A Little Precip News

Guess what!  The Precip Hat knitting pattern is now available as a Ravelry download.

This means you can simply click the button below if you'd like to purchase it:



Yay!

In other news, I was messing around with my needles the other night and started knitting a headband inspired by hair braiding.  I didn't expect it to turn into anything, but now I want to make one for everyone I know!

There will be more on that headband in upcoming posts...

What knitting projects are you working on these days?

xoxo
Laura

Precip Hat Knitting Pattern

Today I'm really excited to finally tell you about a project that I've been working on behind the scenes for quite a while...

It's my first-ever dowloadable PDF pattern: The Precip Hat!

My goal was to make a cozy hat that was cheerful enough to fight the late winter blues (so a pom pom was obviously essential) and that could carry over into an early spring wardrobe as well.

When I was first drawing up the pattern, I intended the speckled stitches to look like fluttering snowflakes.  Then I knitted the hat with Blue Sky Worsted Hand Dyes Yarn in the lovely Dungaree color and I suddenly saw raindrops.

So that's where the name comes from; Precip as in precipitation.  In the two versions of the hat pictured above, I see snowflakes for winter and raindrops for spring!

To make this hat, you'll need the following materials:
- 1 skein Blue Sky Worsted Hand Dyes Yarn (100 yards).  I used the Putty color in the hat pictured above.
- Less than 1 skein (about 5 yards) Blue Sky Worsted Hand Dyes Yarn in a complimentary color.  I used the Dungaree color in the hat pictured above.

- 16 inch circular needle, US size 5
- 16 inch circular needle US size 7
- Set of five US size 7 double pointed needles

- 1 stitch marker
- Pom pom maker
- Scissors
- Tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Gauge:
Using US size 7 needles, 4 stitches equal 1 inch.

Finished Hat Measurements:
20 inches in circumference
8 inches deep

There is a little bit of stranded/Fair Isle knitting involved in this pattern.  Hopefully it's just enough to keep it interesting but not enough to be overwhelming.

For that reason, this pattern is intended for knitters with advanced beginner skills or higher.  A basic understanding of stranded knitting is needed, but other than that you only need to know how to knit, purl, and knit two stitches together.

If you need a refresher on stranded knitting, I highly recommend reading chapter 3 of Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting: Go Beyond the Basics by Debbie Stoller.

The Precip Hat knitting pattern costs $6.00 and it comes as a PDF download that you can purchase on Ravelry right here.  Or, if you're a member of Kollabora, you can also click here to buy it.

Happy knitting!
xoxo
Laura

The Triplet Shawl: An Arm Knitting Pattern

As promised in last Sunday's Link to Love post, I've successfully completed an arm knitting project.

Now that I've done it, I would say that arm knitting's relationship to traditional knitting is similar to finger painting's relationship to fine art.  Both are capable of producing lovely results, one is just a lot more precise than the other.

Arm knitting and traditional knitting utilize the same general principles -- casting on, binding off, etcetera -- but arm knitting is inherently freeform; it simply can't be as exact as traditional knitting.  The size of a knitter's arms varies greatly from person to person, and even on a single knitter's arm the forearm is usually quite a bit wider than the wrist, so it's nearly impossible to make sure all the stitches are identically sized.  However, each stitch is so large that the final result is incredibly malleable and all the stitches shift and even each other out once the project is complete.  Also, the process of arm knitting feels much more like moving loops from side to side than winding yarn in specific ways to create perfect stitches as you do in traditional knitting; it still feels like you're working with yarn, just in a very different way.  Having said that, I have become a fan of this inexact science, and I'm excited to share my arm knitted Triplet Shawl with you.

I learned the basics from a Michael's youtube video, Arm Knitting for Beginners, which was straightforward and quite helpful.  It covers how to cast on, make the basic arm knitting stitch, and how to bind off.  If you've never arm knitted before, I highly recommend watching that video before you move on to attempting the pattern below.

