Tag: free

Knitting

Baby Blanket, Pattern Included

Iris Rose

Stash diving, got to love it.  I dove in and came out with a whole bunch of ideas and the yarn to make them without going out or spending money, woohoo!

I knew that I had two Blueberry Cheesecake Caron Cakes that I bought when this yarn first came out.  I am not sure why I bought it but I think it was “oh, that is so pretty that I must have it and why not two?”  I actually remember buying way more than two and that is how my Another Cake Shawl and Latte Scarf came about.

Anyway, back to the blue stuff.  I waffled on this one which is why it sat in my stash for a few years.  I have been clearing up my UFO’s and felt justified in starting something new, something easy, read TV knitting.  This little blanket (70 cm by 83cm, 27.5 by 32.5 inches unblocked) used about one and half cakes.  What am going to do with the left over, I don’t know!

I knew that I didn’t have enough for a big blanket but a baby blanket, maybe.  I used a simple feather and fan pattern with a short repeat, one row of patterning, one row of purl and two rows of knit.  This meant that I only had to concentrate on one row out of four, in other words, perfect.

Me being me, I was determined to knit right through each cake so that I didn’t have many ends to weave in which was a great idea until I looked back after knitting away without inspecting my work and realized that this dark to light colour change was not the prettiest.  I wanted to stop and rip back many, many rows but also just wanted to keep going.  Guess which option won?

I am really not happy with the finished blanket because of the one row and haven’t blocked it yet.  I am going to see if I can use a navy piece (I have some left) and replace the light colour with the dark to fix this glaring, not mistake, but mishandling of the colour change.

If you want to knit a blanket like this one, this is how I made it:

6.5mm or US10.5 circular knitting needle, (knit back and forth) and two markers.

540m or 600 yds of worsted weight yarn all one colour or use up your bits if you don’t mind the ends to weave in.

Cast on 108 stitches; I used a cable cast on.  Knit 10 rows for border.

Row 1: Knit 6 stitches for side border, place marker, K2tog twice, (YO, K1 four times, K2tog four times), repeat to a total of seven times, YO, K1 four times, K2tog twice, place marker, K6 for border.  Each pattern repeat across is twelve stitches.

Row 2: K6, slip marker, P all stitches to next marker, slip marker, K6.

Row 3: knit all stitches, slipping markers as you go.

Row 4: knit all stitches, slipping markers as you go.

Repeat these four rows another 44 times for a total of 45 pattern repeats.  Remove the markers as you go and knit 10 rows.  Cast off loosely.

Easy peasy and very pretty.

If you want a larger or smaller blanket, you need to increase or decrease the cast on by groups of twelve.  Borders can be wider or narrower but I would not go less than three stitches to stop the roll at the edges and six rows at the top and bottom.

I am currently knitting another one with DK weight odd skeins and am using a 5mm or US 8 needle with 144 stitches cast on which I estimate will give me the same size.  I have a bin of this yarn in one skein of each colour, what was I thinking???

Have a lovely week ahead filled with kind thoughts and deeds.  Remember to wear your mask when going out to help oldsters like me stay healthy.

Knitting

Need To Make A Last Minute Gift?

Iris Rose

Are you panicked yet? No? Good for you, that means that you are organized and well self managed. Yes? Welcome to the real world of crafting!

If you desperately need a hand knit gift and only have an evening to pull it off, here are a couple of my free patterns that can be made in that time.

 

First off is my Simple Shawl. Knit on big needles with bulky yarn, you can whip this one up in four hours or less. It only uses 150m of a fancy yarn to create a shawl that highlights the yarn and is soft and squishy. It is an ideal way to use up a special, I only have two skeins, of something pretty.  Block it aggressively when you are done.

 

My next suggestion, if you have even less time, is my Quick and Easy Garter Stitch Cowl. Again, relying on big needles and big or fancy yarn, this is an easy two hour project. I have doubled or tripled contrasting colours and textures to create my own bulky yarn for this one many times making a special, one of a kind, piece to keep your neck warm.

