How to Make a Small Bobble

This is the bobble technique I have used in my Frog Motif, Frog Mittens and Frog Baby Hat. There are many different techniques for making bobbles. In them all you will increase from one stitch to several, and then decrease back to one. If you want a larger bobble there are methods where you increase to many more stitches than here, and knit several rows just on these stitches, before decreasing. But for my frog I only needed a very small bobble, and after a bit of experimenting I found this the simplest method, but it also gave the best , most froggy results.

Here I am casting on in my normal way to make two stitches from one.

I repeat this to make three stitches.

Putting the third stitch onto my left needle.

Here I have knitted the first two stitches.

I then pass the first stitch over the second to get rid of it.

Then having knitted the last of the stitches, I again cast off.

Now I have the same number of stitches that I started with.

In my frogs I knit three of these bobbles in a row on each foot. Then further up the eyes are also made with two bobbles with two knit stitches inbetween.

 

"You Shall Have A Fishy ..."

I have been working all week on a new knitting pattern, Little Minnows.

It is a really simple little pattern, but I am happy with the way it has turned out, as it gives the knitter options, and all the choices are included in the one pattern.

First of all 4ply or doubleknit. The pattern works well in both.

There is the beaded fish. The beads are not sewn on, but incorporated into the knitting.

Then there is the Minnow with Bobbles. I thought this would be a fun way to make the scales if you didn't have any beads handy. But even with this version you can decide whether to do it in one colour or two, for which the patterns are slightly different.

Then there is the decision of whether to use a separate colour for the tail and fins, or even whether to knit the top and bottom fins at all. 

A minnow does have fins, but I knitted a few without as I thought they also looked nice. Hubby says those ones are not minnows, but anchovies, but I think he is just thinking with his stomach.

So not a good pattern if you find decision-making difficult.  It might put you in a spin trying to decide.
 

Thank you to my virtual friends for all the kind comments on my starfish and scallop shell last week.