Cabled Wrist Warmers (Free Knitting Pattern)

Pattern is for medium size - 21cm circumference X 26cm length.
This is the size after blocking. As knitted wrist warmers will stretch with wear, I have knitted these to be very snug before blocking; after blocking they fit perfectly.


Gauge after blocking: 10 stitches and 13 rows = 4cm x 4cm
Yarn used: Rowan Cashsoft DK in Tape (colour 515)

Materials:

4mm circular knitting needle 
Cable knitting needle
DK yarn (stretchier yarn with a good twist is best)
Scissors
Yarn needle for sewing in ends
Some cardboard e.g. from a cereal packet to cut to size for blocking the wrist warmers (cut to 10cm x length required, with rounded edges). Ensure ribbing is not blocked on the cardboard but left to block naturally.

Skills required: 

Knitting in the round on a set of 5 double pointed needles or magic loop knitting on a circular knitting needle
Beginner level cabling


Both these skills are suitable for a knitter with a little experience. YouTube is the best source to find out how to knit in the round or cable

K= knit
P= purl
C4Forward = slip two stitches knit-wise from the left needle onto the cable needle. Keeping the cable needle at the front of the wrist-warmer, knit the next two stitches from the left needle onto the right needle. Next, knit the two stitches from the cable needle onto the right needle.

Pattern:


Cast on 40 stitches and join in the round without twisting the stitches.
Rows 1 - 6: K2 P2 rib 
Cable pattern is knit over four rows:
Row 7: *K2, P2, K4, P2*  knit four times from * to *
Row 8: as row 7
Row 9: as row 7
Row 10: *K2, P2, C4Forward, P2* knit four times from * to *
After 16 cable pattern repeats, or when you have the length you like, repeat rows 1 - 6 for ribbing.
Cast off in K2 P2 rib, cut yarn and sew in the ends and block.

Copyright KnittingPony. For personal use only. Please do not sell any wrist warmers you make from this pattern, or distribute or sell this pattern. Please contact me for any other information or for any errata submissions.

Owl Wrist Warmers (Free Knitting Pattern)

Owl Wrist Warmer

Keep your wrists and hands warm in autumn with these sweet owl wrist warmers! Work in different colour combinations for a variety of looks.


Pattern is for medium size - 20cm circumference X 20cm length.


Materials:
3mm circular knitting needle 
4ply yarn in different colours
Scissors
Yarn needle


Skills required:
Intarsia
Magic Loop


K= knit
P= purl


Pattern:
Cast on 56 stitches on circular knitting needle and divide in order to knit using the magic loop method
Rows 1-8: work in K2, P2 rib
Rows 9-13: knit in main colour
Rows 14-16: work flower chart (7 times, giving you 14 flowers in total)
Rows 17-18: Knit in main colour
Rows 19-27 work owl chart (8 times, giving you 8 owls)
Rows 28-29: knit in main colour
Rows 30-32: work flower chart (7 times, giving you 14 flowers in total)
Rows 33-40: knit in main colour
Rows 41-57: knit in main colour back and forth, not in the round as this will create the thumb hole
Rows 58-66: re-join and knit in the round in main colour
Rows 67-69: work flower chart (7 times, giving you 14 flowers in total)
Rows 70-74: work in main colour
Rows 75-83: work in K2, P2 rib
Cast off in K2, P2 rib


Charts:

Copyright KnittingPony. For personal use only. Please do not sell any Owl Wrist Warmers you make from this pattern, or distribute or sell this pattern. Please contact me for any other information or for any errata submissions.

Sleepy Owl Cushion (Free Knitting Pattern)

Sleepy Owl cushion, waiting to be knitted and snuggled onto a sofa near you!

Sleepy Owl is a sofa or armchair dwelling companion for the knitter, reader or viewer of television. Sleepy Owl is unsure of his status re: whether he is a cushion or a toy. Sleepy owl is about 25cm by 25cm, excluding ears.

Materials:

For the owl:

Chunky or bulky yarn and corresponding needles. I used Paton’s Shadow Tweed. One 100g ball made an owl cushion.