 

 

Okay, I have given you a couple of ideas, now dig through that stash and get busy, time is a wasting!

I wish you all the best for the holiday season no matter who and how you celebrate. Kindness is the greatest gift of all so please give freely

Knitting

Tiger Hat Free!

Iris Rose

Okay, again, I am back at the crafting stuff. DH had a big set back but is on the mend now thank goodness.

Winter is coming and most kids need a new hat this time of the year. I love to knit for the grands and they are at an age still where they will wear a fun hat without worrying about the cool factor.

I published a pattern for a Tiger Hat that has been featured in a pattern round up for little’s hats and has had lots of downloads and positive comments.

This Tiger Hat is easy to knit and fun to wear. I have used the basic pattern and changed it to a cat, dog, teddy, etc. by simply modifying the ears and colour of yarn. Have fun with it! Here is direct link to the Ravelry download (free) for the pattern.

More next week on getting ready for the Big Freeze here in the Great White North. Ah, Bob and Doug, remember them?

Size: The hat in second size measures 43cm or 17” upstretched and 50cm or 20” stretched to fit. It will fit age 2 to 6 depending on the child’s head size.

Materials: I used pipsqueak like and eyelash yarn held together. You will need 70m or 78 yds of main colour (MC), 20m or 23 yds of contrast yarn (CC) for stripes and 10m or 12 yds of contrast yarn (CB) for muzzle and inner ears. You will also need about 4m or 5 yds of scraps of sport weight to make the nose and eyes. Small amount of stuffing for muzzle.
Tools: 6mm or US 10 (40cm or 16”) circular needle or DPNs and 3.5mm or US 4 needles for nose and eyes, a marker, a tapestry needle. You will need a second circular (magic loop) or DPNs for decreasing the crown of the hat.

Gauge: 13 stitches x 23 rows = 10cm or 4” in stocking stitch.

Abbreviations: k = knit k2tog = knit two stitches together

p = purl           kfb = knit into the front and back of the same stitch

Hat:
With MC, cast on 54 (60, 66, 72) stitches and join for knitting in the round placing a marker at the join to mark your row end.
Rnds 1 to 10: Work 10 rounds of 1×1 rib in main colour.
Rnds 11 and 12: Change to CC and knit rounds.
Rnds 13 to 15: Change to MC and knit these rounds.
Repeat Rnds 11 to 15 three more times for a total of twenty rounds in stripe pattern.
Rnds 31 and 32: Change to CC and work these rounds in stocking stitch.
Rnds 33 and 34: Change to MC and work these rounds in stocking stitch.
Rnd 35: Continue in MC and begin decreasing. (k 7 (8, 9, 10) k2tog) 6 times.
Rnd 36: Change to CC and knit 1 round.
Rnd 37: Continue in CC and continue decreasing. (k 6 (7, 8, 9) k2tog) 6 times.
Rnd 38: Change to MC and knit 1 round.
Rnd 39: Continue in MC and continue decreasing. (k 5 (6, 7, 8) k2tog) 6 times.
Rnd 40: Continue in MC and knit 1 round.
Rnd 41: Change to CC and continue decreasing. (k 4 (5, 6, 7) k2tog) 6 times.
Rnd 42: Continue in CC and knit 1 round.
Rnd 43: Change in MC and continue decreasing. (k 3 (4, 5, 6) k2tog) 6 times.
Rnd 44: Continue in MC and knit 1 round.
Rnd 45: Continue in MC and continue decreasing. (k 2 (3, 4, 5) k2tog) 6 times.
Rnd 46: Change to CC (for smallest size do not change colour) and knit 1 round.
Rnd 47: Continue in CC for larger sizes and MC for the smallest size and continue decreasing. (k 1 (2, 3, 4) k2tog) 6 times. This will be the last round for the smallest size. Cut a 20cm or 8” end and take off all stitches with a tapestry needle. Gather up tight and, slipping the needle to the inside, fasten off.
Continue decreasing in the stripe pattern for the next sizes, keep to MC for last rows so that the crown is in MC and stop after k1, k2tog round when there are 12 stitches left on the needles. Take the stitches off as described for the smallest size.
You are now ready for the face pieces.

