Amigurumi LadyBug - Flying Version

She's here! I have had a lady bug amigurumi sitting in my design notebook for a long time. I finally decided to get up and knit her. When I started to cast on, I realized I had two options for the wings. I could either place the spots directly on her back (simple version) or I could make two flat wings and attach them to her back (Flying Version.) Since I couldn't decide between the two, I decided to create both. For simplicity reasons, I decided to publish each of these projects separately (but you will see many similarities between the two patterns.)

The knit amigurumi ladybugs: simple version (left) and flying version (right)

This knitting pattern will help you make the LadyBug Amigurumi - Flying Version. To make the LadyBug Amigurumi - Simple Version, see the complementing pattern.

The knit amigurumi ladybugs: simple version (left) and flying version (right)

Materials:

• Fingering Weight Yarn (KnitPicks Palette in Black and hand dyed red; 1-2 g of each) (This project will work in multiple weights of yarn.)
  
  
• Needles: Size 1 (2.5 mm) double pointed needles
• Notions: polyfill stuffing, Yarn needle for weaving in loose ends and sewing wings to the body. Crochet hook for creating antennae.
• Gauge: Not Important for this project, as long as you are consistent between the body and wings!
• Finished Size: ~2 inches long

Body Construction:
(Starting at the tip of the head.)
1. CO 6 sts in Black (MC). Join to knit in the round and knit one row.
2. Kfb across - 12 sts
3. K across
4. Kfb across - 24 sts
5. K across
6. K across
7. *K6, K2tog* repeat 3 times - 21 sts
8. K across
9. K2, K2tog, K5, K2tog, K5, K2tog, K3 - 18 sts
10. K across
11. *K1, K2tog* across- 12 sts
12. K across
Now starting the body of the lady bug. Continue knitting in black yarn.
13. Kfb across - 24 sts
14. K across
15. K1, Kfb, K8, Kfb, K2, Kfb, K8, kfb, K1 - 28 sts
16. K across
17. K1, Kfb, K10, Kfb, K2, Kfb, K10, kfb, K1 - 32 sts
18. K across
19. K1, Kfb, K12, Kfb, K2, Kfb, K12, Kfb, K1 - 36 sts
Rows 20-21. K across
22. K1, K2tog, K12, K2tog, K2, K2tog, K12, K2tog, K1 - 32 sts
23. K across
24. K1, K2tog, K10, K2tog, K2, K2tog, K10, K2tog, K1 - 28 sts
25. K across
26. K1, K2tog, K8, K2tog, K2, K2tog, K8, K2tog, K1 - 24 sts
27. K across
28. *K2, K2tog* across, 18 sts
29. *K1, K2tog* across, 12 sts
Stuff the head and body with polyester stuffing. Take care not to overstuff!

30. K2tog across, 6 sts
Pull yarn through the remaining 6 sts, weave in loose ends.


Wing #1:
Note: these written directions do not include the colorwork. Please refer to the chart to know where to put the spots.
1. Cast on 6 sts in RED
2. P across
3. Kfb, K5 (7 sts)
4. P across
5. Kfb, K6 (8 sts)
6. P across
7. Kfb, K7 (9 sts)
8. P across
9. K across
10. P7, P2tog (8 sts)
11. K across
12. P6, P2tog (7 sts)
13. K across
14. P4, P2tog (6 sts)
15. K across
16. P1, P2tog, P2tog, P1 (4 sts)
17. K2tog, K2tog (2 sts). Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches. Weave in loose ends except for cast on tail (you will use this to sew the wing to the body.) Block wing so it lays flat.

The flying ladybug body and unblocked wings.

Wing #2:
Note: these written directions do not include the colorwork. Please refer to the chart to know where to put the spots.

1. Cast on 6 sts in RED
2. P across

3. K5, Kfb (7 sts)
4. P across
5. K6, Kfb (8 sts)
6. P across
7. K7, Kfb (9 sts)
8. P across
9. K across
10. P2tog, P7 (8 sts)
11. K across
12. P2tog, P6 (7 sts)
13. K across
14. P2tog, P5 (6 sts)
15. K across
16. P1, P2tog, P2tog, P1 (4 sts)
17. K2tog, K2tog (2 sts). Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches. Weave in loose ends except for cast on tail (you will use this to sew the wing to the body.) Block wing so it lays flat.

The ladybug body and wings being blocked.