6.5mm knitting needles

Fiberfill for the owl stuffing

Yarn needle

Contrast yarn for embroidery of eyes and beak (you could also use embroidery floss or buttons for eyes)

Scissors

For the embellishments:

4ply yarn in however many colours you would like to use (I used 3 complimentary tweedy colours)

3.5mm crochet hook

Yarn needle

Scissors

Abbreviations/knitting and crochet techniques:

K2tog – knit two stitches together

Treble crochet in this pattern (for the owl tummy feathers) refers to UK treble crochet, equivalent to US double crochet.

Magic loop cast on for crocheting in the round – the tummy feathers are crocheted in rows but the magic loop is the perfect beginning as it’s for a semi-circle.

Pattern:

Body (make two)

Using 6.5mm needles, cast on 34 stitches.

Knit every row for 50 rows (or more if you would prefer a tall owl!)

Row 51: K2tog, knit to the last two stitches, K2tog (32 stitches)

Row 52: Knit (32 stitches)

Row 53: Knit 2tog, knit to the last two stitches, K2tog (30 stitches)

Row 54: Knit (30 stitches)

Row 55: K2tog, knit to the last two stitches, K2tog (28 stitches)

Row 56: Knit (28 stitches)

Row 57: K2tog, knit to the last two stitches, K2tog (26 stitches)

Row 58: Knit (26 stitches)

Row 59: K2tog, knit to the last two stitches, K2tog (24 stitches)

Row 60: Knit (24 stitches)

Cast off

Ears (make two)

Using 6.5mm needles, cast on 12 stitches

Knit 10 rows or however many rows needed with your gauge to make a square.

Cast off.

The two pieces each of owl body and ear.

Crocheted Owl tummy feathers (make 9, 3 in each colour or all in same colour – what ever you prefer!)

Using the magic ring to begin, make 3 stitches and close the loop

Row 1: Chain 2, 3 treble crochet into the first stitch, 2 treble crochet into the middle stitch, 3 treble crochet into the third stitch, turn

Row 2: Chain 2, 3 treble crochet into the first stitch, 2 treble crochet into each stitch until the final stitch, 3 treble crochet into final stitch.

Cut 20cm tail of yarn from your crocheted semi-circle (feather!) and draw through the loop on the crochet hook to cast off.

Alternatively semi-circles of fabric, ribbon or knitted semi-circles could be used as tummy feathers and of course you can use more than 9 and layer them together.

Assembly

Stitch the 2 sides of the owl body together with mattress stitch beginning with the sides and bottom of the owl. Leave the top open so you can attach the ears to the slopey side bits of the top of the owl head area.

Before attaching the ears to the owl body, fold them in half and seam down one side of the ear like this to make a triangle:

Seaming one side of the ear to make a triangle.

Attach the ears to the sides of the owl’s head with mattress stitch.

All stitched together ready to be filled with squishy Fiberfill goodness!

Sew up the owl’s head neatly so the seam doesn’t show. I did a kind of mattress stitch however I’m sure kitchener would also work.

Mattress stitch the top after stuffing with Fiberfill.

Attach the tummy feathers by stitching them to the body of the owl with the 20cm tail and weave in the cast-on end.

Embroider the eyes and beak in a contrasting colour.

Settle your owl onto the sofa for a relaxing nap!

Copyright KnittingPony. For personal use only. Please do not sell any Sleepy Owl cushions you make from this pattern, or distribute or sell this pattern. Please contact me for any other information or for any errata submissions.

Tiny Tooth Free Crochet Pattern

Teeny tiny toof is teeny

This tiny tooth is a quick and easy project and requires little in the way of time or materials. Knowledge of the magic loop/adjustable ring method (search on Google) for starting crochet in the round, and experience of crocheting in the round would be helpful as it’s a tiny bit fiddly due to the size of the project.


The photos are of the slightly larger tooth (pattern at bottom of page). A tinier toof pattern follows.

Materials:

White or cream yarn and appropriate size crochet hook

Fiberfill for stuffing

Stitch marker (a hair grip/bobby pin works very well!)