All the other arm knitting patterns that I've seen on the internet are for rectangles so there's only one type of stitch necessary with no increases or decreases.  I didn't want to make a rectangle, though, I wanted to make a triangle.  To do so, I decided to go with the easiest decrease in traditional knitting: knit two together.  To knit two together arm knitting-style, I simply slipped two loops off of my arm at once and kept on truckin' as if I had only slipped off one loop, thus decreasing the number of stitches in the next row by one.  Here's what that looks like:

Keeping all that in mind, here's the pattern for the Triplet Shawl!

Materials:
5 skeins of worsted weight yarn in complimentary colors
Your arms
Scissors

Pattern:
Cast on 28 stitches, using all 5 strands of yarn together as if they were 1 strand.
Row 1: knit
Row 2: knit 2 together, knit until there are two stitches left, knit 2 together
Repeat row 2 for the next 11 rows until there are only 4 stitches remaining.
Row 13: knit 2 together, knit 2 together
Bind off the remaining 2 stitches

Weave in the ends and try on your new shawl!

You can throw it over your shoulders to wear it as a shawl, wrap it around your waist to use it as a swimsuit cover-up, or fold it in half and tie it at the back of your neck to create a bandana scarf.

And did I mention that it took me less than 30 minutes to make this?  Arm knitting is amazing if you're in the mood for some instant gratification.

Happy (arm) knitting!
xoxo
Laura

Three-Turn Cowl Knitting Pattern

Here in the Caribbean, it's definitely not knitting weather outside.  Lucky for me, though, it's always knitting weather inside ice rinks, no matter where in the world they're located!

With that in mind, I whipped up a chunky cowl for myself, and I'm loving wearing it at the rink.

Before I started knitting this cowl, I played around with various stitch designs in my notebook and finally settled on a pattern with three vertical knit stitches and one purl stitch in between them.

You can see the way I drew out the pattern in the picture below.  I used little Vs to represent the knit stitches and dashes to represent the purl stitches.

When I make up my own patterns, I almost always draw a diagram like this before I start knitting.  Do you ever make up your own patterns too?  If so, do you draw diagrams too, or do you just feel it out with your needles in your hands?

Anyway, I named this project after a basic skating move, the three-turn, because I made it to wear during rehearsals, warmup ice time, and general hanging out by the ice (which I do a lot). I picked that particular skating move because it ties in with the three vertical stitches in the stitch pattern.  Get it?

Here are the details about the Three-Turn Cowl.

Materials:
1.  One skein (81 yards) super bulky yarn (I used Lion Brand Hometown USA yarn in Dallas Grey)
2.  US Size 15 (10mm) circular needles with a 16" length
3.  Scissors
4.  Tapestry needle to weave in ends

Gage:
1 inch equals 2 stitches

Pattern:
Cast on 40 stitches and join in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.

First Garter Stitch Border:
Round 1: knit
Round 2: purl
Round 3: knit
Round 4: purl

Body of Scarf:
Round 1: knit
Round 2: (knit 1, purl 1) repeat
Round 3: knit
Round 4: (purl 1, knit 1) repeat
Repeat rounds 1-4 until your cowl measures 7 inches long (including the first garter stitch border)

Second Garter Stitch Border:
Repeat rounds 1-4 of the first garter stitch border

Bind off knitwise.

Happy knitting!
xoxo
Laura

Elbow Patch Knitting Pattern

I had only owned my newest sweater for about a month when I realized I had ripped a hole in its elbow.  To be fair, it was a pretty cheap sweater from H&M and sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

I was still bummed out about the hole, though, so I decided to knit some fun elbow patches to cover it up (and to protect the other elbow from getting holes too).

I've seen various iterations of heart-shaped elbow patches on sweaters in stores and on the internet, but I haven't seen any knitting patterns for them so I made up my own.

This pattern is similar to the hanging heart knitting pattern that I posted last Valentine's Day, except I made this one slightly shorter and wider and less pointy on the bottom so that it would cover my elbows properly.  I also knitted these patches with 2 strands of yarn at once in order to make them extra thick and sturdy.

