Sunday, May 30, 2010

Search for Car Related Knitting Patterns

Living in a city, it would be very difficult to have a car. Even if I could park on the street outside of my apartment, snow emergencies would be crazy! I miss the freedom that owning a car would provide. (The only car I ever "owned" was my great-grandfather's '87 dodge, but I never had the title.)

I got to thinking... what kinds of car related knitting patterns are out there? I predict that I will find at least two categories of patterns, toys and functional items for a car.


Toy Car Knitting Patterns
  • School Bus - There are pockets under the windows so you can put little knit people on the bus! This is so cleaver and cute, it would make such a great toy for a young child.
Car Related Clothing Knitting Patterns
  • Jacket with Cars and Borders - This child sized jacket (cardigan) has little car and trucks running around the body. This is very subtle, you have to look closely at the pattern to see the cars and trucks. Colorful and fun. Would work well for dressing up your kid.
  • Cardigan with Cars - From the same studio as the previous pattern, this cardigan has larger cars that are immediately visible to the eye.
  • Jacob's Car Hat - This has the road running around the crown, and a flap on top you can put a traffic light on. You could use little car pins to drive on this road.
  • Trucks Sweater - This child's sweater has one large truck near the bottom front of the sweater. Adorable!
  • Trucking Along Bib - Seed stitch border, stockinette center, the trucks are made as a simple outline with purled stitches. This would make a good project for a beginning knitter.
  • School Bus Scarf -This is an elongated yellow school bus with cutout windows.
  • Keep Trucking Baby Cardigan - The three color truck is on the back of the sweater.
Car Related Home Items Knitting Patterns
  • Car Tea Cozy - I would call this red car a sedan, complete with registration plate!
  • Police Car Tea Cozy - This was made from the same designer as above (although they are published on different sites.) Blue lights on top. Maybe you could modify one of these two patterns to be a taxi cab.
Car Related Knitting Charts (These are sometimes shown as washcloths, but the chart of the car itself could be incorporated into other projects, or colors could be added. "Single Color" indicates that the chart could be knit on a washcloth with just knits and purls. )
  • Taxi - The chart even says "Taxi" in the middle. Single color, so could be done with K/P.
  • Truck - Single color, you could add a tiny logo or something to the side.
  • Garbage Truck - This is like the above truck chart, except it is large and there is a compartment that gives it the silhouette of a garbage truck. Single color.
  • Fire Engine - Ladder is included. Single color.
Knitting patterns for your Car
  • Car Seat Baby Blanket - There are many baby blankets that I have not included, because although they were designed with the car in mind, there is nothing that really separates them from other baby blankets. This pattern has a hole for buckling the seat! You won't loose this blanket!
  • Simple Steering Wheel Cover - Circumference is 46 inches. Garter stitch. This is a uni-sex cover.
  • Fuzzy Furry Steering Wheel Cover - This is a good way to use novelty yarn!
  • Steering Wheel Cover - The resulting knit object is shown on the wheels of 4 different car models. Also knit with fluffy novelty yarns.
  • Kawaii Steering Wheel Cover - 48 inch steering wheel circumference. The pattern also has recommendations on how you can keep it from slipping on a wheel.
  • Car Cozy - That's right. a CAR cozy... as in you put it ON YOUR CAR! I love the part where the pattern says "...quickly realize that this is too much knitting for one person, and invite other knitters to make cozy parts." It is shown on a VW bug.

Wow, I really expected that I would find a lot of toys. Unfortunately, there are not very many patterns available for free! I found great toy patterns that cost money, but that is not the purpose of my pattern searches.

I would like to give a shout-out to Keith, who inspired me to do this search.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Cables Away!

Cables can be intimidating to beginning knitters, but they're not as difficult as they seem. Here are some books that contain some really great instructions for learning how to create cables in your projects.

Inspired Cable Knits: 20 Creative Designs for Making Sweaters and Accessories by Fiona Ellis

The introduction is not the best for beginners who are not used to cables. I feel that it is meant more as a reminder than as a reference.

