Dinosaurs and Dolls

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, things have been a bit busy. Let me catch you up on my latest projects. Recently I've been really focused on pattern writing. I had a cowl pattern accepted for a Knit Picks collection! That's taken up a bit of time since I've had to do lots of sample knitting and editing of that pattern. I've also been working on a few fun toy patterns: a dinosaur and a doll.

My nephew is turning four in a few weeks. And what does every four year old boy need? A dinosaur, of course!

I looked through all the dinosaur patterns on Ravelry and searched through tons of images of knitted dinosaurs on Google to see what was out there already. I couldn't find anything that looked like what I had in mind, so I decided to design one myself. That way I could write another pattern and make a birthday gift all in one go. 

I used lots of short row shaping to get the tail and legs the way I wanted. The legs were a bit complicated, so I may have to work on them some more to make the directions easier to follow. I'm really happy with the finished product! Amazingly, he looks exactly the way I had imagined and there were only a few minor issues to work through. 

The biggest project that I've been working on lately is developing a pattern for a knit doll. I plan to design a collection of patterns for clothing to go along with her. My ultimate goal is to get the patterns published into a book. I have had lots of fun in the past making and designing cute outfits for knit bunnies, but the bunny pattern that I use is by Debbie Bliss and I wanted a pattern for my clothes to go on that I designed myself. Here's a sneak peek of the latest finished version of the doll.

 I already have a newer version started. I adjusted the way the chin is shaped to avoid the gapping that was happening between the stitches on her neck. I'm also still working on trying to figure out a nose option that I like. In this version, I just used a scrap of yarn to pull some of the stitches together. It works, but I'd like to figure out something better. 

Each version looks cuter than the last. I can't wait to have the doll pattern perfected so that I can start designing more clothes!

A very knitted Easter

Spring is officially here and Easter is only a week away. Fitting with the holiday, I thought I'd try to make a completely knitted (and crocheted) Easter basket. 

 A knitted bunny is an obvious addition to an Easter basket, so I had to include one of mine. She looks right at home and unlike a chocolate bunny, will last for years to come. The knitted chicks look adorable as well. The flowers are actually some of my crochet hair clips. If you stick the clip down into the grass, they look like little flowers growing in the basket. Not only are they lovely decorations, but they are functional accessories for after Easter. This year I decided to attempt to make some knitted eggs. After a few attempts I got the shape the way I wanted. I plan on putting the pattern up here for free when I get a chance.

I was very pleased with how lovely everything looked in a basket! Now I'm off to knit more chicks. I'm trying to get as many done as I can before Easter and the spring sale at Glory days. Happy spring everyone!

Reusable shopping bags

I just finished making some reusable shopping bags with my new sewing machine! It works so much better than the hand-me-down I had been using. 

My sister-in-law had mentioned to me that she wanted some reusable fabric shopping bags, (just in time for a birthday gift!) Since my brother would be using them, she thought it would be good that they be made from fabric that wasn't too girly. That sounded easy until I went to the fabric store. Everything seemed either too feminine or too plain.

I wanted to make two bags. To keep them simple I decided to make the outsides out of solid colors (in colors my brother wouldn't mind carrying,) but it seemed too boring to make the entire bag out of one solid color. So, for the insides I chose some stripes and, since I couldn't find anything else that I liked, some flowered fabric. I guess that bag will just be used by my sister-in-law!

Hopefully the brown with stripes inside is gender neutral enough for use by anyone. 

Little pouch for the bag.

The pattern I used had two sizes of bags and two sizes of pouches. The first pouch I made was too small. Maybe I could have forced the shopping bag in if I had rolled it up extremely tight and squeezed it in, but who wants to struggle that much just to put a bag away!? So I tried the pattern for the bigger pouch and the bag fit perfectly! I don't know what I'll do if I ever make the bigger sized bag.

I couldn't resist the flowered fabric!

Another pouch.  I used buttons instead of the velcro suggested in the pattern. I also didn't sew the loops to hook the pouch to the bag.

Despite my attempt to make these bags gender neutral (or at least one of them,) I can't really picture my brother using either of them. Perhaps I will make some completely solid colored ones at some point if they want some more. That wouldn't have been a very exciting birthday gift though, so I'm glad I chose these fabrics. I'm happy with the way these turned out. I can see lots more sewing projects in my future. If only I had more time!