The ladybug body and finished, blocked wings.

Connect the wings to the body - Sew the cast on edge of the wings at the neck of the lady bug. If desired, you can have these at an angle so the lady bug looks like it is about to take off.

Construction of the Ladybug's Antenna (Images are from the free toy ant knitting pattern.)

• Cut a piece of yarn (~24 inches) and thread through the head of the ladybug. You want both ends of the yarn to be in the location where you want the antennae.
  
  
  
• Using a crochet hook, crochet a single chain (starting with a stitch on the side of the head) until the desired length has been reached. Cut the yarn just above the knot. (see below)
  
  
  One antenna has been cut.
  
  
  
  The ladybug body with completed antenna.

Optional Legs - I decided that I didn't want to put legs on my ladybug amigurumi, but if you want to add legs, I recommend that you follow the instructions from my caterpillar knitting pattern.

Enjoy your Ladybug! If you enjoy your flying ladybug, you may want to consider constructing the simple version, too. See below for some pictures of both version of the knit ladybug.

The knit amigurumi ladybugs: simple version (left) and flying version (right)

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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
S1 - slip one stitch
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 sell, to distribute or reprint this pattern without the permission of ChemKnits. © 2012 ChemKnits

My First Hexipuff

Well my friends, I have catapulted onto the bandwagon. I received the Beekeeper's Quilt knitting pattern through a generous random act of kindness (RAK.) If you are not familiar with this project, the concept is making tiny stuffed hexagons (hexipuffs) out of scraps of fingering weight yarn. Once you have hundreds of hexipuffs, you sew them together into a quilt. This is a project that I know will take me years, so I am adding a tag so you can follow my progress.

For my first hexipuff, I selected my first handpainted wool skein. Since I love this colorway so much, isn't it fitting for it to take a star role in my quilt? This hexipuff is an exception to my plan because I have a lot of this yarn left. I will try to only make hexipuffs out of remnants (and purchased/donated miniskeins.)

How much do you stuff your hexipuffs? I read that one knitter overstuffed hers so they would hold up for a long time, while other users don't stuff them at all. I decided to go the middle ground and stuff them a little. Sure, they will flatten out over time, but this will provide some added warmth. The amount of stuffing was too small to register on my cooking scale (<1g)

I imagine that this project will cause me to run out of fiberfill. I have been working on this same bag for a few years now!

I cast on using Judy's Magic Cast on and then grafted the top edge together (after stuffing) using the kitchener stitch. This hexipuff used 3 g of wool (+/- 0.5 g). This is ~14 yards.

I knit with size 3 knitting needles LOOSELY. Some of the yarns I will use may be thicker than fingering weight, so I wanted to make sure I can keep everything the same approximate size. Thankfully, I am close to the pattern with 3" from tip to tip. (If my hexipuffs started out too small, then it would take a LOT longer to make a big quilt!)

I have not yet decided how big of a quilt I want. I know that I want the project to be at LEAST the large size, so I will need AT LEAST 384 puffs. I am going to stick to cool colors (blues, greens and purples) but I don't mind hints of warmer color in variegate yarns.

NOTE: I finished more than one hexipuff in my first day, but I wanted the first puff to get a lot of notice!

My Ombré

One of my favorite designs of 2011 is the Ombré Hat. I made one for my brother's girlfriend, Jessica, but really wanted to make one for myself. I used size 6 knitting needles, KnitPicks Chroma Worsted (Midwinter) and Blue and Purple Berroco Peruvia. All of these yarns are single ply, and the thickness varies a bit. This gives the stitches some interest beyond the beautiful colors.

Each ball of yarn started with 100g. The project consumed 29 g of Chroma, 27 g of the blue and 17 g of the purple Peruvia. I love the chroma yarn, but I was really disappointed that it arrived 5 g short.

In the pattern, these three yarns correspond to the 9 colors in the following way:

• A - Blue
• B - Chroma
• C - Purple
• D - Chroma
• E - Blue
• F - Chroma
• G - Purple
• H - Chroma
• I - Blue

The hat has some nice symmetry, because the chroma ended at the same color where it began. I have a feeling that this is not going to be the last Ombré hat I ever create!

ChemKnits is now on Facebook!

Are you a fan of ChemKnits? Now you can share it with your friends because I finally set up the ChemKnits Facebook Page!