The Patterns:
  • Inspired by Change (Joining in Friendship Sweater, Go with the Flow Tank, Open to Change Top, Practice Makes Perfect Hat and Scarf Set, Gathering Intentions Sweater)
  • Inspired by Nature (Wrap Yourself in Nature Wrap, Putting down Roots Sweater, Knots and Bark Sweater, Inspired by Your Surroundings Men's Sweater, Order and Chaos Cardigan)
  • Inspired by Energy (Tree Pose Yoga Bag, Sounds like Fun Child's Sweater, Beachcombing Pillow, Potential Energy Men's V-neck Sweater, Power Cables Unplugged Summer Top)
  • Inspired by Time (Ripples in Time Baby Sweater, Evolving Traditions Cable and Fair Isle Sweater, Metro Retro Men's Sweater, Celtic Icon Hooded Zippered Cardigan, Peek-a-Boo Summer Sweater)
My favorites from this book include the Practice Makes Perfect Hat, which is square shaped and has tassles like pigtails coming off the sides. It is very whimsical. Order and Chaos looks warm and cozy. Peek-a-boo is delicate and feminine.

The patterns are beautiful, but they do not happen to inspire me. After this first reading, I have not added any of the patterns to my queue.


Cables Untangled: An Exploration of Cable Knitting - Over 20 Designs & More than 100 Cable Stitches by Melissa Leapman

As someone who is starting to design her own projects, a book like this is fantastic as a cable reference. A reference for both how to chart cabled projects, but also the stitch portion of the book divides the cables in a very logical way so you can easily compare different twists and find the one that would work best in your own project.

The reference portion of this book is extraordinary, and not just the cable reference. If you have never tried cables before, you would benefit from the introductions in helping you read the cable charts and how to make a cabled stitch.

The Patterns:
  • Simple Projects for Cabling Beginners - Simple Hat and Scarf Set, Women's Simple Pullover
  • Accents for the Home - Perpendicular Squares Afghan, Entwined Cables Pillow, Aran-Style Afghan, Harvest Tweed Afghan, Rug with Faux Tassles, Two-Color Pillow, Sampler Afghan,
  • Clothing for Women - Tweed Pullover, Poncho, Fringed Skirt, Cotton Raglan, Turtleneck, Sleveless V-Neck
  • Gifts - Men's Intertwined Cables Pullover, His/Hers Reversible Scarf, Little Handbag with Handles, Child's Crewneck Pullover, Men's Tweed Pullover, Baby Blankie

The intermixing of colorwork and cables in the Two-Color Pillow is exquisite. I had never imagined how beautiful it could be to mix the two together. I want to buy this book, and have added it to my Amazon Wishlist.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

More Felted Oven Mitts

I really like this felted oven mitt pattern. I have used this pattern multiple times before. I continue to use up my remnant WoTA yarn from KnitPicks to create oven mitts. I love giving these as gifts.

Striping Pattern (starting from CO edge): 5 gray, 4 dark gray, 10 gray, 10 black, 20 gray, 20 dark gray, 10 gray, 10 black. Thumb: 9 gray, 9 dark gray.


Striping pattern: 5 gray, 5 other remnant color. The same pattern was used on the thumb.

So I tried to machine wash the oven mitts to save my hands some grief. I only have access to front loading washing machines, so I tied them up in a pillowcase and gave it a whirl. One cycle was not enough to felt them completely, although there has been some progress. I also had to pry apart the insides as they had lightly felted together. It was still worth it, and I can use hand felting to go through the rest.

Mitts after one round of machine felting. See how there is still a lot of definition to the stitches.

It appears that the light gray doesn't felt as well as darker colors. I wonder if it's been bleached, like white yarns. I completed the rest of the felting by hand. Hand Felting Tip: Sometimes it helps to let the item dry completely in the middle of the felting process. When you place the dried object back into hot water, it shrinks up, making the end of the felting easier.