Yarn needle

Scissors

Eyes: safety eyes/black yarn/embroidery floss/small buttons (I used 6mm safety eyes)

Red yarn or embroidery floss for the mouth

Abbreviations

St – stitch

Dc – double crochet. In this pattern, this is British double crochet, equivalent to American single crochet.

Sl st – slip stitch

Pattern:

Using the magic loop make a ring of 4 dc (4 st)

Round 1: 2dc in each st (8 st)

Round 2: *1dc in first st, 2 dc in following st, repeat from * around (12 st)

Round 3 – 9: dc in each st (12)

Round 10: divide for the two roots with a slip stitch and dc around those 6 st (6 st)

Round 11: dc in each st (6 st)

Round 12: decrease by putting the crochet hook through one half of three alternating st and create a slip stitch, repeat with any other stitches to close the end of the root.

The great divide... 

Add the safety eyes and then stuff with Fiberfill. Using the crochet hook, pull some of the Fiberfill to the end of the root to plump  it out. Due to the construction, the top of the tooth has a dip in it, like a molar:

Top of the molar

Repeat rounds 10 – 12 on the other side of the tooth to complete the second root. Using the crochet hook, pull some Fiberfill downwards to fill the root out.

Weave in the ends and embroider a mouth.

Done!

For a ever so slightly larger tooth, begin with a circle of 6 stitches, then
Round 2: 2 dc in each st in each st
Round 3: *2 dc in next st, dc in following st, repeat from * around
Round 4: *2 dc in next st, dc in following 2 st, repeat from * around
Rounds 5 - 11: dc in each st
Round 12: divide for root and dc in each st 
Round 13: dc in each st of the root
Round 14: dc in each st of the root
Round 15: decrease across sets of 2 or 3 st
Round 16: close end of root
Stuff, add eyes and make another root. Embroider mouth.

*ehn!* Tiny Toof gets comfy on the pillow.

Copyright KnittingPony. For personal use only. Please do not sell any tiny teeth you make from this pattern, or distribute or sell this pattern. Please contact me for any other information or for any errata submissions.

Knitted Cupcake

I do love a knitted cake. I've knitted Battenburg, a slice of Victoria sponge, and crocheted numerous cupcakes and donuts in my time. 


This cupcake was knitted from a free pattern by Spud & Chloe. It's a clever construction with a flat bottom and sides which keep their shape. This means your cupcake will sit squarely on a flat surface, something I struggled with when crocheting cupcakes.

My knitted bobbles. Not so bobbly.

I really like how the decreases on the frosting give the appearance of an elegant swirl of icing: 

Sweet treats can contain fibre!

There is very little sewing up to do as it's knitted in one continuous piece, from the base to the cherry on the top. My only advice to other knitters would be not to make a boob with the yarn colour choices. Stay away from flesh tones... 

Vintage Knitting Magazines

I am a very lucky knitting pony. A lovely friend sent me these vintage knitting magazines!

Stitchcraft, May 1954

There are pretty tops and beautiful twin sets:

One of my favourite things about this magazine are the adverts and problem pages. First up, don't be the odd one out, ladies!

And be sure to look after your skin and set your hair properly:

There are more photos on my Flickr page (link is to the right of this blog post) but I'll leave you with my favourite and the most random: The Owl, the Pussycat and the Monster. The what? Yes. The monster. I don't remember there being a monster!? He's cute. Bit toothy, mind. 

Lace Shrug, or, what I learned from knitting with cotton

Just two balls of Rowan Purelife cotton DK (currently in the sale in John Lewis) and one week of commuting has produced this handy lace shrug. It was a free pattern on Ravelry ("Something Lacy Shrug" by Vera Sanon for Cascade Yarns) and very enjoyable to knit.


Basically this is a rectangle of lacy loveliness with some ribbing on the sleeve edges and around the neck/back part. It is a fantastic project for the novice lace knitter since it's clear to see which part of the pattern you are knitting as you go along. It is easy peasy to memorise the repeats and  therefore safe to knit on the train or anywhere you may be distracted by, say, the strange behaviour of commuters or an exciting event in an episode of Miss Marple. 

