Hand Knit Crew Socks: Complete

Cast On Date:  June 22, 2010
Completion Date:  August 4, 2010

Remember back in June when I wrote about facing fears and starting my first pair of hand knit socks?  Well, here they are!







The entire experience was much more pleasant than I had expected.  I followed a free pattern from Unicorn Books and Crafts that was extremely easy to follow.   At first I had to get used to the little needles, and thin yarn, and after three attempts to join correctly on the first sock, determination prevailed.  The yarn is so soft, and these socks are custom tailored to fit my foot exactly.  I cannot wait for cold winter floors so I have a good excuse to wear these socks!

Sock Yarn to Socks: Here we go!

Not too long after Christmas I picked up this beautiful, green, hand painted sock yarn from Yarns, Ect...

Cascade Yarns' Heritage is 75% merino superwash wool and 25% nylon:  I was determined to make myself a pair of luxurious socks.  However, other projects kept coming up, getting top priority.  There was the ballet sweater, the teddy bear, the baby hat, the wash cloths.  Oh how I went nuts making log cabin wash cloths for a while!  Every time a project was complete, I'd go to my yarn bin, pull out the sock yarn and say, "Okay, today is the day," then I'd hold it, love on it a little, then put it away.  I have now been sitting on this yarn for six months.  Perhaps I'm hoping if I sit on it just long enough it will eventually hatch into a pair of beautiful, luxurious socks in just my size.

The truth is, this yarn scares me to death.  Not only is it the most beautiful yarn I've owned, it is so very fine.  And then there are the sock needles:  so tiny!  I'm frightened of turning this gorgeous, hand painted yarn into a disaster.  So, I avoid it.  I make a few more wash cloths, another hat, and use up the last bit of cotton yarn in my stash. Yesterday when I went to the yarn stash, and said, "Self, today is the day,"  it made it out of the bin and onto the kitchen counter.

By the end of the evening, and many expletives later due to knots and tangles, it was a ball.

Since there is no time like the present to face one's fears, as putting such matters off indefinitely cannot be healthy, cast on has commenced.

Wish me patience, as it will be needed!

Knit Teddy Bear Project

After completing the ballerina wrap it was time for a fun and simple project.  There is a pattern in Simply Baby by Debbie Bliss that I have been wanting to try, however the pattern looked a bit intimidating.  After reading it over two or three times, I decided it wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought (flash back to chemistry labs!) and with some modifications, the perfect project.  After my less than satisfactory experience with the Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino yarn, I decided to head to my favorite local store Yarns Ect... to find a suitable substitute.  Looking through all the yarns I finally decided on two 50g ball Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool in Fruitcake and one 50g ball of Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk in Vanilla. Once I started, I had so much fun, the bear was complete in no time.

Cast on Date:  April 22, 2010

Date of Completion:  May 10, 2010

As knit by me:


Materials
2 50g ball Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool DK in Fruitcake
1 50g ball Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK in Vanilla
Pair of US size 5 knitting needles
Washable toy filling

Gauge
25 sts and 54 rows to a 4 inch square in garter stitch using US 5 needles


Abbreviations
m1- make one stitch.
k2tog- knit two stitches together
sskI-slip, slip, knit "improved"
kfb- knit into front and back of next stitch
tbl- through the back loop

Body (Back)
With size 5 needles cast on 22 stitches in fruitcake.
Knit 10 rows.
Continue in garter stitch and increase one stitch at each end of next row and 6 following 6th rows.  I uses a make one stitch.  36 stitches. 
Knit 7 rows.
Shape bottom
Next row: K1, sskI, k13, k2tog, sskI, k13, k2tog, k1.  32 stitches.
K1 row.
Next row: K1, sskI, k11, k2tog, sskI, k11, k2tog, k1.  28 stitches.
K1 row.
Next Row:  K2, sskI, k9, k2tog, sskI, k9, k2tog, k1.  24 stitches.
K1 row.
Continue decreasing 4 stitches ever other row in this way until 8 stitches remain.
K1 row.
Next row:  K1, sskI, k3tog, K1.
Next row: [k2tog] twice.
Next row: k2tog and fasten off.

Body (Front)
With size 5 needles cast on 22 stitches in fruitcake.
Knit 10 rows.
Continue in garter stitch and increase one stitch at the end of the next row and 3 following 6th rows.  Use the same method of increase as used on the back.  I used make one stitch.  30 stitches.
Knit 2 rows.
Belly color contrast
Next row:  k14, change color to vanilla and k2, change color to fruitcake and k14
Knit 1 row using correct color pattern in previous row.
Next row:  k13, change color to vanilla and k4, change back to fruitcake and k 13
Knit 1 row using correct color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k1, m1, k11, change color to vanilla k6, change back to fruitcake k11, m1, k1. 32 stitches.
Knit 1 row using correct color pattern in previous row.
Next row:  k12, change to vanilla k8, change to fruitcake, k12
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k11, change to vanilla k10, change to fruitcake, k11.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k1, m1, k9, change to vanilla k12, change to fruitcake, k9, m1, k1.  34 stitches.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k12, change to vanilla k10, change to fruitcake, k12.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k13, change to vanilla k8, change to fruitcake, k13.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k1, m1, k13, change to vanilla k6, change to fruitcake k13, m1, k1.  36 stitches.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k16, change to vanilla k4, change to fruitcake k16.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k17, change to vanilla k2, k17.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k36 using fruitcake.
Knit 1 row.
Shape bottom