Muzzle: Using contrast yarn CB and leaving a long tail, cast on 5 stitches.
Row 1: purl.
Row 2: kfb, k 3, kfb = 7 st.
Row 3: purl.
Row 4: kfb, k 5, kfb = 9 st.
Start with a purl row and work 15 rows of stocking stitch.
Row 20: k2tog, k 5, k2tog = 7 st.
Row 21: purl.
Row 22: k2tog, k 3, k2tog = 5 st.
Row 23: purl.
Cut a long tail and take off stitches with a tapestry needle. Gather up and secure but leave the end for sewing the muzzle to the hat.

Ears: Make 2, using MC and leaving a long tail, cast on 8 stitches.
Row 1: purl
Row 2: k 1, (kfb x 6) k 1 = 14 st.
Start with a purl row and stocking stitch 7 rows.
Row 10: Change to CC and knit.
Change to CB and starting with a purl row, work 5 rows of stocking stitch.
Row 16: k1, (k2tog x 6), k 1 = 8 st.
Cast off leaving a long tail for sewing on the ear.

Nose: Leaving a long tail for sewing and using beige or pink sport weight yarn and 3.5mm US 4 needles, cast on 11 stitches.
Start with a knit row and work 4 rows of stocking stitch.
Row 5: k2tog, k 7, k2tog = 9 st.
Row 6: purl.
Row 7: k2tog, k 5, k2tog = 7 st.
Row 8: purl.
Row 9: k2tog, k 3, k2tog = 5 st.
Row 10: purl.
Row 11: k2tog, k 1, k2tog = 3 st.
Cut a long tail (you will use this to make the separate cheeks) and take off the remaining 3 stitches with a tapestry needle.

Eyes: Make 2, using black or your chosen eye colour sport weight yarn and 3.5mm or US 4 needles, cast on 5 stitches,
Row 1: purl
Row 2: kfb, k 3, kfb = 7st.
Row 3: purl.
Row 4: kfb, k 5, kfb = 9 st.
Row 5: purl
Row 6: k2tog, k 5, k2tog = 7st.
Row 7: purl.
Row 8: k2tog, k 3, k2tog = 5 st.
Cast off leaving a long tail for sewing.

Thank you for reading and I wish you a lovely week.  Be kind and remember that we all see through different eyes and interpret through different experiences.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Grand Finale, Textured Shawl Style

Iris Rose

Sometimes life just gets in the way of all of the fun things that you want to do. I finally, and I mean finally, have worked my way through the shawl again and am ready to present to you the third and final (except for the little border of course) part of this shawl. Did I say this is final?  All kidding aside, I did enjoy this work.  I hope that you like it.

This project has been a different one for me. I normally equate shawl knitting with lace and really wanted to branch out to something different. I love textured stitches and used some in my Another Cake Shawl, which has surpassed ten thousand unique downloads, yikes!

Here then without any further whining is Part 3:

If you haven’t gone ahead with the colour change then this is how to make the transition. If you are using one colour for the whole thing or have already done this just zoom past these instructions.

Colour change:
Next Right Side Row: With the first colour, work the border in the usual way, slip marker, yarn over and knit 1, pick up your second colour, leaving a tail to weave in later, and knit the next stitch. Work across the row with (knit 1 with colour one, knit 1 with colour two) to one stitch before the next marker. Hold both yarns together knit the last stitch, yarn over, slip marker, knit the centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, knit the first stitch on the next side. Using a single yarn again, (knit 1 with colour two, knit 1 with colour one to the next marker), drop colour two and yarn over, slip marker and work the border with colour one.