I really loved knitting this shrug. I used lifelines to safeguard from having to rip it all back if I made a mistake because unpicking lace knitting is quite tricky. Well, enraging actually. Especially if it's your first lace experience. I am scarred by memories of ripping back hours and hours of lace knitting once. Anyway...

Lacy Shrug and creased dress.

Taking a photograph of your back, while trying to make a shrug look flattering, is tricky. Ignore the creased dress. Thank you. 

Lacy Shrug

Now for the learning points. 


1) Cotton doesn't have much give. I was worried this garment would either be too big and therefore baggy, or too tight and all bunched up in my under-arm area and pulling at my neck.  The shape of the shrug and ribbing does mean that is a risk:

Shrugs. Snug in the under-arm area.

Thankfully it seems to fit perfectly and stretches with wear.  It is a little inelegant when trying to put it on, though. The only issue when knitting with cotton was that it was tricky to pick up stitches because they are not stretchy like wool. But it was fine thanks to the selvedge edge. Phew! I had never used a selvedge edge before but it's genius for sewing up.


2) Binding off loosely. Wow. I thought I had, but cotton is a stubborn fibre and even the baggiest of cast offs leaves you feeling as if you're going to have a really nasty sagging edge to your work, but nope!

Clenching and unclenching the fists helps the blood to circulate...

This sleeve is fine in reality and has stretched since wearing it for a while.


That's probably more than you ever wanted to know about this little project but there we are. I've had a lot of coffee and spent too much time indoors today. 

30's Jumper "To Wear With a Summer Suit"

After around 12 months and one minor disaster of the scissor kind, I have finally finished this lovely jumper from A Stitch In Time (Volume One)! Hooray!

To Wear With a Summer Suit

This was my first ever pattern incorporating lace. I loved knitting the lace portion of the front and back of the jumper; it felt like each pattern repeat was a mini-goal and therefore made for a satisfying knit. The moss stitch sleeves were quite slow in comparison but worth it - moss stitch is just beautiful in this yarn (Rowan Pure Wool 4-ply).

Vintage buttons and pearls to set it off!

One of my favourite things about knitting garments is buying vintage buttons to put on them. Etsy has so many great ones it is difficult to buy just one set... I'm a button glutton.

 

Vintage buttons from Etsy

This week I bought some Rowan Purelife Organic Cotton (DK) on sale in John Lewis to knit a lacy shrug for summer. Strangely, the colour of the yarn is very gray in natural light. I was hoping it would be more brown. I'm quite enjoying knitting with cotton. I'm also shocked at how restrained I was in that sale. How I walked away without bags of other goodies I don't know!

Something Lacy Shrug, Cascade Yarns pattern by Vera Sanon

Have a lovely weekend!

The Chill Pill (Free Knitting Pattern)

The Chill Pill. Copyright KnittingPony.

This squishy woollen pill with a serene smile fits in the palm of your hand.

Materials:

• Two colours of the same weight yarn (I used Rowan 4ply wool)
• Fiberfill for stuffing
• A circular needle or double pointed needles in the recommended size for the yarn you are using (the instructions below are for circular needles using the magic loop method OR a pair of straight needles - 2 needle version of the pattern follows the dpn version at the bottom of this post
• A yarn needle
• Scissors
• Eyes: safety eyes/black yarn/embroidery floss/small buttons (I used 6mm safety eyes)
• Red yarn or embroidery floss for the mouth

Abbreviations:

• K: knit
• P: purl
• Inc: invisible increase by picking up the yarn between the stitches and knitting it to make an extra stitch.
• K2tog: Knit 2 stitches together
• DPN: double pointed needle

Pattern:

Using a circular knitting needle cast on 10 stitches in colour A.

Divide so 5 stitches are on each needle. Proceed using the magic loop method. There are many good videos to explain how to do this online. If using DPNs, divide the stitches evenly on three needles.

