Transitions Shawlette Pattern update

 

There's an updated version of the Transitions Shawl pattern.  New instructions have been added for a Shawlette. It's a smaller version of the original asymmetric shawl but long enough to wrap around and secure with a loose knot.

Knitted with a new yarn called Charm, which I received from Stylecraft as a sample. It's a blend of acrylic, wool and mohair with colour swirl shade changes. I love the colours of this particular combination called 'Spring Dawn' and enjoyed seeing the changes as the knitting progressed. Charm is a 4ply, light and soft yarn perfect for knitting shawls and accessories. There are 5 more different shade combinations in the range.        

The main part of the shawl is knitted in garter stitch with a simple eyelet edging, finished with a picot cast off. The colour changes are most evident and effective on the edging detail, see the image below.

The edging detail is also featured on the original shawl, seen below. 

Ever tried a picot cast off? 

There's a tutorial for a knitted picot cast off, you can find it here on my blog. Alternatively, there's a short video on my Instagram account - @handknittedthings showing the technique in detail.

The updated knitting pattern for the Transitions Shawl and Shawlette can be found in my Ravelry and Etsy shops.

Knitted Toys and Smaller Needle Size

There's a lot written about gauge and tension in relation to knitting which can be quite intimidating to the beginner knitter. Where toys are concerned, the good news is, you don't have to worry too much about gauge and tension except where you want something to be a specific size.

Generally, for toys the most important consideration is to prevent the stuffing from coming out or showing through the knitting. Using a needle size smaller than the one recommended for the size of yarn is the most popular way to achieve a closer knit fabric. There are other factors which can influence the end result of a piece of knitted fabric, for example, how tightly a person holds the yarn, how a person holds their needles and the type of material the needles are made from eg. metal, bamboo, wood, plastic.  

For this experiment I used Naturals Organic Cotton double knitting by Stylecraft who kindly sent me samples. The cotton is washable, has a lovely bounce to it when knitted up and there are 38 gorgeous shades. I particularly love the pretty sample colours and how they worked together: Rosewood (purple), Sage (pale blue) and Bone (white). (The embroidery on the houses is the same yarn and gives a hint of the other lovely shades in the range).

I used my pattern Mini Red Roof Croft House and chose three smaller size needles than the 4mm recommended on the yarn ball band. 

For each main house colour (seen on the walls) a swatch was made in stocking stitch and the number of stitches and rows were counted.

 

House Number One...

Even though I'd used a 3.25mm needle the gauge was very similar to the one recommended on the ball band. So the way I knit was influencing the end result. That said the fabric created was great for my toy. I could see a tiny bit of the filling through the garter stitch roof but none through the stocking stitch sections. (Gauge was 22st and 34 rows over 10 cm). House approximately 13 cm wide x 10 cm high.

House number Two...

This was knitted with 3mm needles and turned out slightly smaller than the first (purple) house. (Gauge was 23 stitches and 36 rows). House size approximately 11.5 cm wide x 9 cm high.

House Number 3...

The third house was completed with 2.75mm needles, the result being definitely smaller than my first (purple) house. The white house has the tightest fabric and had the best surface for sewing the embroidered flowers on the front. Finished house size 10 cm x 8 cm.

The size of each house reduced by about 1cm in hight and width each time the needle went down a size.

In summary, a tight fabric is good for toy making. Experiment yourself with a smaller needle size to see how that affects the end result.

Enjoy your knitted toy making!

 

 

Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Sarah from Say! Little Hen sent me a copy of her Nordic Christmas Mice knitting pattern to try out. They are deceptively easy and quick to knit, perfect for last minute gifts. 

The pattern gives detailed instructions for three mice, each has a different Nordic inspired jumper. Here are two little mice I've already knitted...waiting patiently for their friend to join them.

The 13 page pattern includes detailed finishing instructions and tips for knitters new to stranded colour work. I'm just about to start on the third mouse which has a different scandi-inspired jumper.

I'm quite fond of the mouse with the predominantly white jumper. The white yarn is from my own flock of shetland sheep. The red yarn was bought from Jamieson's of Shetland and the mini grey skein was gifted to me by Dottie at The Net Loft, Cordova, Alaska. That yarn came from fleece of the one and only sheep in town. I've been saving that skein for a small project and this sweet little mouse was perfect.