Next row: K1, sskI, k13, k2tog, sskI, k13, k2tog, k1.  32 stitches.
K1 row.
Next row: K1, sskI, k11, k2tog, sskI, k11, k2tog, k1.  28 stitches.
K1 row.
Next Row:  K2, sskI, k9, k2tog, sskI, k9, k2tog, k1.  24 stitches.
K1 row.
Continue decreasing 4 stitches ever other row in this way until 8 stitches remain.
K1 row.
Next row:  K1, sskI, k3tog, K1.
Next row: [k2tog] twice.
Next row: k2tog and fasten off.


Head
With US size 5 needles cast on 32 sts with fruitcake.
Knit 2 rows.
Next row: [kfb, k6, kfb] 4 times. 40 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb, k8, kfb] 4 times.  48 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb, k10, kfb] 4 times.  56 sts.
Knit 30 rows.
Next row: [sskI, k10, k2tog] 4 times.  48 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [sskI, k8, k2tog] 4 times.  40 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [sskI, k6, k2tog] 4 times.  32 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Continue to decrease in this pattern until 16 sts remain.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [sskI, k2tog] 4 times. 8 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [sskI, k2tog] twice.  4 sts.
Cut yarn, and pull through remaining stitches to gather.

Snout
With US size 5 needles cast on 36 sts in vanilla.
Knit 10 rows.
Next row: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * to end.  24 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [k2tog] to end.  12 sts.
Knit 1 row. 
Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches to gather.

Legs
Make 2 pieces.
With US size 5 needles cast on 8 sts in vanilla.
Knit 20 rows for the bottom of foot.
Continue in garter st and cast on 14 sts at beginning of next 2 rows.  36 sts.
Knit 6 rows.
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of next 10 rows.  26 sts.
Change to fruitcake and knit 30 rows.
Next row: k5, sskI, k2tog, k8, sskI, k2tog, k5.  22 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k4, sskI, k2tog, k6, sskI, k2tog, k4.  18 sts.  
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k3, sskI, k2tog, k4, sskI, k2tog, k3.  14 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2, sskI, k2tog, k2, sskI, k2tog, k2.  10 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k1, sskI, k2tog, sskI, k2tog, k1.  6 sts.
Next row: [k2tog]  3 times.
Next row: k3tog and fasten off.

Arms
Make 2 pieces.
With US size 5 needles cast on 4 sts in vanilla.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb] 3 times, k1.  7 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb] 6 times, k1. 13 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb] 12 times, k1.  25 sts.
Change to fruitcake and knit 36 rows.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k8, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k8, k2tog.  21 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k6, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k6, k2tog.  17 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k4, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k4, k2tog.  13 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k2, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k2tog.  9 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k2tog.  5 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k1, k2tog.  3 sts.
Next row: k3tog and fasten off.

Ears
Make 2 pieces
With US size 5 needles cast on 13 sts.
Knit 4 rows.
Decrease 1 st at each end of next row and 3 following alternate rows.  5 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Increase 1 st at each end of next row and 3 following alternate rows.  13 sts.
Knit 4 rows.
Bind off.

Finishing
Sew two body pieces together, leaving the shoulders (cast on edges) open.  Evenly fill with washable toy filling then sew seam.  Sew back seam of head, leaving the neck (cast on edge) open.  Evenly fill with stuffing.  Sew snout seam, leaving cast on edge open.  Position and sew to the head, filling lightly.   Sew bas of head to the shoulders.  Fold each ear in half and sew to the head.  Sew the front seam of each leg, then sew the bottom of foot into place, leaving a small opening .  Evenly fill each leg with filling, sew closed, and sew to body. Sew each arm seam leaving a small opening.  Fill each arm and sew closed.  Sew arms to body.  Make eyes, nose, and mouth from felt or yarn and sew firmly in place.

Ballerina Sweater Take Two: Complete!

About three months ago, I began making a ballet wrap sweater for my 3 year old daughter.  I have made many sweaters, some from patterns, and a few from my own imagination, and thought  would be a fun, simple project.  After all, I had been hording this beautiful Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino wool for almost a year.

The nightmare of this project began as soon as I pulled the label off the yarn and began winding it into balls.  There were several, more than acceptable, places in which the yarn was unraveling, noily, or knotted.  Each of the four skeins of yarn had issues, however, I chose to just cut out the bad parts, and go with it.  I had just finished a challenging blanket using the same yarn, and had no problems with any of those five skeins.  