I know it took me a long time to get onto this bandwagon, but please show your continued support of ChemKnits by liking us on Facebook.

Clean Slate Hat

Last fall, I decided that I wanted to create hats for everyone for Christmas. For my brother-in-law, Ryan, I wanted to make a hat that was manly but had more interest than a simple ribbed pattern. I was thrilled when I found the Clean Slate Hat (available for free download at Ravelry.)

I knit this hat with KnitPicks Wool of the Andes (worsted weight yarn) in Evergreen on size 8 needles. I don't have size 8 double pointed needles, so I finished the top of the hat with size 7 DPN's.

I was concerned about finishing this project using one 50g ball, so I decided to adjust the # of ribbed rows at the beginning to 6 rather than 10. (The designer noted, "making the rib shorter will reduce amount needed to 1 skein.") I probably should I have knit this hat on size 7 needles to get the correct gauge and finish this in 50g. That would have been good to fit my head, but not my husband’s. I’m assuming his brother (Ryan) has a similar sized head, and I want this hat to fit! The project took me 61 g of yarn total.

Where I was when I finished the first 50g ball of yarn.

The pattern is really nice although I found the “skp: slip 1st stitch, knit 2nd st, pass 2nd st over slipped stitch.” to be strange. I substituted K2tog for these skp’s and it looks really good. You should also note that on the decreases for the crowns, you decrease 12 sts per round, not 6 as is shown in the chart. (The SKP’s were drawn into one stitch, even though those would result in a decrease.) The designer messaged me through Ravelry that she would update the pattern accordingly. (I love being able to help out!)

I love the design, it is simple but has much more interest than a simple ribbed hat. The knitting goes quickly, and the chart is really easy to follow. I definitely think I would make this again.

Jack's Ball

Indy has a cousin (well, technically second cousin since Jack's "parents" are Keith's cousins.) Since Keith and I would be spending Christmas with Jack, we thought it was fitting for Indy to "give" Jack one of his favorite toys... a knit ball.

Using the dog themed knitting charts and the blank dog toy ball knitting chart, I designed the following chart for Jack's ball.

Each of these charts are 6x36 stitches. I used the bottom chart to knit the ball so that rows could change seamlessly and without interruption to the design.

I have learned from experience that it is important to felt hand knit dog toys, especially if your dog is a heavy chewer. It is possible that Indy's original ball has survived well because it was one of his first toys, but I am hopeful that when I repair and felt some of his newer knit toys that they will survive a bit better.

I wrapped the ball in a brown paper bag so Jack would be able to open his present himself. Unfortunately, I never got to see this happen because Jack's ball was one of the projects lost in the mail.

Search for Free Owl Knitting Patterns

Last December I received an email from a faithful reader:

"I subscribe to your blog, and I was wondering if you have any patterns for owls. Please let me know; I have a friend who adores them; I would like to make something for her that has an owl on it."

I don't have any owl designs myself, but this email got me thinking. I have seen many great owl knitting patterns (over 500 exist!), both toys and hats with owl cables on them. Here you will find the results of my search for all things owl (knit). I am planning to include projects with Owl Cables, toy knit owls, and owl knitting charts in my search.


Patterns featuring Owl Cables - Making little owls with cables is a lot of fun. You can add eyes to these owls by sewing on buttons or seed beads.