The mouse in the red jumper is knitted in Stylecraft Special dk.

Note: the Giveaway has ended.

I'm currently hosting a Giveaway over on my Instagram (@handknittedthings) account. Sarah is giving away a copy of the Nordic Christmas Mice knitting pattern for the winner and one for their friends. (Entry to the Giveaway is only on Instagram, sorry comments here will not be included). Link to Giveaway here.

Check out Say! Little Hen for more pattern details. The pattern is also available from Ravelry.

*****

Cosy Tea Love

This colourful Fair Isle design features panels of hearts and little houses inspired by a croft house on the west coast of Scotland. 

The Home Sweet Home Tea Cosy pattern includes a knitting chart to make it with 11 pastel colours of Jamieson's of Shetland dk yarn and is knitted in the round.

It would be great project to practice colour work knitting using some of the traditional fair isle motifs.

Also included in the pattern are instructions for a 'Scandinavian' style colour way using just 4 colours of Jamieson's of Shetland dk yarn in red, white, light grey and dark grey.

Knitting skills used in the this project are:
cast on, cast off, knit stitch, purl stitch, knit two stitches together, slip stitch, pass stitch over, working with changes of colour, grafting, sewing duplicate stitch.

Tension: 
approximately 28 stitches over 32 rows = 10cm (4ins).

Suggested needle size:  
3.75 mm (US 5) circular knitting needle length no more than 50cm in length. 3.75 mm circular needle, 40cm long or a set of 3.75 mm dpn’s for the decrease section. For the cord x2 4.5 mm dpn’s (US 7).

Finished size: 
24cm x33cm (9.5ins x 13ins).

There are also instructions showing how to line the tea cosy with fabric.

Home Sweet Home Tea Cosy

is available to purchase and  

download from Ravelry

Birch Trees Scarf - Projects

With low temperatures, snow and ice around, it's definitely scarf weather again. This post features Birch Trees Scarf and some project images uploaded to Ravelry by knitters. 

There have been over 64K downloads to date of the Birch Trees Scarf knitting pattern from Ravelry. For my design I used size 4.5mm (US 7) needles with some of my shetland sheep DK wool in neutral white. 

Originally published in April 2014, the pattern is free to download.

I've picked out a few Birch Tree Scarf images from Ravelry of finished projects, made in different colours, different yarns, which caught my eye.

Image used with permission from Eight-by-Six

Image used with permission from Eight-by-Six

The above two images show a lovely version by Eight-by-Six, knit in Fyberspates Vivacious DK, in colour way Pebble Beach, on size 4mm needles. I love the stitch definition and slight variation in tone and shade.

Image used with permission from jayhen

I love the colours in this version by jayhen. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Luxury Silk DK in colour way 'Circus' made with 4mm needles.

Image used with permission from jayhen

Another recently complete version by jayhen. This one is mainly in Sirdar no1 in  Deep Navy. The bands of contrast colour are made with left over yarn from other projects.  

Image used with permission from PineLakeChic

I love the warm, rich red tone in this version from PineLakeChic. This knit project was the first one she had made in 30 years and how lovely it is. The yarn is Jaeger Matchmaker DK shade 781.

Image used with permission from BrunswickKnitter

Love the way this has been used as a shawl. This is a version knit for a shop sample by BrunswickKnitter on 3.75mm needles in Jupiter Moon Farm Zooey in shade purple.

Image used with permission from lindzfrog

In 2014 lindzfrog took on this project to improve her lace creating skills and made a fantastic job. The yarn is Moda Vera Fayette "Fuchsia Mix. I love the way the colour transitions from light to dark.

Image used with permission from sadieagility

And finally but not least, I love this version and the stitch definition by sadieagility. It's knit in a hand dyed and hand painted yarn in Merino/Bamboo using 3.5mm needles. 

Birch Trees Scarf pattern is free to download from Ravelry.

Head Over Heels All Stars

New yarns in Head over Heels All Stars have arrived from Stylecraft. All 6 shades have been  chosen by Stylecraft Blogstars and inspired by the artist David Hockney. Earlier this year knitters and crocheter's voted in their thousands for their favourite combinations of colours to add to the yarn range. There's a post about the competition on the Stylecraft blog. I was amazed and thrilled to find out my combination was one of the winners.