Next Wrong Side Row: Work the border with colour one, slip marker, purl the yarn over with colour one, (purl 1 with colour two, purl 1 with colour one) to the last stitch before the next marker, hold the two colours together and purl the last stitch, purl the yarn over, slip marker, purl the centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over and the first stitch on the second section. Then (purl 1 with colour on, purl 1 with colour two) to the last stitch before the marker. Drop colour one and continue with colour two, purl the last stitch, purl the yarn over slip marker, and work the border. Cut colour one leaving a long enough piece to weave in.

This section is an eight row pattern that will be repeated six times with the first six rows repeated once more.

Row 1, Right Side: Work border as usual, slip marker, yarn over, knit to next marker, yarn over, slip marker, K1, slip marker, yarn over, knit to next marker, yarn over, slip marker, work border.

Row 2, Wrong Side: Work border, slip marker, purl the yarn over, (K3, P2) to last stitch before the yarn over, purl the stitch and the yarn over, slip marker, P1, slip marker, purl the yarn over and the first stitch, (K3, P) across, K3, purl the yarn over, slip marker and work border.

Rows 3 to 6: repeat rows 1 and 2 working the extra stitches in pattern at the beginning and end of each side.

Row 7: repeat Row 1.

Row 8: Work border, slip marker, purl to last marker, slip marker and work border.

Final Border:
Change to the first colour and work four rows of garter stitch. Omit all the increase yarn overs and slip the first stitch of each row as in the border to keep the edge looking the same.

Change to colour two and repeat the these four rows.

Change to colour three and work two rows of garter stitch. Cast off using a stretchy cast off method. My favourite is to knit two stitches then knit those two together through the back loop on the right needle. Knit one from the left needle and knit the two stitches on your right needle through the back loop and so on to the end.

Weave in your ends, block your shawl according to your preferred method and enjoy!  The spine of the shawl looks crooked because I didn’t notice that it wasn’t laid out on the background properly.  It is straight I promise.

Thank you all so much for reading my blog and, as always, if you have any problem with the pattern please write to me and I will try to help you out.  I can be reached on Ravelry as well by the name  bluechicken.

Have a wonderful week filled with happy and kind thoughts to everyone.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Koolaid, Colour to Dye For

Iris Rose

I am going to take a break from the monster shawl today and let you in on some fun that DD1 and I had the weekend before last.

I love hand dyed yarn. I love the look of the rich colours, the different colour placements and the allover yumminess of the finished hank. I tried my hand at dying yarn a couple of years ago and, although I was generally pleased with the result, it just did not meet my expectations. Attempt number two did all of that and more.

Here is the yarn soaking in the sink.  I let it sit for 30 minutes to make sure that it was all hydrated.

Last time I used Wilton food colouring and did not do any research beforehand. I did my reading this time and we used Koolaid, guaranteed to stain anything in its crystal form. The only sad thing about all of this is that, in the wisdom of corporate Kraft Foods, Koolaid in the unsweetened package of crystals that we all know and cherish the memories of from our childhood is no longer distributed in Canada. This meant that an Amazon delivery was in order but, unfortunately, with limited colour (flavour) choices.

I think that we still did pretty well all in all. We had a variety of yarns to try, five in all, from the Knit Picks Bare collection. All are natural animal fibres which made the colouring easy.

Adding the Koolaid!  Then adding more Koolaid!  Then adding even more Koolaid!

Heating the yarn in the pots took a little time and I was so impatient.

Letting them cool before rinsing.  It is interesting that the water went from saturated with colour to clear in a couple of minutes.


I followed the instructions, here, on the Love Knitting website and everything went just as planned except that it took way more Koolaid than we expected for saturated colours. If you are looking at a large batch, this is definitely not the most economical way to play with dying yarn, but it was one hundred percent right on for the fun factor.

Drying took over night but was so worth the sheepy smell in my bathroom, not.  Good thing I don’t use this tub.

And, here we have it, from plain to fabulous!  Now, what am going to make with these lovelies?


I will have the promised next section of my shawl up for you later this week or early next but in the meantime, have fun with whatever craft you are working at right now. Take care of each other.