Knitted snowflake bunting | free pattern

Nordic style Christmas bunting

Whether you live somewhere that gets a healthy dose of the white stuff each winter or not, this knitted snowflake bunting guarantees you'll get a bit of snow to admire (and for those of us in the UK, it comes without any travel chaos or panic shopping. Win). Plus the cool blues and Nordic style means it could easily be left up after Christmas as winter bunting too.
As it’s my final Sew Crafty Design Team post of the year, I had to go back to the gorgeous DMC Natura Just Cotton yarn, the simple cotton really suits the cool, Nordic vibe. Plus of course the red mini pegs are the perfect finishing touch!

You will need

Cotton yarn in Navy, Powder and White* UK 10 / 3.25mm knitting needles String* Mini pegs* Scissors Tapestry needle 

Abbreviations

K knit k2tog knit the next 2 stitches together P purl rep repeat s1 slip one (slip a stitch onto the right-hand needle without knitting it) ssk slip, slip, knit (slip 2 stitches one at a time then knit the slipped stitches together) st(s) stitch(es)

For each bunting flag

Cast on 31 sts. Knit 4 rows. Row 5: K2, p to last 2 sts, k2. Row 6: K. Row 7: K2, p to last 2 sts, k2. Row 8: K1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. (29 sts on needle) Row 9: K2, p to last 2 sts, k2. Row 10: K. Row 11: K2, p to last 2 sts, k2. Rep Rows 8-11 twice more. (25 sts on needle) Row 20: K1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. (23 sts on needle) Row 21: K2, p to last 2 sts, k2. Rep Rows 20-21 eight times more. (7 sts on needle) Row 37: K1, ssk, s1, k1, psso, k2tog (4 sts on needle) Row 38: K. Row 39: Ssk, k2tog. (2 sts on needle) Row 40: K. Row 41: K2tog. (1 st on needle) Break yarn and pull through the remaining stitch.

Pattern chart

Once you have made your desired number of bunting flags, cut a length of string and peg your flags along the string. So easy and festive!

*some of the materials for this project were supplied by Sew Crafty, but all opinions are my own.

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Finished project | first attempt at knitted socks

I never seem to knit anything seasonally appropriate, you could say it was because I'm always behind with my works in progress (these, for example were supposed to be finished for Father's Day in June), but I prefer to think of it as being ahead as they won't be useful until winter, so August is still way ahead of time... ahem.
You definitely don't want to be wearing these in August (other than for photographic purposes, like I have of course) because they are super warm and cosy. With their ribbed pattern and cream tone they epitomise classic wellie boot socks at their best - simple, yet stylish and practical. 
The basic pattern is a vintage Bellmans Aran Knitting B1207 pattern belonging to my Mum. It's knitted flat from the top down and then seamed together. But instead of following the cable pattern I knitted rib (k4, p2) at the request of my Dad and also cast on 73 stitches rather than the recommended 53 as his current pair were too tight at the top. Because of this the top half did seem to take ages to knit and I'm not a fast knitter. Turning the heel and knitting up the stitches to join took a little bit of figuring out luckily my Mum and YouTube were on hand to advise. I also caused myself a headache by not detailing my pattern amendments very well when knitting the first sock, by the time it came for me to knit the second I'd forgotten what I'd done and my notes didn't make sense! It look me a whole evening to figure out - lesson learned for next time. 
But as usual now I've finished I'm so happy with them as is my Dad, which is the main thing! 

Wool - Sirdar Supersoft Aran, shade 0859



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Vintage socks and saffron | Yarn Along

I seem to have done that thing were I've started several projects and now want to get them all finished at once, mainly because I've already got some more ideas lined up! #crafterproblems #wipwoes
But I am showing great restraint and finishing the one that is a gift first, which is a pair of thick knitted socks. Progress is slow, but since taking these photos at the weekend I have now made it down to the heel turn on the first sock. I’ve not knitted socks before but these are knitted flat and then seamed together. I'm using a 1980s Bellmans aran pattern which belongs to my Mum. The heel has been causing me a bit of a headache this week, but it’s all good experience I suppose!

