Baby Tulip Cardigan

I have been hard at work on this new knitting pattern, which I am calling Baby Tulip Cardigan. It has taken a lot of thought, and knitting. Cardigans just seem the best sort of garment for a baby, with none of that squeezing over the head of a jumper. The tulips are smaller than those on my Tulip Hat, but knitted in a very similar way. Each flower uses two separate lengths of yarn - one for the leaves and one for the flower, which are not carried between the flowers on the reverse of the work. I love the look of the raised flowers, but put them only on the front of the cardigan, as I felt they might be a bit bumpy on the back for a lying or sitting baby.

The pattern comes with instructions for four sizes (0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months and 9-12 months). I have written sized patterns before, but this one was slightly more complicated, as the flowers had to be placed on each version. (The pattern contains a lot of brackets, and I hope will be fairly straightforward to follow.)

 

 

I have knitted Size 1, 2 and 4 - each one in a different DK wool that I had in my stash. Some of the places where I sell suggest that you will do better by recommending a specific brand of yarn, but I thought knitting with different yarns was a good way to test the pattern. The cardigan only takes 70g to 120g of main shade wool, depending on the size you knit, plus small amounts for the flowers, so it really is a good way to use up some yarn left over from another project. I used Stylecraft Sweet Dreams for Size 1, some North Ronaldsay DK for Size 2, and some Rowan Designer DK which I think came from my sister for Size 4. (Just looked this up, and apparantly it was discontinued in the 1980's, so that has been in my stash for a while!)

 

I like them all, and am rather fond of Size 4 - with each flower being a different colour, and the different coloured buttons at the front. Spent a lot of time in a haberdashery picking these out.

  

 

 

But what now to do with all these baby garments. I don't seem to know anyone with a baby, so apart from no baby models, I have ended up putting my samples in my Etsy Shop, along with my sample Tulip Hats.

The pattern is available on Ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting.

My resolve was to design more knitting this year, although I have been a little distracted by printing, walking, and now the gardening year is beginning! I have quite a few more ideas brewing, so time to start my next design.

More Wee Mouse Photos and Pattern

As promised here are a few more photos of my mice, this time with what is a bit more of a wedge of cheese. Hard to find a piece of cheese that was perfect. This bit is jarlsberg and had the shape but not quite the holes. But the emmental in the shop had lovely holes, but were all cut into cubes shapes. I have spent quite a lot of time recently looking at cheese!

So at last the pattern is published. Thank you to Jennifer, who proof checks for me, and is brilliant. However careful I think I have been she finds something!

As mentioned before this pattern is knitted with 4-ply or fingering wool, and takes a small amount, about 15g. Well it is a wee mouse. I thought of this idea partly because of To a Mouse poem by Robert Burns. It is Burn's Night on 25th January so I have roughly the right date to publish the pattern. My daughter is off to visit one of her friends in Cambridge today, and is going to a formal Burn's Night Supper, followed by a ceilidh. I don't think she has experienced either before, so it will be interesting to see what she thinks

So here are links to the pattern on Etsy, ravelry and LoveKnitting, and I hope anyone who buys it enjoys making some mice, and you don't find they are overrunning your kitchen.

Malstrøm Fisherman's Sweater

Some of you may wonder if I am still knitting, and indeed am I still writing knitting patterns? I have been a little distracted by walking, gardening and other crafts, and this latest project has taken me such a long time. I have been working on it most of this year, but thinking about it for even longer. But I am really pleased to have finally completed my first adult garment knitting pattern. It will be for sale shortly in all the ususal places: ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting.

A few years ago I knitted my husband an Icelandic sweater. Not from my own pattern, but a fairly vintage one from ravelry, and genuine Icelandic wool. Since then he has been asking me to make a Norweigan style fisherman's sweater. I tried to tempt his with other Norweigan sweaters, but he was very specific in what he would like. Fairly simple pattern over the whole garment, stripes on the rib sections, and reserved colours. I can see this style of sweater for sale, but could not find quite the right pattern.

So I decided to go for it, and write my own pattern. Having written it up for his size, I have graded it for other sizes. The pattern has eight sizes from 32-46 inch chest, so could be for men or women. It is knitted in DK, and I think would also look nice with navy, if you were going for a different traditional look. This has taken quite a long time, and a lot of maths. I am not bad at maths, but knitting maths is something quite specific, which needs not just maths but also knowledge of knitting.

He is very happy with the finished garment, and I persuaded him that we should go all out for the photos. He really is the best, as I am sure a lot of husbands would have refused to do this. It was quite a blustery day, so hopefully he looks like a swarthy Cornish (or even Norweigan) fisherman. Thankyou to whoever owns the fishing equipment that was on the beach at Bude!

Child's Foxy Jumper Pattern

I've been working on this childrens'  jumper pattern for quite a while. When I look back the first small version was knitted in August, so I realise I am not working at a very fast pace. But finally the pattern is complete and published on ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting. The photo below shows Age 1-2 years, and 2-3 years, and the pattern comes in two more sizes up to Age 7.

I really like the little fox border, although in the last week one of our lovely chickens has disappeared. I suspect perhaps a fox, my husband a stoat, and we have also wondered about a bird of prey. But there was no sign of feathers, so my neighbour, who also has chickens, says she may have got broody and be hiding, sitting on a nest of unfertilised eggs somewhere. That would be great, but I am not very hopeful. If it was a fox I know foxes just do what they have to do to live.

Apart from the fox border the jumper pattern is really quite simple. It is knitted in 4-ply, from the bottom up. It is seamed, and has raglan sleeves. The bottom and cuffs have a border of garter stitch, although this could be altered to rib if you prefer that, and the neck is a simple roll collar. You need a small amount of two additional colours for the foxes, and a tiny bit of black for their eyes and noses, which are embroidered on at the end.