Influenced by this picture on the cover of the book by Chris Stephens about the artist I chose muted shades of blue, green and a splash of pink. The picture is called 'Pool with two figures'.

Six shades from the special dk range went into my yarn combination.

Here are some details about the yarn:
75% super wash wool
25% nylon
100g ball weight
400m/437yrds
needle size 2.25mm
machine washable at 30 degrees

This is how the final 'Pool' yarn looks close up. The wool blend is durable for socks but light enough for making knitted or crochet shawls.

Below is the shawl I designed specially for Head Over Heels All Stars 'Pool'. The pattern is available from Stylecraft bricks and mortar stockists and is free with the yarn purchases.

The 6 new All Star colour combinations and designers are from top left 

Saltaire by The Twisted Yarn,  Ossie by Cherry Heart, Woldgate by Josie Kitten, 

bottom row from the left:

Pool by (yours truly) Hand Knitted Things, Splash by Zooty Owl, Red Pots by Attic 24.

Trio of Owls

Inspired by things autumnal, 'Trio of Owls' is the latest toy pattern from Hand Knitted Things in seasonal muted colours. This cute little family is easy to make with knit and purl stitches in contrasting colours and textures, with the addition of large rustic buttons creating the whimsical character features. 

The colourful body and wings are made with a recent addition to the Batik Elements yarn range called magnesium. This is combined with two solid shades, biscuit and gold. 

Here's some pattern details for this project:

Yarn
x2 50g ball Stylecraft Batik Elements Magnesuim 
x1 50g ball Batik dk Biscuit
x1 50g ball Batik dk Gold

Needles

x1 pair 3mm (US3) knitting needles (small owl)

x1 pair 3.25mm (US3) knitting needles (medium and large owl)

x1 pair 5mm (US8) knitting needles (large owl)

Notions 

x1 3.5mm (US3) crochet hook for making the feet only

x2 x 20mm diameter buttons (small owl)

x2 x 30mm diameter buttons (medium owl)

x2 40mm diameter buttons (large owl)

x6 decorative 10mm diameter buttons (these are optional added to the front of the larger buttons)

Sewing needle suitable for the buttons

Blunt tapestry needle for sewing and weaving yarn ends

x2 large hands full of toy filling

Finished sizes

small owl - 9cm x 10cm x 6cm (3.5 x 4 x 2.5 ins)

medium owl - 14cm x 14cm x 8cm (5.5 x 5.5 x 3 ins)

large owl - 16cm x 20cm x 4cm (5.5 x 8 x 4 ins)

Skills required to make the owls
knit
purl
cast on 
cast off
make a chain of crochet
basic sewing on buttons and seams

Pattern is available on Ravelry called 'Trio of Owls'.

Buttons were sourced from a selection from The Textile Garden and some already in my collection.

Update: The giveaway is now closed, a winner has been chosen and notified by email. 

Thank you to everyone who entered.


The Giveaway runs from 

Tuesday 4th September to Monday 10th September 2018 

and includes the following:

Digital pattern 'Trio of Owls'

Yarn Pack from Stylecraft containing the following:

x2 50g ball Batik Elements Magnesuim 

x1 50g ball Batik dk Biscuit

x1 50g ball Batik dk Gold

(the buttons are not included in the giveaway)

To enter the giveaway follow the link below, 
enter an email address 
so we can contact you if you win. 
The winner will be randomly selected and notified by email. 

***GIVEAWAY***

Good luck!

Red Roof Croft in Landscape Magazine

Since my last post there's been a bit of knitting going on but I can't show any items in case I spoil some festive surprises. I'm still making preparations for Christmas so the New Year is only just on my radar. I have though, been waiting patiently to share news of the Jan/Feb 2016 edition of Landscape magazine. It's available in newsagents today and includes a three page feature and instructions for the Red Roof Croft knitting pattern. 

Inspiration for the pattern came from a croft house with a red roof over on the Applecross peninsular. You can see a picture of the real house taken by Wester Ross photographer Ed Duncan over on his Facebook page - click here. The pattern is also available to download as a digital file from Ravelry.

If you don't know 'Landscape' magazine click on the image below for a preview of this edition. It also features articles about the British countryside, heritage, crafts and cookery along with great photography.

Click on the image for preview