Materials:
-  2 skeins of worsted weight yarn (or one skein from which you can use both ends)
-  US Size 8 knitting needles
-  Scissors
-  Tapestry needle to weave in the ends

Abbreviations used in this pattern:
kfb:  Knit front and back.  An increase stitch involving knitting the front and the back of a single stitch to create 2 stitches.
k2tog:  Knit two together.  A decrease stitch involving knitting two stitches together to form a single stitch.
k2tog(tbl):  Knit two together through the back of the loop.  Inserting the needle through the back of the loops of 2 stitches to perform a k2tog decrease stitch.
k3tog:  Knit three together.  A decrease stitch involving knitting three stitches together to form a single stitch.
k3tog(tbl):  Knit three together through the back of the loop.  Inserting the needle through the back of the loops of 3 stitches to perform a k3tog decrease stitch.

Pattern:
*Knit this entire pattern using two strands of yarn together as if they were one strand.*

Row 1:  cast on 2 stitches
Row 2:  kfb, kfb
Row 3:  purl 4
Row 4:  kfb, knit 2, kfb
Row 5:  purl 6
Row 6:  kfb, knit 4, kfb

You have now created the top left hump of your heart.  Cut the yarn so that your knitting is no longer attached to your skein of yarn, leaving a long enough tail to weave in later.

Push the existing knitting down the needle, saving it for later.

Repeat rows 1 through 6 again, starting by casting onto the empty needle.

Now you should have both humps for the top of your heart on one needle.  Push them together and knit the rest of the pattern as if it were all one piece.

Row 7:  purl 16
Row 8:  knit 16
Row 9:  purl 16
Row 10:  k2tog, knit 12, k2tog(tbl)
Row 11:  purl 14
Row 12:  k2tog, knit 10, k2tog(tbl)
Row 13:  purl 12
Row 14:  k2tog, knit 8, k2tog(tbl)
Row 15:  purl 10
Row 16:  k2tog, knit 6, k2tog(tbl)
Row 17:  purl 8
Row 18:  k3tog, knit 2, k3tog(tbl)
Row 19:  purl 4
Row 20:  k2tog, k2tog(tbl)

Bind off purlwise and weave in the ends.

Attaching the patches to the sweater:
Use safety pins to attach the patches to the sweater, then try it on to make sure they are in the right spots.  Once you've got them in the right place, sew the patches onto the sweater using a tapestry needle and the same yarn that you used to knit the patches.

I couldn't be happier with the way my elbow patches turned out, and I hope you feel the same way if you choose to knit these too.

Here's a before and after picture of my sweater.  Note the hole in the left elbow on the "before" side.  And just for funsies, you can also note how crazy windy it was when I took the "after" shot.

Happy heart knitting!
xoxo
Laura

Wrap Bracelet Knitting Pattern

I knit myself a turquoise wrap bracelet with a pretty rhinestone button.

It's really just a glorified i-cord, which means it's a contender to be the quickest knitting project ever.  I made the whole thing while I was watching America's Got Talent the other night. (Some of my skating friends were on that show!)

Anyway, let's get down to business about the bracelet.

Materials:
A small amount of fingering weight yarn (any type that's lying around in your yarn stash)
US Size 3 double pointed knitting needles
A small button
Scissors

Directions:
To determine the length of your bracelet, measure the circumference of your wrist.  Multiply that number by 2 and then add 1 more inch.  (Example: my wrist is 6 inches around, so 6 x 2 is 12 and 12 + 1 is 13.  My i-cord should be 13 inches long.)

Cast on 3 stitches

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: Without turning your work over, slide the knitting to the other end of the knitting needle and knit again

Repeat row 2 over and over until your i-cord is the desired length. (13 inches long in my case.)

Bind off the first two stitches.

As you bind off the last stitch, leave a loop large enough for your button to pass through, as pictured below on the left.  Tie a knot with the loop still intact and cut off the excess yarn.

On the other side of the i-cord, thread the button through the tail that you left while casting on, tie a knot to secure it, and cut off the excess yarn.

Pretty fun and easy, huh?

I wore my new bracelet to a party at my friend's farm yesterday, along with the skirt that I sewed.  I love wearing things that I've made myself, don't you?