 

 

I so love these little foxes I am thinking of knitting a bigger version for myself.

Baby Sail Boat Hat

Another view of my new pattern - Baby Sail Boat Hat. Same cute little great nephew who was in my other photos, who came to visit and has grown a little.

Pattern is for sale on ravelry, Loveknitting and Etsy.

 

Baby Sail Boat Hat

 

I have been busy working on the three sizes for my new sail boat baby hat. I made this pattern up for a hat for my great nephew, which you can read about on a previous post. The pattern comes with instructions for three sizes: Newborn, 3-6 Months, and 6-12 Months.

 

You can see all three hats together below, after they were knitted. I then spent a little while considering whether to add pompoms or not. I really love my instant pompom maker. On the second size hat I knitted a cover for a button, which I also really like, and for the largest hat a plait with a tassel (but not so long that the baby could reach or get tangled with it). 

 

I had my usual problem with the lack of a baby model. Secret - some of the photos above involve a grapefruit and a kitchen bowl. So here again is my lovely great nephew modelling the original version of the hat. And now to work out sizes for the babysuit, so you may not hear from me for a little while!

The pattern will be published shortly in all the usual places, ravelry LoveKnitting and Etsy, and my sample hats will be for sale in my Etsy shop.

Cockle Shell Pattern

I have been busy making cockle shells from my new patttern. My idea is that these will be hanging decorations, perhaps for Christmas, as shells can be a religious symbol. So expect a few more photos when I have attached ribbons. Although I also think it would be cute to make a seaside mobile, with some knitted shells and some of my other sea creatures. I may have a go at this.

A cockle shell is fairly easy to make, and another good pattern to use up any oddments of wool you have left over from other projects. I tried to be fairly realistic with the colours (except for the red which I thought would be Christmassy), but you could go wild and make all sorts. I had an idea that they might look cute with some silver bells, like the nursery rhyme "Mary Mary". 

The only technique that might be a bit unusal is making some turns midrow to make the base of the shell thicker. (I have not put in the wrap stitches which I often do, as this didn't seem necessary.) My other tip is not to over fill the shells with wadding, and to a bit of squeezing to adjust the filling, so that the shells are flatter at the edges.) I enjoyed making this striped shell above, which was just done by switching colours occasionally.

The pattern is available on ravelry, Etsy and Loveknitting.

 

Still plenty of time to to join in Ginx Woolly Linx Party for September.

Seahorse

It's been a long time since I've produced a sea creature pattern. I have had a seahorse in mind for a while, and as usual it is a documentary by David Attenborough that has inspired me.

They are such interesting creatures, and come in such a range of colours that you really can't go wrong with whatever colour wool you use.

Apologies for the number of photos.  This pattern reminds me quite a bit of my Bat pattern, as it is a really good way to use up the little oddments of wool that you might have left over from other projects. 

The main body is knitted in one part, with a seam down the back, and a little sewing on the head. The only separate part to attach is the tail fin.

You will need doublepoint needles, and the main techniques are icord knitting for the tail and nose, and some short rows. There is a photo tutorial for the icord knitting in my sidebar, or lots of video tutorials on youtube, if you have not tried this before. On some of the seahorses I have sewn the tail into a spiral, or you can just leave it free, and it seems to have a natural twist to it. Each seahorse only takes a few grams of wool, and is about 5 to 6 inches long, depending on whether you spiral the tail or not.

I have not quite decided what to do with mine yet, but I think they would look really nice as a mobile for a child. The pattern will be available on ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting.

I have had this post waiting for a while, but thank you to my lovely pattern tester Jennifer, who as usual spotted some errors. I have now put this right.

Still plenty of time to join in Ginx Woolly Linx party for April.

 

 

Bat

Bats keep appearing in odd corners around my flat. I have had in mind to knit a bat for a while, and although it is still a while until Halloween, this new pattern will give you time to knit a few. 

 

This is a fairly quick knit, and although all my bats are knitted with doubleknit wool, I think you could use this pattern to use up any wool oddments you have left over in other thicknesses, so long as you adjusted the needle size. Children could have a lot of fun if their bat were put on an elastic thread, and I am also thinking of stringing mine together to make a bat bunting.

 

 

This pattern is available on ravelry, Etsy and Love Knitting. I hope you have fun making some spooky bats.

 

Just a reminder that there is still plenty of time left to join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for September. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.

Moss Stitch Baby Boots

We have had some dry weather, so I had to hunt around for a mossy place for my photo.

I have hinted at this new pattern for a while, but find it hard to believe how long it has taken me to write this one. I love the look of moss stitch, but found that working it into a pair of baby boots was harder than I imagined. These boots are like some of my other baby shoes patterns, Baby Bee Shoes and Baby Daisy Shoes, in that they are knitted in one piece, and the shape for the foot is created by turning mid-row. To do this, and work in increases and decreases, and keep the moss stitch, was not easy.

But don't let this put you off making a pair, as I have done the work, and they are an easy and fairly quick knit. There is just quite a lot of counting in your head. I do like how with PDF patterns you can print it off and then mark the rows you have knitted on the pattern to keep your place.

You can knit them in any doubleknit wool, and like my other shoe knits they are on quite a small needle (2.5mm), as I think this tighter knit helps give the shoe a better structure. I have gone for a mossy coloured wool, but may use some brighter colours for my next pair of boots. And unlike my other shoes, I have given these ones a little cuff to help keep them on the babies feet.

I also forgot to mention that the pattern include two sizes - 0-3 months and 3-6 months. These are written out separately, as I always find patterns with brackets for sizes a bit confusing. The pattern will be available on ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting.

Just a reminder that there is still loads of time left to join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for August. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.