The finished oven mitts.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Laura's Hermione's Cable & Eyelet Hat

My friend Laura is a a huge Harry Potter fan. We once tried (foolishly) to have a marathon and watch all of the movies in one sitting (we made it through the first two). I could not imagine a better pattern to use than "Hermione Loves Ron" the hat Hermione wore in the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I want to use Sidar Country Style DK wool (machine washable - 45% Acrylic, 40% nylon, 15% wool) in Color 423 (dusky pink) and size 3 knitting needles. There are two patterns for this Hermione hat, one using worsted weight wool and another with sport weight (this one is available for free at Ravelry, but you have to make a free account).

I like the way the ribbing looks on the WS more than the RS, so I inverted the project after this row. When weaving in the loose ends I took care of the tiny hole.

right side (left) and wrong side (right) of the ribbing

I did 5 repeats of the cable/lace instead of 4. I suppose that this makes the hat longer than it appears on Emma Watson in the movie, but I preferred to make this a hat versus a cap.


Side of hat (left) and top of hat (right). I thought the deceases were really pretty.

Enjoy the hat, Laura!


Saturday, May 15, 2010

Annemor #5

I had been given some nice Sidar Country Style DK wool (machine washable - 45% Acrylic, 40% nylon, 15% wool) in Color 411 (cream) and Color 423 (dusky pink). I thought that these would make a pair of mittens from SELBUVOTTER: Biography of a Knitting Tradition. I usually make gloves with fingering weight wool, so to use the DK wool I decided to adapt a child's size pattern to an adult woman's small.

Modifications to the Pattern:
  • DK weight rather than fingering
  • Size 3 (3.25 mm) needles
  • After the cuff patterns, there is an increase round, followed by 1 round in the MC. I knit 3 rounds in the MC at this step instead of one.
  • In the main charted pattern, I inserted 4 rows in between the birds. This required some (trivial) adjustment to the palm pattern (which was a 7 row repeat).
These fit my small hands, and should fit the hands of the intended recipient! I haven't done too much with DK wool, and I love the way that it felt on my fingers.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Teach Yourself Visually: Handspinning


Teach Yourself Visually Handspinning (Teach Yourself Visually Consumer) by Judith MacKenzie McCuin

The teach yourself visually series does have fantastic pictures. There are stretches for the spinners hands, and really clear instructions on how you should be holding things. These pictures were extremely helpful to a novice like myself. The book is not just for the first spinning attempt. It discusses how to work with more advanced fibers, color and ply. If spinning is something that I want to seriously persue, I would add this to my bookshelf.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Slightly Smaller K1B Baby Hat



Earlier this year, I designed a Knit-One-Below (K1B) baby hat. The finished size had a 14" circumference, which would fit a baby 3-6 months. The K1B fabric is stretchy, so the hat would be able to fit an older baby. I wanted to make the same hat smaller so it could be a gift for a younger baby.

The hat was knit with 100% cotton Peaches & Creme, Gum Drop (Color 205) on size 3 (3.25 mm) double pointed needles.



The only details altered are the number of stitches that I cast on, and the way I did crown decrease. I cast on 54 stitches instead of the 60 in the pattern. K1B cloth is so stretchy, that I could have reduced the CO stitches even further. This hat is closer to the 3 month of 3-6 month range.

New Round 1 for Decrease: *K1B, (K1, K1B) 7 times, K3tog*, repeat from * across (48 sts)

Old hat: 14" circ, 6.5" high. (circ is actually closer to 15 inches)
New Hat: 13" circumference

In the hat shown on the pattern page, the K1, K1B pattern eliminated pooling. Here the color changes are more frequent, and it softened the pooling by mixing it up a bit. I'm actually THRILLED with how the spirals came out. If I had not made this a K1B hat, then I would have seen more horizontal stripes since the colors repeated every other row.

