Tag Archives: pattern

Pattern: Seedling Mitts

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I’m legit!  I’m a real live pattern designer now!  Of course, I’ve been writing patterns for quite a while now, but so far, they’ve all been self-published.  Yesterday my first pattern published with a legit publisher went live!  It’s very exciting.  I feel all grown up!

The pattern is for my new Seedling Mitts, and is available on Knit Picks through their Independent Designer Program.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThey’re little fingerless gloves that would be perfect for puttering around the garden on a cool spring day (like today).  They are knit up in Knit Picks Palette, which is a really nice hard-wearing wool that comes in a million colors, but if you don’t want to buy the yarn online, you could use any fingering-weight yarn.

My favorite part of the pattern is the little slip-stitch patter around the edges of the mitts.  It’s surprisingly easy to do, but it looks super complicated and cool when it’s done.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASo, drop by Knit Picks and pick up a copy of my Seedling Mitts pattern!

Pattern Spotlight: Baby Sophisticate

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A few years ago, it seemed like everyone I knew was getting married (including me, so I don’t really have any room to complain).  For some reason I decided that the perfect wedding gift was a hand knit or crocheted blanket.  I soon began to hate that decision.  When you have one wedding a year, it’s fine.  However, when you start having three weddings every month, that’s a lot of late nights.

Now, as the song goes, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes…  a whole passel of babies (what’s a group of babies called?  A herd? A pod?  A holler?).

But this time, I am being smart about what hand knits I give out.  Babies get sweaters. Not great big blankets.  Maybe a little stuffed animal or a matching pair of bootees, if I’m feeling generous.  I’m a big fan of EZ’s Baby Surprise Jacket, but sometimes knitting even a tiny sweater in sock yarn is more than I’m up for.  When I learned that a friend was expecting twins, and invited me to a baby shower in a week, I knew that even I couldn’t bang out two BSJ’s in time.

I went to Ravelry and started poking around for an alternative, and I found the perfect baby sweater.  It’s the Baby Sophisticate by Linden Down.  It’s a free download and comes in two sizes, 0-3 months and 6-12 months.  It’s knit up on size 8 needles and Aran yarn (although I used worsted, which worked fine). OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt’s an absolutely adorable pattern.  It’s well-written and easy to follow.  The garter-stitch shawl collar makes the sweater look fancy, but it’s completely easy to do.  And, since it’s knit at a larger gauge, I managed to knit up two sweaters in about a week.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASo, if you have a skein or two of something superwash, and you know of someone (or six people) in the family way, keep the Baby Sophisticate in mind.

Pattern: Little Knit Doll Easter Set

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Flowers are blooming, the sun is blue and I’m sneezing all over the place.  It must almost be Easter!  Candy and treasure hunting; what more could you ask for in a holiday?

The Little Knit Doll loves Easter, too and is ready to go hunting for Easter eggs.  She’s got a cute new party dress, a festive bunny-ear headband and a tiny basket to hold the eggs (or jellybeans) she finds.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThis festive little outfit knits up in a snap, and will be ready to add to your kid’s Easter basket by the Sunday after next.   The dress is knit in the round with short row shaping to make the puffy sleeves and yarn-overs which make adding the ribbon details a snap.  The ears are knit separately and attached to an I-cord headband.  And, the basket is knit in a single piece with very little finishing.

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Find the patters here:

Little Knit Doll (includes doll and sundress)

Little Knit Doll Easter Set (includes dress, headband and basket)

Pattern: Hellenic Pullover

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAHey, did you like my Ravellenic Games sweater?  Want to make one yourself?  I wrote out a pattern!  (Word of warning, it’s the first time I’ve really written out a full-on-sweater-in-multiple-sizes pattern, so there might be some math errors.  I tried to make all the math come out right, but you never know.)

Anyway, this sweater is a simple top down yoke pullover with slip-stitch colorwork at shoulders, hem and cuffs. A few short rows at the back of the neck make the sweater lay nicely over your shoulders, and a rolled ribbing collar gives this sweater a beautiful finish. It’s knit a fairly large gauge with cozy (and affordable) Knit Picks’ Wool of the Andes, making it perfect for when you want a new hand-knit sweater right now.

The pattern is available here:

Hellenic Pullover

Ravelry

 

Through the Grapevine Socks

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These are socks worth gossiping about!  Their simple structure is offset by two panels of ladylike texture on either side of the leg.  Two grapey cables run between trellises of delicate openwork, making a sock that looks intricate, but is very simple to work up.  A delight to knit, and a pleasure to wear, the grapevine will be talking about these socks for years to come!

