Friday, October 21, 2011

Cozy Knit Neck Warmer

This is a really easy pattern that you can adjust the size of quickly. Then when your done all you have to do is sew on one button! Shall we get started?

Materials:
One Skein of Loops & Threads Charisma Colorway Holiday 100% Acrylic (I'm not 100% sure that's what the colorway is called.) Any bulky weight yarn will do.
Size US 13 (9mm) Straight Needles
One Medium Sized to  Large Button (Mine was 1 and a fourth inch in diameter.)
Yarn Needle

Gauge is not really important in this pattern as you can make your neck warmer any size you want with just a few adjustments.
My finished neck warmer measured 30 inches long and 6 and a half inches wide.

In this pattern there is only two different stitches (other than regular knit stitch) those stitches are:
Knit Two Together (k2tog) Video Tutorial
&
Afterthought Yarn Over (ayo) Video Tutorial
The ayo stitch is pretty simple once you get the hang of it. The way I use it in this pattern is ayo, k1, meaning pick up the stitch as in afterthought yarn over then knit 1.

Note: Don't worry about putting in a button hole, you will just use one of the holes left by the ayo.

Pattern:
Cast on 18 sts. This makes it really wide you can make it thinner by casting on less stitches, just make sure that you cast on in an even number.
Row 1:  K across (Do this for all odd rows)
At the beginning and end of every row k2.
Row 2:  *Ayo, k1, k2tog* rep from * to * until 3 sts remain on left needle, ayo, k1. (19 sts)
It seems an odd pattern but it creates a nice texture (as shown in the picture above) without being too difficult to remember.
Row 4:  *K2tog, ayo, k1* rep from * to * until 3 sts remain on left needle, k2tog. (18sts)
Repeat rows 2 and 4 still knitting odd rows, until you reach desired length.
Be sure to end with a knit row to make ends even.

I made mine, as I said before short and wide, just long enough to fit around my neck snugly and neatly tuck into my jacket without all the bulk of a long scarf. Also depending on the dimensions it may take more or less yarn for your project. Mine took a tiny bit less than one skein of the Loops & Threads Charisma.

Finishing:
Cast off and weave in all ends.
For the button make sure the button you choose fits through the holes made by the ayo easily, but still tight enough that it won't come loose while your wearing it.
After you find the right button that fits your neck warmer sew it on where you see fit.
I sewed mine on in the middle width wise and about 7 inches from one end (measuring from the center of the button), making sure that when I put it on and poked the button through one of the holes that made both ends hang evenly that it didn't fit too tight or too loose.

You could even fold your neck warmer and sew the button to both sides, being sure to keep it loose enough, making it a pullover.

Then you have a beautiful neck warmer designed especially for you.

I hope I made this pattern easy to understand, if you have any questions or find a problem with this pattern or any of my other patterns please let me know. Good luck!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Dress for Amigurumi Elephant

 This is a small dress made for the Amigurumi Elephant by Shawna Borst, that you can find HERE. This is NOT the pattern for the elephant, I take NO credit whatsoever for the pattern of the elephant. I only created the pattern for the dress.

Materials:
Size G hook
small amount of pink & even smaller amount of yellow

Ch 56 join with sl st to form a ring. (do this with all rnds)
Rnd 1:  Ch 1, sc in each of next 3 ch, ch 6, sk 13 ch, sc in each of next 24 ch, ch 6, sk 13, sc in each of next 3 ch. (42 sts {including ch})
Rnd 2:  Ch 1, sc in each of next 2 sc, sc in each of next 6 ch, sc in each of next 24 sc, sc in each of next 6 ch, sc in each of next 4 sc. (42 sts)
Rnds 3 & 4:  Ch 1, sc in each sc around.
Rnd 5:  Ch 2, dc in each of next 5 sc, 2 dc in each of next 4 sc, 3 dc in each of next 15 sc, 2 dc in each of next 4 sc, dc in each of next 5 sc, dec 1 over next 2 sc, 4 times. Cut yarn.
Yellow Under Ruffle
Join yellow yarn by going into the loop behind the back loop (LBBL) of the 5th dc of rnd 5. Work entire Yellow Ruffle  into the LBBL of each dc of rnd 5.
Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc in each of next 4 LBBL, 3 dc in each of next 16 LBBL, 2 dc in each of next 4 LBBL, dc in next LBBL. Cut yarn. Weave in all ends.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Amigurumi Coca-Cola Bottle

This is the first pattern I have actually written out, so please forgive me for any mistakes.

Yarns: Small amount of Brown and Red. I use red heart for most of my projects.
Recommended Hook Size: G 4.25 mm
You'll also need a small amount of fiberfill.
Here are the links to tutorials for the Popcorn Stitch, the Magic Loop and the Invisible Decrease.
All decreases in this pattern are invisible. Also if you have difficulty reading abbreviations there is a good dictionary Here.

Note: In this pattern instead of making 5 dc for Popcorn st, I make six. And at the end of each row join with sl st to first st of row.

Bottle:
Row 1:  Create Magic Loop, ch 1, sc 5, join with sl st in first st.
Row 2:  Ch 2 (counts as first dc), dc 5 in same st as sl st, make Popcorn st, (when making first Popcorn, insert hook through second ch of ch 2), *ch 1, make Popcorn in next sc* rep from * to * 4 times, ch 1.
(5 Popcorns & 35 sts)
Row 3:  Ch 1, sc in top of each dc, skipping each ch 1. (30 sts)
Row 4:  Ch 1, sc in each sc around.
Row 5:  Sl st in next sc, ch 1, *sc in each of next 4 sc, dec 1* rep from * to * 5 times. sl st to first sc of 4 sc after ch 1. (25 sts)
Row 6:  Ch 1, *sc 3, dec 1,* rep from * to * 5 times. ( 20 sts )
Row 7:  Ch 1, * sc in each of next 2 sc, dec 1* rep from * to * 5 times. (15 sts)
Rows 8-9:  Ch 1, sc in each sc around.
Row 10:  Ch 1, *sc 2 in next sc, sc in each of next 2 sc* rep from * to * 5 times. ( 20 sts)
Row 11:  Ch 1, *sc 2 in next sc, sc in each of next 3 sc* rep from * to * 5 times. (25 sts)
Start stuffing bottle, and stuff as you go.
Row 12:  Ch 1, *sc in each of next 3 sc, dec 1* rep from * to * 5 times. Sl st with red yarn. (20 sts)
Rows 13-20:  Ch 1, sc in each sc around. At end of row 20 sl st with brown yarn.
Rows 21-22:  Ch 1, sc in each sc around.
Row 23:  Ch 1, * dec 1, sc in each of next 2 sc* rep from * to * 5 times. (15 sts)
Row 24:  Ch 1, sc in each sc around.
Row 25:  Ch 1, *dec 1, sc in next sc* rep from * to * 5 times. (10 sts)
Row 26:  Ch 1, sc in each sc around. Sl st with red yarn.
Row 27:  Ch 1, sc in each sc around through back loops only.
Row 28:  Ch 1, sc in each sc around. Cut yarn.

Lid Top:
With red yarn, make Magic Loop.
Ch 1, sc 10 in Magic Loop, sl st in first sc. (10 sts)
Sew lid top onto top of bottle, lining up sts and going through back loops of both the bottle and the lid top. Cut yarn and weave in any ends.

I have more photos of this on Ravelry.com under SkeinHeads.                                              Leah