Baby, It's Cold Outside Hat

size: 2-4 years

Materials:
1 ball Bernat Denim Style
sz 9 dpns (or 2 circs for hat)

Gauge: 10 sts = 3 inches w/ yarn doubledSpecial Stitch: Twist Right (TR): K2tog and leave sts on left needle, insert right needle into the first st and knit, then drop both sts from left needle.



HAT
The mock cables in this hat are assymetrical. you chose the 'ribs' you want to cable and mark with a st marker. i did one rib with a TR every other row, another rib with a twist every 4th row, and a group of 3 cables where the 1st and 3rd had matching cables every 4th row and the 2nd cable was also twisted every 4th row, but opposite of the 1st and 3rd. that is probably not very clear...check out the picture maybe that will help!

CO 64 sts w/ yarn doubled

work k2, p2 ribbing for approx 1 inch
start cabling and work as established for about 6 inches

rapidly decrease the top, maintaining the ribbed pattern, by working 2 sts together all the way around, then work a plain row (again maintaining the pattern) until there are a small number of stitches (like 12-ish).

break the yarn, draw up the stitches, and weave in the ends.

Rush (Mock Cabled Hat)

size: adult, will easily fit from 20 in -25 inches head circ, it's really stretchy....

Materials:
2 balls Shetland Chunky Tweed
Sz 11 dpns (or 2 circs)

Gauge: 12 sts = 4 inches in K2, P4 ribbing pattern with yarn held double

special stitch: Twist Right (TR)
K2tog leaving sts on left needle, then insert right needle into first st and knit it. drop both sts from left needle.

HAT

with doubled yarn, CO 60 sts

1. work 4 rows of K2, P4 ribbing
2. next row: TR, P4 around
3. repeat 1 and 2 for approx 7 inches

Begin Crown Decreases:
row 1: *k2, [p2tog] x2* around
row 2: work even in pattern (k the k's and p the p's)
row 3: *k2tog, p2tog* around
row 4: *k1, p1* around
row 5: k2tog around

break yarn and draw up remaining sts.
weave in ends.

Mom's Favorite Dishcloth

So i will be the first to admit that this pattern is lame. But my mom loved these so much that i thought i'd post them.

materials: Sugar n Cream cotton, or any worsted weight cotton or acrylic yarn
Size H or I or J hook, depending on how loose you want it.

Crazy Stitch

chain a multiple of 3+1 (i did 22)
foundation row: 2 dc in 4th chain from hook, *sk 2 ch, (sc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch* repeat * to * across row

row 1: ch 1 to turn, *sc, ch2, 2 dc* in the chain space from previous row. repeat * to * across row

repeat row 1 until your cloth is a square. then work one round of sc all the way around, working 3 sc in the corners. work one round of crab stitch (which is just sc worked backwards). weave in the ends and wash some dishes!

Coming Soon-Mayflower Baby Top

i'm working on designing a baby top to go with the mayflower baby blanket from naturally caron. the skirt will be the stitch pattern to the right. the top? still working on it. sleeves? tank? stitch pattern? decisions, decisions. i'll post it as soon as it's ready!

update: not happening, people. i cannot tolerate this stitch pattern anymore.....

Sheep Knitting Needles

So I saw bamboo knitting needles online that had polymer clay sheep on the end. Totally sweet. I have polymer clay. I have bamboo needles. I'm reasonably crafty. so I went online to find out how to bake bamboo needles safely. there was no info to be found, so i decided just to give it a shot. The needles are pretty cheap and so if they caught on fire, i figured i'd just get a new pair. well, they DIDN'T catch on fire, or do anything else weird. you can totally bake Clover brand bamboo needles with polymer clay. and when you do, you get this:


crazy good. here they are in their natural environment:

like that glass? it was $1 at CVS.

i'm sure there will be improvements as i make more, but here's how i made polymer clay bamboo needles. metal would probably be fine too...maybe even acrylic or plastic due to the low temp. let us know if you try any of those. sorry for the lack of pix, but i really wasn't expecting this to work out. i'll take some when i make another pair.

1. condition the clay (mush it around until it's soft)
2. cover the top of the needle in a thin layer of clay. be sure to fold the clay under the tip so it won't fall off after it's baked.
3. decorate the tops as desired. i obviously went with sheep.
4. lay needles across a baking pan like this:


5. bake according to the manufacturers instructions for the clay. mine was to bake at 275 degrees for 15 min per quarter inch of thickness. i have no idea how thick they ended up, so i started with 20. they seemed bit soft, so back in for 10 min they went.
6. knit something awesome.

one more pic because they're so sweet

awesome.

-Leigh

Sophie's Ruffled Mittens

So I know winter is almost over, but these kids mittens are such a quick knit that there is still time to make them...or get a jump on Christmas knitting. I designed these mittens for my daughter, Sophie. Since they use a thumb gusset, both mittens are made the same and can be worn on either hand. The Ruffles yarn may seem a bit tricky at first, but is easy once you get going. www.lionbrandyarn.com has a tutorial to get you started.



Materials:
1 ball LionBrand Ruffles
1 ball Patons Classic Wool (or other worsted wt yarn)
1 set size 5 double pointed needles (or size to obtain gauge)
size 5 straight needles (or size to obtain gauge)
2 stitch markers
1 stitch holder (or scrap yarn)
sewing needle and thread to match ruffles

Gauge:
22 sts = 4 in with wool

Size: approx ages 2-4 (you can easily adjust the length to fit your preschooler)

Starting at Cuff (make 2):
With Ruffles and straight needles, cast on 13 sts and work for desired length. (the sample has 5 rows, but in hindsight, that was too short. you may want to work more rows)

With wool and dpns, knit 1 row, increasing 11 sts evenly across row. (24 sts)
next round: join for working in the round(mark the beginning of round), work K2P2 rib across row
(you may want to add 2 or so more rows of ribbing here. i didn't in the original, but, again in hindsight, it might be a good idea)
next round: continue k2p2 ribbing, increasing 6 sts evenly across row (30 sts)

Begin thumb gusset:
K1, pm, M1, pm, k to end (the thumb gusset will be on needle 1)

Knit2 rounds
Increase round: knit to marker, slip marker, M1, knit to marker, M1, slip marker, knit to end

Continue working 2 knit rounds and 1 increase round (in other words, work the increases every 3rd row) until there are 9 gusset sts ending with an increase row.

Next row: K1, place all gusset sts on holder, cast on 2 sts (backward loop method is fine), knit to end of the round.

Knit even until mitten measure 2 in from thumb cast on (approx 14 rows)

Begin Decreases:
slip 1 st from needle 1 to needle 3
arrange sts as follows: 16 sts on needle 1, 8 sts each on needles 2 & 3.

Decrease round:
needle 1: K1, ssk, K to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1
needle 2: K1, ssk, k to end
needle 3: K to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1

Next round: K around

repeat decrease round and next round 2x total
then work decrease round 2x
last round: K2tog around
graft remaining sts together. if you'd rather not graft, cut a tail of yarn and draw up remaining sts.

Thumb
Put gusset sts on 2 dpns, pick up 5 sts evenly around thumb opening
next: Knit 11 rounds
Next round: K2tog around
break yarn and draw up all sts.

Finishing:
weave in all ends. Use needle and thread to sew the cuff seam.


Items made from this pattern may be used for charity or sold if credit is given to the designer and the website.

-Leigh