References

Friday, May 7, 2010

Search for Felted Bowl Knitting Patterns

Do you need a place to toss your keys? What about something to stick that ugly plastic plant pot in? Check out these patterns I've found for felted bowl knitting patterns.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Butterfly Finger Puppet Knitting Pattern

When I was designing Metamorphesis part II: the Butterfly, I realized that the body of this insect would be the perfect size for a finger. I therefore have modified that pattern to be a finger puppet! If you have already knit the stuffed butterfly plushie, then the wing patterns will look familiar. Enjoy!

Materials
  • Knitting Needles: 4 dpn Size 1, (2.5 mm)
  • Crochet Hook (for Antennae): B/1 - 2.25 mm
  • Yarn: Remnants of KnitPicks Palette Yarn (Fingering weight) hand dyed in a blue-green colorway (Wings) and Black (Body)
  • Misc: Toy stuffing, yarn needle.
  • Finished Size: 4" wingspan. (The entire creature is smaller than 4"x4" square)

The finger puppet (right) and the stuffed butterfly toy (left) that inspired this design.

Body

Row 1: Cast on 6 sts in the body color , join and knit 1 row (This is the tip of the head)
Row 2: kfb across - 12 sts
Row 3: K across
Row 4: Kfb across - 24 sts
Rows 5-8: K across
Row 9: *K2, K2tog* across - 18 sts
Row 10: K across
Row 11: K2tog across - 9 sts
Row 12: K across
At this point you should stuff the head of the butterfly. This is the only point in the entire project where you need some kind of polyfill stuffing.
Row 13: Kfb across - 18 sts
Row 14: K across
Row 15: *K2, Kfb* across - 24 sts
Rows 16 -19 : K across Rows 20-42 : *K2, P2* across. (23 rows of ribbing, or enough for the puppet to fit comfortably on your finger. )
Bind off loosely, sticking to the ribbing pattern. . Weave in loose ends.

I have small hands (size 6 ring finger), and this fits loosely on my finger. After row 19, you can check the fit of the puppet to evaluate whether you want to make it tighter or not. You can achieve a smaller finger case by increasing to a smaller number of stitches after stuffing the head. (This may result in needing to change the ribbing pattern.)


With the weight that the wings have, I do not want the puppet to fly off of my finger as I'm "Flying" the butterfly.

Antennae:
(See the Butterfly Plushie Pattern for construction images.) Cut a 12 inch piece of yarn (same as body color). With the yarn needle, insert into the butterfly head so the ends come out where you would like the antennae to be placed. Using the B crochet hook, crochet a chain (using a knit stitch for the first loop) until you get the desired length for an antenna (approximately 0.5 inch). Draw the free end of the yarn through the last loop, pull tightly, and cut the yarn.


Lower Wings
(make 2)
Since these wings have a lot of increases and decreases, I've made a schematic (see right) to help you visualize the wing construction. This scheme shows one half of the wing.

Row 1: Cast on 8 sts. Join in the round and K 1 round even.
Row 2: Kfb, K2, Kfb, Kfb, K2, Kfb (12 sts)
Row 3: K1 round even
Row 4: Kfb, K4, Kfb, Kfb, K4, Kfb (16 sts)
Row 5: K1 round even
Round 6: Kfb, K6, Kfb, Kfb, K6, Kfb (20 sts)
Row 7: kfb, K8, kfb, kfb, K8, kfb (24 sts)
Row 8: kfb, K10, kfb, kfb, K10, kfb (28 sts)
Row 9: K 1 round even
Row 10: kfb, K12, kfb, kfb, K12, kfb (32 sts)
Rows 11-13: K across
Row 14: SSk, K12, K2tog, ssk, K12, K2tog (28 sts)
Row 15-16: K across
Row 17: SSK, K10, K2tog, SSK, K10, K2tog (24 sts)
Row 18: K across
Row 19: SSK, K8, K2tog, SSK, K8, K2tog (20 sts)
Row 20: SSK, K6, K2tog, SSK, K6, K2tog (16 sts)
Divide the stitches so there are 8 sts on one needle, and 8 on the other and do a three needle bindoff. Weave in all loose ends.


