat the first and last stitch as only 1 stitch each. Then cast on 21 sts and join into a round and place a marker (42 sts)

**Rounds 1-6 Knit 21 sts, then (p1,k1) x10, p1

Knit every round until it is the right length (I did 14 more rounds)

Round 1 (k1, ssk, k15, k2tog, k1) x2 (38sts)

Round 2 (k1, ssk, k13, k2tog, k1) x2 (34sts)

Round 3 (k1, ssk, k11, k2tog, k1) x2 (30sts)

Continue decreasing like this till you have completed:

(k1, ssk, k1, k2tog, k1) x2 (10sts)

Kitchener together to form top of mitten

Left Hand

Work rib as for right hand

Round 1 + 2 k

Round 3 k17, m1, k2, m1, k21

Round 4,5,6 k

Round 7 k17, m1, k4, m1, k21

Round 8,9,10 k

Round 11 k17, m1, k6, m1, k21

Round 12,13,14 k

Round 15 k17, m1, k8, m1, k21

Round 16,17,18 k

Round 19 k17, m1, k10, m1, k21 (50sts)

Round 20,21,22 k (or to match what you did on your right hand glove)

Round 23 k17, slip next 12 sts onto a thread/safety pins, cast on 2 sts, k21 (40sts)

Knit 15 rounds (or to match right hand glove)

Work fingers and thumb as for right hand glove

Left Mitten Top

Pick up 21 sts on back of glove, approximately 10 rows down from the base of the little finger. Do this by slipping a needle into the right side of each stitch and slide it onto the needle (work away from the thumb), EXCEPT for the first and last stitch where I picked up both sides of the stitch.

Again work away from the thumb and knit all these sts, remembering to treat the first and last stitch as only 1 stitch each. Then cast on 21 sts and join into a round and place a marker (42 sts)

Complete the mitten top as for right hand working from **

Button and Loop (apologies my crochet terminology is not good!)

If you are happy to crochet, pull a doubled piece of yarn through the right hand top of the mitten part, then pull the ends through to make a secured beginning. Chain approx 4 sts and then secure at the other side of the mitten top (don’t make the loop too big or it will slip over the button when you wear them).

If you don’t do crochet, plait 3 strands into a short cord and use the ends to sew in place.

Put the glove on and flex your hand to make sure the button will be in the right place before sewing it on.

Wear and enjoy having toasty warm hands.

Tags: fingerless, glittens, gloves

Current Mood:

creative

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18 August 2008 @ 12:21 am

Knitted Halo

Knitted Halo

I used a glittery fancy yarn (bought at Wilkinsons in the UK for 99p per ball!)

Tension
Approximately 13sts per 4ins on 6mm needles. If you are using thinner wool, don't worry, just use smaller needles and cast on more stitches.

Pattern
Cast on 8 sts and divide over 3 or 4 needles.
Knit until the tube is long enough, cast off.
Sew the ends together but maintaining the tube (ie don't sew them flat).

Present to friend and assure them they deserve a halo!

Tags: halo, knitting

Current Mood:

creative

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28 January 2008 @ 10:17 pm

Santa Hat for Giant Duck

Santa Hat for Giant Duck
It is possible to buy from Hawkins Bazaar a Giant Rubber Duck (32cm/13ins long and 27cm/10.5ins high) and my teenage son gave one to a friend as a Christmas present. So I decided it needed a Santa Hat.

Tension
13sts to 4 inches

Yarn
50g sparkly synthetic fancy yarn - red
50g sparkly synthetic fancy yarn - white

The yarn I used is a synthetic sparkly yarn which I bought from Wilkinsons in the UK . Any yarn can be used so long as you are getting the right tension.

Needles
4 (or 5) double pointed 6mm/US 10

Method
Cast on 48 sts in white and work 5 rounds in k2p2 rib

Change to red and work 14 rounds straight

*K6 K2tog* repeat to end of round (42sts)

Work 3 rounds straight

*K5 K2tog* repeat to end of round (36sts)

Work 3 rounds straight

*K4 K2tog* repeat to end of round (30sts)

Work 3 rounds straight

*K3 K2tog* repeat to end of round (24sts)

Work 3 rounds straight

*K2 K2tog* repeat to end of round (18sts)

Work 3 rounds straight

*K1 K2tog* repeat to end of round (12sts)

Work 3 rounds straight

*K2tog* repeat to end of round (6sts)

Work 3 rounds straight

*K2tog* repeat to end of round (3sts)

Work 2 rounds straight

Slip1 K2tog psso

Fasten off and darn in ends

Make a large pompom and attatch

Place on duck’s head and admire!

Tags: duck, santahat

Current Mood:

amused

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