Happy knitting!
xoxo
Laura

Purl-Side-Out Beer Cozy Knitting Pattern

Summer's in full swing, the weather's hot, and a cold drink is heaven on days like this.  With that in mind, I decided to knit myself a beer cozy.  (Well, technically I knitted myself an Izze cozy because I don't drink beer, given my celiac disease and all, but I digress.)

I was messing around with a stripey pattern when I was swatching the other day, and I realized that the purl side of my work held way more visual interest than the knit side.  Obviously, the knit side is traditionally the "right side" to face out, but I didn't see any reason why tradition had to stand in the way of an attractive piece of knitting, so that's why this cozy has the purl side out.

This decision also came with a surprise bonus.  Being inside-out makes the stockinette stitch want to roll in at the top and the bottom of the cozy so it perfectly hugs the curves of the bottle.  I had originally planned to knit a bottom for this cozy so it wouldn't slip off the bottle, but the slight rolling made it fit so nicely that the bottom became unnecessary.

Let's get down to business with the pattern.  I made this on flat needles and seamed it together.  I know that having a seam (and therefore a little hump) is less than ideal, but working this pattern inside-out in the round got very complicated very quickly when it came to switching colors and stranding the yarn.

Materials:
Worsted weight cotton yarn in 3 colors (I used Sugar & Cream original cotton yarn in yellow, white, and tea rose.)
Size 5 knitting needles
Tapestry needle
Scissors

Abbreviations used in this pattern:
Yarn A =  tea rose (aka pink)
Yarn B =  white
Yarn C =  yellow

Pattern:
Cast on 30 stitches with yarn A

Row 1: (Yarn A) purl
Row 2: (Yarn B) knit
Row 3: (Yarn C) purl
Row 4: (Yarn C) knit
Row 5: (Yarn B) purl
Row 6: (Yarn A) knit

Rows 7-24: Repeat rows 1-6 three more times.  There should now be four yellow stripes and four and half pink stripes on the knit-side of your work.

Row 25: (Yarn A) purl
Row 26: (Yarn B) knit
Row 27: (Yarn C) purl

Bind off knitwise with yarn C

Finishing:
Weave in the ends.
Lay the knit rectangle on a flat surface with the knit side up, fold the right and left sides (where all the stranding is; not the cast on and bound off edges) toward each other to form a loop.  Seam those two edges together, keeping all the stranding on the inside (aka the knit side) of the loop.  I recommend using mattress stitch on the purl side to make the seam invisible.

Happy knitting!  As always, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask them, and I would love to see a picture if you make one of these too.

xoxo
Laura

Swatching

I'm working on a new knitting pattern.

It took me a while to figure what kind of stitch I wanted to use, as well as which yarn colors I liked together.  In the first picture, you can see the evolution of my swatches from tight ribbing to no ribbing at all.

I can't wait to show you the finished project that these swatches are leading up to!

Until then...

xoxo

Laura

Hair Bow Knitting Pattern

Whenever a rehearsal period ends and it's finally time for our show to open, I like to make little presents for all the girls to celebrate our opening day.  I made friendship bracelets when we opened this same show last summer, and this summer I decided to knit hair bows.

This is a great project if you're working on shrinking your yarn stash like I am, because each bow only uses a small fraction of a skein of yarn.  You can probably make several of these little guys without buying a single thing.  I made 10!

Notice the black loops behind the bows?  Those are hair ties that are built right in for ease of use.

Materials:
Worsted weight yarn (any color, any material, whatever you've got in your stash!)
US Size 3 knitting needles
Hair ties (I used Goody ouchless elastics in black)
Scissors
Tapestry needle

Pattern:
Cast on 10 stitches
Row 1: Knit

Row 2: Purl
Repeat these two rows for 6.5 inches.
Cast off

Finishing:
1.  Weave in the ends.
2.  Place the knitting on a table right-side down (aka purl side up).
3.  Fold the cast on and the cast off edges toward each other so they touch, as shown in the picture on the right.
4.  Seam the two edges together so the fabric becomes a loop.
5.  Wrap a piece of yarn around the middle of the loop so that it looks like a bow; then secure that piece of yarn with a knot.
6.  Now hold a hair band against the back of the bow and wrap another piece of yarn around both the middle of the bow and one side of the hair band.  Secure the yarn with a knot.