Despite slow progress on the knitting front, I've finished a book since my last yarn along back in January (although I still haven't finished Big Magic). I’ve instead just read The Saffron Trail by Rosanna Ley. Without giving too much away, the story follows Nell and Amy, two women from England who up on a cookery course in Marrakech together. They are both looking for answers to their family secrets and undertake their own ‘saffron trail’ in to find them. I loved Rosanna’s descriptions of Morocco and the exotic, colourful street bazaars, the perfect escape after a grey rainy day here. 

What have you been knitting and reading?  Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along

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Knitted pom-pom slippers

Seeing as the big day is now over for another year it's safe to share a couple of the Christmas gifts I made. I originally decided to focus on making decorations rather than gifts for Christmas this year, but forgot all about that promise when I saw this knitted slipper pattern in on ravelry. I knew my Mum would just love the style and giant pom-pom, plus I already had the perfect yarn in my stash so I couldn't resist!    They were really easy to knit and would make a great pattern for beginners as the only stitches used are knit, increase and knit two together. The sizing on the pattern is also really accurate, which is always a bonus, my Mum is a UK size 5 and they're a good fit - not too loose, not to tight. You knit them in one flat piece with a triangle section for the heel and as you cast off, you gather the remaining front stitches to create the toe. Then you simply sew the heel together and add a nice fluffy pom-pom for the finishing touch. I used the largest of my trusty pom-pom makers, although you could by a faux fur pom-pom as they have done in the pattern.   The yarn used is Chunky Special by Stylecraft in burgundy and as you knit with the yarn held double, they are super warm and will hopefully last that bit longer too. The burgundy colour has a lovely warming feel to it perfect for cold winter evenings. I'm quite tempted to make a pair for myself now. And it’s an excuse to make more pom-poms!  

 
Of course once I'd made something for my Mum, I figured I'd also make something for my Dad... catch that in next week's post.    p.s. I never really got round to making many Christmas decorations. Oops.   p.p.s. #worldpomination 



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Yarn Along | Fair Isle knitting and current reads

This finished project has been a long time coming, I honestly never thought I'd be capable of Fair Isle knitting, it looked too complicated and far too many balls of wool at once. However, one evening when feeling particularly determined I sat down with a pattern, pinterest and youtube and got stuck in. Several weeks later and I’ve finished this headband! It’s not perfect but to have finished it feels like such an achievement.

I’m definitely going to be trying some more patterns; this is the one for the headband. If you have any favourite fair isle ones let me know! Also I found the stiches at each end of my magic circle are the messiest, I'd love to know if you have any tips for keeping this part neater (or maybe I just need a lot more practice).

As well as knitting I’ve been squeezing in time for reading and have finally started The Saffron Trail by Rosanna Ley, after it’s been sat on my bedside table for over a month. I’m woefully few pages in but the start is certainly intriguing enough to want to keep reading. I’m looking forward to the characters reaching Marrakech and the colourful chaotic descriptions of life there. I’ve also been picking up the new Mollie Makes every spare 5 minutes, I think I’ll be trying out my new fair isle skills on the alpine gloves pattern soon.
Joining in with Ginny’s Yarn Along. 


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Knitting a summer scarf with Wool and the Gang

Long have I been a fan of Wool and the Gang, they are big believers in sustainable and ethical fashion, design fashionable contemporary knits and let's face it, generally make knitting even cooler than it already is. Just check out #shareyourknits if you don't believe me.
So having the chance to be part of 'the gang' (anyone can join, they're nice like that) by knitting one of their Solange Scarves* was obviously something I jumped at. The lightweight wool and loose stitches make it a great summer cover up, perfect for summer evenings when the temperatures start to cool... mine has been out twice this weekend already.
The pattern kit comes with all you need - knitting needs, wool, pattern booklet and even a needle for sewing in the ends. Although all of the stitches - mock fisherman's rib, holey stitch and double wrap stitch - were new to me, the booklet explains how to do each one and they have some really helpful videos on their website. 
It knitted up quite quickly and I'm quite a slow knitter - I think the loose stitches helped! The wool was so nice to work with, called shiny happy cotton it's 100% Peruvian pima cotton made in Peru. It is super soft, didn't split at all and the 'spearmint' colour is pretty lovely.