The Through the Grapevine Socks are knit on size 2 double-point needles using Knit Picks Stroll yarn (or your favorite brand of sock-weight yarn), in women’s size Small-Medium or Medium-Large.  They are worked from the 1×1 ribbed cuff down to the toe.  The heel is made using standard heel-flap construction, and the toe is created with sets of decreases on either side of the foot and closed up with the Kitchener stitch.  If you have difficulty with sock construction, please see my pattern “Socks by the Numbers” for more information.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAKnit up a pair of Through the Grapevine Socks for yourself.  The pattern is available through my Ravelry store for three dollars:

Pattern-The Little Knit Doll

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Now that everyone’s back from their Christmas (or New Year’s, or Winter Solstice, or Snowpocalypse 2014) breaks, I wanted to post my newest pattern again, so that everyone can have a chance to see it (and ooh and aah).

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThis sweet little doll is looking for a home. Do you know a little girl or boy who will give her one? The little knit doll and accompanying doll-sized printable storybook are perfect for little kids. Complete with style-able hair and a removable dress, the Little Knit Doll is just as ready to play house as she is to go adventuring with her friends.

The Little Knit Doll’s construction is very simple. She is knit in the round with minimal sewing. All shaping is done with simple increases and decreases, except for the feet, which are worked like tiny socks. Luxurious long hair is applied with a crochet hook, which makes her hair fully style-able. Her embroidered face makes her safe for children of all ages. Her adorable green dress is also knit in the round with virtually no finishing.

The pattern for the Little Knit Doll is available through Ravelry:

The Little Knit Doll

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Merry Christmas!

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI hope you’re having a fantastic Christmas, and I hope that Santa brought you everything that was on your Christmas list.

I’ve got one more extra-special present just for you, dear readers! A little bitty knit doll of your very own.  And, she comes with a little bitty storybook of her very own.   She has long flowing hair and a removable dress, and she is just as ready to play house as she is to go adventuring with her friends.

The Little Knit Doll’s construction is very simple.  She is knit in the round with minimal sewing.  All shaping is done with simple increases and decreases, except for the feet, which are worked like tiny socks.  Her luxurious long hair is applied with a crochet hook, just like adding fringe to a scarf.  She is totally safe for children of all ages, with her embroidered face.  And, her adorable green dress is knit in the round with virtually no finishing.

The Little Knit Doll is now available through Ravelry for $5.00.

Get the pattern here

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’m posting The Little Knit Doll here exclusively for about a week.  But starting next week, the pattern will be available through Ravelry for $5, so download it now, if you want it for free.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAHo Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!

DIY DPN Holder

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Here’s a neat idea from blogger the Good Weekly.  DIY felt DPN (double-pointed needle) cases.  How cute are they?  If I had a million hours to do all the cute stuff I found online, I would be a happy camper.  But this project… I might just do, even though I don’t have a million hours.

holder_group-810x537[1]Go visit the Good Weekly to see their super simple tutorial.

knit_holder[1]

Pattern: the n00b Hat

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThanks for playing along with me and my hat-making shenanigans!  I’ve compiled the last month’s-worth of n00b hat-ness into one easy-to-find .pdf pattern.  Feel free to download it, use it, or share it, whatever you like.  Maybe your friend/mom/dad/kid sister/weird guy down the street wants to learn how to knit.  I’d be delighted if folks started using this pattern more and more.  And I’d love to see everyone’s first n00b hats!  That would totally make my day!

The nOOb Hat

 

n00b Hat, or Learning to Knit: Part 1

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So, I heard that some of you don’t know how to knit (yet).  If you’re interested, let’s fix that.

This is a pattern I created years and years ago.  I was part of my college club the “Knitting Illini” (at the University of Illinois, hence the “Illini”).  We had to teach a new crop of people how to knit every year, and we didn’t want to scare them off with great big scarves, or boring washcloths.  I thought a hat was a fun, useful, and small enough project for new knitters.  And, you end up with a hat at the end of a couple of weeks. Win-win.

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It’s a basic beanie with a garter stitch brim.  It’s knit flat and seamed up the back.  It’s pretty much one size fits all, and is super cozy.  I have a couple I’ve made over the years and I wear them all the time.

I’m going to be posting small chunks of the project every Friday for the next couple weeks.  That way you can play along at home.  As you work on the hat you’ll learn how to cast on, knit, purl, decrease and finish a project, skills that constitute about 90% of all knitting.  And, if you keep up, you should end up with a pretty nifty hat by the time truly cold weather kicks in.

“Yes!” you say.  “I want to do this!  What do I need?”

Well, dear reader, you don’t need much:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA-1 skein of worsted weight yarn.  You can go luxurious or cheap, or somewhere in between.  If you want to go the cheap route, Red Heart SuperSaver costs about two bucks and can be found literally everywhere.  If you want to go the luxurious route, find an independent yarn store and ask the clerk to get you something fancy for a worsted weight hat.  May I recommend Malibrigo?

-1 pair of size 8 knitting needles.  Whatever kind you like.  I recommend straight needles for ultra beginners.  Wood or metal, doesn’t matter.

-1 tapestry needle.  I forgot to take a picture of this.  It’s a big sewing needle.  Sometimes they are metal, sometimes they are plastic.  You’ll use this at the very end to finish your hat.

-1 pair of scissors (or really strong teeth, I suppose).  You won’t need these until the very end.

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