You should now have a finished bow attached to a hair band!

Here's a shot of all my lovely cast mates modeling their bows:

I had a great time knitting these bows, and I think they were a big hit with the girls.

I used all different types of yarn to make these, and the bows made of superwash wool were definitely the easiest to knit, but the cotton bows felt the sturdiest as finished products.  Can you tell which bows were made with which type of yarn?

No matter which yarn I was using, I had a great time creating this pattern and knitting these little guys, and I hope you have fun with them too.

Happy knitting!
xoxo
Laura

Washcloth Knitting Pattern

I know that hand-knitting my own washcloths might make me old school, but I have a confession to make: loofas gross me out.  Have you ever thought about how many germs are probably growing inside those puffy things?  They never fully dry.  Eew.  Anyway, that's why I decided to knit myself a bright and happy set of washcloths that I can throw in the laundry any time I want.

Want to knit them too?  The pattern I made up is super easy.  I used double seed stitch with a garter stitch border, so as long as you know how to knit and purl you can totally make these.

Supplies:
US Size 7 knitting needles
Worsted weight cotton yarn (I used Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn in pink, yellow, and white)

Pattern:
Cast on 35 stitches
Rows 1-4: Knit
Row 5: Knit 3, purl 1, (knit 1, purl 1) repeat until there are 3 stitches left, knit 3
Row 6:  Repeat row 5
Row 7: Knit 3, knit 1, (purl 1, knit 1) repeat until there are 3 stitches left, knit 3
Row 8: Repeat row 7
Repeat rows 5-8 nine more times, until you have 44 rows or 7.75 inches
Rows 45-48: Knit
Cast off

If you make these washcloths too, I'd love to see a picture of yours!

Happy knitting,
xoxo
Laura

Hanging Heart Knitting Pattern

Remember the Valentine's Day heart bombing project that I did last week in association with One Sheepish Girl's heart bombing day?  I wrote up the pattern for my little hanging heart today.

Materials used in this pattern:
1.  Two contrasting colors of medium weight yarn (I used Loops & Threads Charisma Baby yarn in yellow and Loops & Threads Charisma yarn in white.)
2.  US Size 8 knitting needles
3.  Stuffing
3.  Scissors
4.  Tapestry needle

Abbreviations used in this pattern:
kfb:  An increase stitch involving knitting the front and the back of a single stitch to create 2 stitches.
k2tog:  A decrease stitch involving knitting two stitches together to form a single stitch.
k2tog(tbl):  Inserting the needle through the back of the loops of 2 stitches to perform a k2tog decrease stitch.

Pattern:
Row 1:  cast on 2 stitches
Row 2:  kfb, kfb
Row 3:  purl 4
Row 4:  kfb, knit 2, kfb
Row 5:  purl 6
Row 6:  kfb, knit 4, kfb

You have now created the top left hump of your heart.  Cut the yarn so that your knitting is no longer attached to your skein of yarn, leaving a long enough tail to weave in later.

Push the existing knitting down the needle, saving it for later.

Repeat rows 1 through 6 again, starting by casting onto the empty needle as pictured below.

Now you should have both humps for the top of your heart on one needle.  Push them together and knit the rest of the pattern as if it were all one piece.

Row 7:  purl 16
Row 8:  knit 16
Row 9:  purl 16
Row 10:  k2tog, knit 12, k2tog(tbl)
Row 11:  purl 14
Row 12:  k2tog, knit 10, k2tog(tbl)
Row 13:  purl 12
Row 14:  k2tog, knit 8, k2tog(tbl)
Row 15:  purl 10
Row 16:  k2tog, knit 6, k2tog(tbl)
Row 17:  purl 8
Row 18:  k2tog, knit 4, k2tog(tbl)
Row 19:  purl 6
Row 20:  k2tog, knit 2, k2tog(tbl)
Row 21:  purl 4
Row 22:  k2tog, k2tog(tbl)
Row 23:  bind off purlwise

Now repeat the pattern again to make a second heart, and weave in all the ends on both hearts.