Upper Wings (make 2)
Since these wings have a lot of increases and decreases, I've made a schematic (see right) to help you visualize the wing construction. This scheme shows one half of the wing.

Row 1: Cast on 8 sts. Join in the round and K 1 round even.
Row 2: Kfb, K2, Kfb, Kfb, K2, Kfb (12 sts)
Row 3: K1 round even
Row 4: Kfb, K4, Kfb, Kfb, K4, Kfb (16 sts)
Row 5: K1 round even
Round 6: Kfb, K6, Kfb, Kfb, K6, Kfb (20 sts)
Row 7: kfb, K8, kfb, kfb, K8, kfb (24 sts)
Row 8: kfb, K10, kfb, kfb, K10, kfb (28 sts)
Row 9: K 1 round even
Row 10: kfb, K12, kfb, kfb, K12, kfb (32 sts)
Row 11: K 1 round even
Row 12: K15, Kfb, Kfb, K15 (34 sts)
Row 13: k 1 round even
Row 14: SSk, K14, Kfb, kfb, K14, K2tog (34 sts)
Row 15: k 1 round even
Row 16: K16, Kfb, Kfb, K16 (36 sts)
Row 17: ssk, K32, K2tog (34 sts)
Row 18: K16, Kfb, Kfb, K16 (36 sts)
Row 19: ssk, K32, K2tog (34 sts)
Row 20: K16, Kfb, Kfb, K16 (36 sts)
Row 21: ssk, ssk, K28, K2tog, k2tog (32 sts)
Row 22: ssk, ssk, K24, k2tog, k2tog (28 sts)
Row 23: ssk, ssk, K9, kfb, kfb, K9, k2tog, k2tog. (26 sts)
Row 24: ssk, ssk, K18, k2tog, k2tog (22 sts)
Row 25: ssk, ssk, K14, k2tog, k2tog (18 sts)
Row 26: ssk, ssk, ssk, K1, K2tog, ssk, K1, K2tog, K2tog, K2tog (10 sts)
Row 27: ssk, K1, K2tog, ssk, K1, k2tog, (6 sts)
Divide the stitches so there are 3 sts on one needle, and 3 on the other and do a three needle bindoff. Weave in all loose ends.
NOTE: this wing may require slight blocking to remain in it's shape.


The unassembled pieces in the orientation that you'll sew them to the body.

Finishing

(See the Butterfly Plushie Pattern for construction images.) Arrange upper wings over lower wings until you get the wing shape you desire. Stitch the cast on tips (where the wings will be attached to the body) together and attach to the body. If the antennae are too curled for your preference, use some water to help straighten them out.


Underside of the finger puppet. Make sure you don't accidentally sew the body shut when you're attaching the wings!



Put the puppet on your finger and fly away!

--------------------------------------
Abbreviations Used in this pattern:
Kfb - increase by knitting into the front and back of a single stitch.
K - knit
P - purl
SSK - decrease by slipping two stitches then knitting them together. Alternatively, you could slip one stitch, knit one stitch and pass slipped stitch over.
K2tog - decrease by knitting two stitches together.


This this pattern was created by ChemKnits for your personal or charity use. This pattern is not to be replicated, sold or redistributed without permission from ChemKnits. © 2010 ChemKnits

Monday, May 3, 2010

Worm Finger Puppet Knitting Pattern

I was a huge fan of Sesame Street as a child. I particularly loved Oscar the Grouch and his friend Smiley the Worm. This character provided inspiration for the following finger puppet.


Materials
  • Knitting Needles: 4 double pointed needles Size 1 (2.5 mm)
  • Yarn: Remnants of KnitPicks Palette Yarn (Fingering weight) hand dyed Orange (MC) and Beige (CC).
  • Gauge: ~9-10 sts/inch in stockinette. For a swatch I'd recommend casting on 18 sts and knitting in the round to see if that would fit your finger.
  • Misc: Toy stuffing, yarn needle, 2 Googly Eyes (or black yarn to embroider eyes).
  • Finished Size: 3.25" long, 0.75" wide at the head. Fits a woman's finger with a size 6 ring size.

