Saturday, October 15, 2011

Indy's Puppy Christmas Stocking


I made stockings for me and Keith last year, and now that we have a new addition to our family, Indy needs a stocking, too! I created this stocking from a series of dog themed knitting charts. The dimensions are the same as my other stockings, but I knit this with fingering weight wool instead of sport weight. (Since Indy is smaller than us, Keith wanted his stocking to be smaller, too.)


Materials
  • Knitting Needles: 5 - size 1 (2.5 mm) double pointed knitting needles
  • Yarn: 3 colors of KnitPicks Palette Yarn - Oyster Heather (cream, MC; 21 g), Garnet Heather (red, CC1; 15 g), and Brindle Heather (brown, CC2 - shown as pink on the chart; 7 g).

  • Gauge: Not important, but tight enough so you won't see the floats
  • Misc: Yarn needle
  • Finished Size: 4" wide, 16" top to toe.


The Chart (Knit from the bottom up, right to left. The image can be opened larger if you open them in a new window.) There are 116 rows to the chart total. See the instructions below for where the afterthought heel goes!

You can also access the Excel document of Indy's Stocking Knitting Chart so you can enter your own initials (Note: you will need to save the document as another file before you can edit it). Check out my tutorial on how to make knitting charts in Excel to help with making changes.


Indy's Stocking Pattern (or see the pdf print out of this page)
  • Cast on 70 stitches in MC. I arranged the stitches on 4 double pointed needles as follows: 20, 15, 15, 20. There are 35 stitches per side of the stocking.
  • Join to knit in the round, and begin to work the chart (see below). The stocking is knit from the top down. The first two knit rows are the first two rows in white on the chart. The chart is followed starting at the bottom, and working from right to left. I'm sure that you don't have a puppy named Indy, so when you substitute the letters with your dog's initials or name, make sure you turn them upside down so they are oriented correctly on the stocking. You may also need to extend the length of the bone. Graph paper or my tutorial about making knitting charts in excel may be helpful.
  • Setting up the Afterthought Heel: After the third section (curly loops) has been completed, we will use some waste yarn to set aside stitches for the afterthought heel. This occurs after row 80, and before row 81 of the chart (see the yellow stitches below). You will have completed one complete row in CC1.
    Rearrange the stitches on the four needles as follows: 18, 17, 18, 17. Using waste yarn (I recommend using a color that is not MC or either of the CCs), Knit across needles 2 and 3. Turn the work and purl back across needles 3 and 2. The stitches that you are knitting are shown highlighted in yellow below. The stitches shaded in gray are not knit.

  • Resume the chart, starting with working one complete row in CC1.
  • Follow the rest of the chart until you've worked two rounds of CC1 at the bottom.
  • Decreases for the toes using CC (starting with 70 sts)
    • *K5, K2tog* repeat across (60 sts)
    • K 1 row even
    • *K4, K2tog* repeat across (50 sts)
    • K 1 row even
    • *K3, K2tog* repeat across (40 sts)
    • K 1 round even
    • *K2, K2tog* repeat across (30 sts)
    • K 1 round even
    • *K1, K2tog* repeat across (20 sts)
    • K 1 round even
    • K2tog across (10 sts)
    • K2tog across (5 sts)
    • Cut yarn, pull through the remaining 5 stitches and weave in loose ends.
  • Knitting the Afterthought heel (in CC1)
    • Pick up 70 stitches of the CC1 that is on either side of the waste yarn, cut waste yarn and remove from stocking. (I found it easier to pick up stitches from the inside of the stocking. See below for an image from the RFR stocking.)


    • knit one round even, (70 stitches). To minimize gaps, I will sometimes pick up and decease extra stitches at the edges, or else you can stitch these closed after you finish the heel.
    • Decrease as instructed for toe decreases
  • Braided tie
    • For the tie, I cut 3 - 24" pieces of yarn (1 from each color) and braided them. I then wove these into the hanging corner (I went in and out of the knit fabric more than one time so it would be sturdy when hung).

    • Tie a bow, hang and admire! (I used a bow rather than a loop so I would not be limited to hooks to hang the stocking)
  • Finishing - Weave in all loose ends. Gently block the stocking to get the desired shape. I lightly stitch the top of the stocking closed during blocking to help eliminate the curl.

    The pre-blocked stocking

I have to put a cage over things that I block so Indy won't think they belong to him. Even though this stocking DOES belong to Indy, I don't want him to tear it up!

References
  • Indy's Ball Chart
  • Other dog knitting charts (those used in this stocking and extras) will be published at ChemKnits soon!

Pictures through the construction



I am THRILLED with the way the dog silhouette came out!


Picking up stitches for the afterthought heel


Just before the toe decreases



This was my first time knitting with three colors all at once, at least for an extended project (rather than just a few rows.) I have to say that I prefer knitting with two colors at a time... it goes MUCH faster!

Knitting Completed 10/7/11

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Abbreviations Used in this pattern:
Kfb - increase by knitting into the front and back of a single stitch.
M1 (Make 1)- increase stitch by picking up yarn between two stitches, twisting and knitting.
K - knit
P - purl
I-cord - knit stitches on dpn's without ever turning the needle (effectively knitting in the round with a small number of stitches.)
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 knitting pattern was created by ChemKnits for your personal or charity use. You are not to distribute or reprint this pattern without the permission of ChemKnits. © 2011 ChemKnits