Row 1: K all stitches (10)

Row 2: K all stitches (this is an extra row which doesn’t feature at the other end of the pill and is to ensure making increases in the next row is easier as there is more give due to more rows of knitting) (10)

Row 3: Inc between the stitches on the needle. As you have 5 stitches on each needle when using circulars, you will end up with 9 stitches on both needles.(18)

Row 4: K all stitches (18)

Row 5: Inc between the stitches on the needle. As you have 9 stitches on each needle when using circulars, you will end up with 17 stitches on both needles. (34)

Row 6 – 21: K all stitches (34)

Change to colour B and knit 16 rows.

If using safety eyes, add eyes (and mouth if desired) and stuff with Fiberfill. If embroidering the eyes and mouth or sewing on button eyes, this can be done at the end.

Eyes and smile added before the stuffing goes in

Row 37: K2tog until one stitch remains on needle, knit last stitch (repeat on other needle) (18)

Row 38: K all stitches (18)

Row 39: K2tog until one stitch remains on needle, knit last stitch (repeat on other needle) (10)

Row 40: K all stitches (10)

Cut yarn leaving a 20cm tail and thread yarn needle. Thread the tail through the stitches on the needle, once all stitches are threaded on, pull tight and secure yarn by weaving the end into the pill.

Yarn needle threading the tail through the stitches.

Weave in any ends.  If you have a hole where the colours join, take the tail of one of the colours and make a little stitch to disguise it.

Using the tail of the yarn to disguise the hole at join of second colour.

Little hole from colour join has been disguised with a fake stitch!

2 needle version

This version has two fewer rows so that the increases and decreases are worked on knit rows which I believe is easier to do than on the purl rows.

Cast on 10 stitches in colour A

1: K all stitches (10)

2: P all stitches (10)

3: K1, *K1, Inc; repeat from * until last st, K1. (18)

4: P all stitches (18)

5: K1, *K1, Inc; repeat from * until last st, K1. (34)

6: P all stitches (34)

7: K all stitches (34)

8: P all stitches (34)

Repeat rows 7 and 8 (so you are working in stockinette stitch) until row 20 which is a purl row.

Change to colour B and work the other half of the pill as follows:

21: K all stitches (34)

22: P all stitches (34)

Repeat rows 21 and 22 (so you are working in stockinette stitch) until row 36 which is a purl row.

37: K1, *K2tog; repeat from * until last st, K1 (18)

38: P all stitches (18)

39: K1, *K2tog; repeat from * until last st, K1 (10)

40: P all stitches (10)

Cast off and seam the pill along one end and up the middle using mattress stitch.  Make sure you add the eyes (if you are using safety eyes) and stuffing before you’ve done too much seaming!

Copyright KnittingPony. For personal use only. Please do not sell any chill pills you make from this pattern, or distribute or sell this pattern. Please contact me for any other information or for any errata submissions.

Tiny knits for Easter

After knitting the tiny baby bunny from the lovely Mochimochi Land free pattern, I was inspired to knit some mini gifts to take to my family this Easter. 

Tiny baby bunny pattern from Mochimochi Land made by KnittingPony

I don't know why the knitted pirate olive *needed* to be invented and knitted, but that is simply what happens when I knit random things for my father. He loved the olive and has requested an arrrr-tichoke. 

Designed and knitted by KnittingPony

I'll leave you to investigate the strange hamster-ewok hybrid I made for my sister over on my Flickr page if you fancy freaking yourselves out. Just don't look into its eyes.  Happy Easter!

Knitted Royal Wedding

I have been busy working on a variety of projects over the last couple of weeks.  The most fun project is the Footman for the Royal Wedding knitted display in the lovely yarn and gift shop, Rose & Dylan in St Albans.

I finished him last night - there was lots of sewing involved and it was very interesting to knit something like this and understand the construction of the project, since I'd usually crochet (amigurumi) people/animals. 

 

 Here he is with his very neat hairstyle:

 

Above is the book, in case you haven't a clue what I'm talking about!

In other knitting news, I am just finishing up these lovely vintage-inspired fairisle wrist warmers, just in time for the wrong time of year. I'll pack them away for the autumn. 

Designed by KnittingPony

 I'll leave you with an picture of some tulips, which last a lot longer than daffodils. Love springtime flowers! Oh, and some knitted corgis, although I'm not sure why the knitted Queen looks like she's doing a jig.