Don't panic if you're not a knitter you can buy readymade versions of all of their kits, pre-made by their own knitters/gang members. Cool, huh?
*item sent for the purpose of a review.

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Knitted tartan sampler

Today we have a combination of two of my favourite things - knitting and tartan! I've often wondered if it's possible to knit a tartan pattern, but as I've yet to conquer fair isle or intarsia type knitting I figured it would be a while before I was able to try it. That was until I saw a fab tutorial for knitted tartan, using a line of crochet to create the vertical lines. Genius.

I had to have a go for myself and without any firm ideas of what I wanted to do with knitted tartan and with a long list of projects that need to come first, I just used a few bits of leftover wool to try a little sampler.

It's a really clever technique - you knit changing colour for your horizontal lines then where you'd like the vertical lines simply work a purl stitch on each row. You'll end up with a gutter running through the knitting, which you then work a row of crochet slip stitches along.

You can see a full tutorial here.

What would you knit with this tartan pattern?

Finished project - a knitted teacup

Time for tea?

Or perhaps a better question would be, why have I knitted a teacup?

Not a clue, it's certainly not my most practical knit, but I think that's okay sometimes. Now that it's finished I'm not too keen on the fact it's neon green. It seemed like a good idea at the time to use up the leftovers, but I think a slightly daintier colour would have worked better.

The pattern is from the fab craftseller magazine. The 'tea' is just a needle felt circle, which isn't included in the craftseller pattern, but you can't have a teacup without tea - it didn't look finished without it!

So, milk and sugar?

Finished project - a knitted dinosaur!

Remember a few weeks ago when I shared the progress of my knitted dinosaur, well here's Dino in all his finished glory! Seriously, this might just be my favourite knit so far.

The pattern was really easy to follow, and free, find it on ravelry here.

I was almost sad to give him away, but I'm sure my friend's new baby will have lots more fun with him. Although probably in a few months time, as currently both baby and dinosaur are the same size!

Knitted on 4mm round needles / Wool is stylecraft DK, leftover from my crochet cushion.

Work in progress – a knitted dinosaur

Or a knitted stegosaur to be precise.

Either way, this little knitted dinosaur toy is a present for my friend’s baby boy (due any day now eeek). I’m really enjoying this pattern so far, it’s from ravelry and is knitted in the round using the magic loop method (tutorial on magic loop here).

Don’t you just love that stage when the pattern starts to make sense and reveal itself?! You can now see his head and half his body. It’s a little bigger than I was expecting, slightly concerned it might end up bigger than the baby, but I guess dinosaurs are giant compared to humans so perhaps I’ll just claim it’s to scale...

I’ve not decided what colour to do his stegosaurus spikes yet, but I've named him Dino.

Work in progress – a knitted teacup

You know that feeling when you want to make something, just because. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, but it catches your eye and whispers ‘make me’. Well, that happened to me when I spotted a knitted teacup pattern in craftseller magazine. Naturally I set to work and used some of my leftover neon green wool (naturally). Although I must remember not to use this wool in the future as it’s so difficult to photograph!

Here’s my progress so far... 

...an inside-out cup and TINY handle...

...just need to sew it all together now.

Finished project - my first knitted jumper

Eek here it is, my first knitted jumper! Alright, I know you’re thinking ‘that’s barely a jumper, where are the sleeves?!' So it’s really more of a knitted shrug, but it’s still my first proper knitted garment.

Just in case you recognise parts of it, I should mention that I started this project in 2012 and finished it last year, but when wearing it recently I realised I hadn’t blogged it’s finished beauty. And seeing as spring is finally here (at least it was when these photos were taken) I figured now was the perfect time to share it with you.

It's a Sirdar 'Roman Holiday' pattern (9426) in Sirdar simply recycled wool; you can see a picture of the pattern here. Even for something this small, I found it required a lot of dedication and did get a bit bored around halfway through, particularly when I couldn't work out how the pattern would come together, but I'm very glad I persevered and am definitely keen to start a 'proper' jumper now.