Body

Row 1: Cast on 6 sts in MC, join and knit 1 row (This is the tip of the head)
Row 2: kfb across - 12 sts
Row 3: K across
Row 4: Kfb across - 24 sts
Rows 5-8: K across
Row 9: *K2, K2tog* across - 18 sts
Row 10: K across
Row 11: K2tog across - 9 sts
At this point you should stuff the head of the worm. This is the only point in the entire project where you need some kind of polyfill stuffing.
Row 12: Switch to CC. K across
Row 13: Kfb across - 18 sts
Row 14: K across
Rows 15-17: (MC) K across
Rows 18-20: (CC) K across
Repeat the 3-row stripe pattern 4 more times.
With MC: work 2 rows in 1x1 rib (K1, P1 across)
Bind off in the 1x1 ribbing pattern.


Tip: Check the fit as you go. It is easy to see how the puppet is fitting onto your finger as you knit.


Finishing
Weave in loose ends. Glue eyes to the face of the worm. Alternatively you can embroider eyes on the face.


Simple. Fast. Fun. Swap out the colors, make one for every finger and have fun!


Eyes are not essential to have fun with this inch-worm. You can inch along and play just fine without any eyes. To become a more authentic Smiley from Sesame Street, then you may want to use a black bead or embroider black eyes.


Princess Smiley? Since the body of the puppet is so small, rings can be used as hats in your play!

---------------------------------------
Abbreviations Used in this pattern:
Kfb - increase by knitting into the front and back of a single stitch.
K - knit
P - purl
SSK - decrease by slipping two stitches then knitting them together. Alternatively, you could slip one stitch, knit one stitch and pass slipped stitch over.
K2tog - decrease by knitting two stitches together.
MC - Main Color
CC - Contrast Color


This this pattern was created by ChemKnits for your personal or charity use. This pattern is not to be replicated, sold or redistributed without permission from ChemKnits. © 2010 ChemKnits

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Duck, Duck, Gosling!


So this pattern is actually for a duckling (Bird in Hand pattern from Family Circle Easy Toys: 25 Delightful Creations to Knit and Crochet (Family Circle) by Trisha Malcolm), but with the grey color I've chosen it looks more like a gosling.

I found this yarn in a bin at a local art store, it was the only yarn that they carried (they mostly supply painters). There were no tags, and the ends of many of the yarns were in a snarl that required cutting to get them out. I thought it was worth the $2 per ball, and I purchased two (one for a future hedgehog). I therefore do not have any information on the colorway or the brand that I used. The yarn is a gradient of white and three shades of grey.


It is difficult to see the definition of stitches with this yarn. Fixing a dropped stitch is a nightmare...

I knit the body with size 5 double pointed needles (even though the pattern was knit flat). The pattern instructions were great, but I was initially confused about the finishing. I didn't see where I was going to have to sew up the bird. Turns out... this fabric is double knit! The pattern didn't mention this at all, but I realized it by reading another person's comments on rav.


The "pouch" of the project that will be stuffed at the end, leaving the project seamless.

For the beak, I used orange fingering weight wool that I had dyed for the dinky penguins (redder orange). I used size 3 double pointed needles and a single width of the fingering weight wool. It ended up being double knit but flat, and I curved it so it would look more like a beak as I was sewing it to the head.

I love the little guy! I was thinking I was done after I finished the body, but I forgot about the wings!

The gosling without wings. I thought the picture on the right was particularly cute. Due to the amount of fluff, I thought it was complete without wings!

When making toys, I tend to not pay attention to gauge unless I am required to use different size needles and different yarns. The finished size: 5 inches long, 2 inches wide (body), 6 inch wingspan. I did decide to skip the feet... I loved him too much already!


View from the top.


He's so fluffy and cute, like a little ball of feathers.