Stack the 2 hearts on top of each other with the knit side of both hearts facing out so that they are mirror images of each other.  Use your tapestry needle and your contrasting yarn color (I used white) to sew the two hearts together to form one heart.  As you do this, purely for aesthetic reasons, try to keep your sewing one stitch away from the edge of the heart as apposed to sewing right along the actual edges.  When you have almost sewn all the way around the heart, push a small amount of stuffing between the two sides of the heart; this will make the finished product a little puffier and more 3-dimensional.

Once you've added the stuffing, finish sewing all the way around the heart and then make a big loop to hang it from and tie a knot.  Cut off the excess yarn and you're all finished.

Happy knitting!
xoxo
Laura

p.s.  I just subscribed to Gathered by Mollie Makes, which is a cute little iPad magazine.  As I was perusing some back issues, I came across a pattern for a garter stitch heart coaster in issue #16 that's really cute, so if you like this pattern you might want to check that one out as well.

Knit Bow Tie

Lately I've been really interested in mixed media knitting, a.k.a. knitting with other materials in addition to yarn, so I decided to incorporate some ribbons into this big, fun bow tie that I made.

Here's the what you'll need if you want to make one too:
Less than 1 skein of worsted weight yarn
US Size 7 knitting needles
Less than 1 spool of 1/4 inch ribbon
2 hooks
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Glue

Abbreviations used in this pattern:
k2tog = knit 2 stitches together (decrease stitch)
yo = yarn over (increase stitch)

Pattern for the bow:
Cast on 15 stitches
Row 1: k2tog, yo, knit 3, k2tog, yo, knit 1, yo, k2tog, knit 3, yo, k2tog
Row 2: purl
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until your work is 11.5 inches long.
Bind off

Your work should now have 4 rows of holes in it, like the second picture in this post.  Thread a ribbon along each of those 4 rows, in and out of each hole until your work looks like the picture below.

Now cut the ends of the ribbons so they are about 2 inches long. Fold the ends over the edge of the knitting and glue them down on the back side of your work, as pictured below.

Once the glue dries, seam the two edges of the knitting together (where you just glued the ends), forming a loop with the knit stitches facing out.

For the neck band:
Cast on 5 stitches
Row 1: knit
Repeat row 1 until you have a strip of garter stitch that is about 16 inches long (or the circumference of the neck you're making the bow tie for, if you know it).
Bind off

For the center of the bow:
Cast on 8 stitches
Row 1: knit
Row 2: purl
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until you have a strip of stockinette stitch that is 4.5 inches long.
Bind off

Finishing:
Lay the big loop flat on a tables with the seam in the center.
Lay the neck band on top of the loop.
Wrap the center strip for the bow around the big loop and the neck band and sew it all together using matching yarn and your tapestry needle. It should now look like a bow tie!

To finish it off, sew two hooks onto one end of the neck band so that the new owner of this bow tie can hook the back of the neck together anywhere along the knitting that he would like.  This will make it fit just right even if you made the neck band a little too long.

Here's Justin modeling his new look:

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to leave them in the comments section!
xoxo
Laura

p.s. This bow tie is what I was knitting in this post.  Did you guess correctly?

Knitting Men's Mittens

For Secret Santa this year, I knitted some mittens. I was aware that doing so would definitely give me away as the gift giver, but I just couldn't help myself. Robert needed some mittens!

Also, did you know that men's hands are enormous? I'm used to women's sizes, so it was a little bit shocking to watch these giant things keep growing and growing on my needles.

I used the Basic Mitten Pattern from Mittens and Hats for Yarn Lovers by Carri Hammett in the men's large size. I also added my own flair to the pattern by adding stripes, switching colors every 4 rows.

I carried the two colors on the inside of the mittens, and I was happy with how tidy they ended up looking, even when they are inside out.  See?

Before I wrapped up the mittens, I had Justin model them for me along with his new Denver mug that his mom gave him for Christmas.  Speaking of which, without even knowing it, my mom gave me a matching Hawaii mug for Christmas and the two mugs look great together on our shelf; a happy Christmas accident.

Did you knit anything for Christmas this year?
xoxo
Laura