Would love any pattern recommendations for a simple beginners jumper or cardigan?

Guest posting – DIY knitted knotted braclet

Today I’m guest posting over on the fabulous Knit me a cake blog! Head over to find out how to make this quick and easy knitted knot bracelet...

I’ve been a reader of Leanne’s lovely blog pretty much since its beginning in October 2012; her blog name alone contains two of my favourite things knitting and cake so I was bound to become a fan! While you’re having a read don’t miss her updates on the skyblanket (such a cool idea) and her cute crafting companion Freds the cat.

Hope you enjoy.

What a hoot! Knitted owl phone cover

Continuing my love of all things woodland animal related, I’ve had this knitted owl phone cover on my ravelry 'to-knit' list for ages. And after finishing various knitted bits for other people I fancied a quick knit that was just for me!

Two evenings is all it took to make this cute little owl, it was a slight lesson in perseverance though as I had to restart three times before I was happy with my cabling technique and wool choice (FYI thinking it’ll do and using a normal needle is not the same as a cable needle and will create rather large, annoying holes). 

Here’s the pattern - as it’s meant for an ipod I added a few extra stitches so it would fit my phone and I think I have an idea to make it look even neater next time.  I’d also like to try it in a few different wools; as I think it would make a lovely gift for someone.

Twit twoo.

THE knitted scarf

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the source of most of my pre-Christmas stress...  the knitted scarf. Would you believe I started this in August 2013 but was still knitting at lunchtime on Christmas Eve?! *Note to self: even if you start presents early you actually have to keep working on them in order to finish* Anyway the recipient of the stressful scarf, the boyfriend, loves it so that has made it all worthwhile!

It matches the neon and grey gloves he requested last year (after seeing the heart fingerless gloves I made for myself). Both patterns are from ravelry – here’s the one for the scarf but it’s just a simple rib with striped ends, I cast on a few less stitches so it’s not quite a wide but thank goodness or I’d probably still be knitting it now...

Knitted kitty

Meet my latest knitting project - a kitty! I saw the pattern for this cute knitted cat on ravelry and immediately added it to my projects list.

Here’s the pattern – it’s easy to follow and gave me a chance to practise my knitting in the round skills, tutorial here. I used a chunky wool and slightly thinner needles than mentioned, but surprisingly it still worked! I’ve since purchased the necessary 3mm round needles and found some DK to try it with too as suggested in the pattern.

My original plan was to ‘cat bomb’ my Mum and Dad’s house and hide him there for them to find, but I’ve become quite attached so I had to make another one. And here it is!

Which is your favourite?

Finished project – neon knitting

Last week I finished some more knitted gloves, this time requested by the boyfriend who was impressed with my heart gloves. I used the same pattern for him and simply missed out the heart bit! He chose the wool - I really wasn’t sure about the neon green to start with and at least managed to convince him to go with grey for the ends. The pictures really don't do the neon-ness justice, but it was fun to knit with such a bright colour and I’ve even got enough left to start a matching scarf, maybe in the opposite colour way - grey with green edges? I’m going to try and keep both hidden until December and they can be Christmas or birthday presents. The scarf pattern I’m going to use is a simple ribbed one from ravelry and I’m already eyeing up wool colours to make one for myself as well...

Hope you all have a great weekend.

I heart knitted fingerless gloves

Not that I want to go on and on about the weather but I’d assumed I wouldn’t get to use these knitted gloves until next winter, but after finishing them a few weeks ago they’ve come in very useful! They accompanied me on a walk last weekend and as you can see they were perfect for layering over some thin black gloves.

The pretty heart pattern is one I found on ravelry – which I’m now obsessed with, free knitting patterns AMAZING. I’d highly recommend trying this one out and it encouraged forced me to learn magic loop knitting (see earlier post for a tutorial) and something called an afterthought thumb, which isn’t explained on the pattern but this step by step guide is really helpful.

They took just a few #creativesunite sessions to complete, once I’d figured the magic loop thing out and I think I’ll be doing some more for Christmas presents later in the year.

They also look good worn without gloves underneath; perhaps I’ll try this outdoors when the temperature rises a bit!