Dress up bunny

I recently had a request for a custom order of one of my bunnies with multiple outfits. I made one for my niece a few years ago and it is now a well loved toy. I'd been meaning to make some more for my etsy, but hadn't gotten around to it until now.

The first outfit has a hot-pink tiered bubble skirt and black and white striped shirt and a black headband with a pink flower. I made a few different shirts before I got it right. The first two were long sleeve, but they were just too hard to get on and off. If I had trouble with it, I'm sure that little fingers would too. The third version was short sleeve, but it was still difficult to get the neck of the shirt over the head or feet. Adding the button in the back worked wonders, and the shirt now slips on and off easily.

Bubble skirt and striped shirt.

Detail of back of shirt.

The second outfit started out as a tank top. I had intended to make pants to go with it, but the pants weren't looking right and wouldn't stay up very well, so I morphed the tank top into a dress. The buttons come undone for easy changing. For accessories I crocheted some ballet slippers and used ribbon to help keep them on. Also there is a purse with a flowered button.

Dress with purse.

 The last outfit is the only one that is the same as the bunny that I gave my niece a few years ago. I've made several bunnies with this sundress. For the sets I added a straw hat and sandals. It also has buttons  to help with changing.

Sundress and sandals.

Back detail of sundress.

Bunny with extra outfits all packed up and ready to go.

 I found some old (and sort of poor quality) photos of the bunny I made for my niece. Hers had a princess outfit complete with crown and scepter.  It also had a skirt and shirt outfit with a button cowl  (a miniature version of one I had given her earlier which she wore constantly.) The last outfit was a pink sundress with flowers on it.

I had quite a bit of fun designing all the different outfits. I'm now in the process of designing a doll pattern along with perfecting the patterns for some of these clothes. I can't wait to design more!

Christmas gifts

I hope that you are all enjoying this holiday season! Christmas snuck up on me this year, but luckily I was prepared. Most of my gifts I had finished early, which was great since things at school were really busy and exhausting the last couple of weeks before break. The last day of school was a Friday and my family exchanged gifts on Sunday. I just did some last minute finishing of projects and sewing in of ends and I was ready.

For my niece I made a poncho. It can easily be pulled over her head, which is important since she is five and must do everything herself. Also I used superwash wool, so it will not only keep her warm, but it can be washed.

For my nephew I made a hat. The earflaps were requested by him. I also used superwash wool for this hat.

The day before we were to exchange gifts, I momentarily panicked. Could a three and a five year old possibly be excited to open a hat and a sweater? Yikes! So I quickly crocheted some little finger puppets. Turns out they were more excited to see the clothing items than the toys, so they were just a nice little bonus.

Safari animals for my nephew: zebra, elephant and lion.

Garden critters for my niece: ladybug, bumble bee and butterfly.

My dad is often found working out in the yard, even in the cold weather. I have made him some hats before, but he can always use more. Again I used superwash wool for warmth and washability. I knit them in a simple ribbed pattern.

For my sister-in-law I made a couple of pairs of boot cuffs. I had seen a pin on her Pinterest about converting old sweater sleeves into boot cuffs, so I decided to knit her some instead.

Cabled boot cuffs made with baby alpaca yarn, these were so soft!

Ribbed boot cuffs.

 For the teacher I work with, I made this ear warmer with a crocheted flower.

I still can't believe that Christmas has come and gone! Now time to knit some items to restock my etsy shop and start working on things for spring. My how time flies!

Classic Stockings

     I've spent much of my time the last few weeks knitting stockings. It seems as soon as I finish one and post it on etsy, it sells! And so I start another. I'm so glad that people are loving them as much as I do.  As I mentioned in a previous post this stocking was inspired by a picture for a vintage stocking pattern.

     The original stocking was knit in a cream color. It has such a classic, beautiful look to it. I hadn't really thought about trying any other colors until I recently had a request for a version of the stocking in red and cream. I was thrilled to give it a try.
     I picked up two different yarns to make the stocking out of. There was a red in the wool roving that I've been using, so I got some of that. The color was not exactly what the customer had described, however, so I picked up a beautiful color of red and some cream in baby alpaca.
     I sent pictures of both yarns to my customer to see which they liked best, but couldn't wait to get started on the stocking in baby alpaca. The yarn was so soft and it was such a beautiful color. I had nearly finished the stocking by the time I heard back. She ordered the baby alpaca stocking, and I was able to send it to her the next day. It turned out beautifully and I see many more of these in my future!