After creating a 4 inch gauge swatch, measuring a few favorite sweaters, and a very cooperative daughter, I had all the materials, and measurements needed to design.  The inspiration to design, as opposed to follow a pattern, came from a new book Design It, Knit It:  Secrets from the Designer's Studio by Debbie Bliss that I had just purchased.  Confident in my calculations, I put the needles to the yarn, and a month later, had all the pieces ready for assembly.  Upon completing the shoulder seams, it was possible something was wrong.  The two front panels just did not lay correct.  Once the sleeves were attached, there was no denying something was terribly wrong with the design.  The shoulders did not lay correctly, the neck seemed too narrow.  My daughter tried it on, and there was no way to make it work, much to both of our disappointment.   For days I poured over my measurements and calculations, but was unable to determine the error. So with much lamentation, I pulled it all out, and once again returned the yarn to balls. 

This time, with the help of a pattern from Adorable Knits for Tots by Zoë Mellor, I set needles to the yarn again, although with much less enthusiasm.  I found the entire process to be tedious, I was annoyed with all the breaks in the yarn, but six weeks later all the pieces were completed.  To be honest, it wasn't my best work, but it was complete, and considering the condition of the materials, I was pleased.  

 

Trying out a blocking technique I discovered on Chic Knits made assembly much easier.  All the pieces of the sweater were rolled up into a damp towel and allowed to dry over night.

 

 

 

 

 

An odd process, really.  It is unbelievable that there is an entire toddler sized sweater wrapped up in that thing. 

The front edges were put into place, and it was really beginning to look like a sweater, when much to my dismay I realized I did not have enough yarn to complete the assembly!  The pattern called for four skeins of this specific yarn, and that is what I had, well minus what was bad and had to be removed.  Just about in tears, I called my friend, who was also making the baby blanket I had just finished, and begged for just a few yards of yarn.  Luckily she likes me enough to share.  The assembly was complete!

 

A few finishing touches of satin ribbon, et voilà, something beautiful is born.

 

Fortunately she has irresistible, big, brown eyes that smile when she is happy making it worth every stitch.

Quick and Easy Wash Cloths: Three

The third of a series of quick and easy wash cloths is complete.  This project is worked in garter stitch, using increase and decrease techniques. 

Using Paton's Grace cotton yarn and US size 5 needles cast on 3 stitches.

• The first row, knit all three stitches.  

• The second row, knit the first stitch, make one stitch (increase), knit the next stitch, make one stitch, then knit the last stitch.  There are now five stitches. 

• The third row, and all other odd rows, knit all stitches.  

• The fourth row, and all other even rows, knit one stitch, make one, knit all stitches except the last in the row, make one, knit last stitch.  There are now seven stitches. 

• Continue working the increase pattern until you have 61 stitches, ending with an odd row. Pictured in green.

•  Next knit the first stitch, slip slip knit (decrease), knit all stitches until three remain, knit two together by inserting the right needle into the left stitch of the pair, knit the last stitch.  There are now 59 stitches. 

• Knit all stitches in the next row. 

• Continue working the decrease pattern until you have  5 stitches remaining. Pictured in brown.

• Slip slip knit, knit one stitch, knit two stitches together.

• Knit the last three stitches together, and pull yarn through the last stitch.

** Place a safety pin on the increase/decrease side of the wash cloth as a reminder**

Quick and Easy Knit Wash Cloths: Continued

The second of a series of easy knit wash cloths is complete.

Using Paton's Grace yarn, and US size 5 needles cast on 60 stitches.  Knit the first stitch, move the yarn to the front of the work between the needles, purl the second stitch, then move the yarn to the back of the work between the needles.  Repeat this pattern for all stitches to the end of the row.  Flip the work, and repeat the pattern starting with a knit stitch.

This pattern is called single ribbing. 

Continue to work in the single rib pattern until the wash cloth measures six inches in length.  The finished cloth should be a six inch square. 

The fabric will look like stockinette stitch but it will be elastic, and lay flat without any curling. 

** If stitches needed to be added or taken away to obtain a six inch wide square, make sure there is an even number of stitches for the single rib pattern to work out correctly.**

Quick and Easy Knit Wash Cloth: Perfect Beginner Project

It is starting to feel as if the yarn for the ballerina sweater is cursed.  First there was the entire rip it out mishap, followed by me leaving my pattern at my daughter's dance class last weekend.   So to take my mind off the woes, I started some quick and easy wash cloths.  These are possibly the best beginning projects for aspiring knitters.    Scarves are traditionally the first things people learn to knit, but now that I am making these wash cloths, it seems as if they should be the A-list project for beginners.  Like scarves, they are made of simple beginning stitches, however they are much smaller, thus knit up quite quickly.   The commitment to the project is less and the sense of accomplishment much greater.  Also, unlike scarves, there is more opportunity to then progress one's knitting skills by slightly varying the pattern, and still getting all the above mentioned perks. 

Then, there are all the benefits the finished project has to offer.  They are so diverse and wonderful for having around the house for dishes, bodies, dusting, and they make fantastic gifts.  A good friend of mine once gave me a gift basket with a few of these, some dish soap, bathroom soap, and a candle.  It was a great gift.

My current project is being worked from Paton's Grace cotton yarn on US size 5 needles.  I started by casting on 40 stitches, then started working in garter stitch (knit all stitches on both sides of the work).  After working 72 rows I had 6 inch square. 

 

Weave in ends and voilà, a beautiful wash cloth.