• Owl-Orimetry - This headband features the little owl cables, finished with a duplicate stitch beak and bead eyes.
• Owl Baby Vest - This is a child's baby vest with owl cable figures going across the chest. On the Ravelry page you can see an image where one of the owls was embroidered onto the vest. This is absolutely stunning and I would love to make this when my friends start having babies! You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Owl Coffee Cup Cozy - This version of the owl cable features googly eyes. What a fun and cute way to keep your coffee warm (and protect your hand!)
• Owl cell phone cover - A simple ribbed cozy for your cell phone with owl cables near the opening. This is a good example if you want to see what the owl cables look like without eyes (althouth you can certainly add them!)
• Owl Kindle Case - A cabeled Kindle case featuring a single owl on each side (or at leaset on the one side that I can see in the picture.) This pattern is available for free on a Ravelry project page, no download is required.
• Owl Ear Warmer - This cute headband features two owl cables with tiny button eyes.
• Owl Mitts - Fingerless mitts featuring a single cabled owl on the back of your hand. You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Owl Knee Socks - Owl cables run up the front of these socks, from knee to toe! You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Owl Hat - A ring of owl cables run around before crown decreases of the hat
• Owl Travel Mug Cozy - A coffee Cozy with a single cabled owl.
• Ho(o)t Coffee - A coffee mug cozy that has buttons on the side so you can attach it to a coffee mug with a handle. You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Owl bookmark with tassel - a single owl cable with a long tassle makes a cute little bookmark. I think this would be an excellet stocking stuffer.
• Owl Booties - baby booties that contain owl cables on the top of the foot and around the cuff. Held on with an icord tie. You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Who? - A hat with cabled owls around the brim. I will not be able to share every verison of owl cables hat that is out there, but there are many variations of this theme.
• Owl Mittens - full mittens with a single cabled owl on the back of the hand. You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Owlings - Fingerless mitts with little owl cables around the cuff and right before the fingers. Author's note: Ignore the coming soon sign and the $0.01 price, click on the PDF link for free download.
• Owlie Socks - Socks with owl cables on the top and sides. So cute! You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Flappy - An earflap hat with owl cables around the brim. You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Owlet Beanie (newborn size) - make a baby hat with a single owl cable for your little one. Available as a google doc file.

Toy Owl Knitting Patterns

• Owl Knitting Pattern, Tutorial - I am not sure why the pattern calls itself a tutorial, as there are no step by step photos of the construction. The owl features needle felted eyes and is knit in the round. Simple, and VERY cute!
• Owl Puffs - With a beaded eye and embroidered beak, these tiny beanbag-like owls are super cute. You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Big Snowy Owl - I like that the texture on the body of the owl gives it the appearance of feathers. The pattern includes fantastic photos to walk you through the project.
• Owl Beanbag - This pattern is a little creapy, the owl face ont he beanbag looks almost skull-like (but this could be because of the red and while color choice.) You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Oisin Owl - A three dimensional toy aran owl. You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Ulule Owl - A little bitty owl (amigurumi shaped) with huge colorwork eyes. You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Wise Owl Toy - features crochet eyes and a bow tie. You will need a free LionBrand account to access this pattern.
• Sleepy Owl Cushion - There are some crochet owl semicircular "feathers" that make this pattern extraordinary
• Baby Owl - a fun, cute little knit owl toy.
• Contemplative Little Owl - Shared as a google doc.
• Pigwidgeon: the wee tiny owl - So fun and a really simple knit.

Owl Clothing Knitting Patterns

• Owl Cowl & Neckwarmer - This is a cabled cowl, but not not contain the famous owl cable. The cables on this cowl are the eyel head, ears and eyes (represented with beads.)
• Owl Hat Pattern - This is an amazing earflap hat, the earflaps are like wings! The eyes of this owl are crochet.
• Owl wrist Warmers - These fingerless mitts feature small adorable colorwork owls around the cuff.
• Convertible Owl Mittens - Standed colorwork mittens with a patterned owl on the back. These are convertible mittesn so you can open up the flip top. You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Baby Owl Hat - A square shaped hat with tassels on the upper corners. It looks like the eyes are made from felt and then sewn onto the hat. SO CUTE!
• Queen Owl Mittens - The brillian mitten design features a colorwork owl that spans over both hands. When you hold your hands side by side you can view the entire owl. You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Felted Owl Pincushion Wristband - Brilliant! I always need pins closeby when I'm blocking projects, and this way I wouldn't need waste a hand on a pincushion. You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Hedwig Illusion Pattern - Make and illusion owl. You could easily incorporate this into a scarf knitting pattern.

Owl Themed Knitting Charts

• Owl wrist Warmers - These fingerless mitts feature small adorable colorwork owls around the cuff. I am including this in the colorwork section because you can use these little owls in other projects, too.
• Owl in a Row - Little charted owls, shown in two orientations so you can easily use it in your project.
• Owl Knitting Chart - What fun! This slightly larger owl knitting chart was designed by my friend Craftyville.
• Sweet Little Owl Chart - I think the title says it all! You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com.
• Barn Owl Chart - the pattern page also features a wolf knitting chart.
• Owl Chart - You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com
• Owls & Flowers Chart - A fun owly design. You can download this pattern for free on Ravelry.com

I want all of my readers to know that I take every comment and suggestion into consideration. Lilian, I know you likely have knit your owl project already, but you inspired this pattern search. Thank you for reading ChemKnits.