Red and cream stocking in baby alpaca.

Close up of cuff detail on the baby alpaca stocking.

     Since I had also bought some wool roving in a cherry red, I went ahead and knit a stocking using it. Although I like the red of the baby alpaca much better, this version also turned out nicely and is now in my etsy shop.

Cream and red stocking in wool roving.

Close up of wool roving stocking.

The all cream stocking hanging next to the cream and red stocking.

     This holiday season is almost over, but I'm already thinking about next year and what yarn I want to order. I'm considering trying to dye some of the wool roving to get the right color, since it is a bit cheaper than the baby alpaca. I may get some of each. I'd also like to try some shades of green and perhaps some striped stockings with less detail than these ones. I can't wait to get started! Also before next holiday season I plan to edit and release the pattern for these stockings. I was hoping to do it this year, but I'm quickly running out of time and there are so many other things I need to work on- like finishing making Christmas gifts!

Owl Ornaments

Here it is! I finally finished writing up the pattern for my owl ornaments. They are pretty quick and easy and they turn out cute every time!

Materials needed:

Us size 4 (3.5 mm) dpns

Small amount of worsted weight (or similar) yarn in desired colors 

Stuffing

Crochet hook (approximately US E4/ 3.50 mm)

Needle

Buttons for eyes

There are a few options for the owl.  The body can be knit in seed stitch, plain garter stitch or garter stitch with stripes. Also the head of the owl can be knit in a different color. There are seed stitch wings or garter stitch wings.

Seed stitch body owl.

Garter stitch with stripes owl.

To make owl:

For owl body: co 24 st (Leave a long enough tail to sew up bottom of owl when finished.)

Join in the round.

For seed stitch version:

Round 1: (k1, p1) to end

Round 2: (p1, k1) to end

For garter stitch version:

Round 1: knit to end

Round 2: purl to end

For garter stitch with stripes version:

With color A:

Round 1: knit to end

Round 2: purl to end

With color B:

Round3: knit to end

Round 4: purl to end

For all versions repeat rounds until piece measures 1 ½ inches.

Begin working head as follows:

Change yarn color if desired.

Next round: knit to end

Repeat until piece measures 2 ½ inches from cast on.

Place the first 12 st on one dpn and the second 12 on another. Using the 3 needle bind off method (see pictures below), bind off all stitches. If you prefer, you can bind off in the round and sew the top seam together after.

Seed Stitch Wing

Seed Stitch Wing:

Co 5 st

Working flat,

(K1, p1) twice, k1

Repeat last row four more times.

P2tog, k1, p2tog

P1, k1, p1

Pull yarn through remaining st.

Garter Stitch Wing:

Co 5 st

Garter Stitch Wing

Working flat, knit 6 rows

K2tog, k1, k2tog

K 1 row

Pull yarn through remaining st.

Beak:

Co 3 st

K 3 rows

Pull yarn through remaining st.

To finish:

Sew in all ends except the cast on end. Fill with stuffing and sew up bottom of owl using cast on tail (see pictures below). Sew button eyes, beak and wings to owl. For loop to hang owl with, use the crochet hook to make a slip knot and chain 30 st. Sew to top of owl.

Abbreviations:

Co: cast on

Dpn(s): double point needle(s)

K: knit

K2tog: knit two together

P: purl

P2tog: purl two together

St: stitches

The first step for binding off- put half of the stitches on one dpn and half on the other.

Next knit one stitch from the front needle and one stitch from the back needle at the same time.

Once you have two stitches on your right hand needle, lift the first stitch over the second and off the needle as you would in a normal bind off. 

Continue working until all stitches are bound off. 

 After the owl is finished being knit, stuff it and sew up the bottom.

The owls can be done in many different colors. The original ones I made in various shades of white and grey. 

These owls are a great way to use scrap yarn and there are lots of color possibilities. The eyes can also be crocheted as I did with many of the white owls. Enjoy and happy knitting!