Bits and Bobs

I have been trying to dedicate myself to stashbusting here lately. I know, I know, stashbusting is the stated goal of every obsessed knitter and how many of us actually do it?? But I am really trying to be good!

I have several yarns that are either too small of an amount to knit much with or are of lesser quality that were purchased in weaker moments. As luck would have it, we will have a few new babies here in the DownTown family in the coming months, so I thought I would whip up a few baby hats. Of course, first comes the swatching!

The ever-popular Owls - and so cute in this pumpkin orange color.

Leaves - I am loving this for bottom trim instead of ribbing.

My pattern book calls this pattern "Blossoms," but I am calling it
"Balloons" - makes it sound more boy-friendly.

The thing about these stitch patterns is that the gauge is different from the 2x2 rib or stockinette that I would want to pair them with. To avoid funny-looking, bulgy hats, I took two different gauges (one for the pattern itself and one for the rib for the Owls and Balloons and one for the stockinette for the Leaves), and did a simple increase or decrease row between the two to try and get the same size.

Owl Hat - size 3-6 month
I'm opting to embroider eyes to avoid any button choking hazards.

Poppy Hat
I am guessing size 1-3 years?


Balloon Hat - size 6-12 months.

All these hats were knit using KnitPicks Swish Worsted that I ordered last year - I was thinking I would knit socks, so I only ordered two skeins of each color. Really - who am I kidding? Socks are a nightmare for me - I NEVER get around to knitting the second one and I know it. That means that this yarn has been sitting around for a while now (after being frogged multiple times) waiting for a project. These baby hats were just the thing. Stash-busting accomplished!

Picot's Dog Sweater - Finished!

After finishing the body, I forged right ahead with the trim for Picot's dog sweater. The pattern calls for cuffs on the sleeves, a ribbed belly gusset, and ribbed trim around the bottom.

Sleeves:

Using Size 7 DPNs, slip/pick up leg sts. Work in the round K2P2, decreasing evenly in first round to correct for rib.

I picked up 32 sts, and ended up using 1x1 rib, just to make the cuffs a little stretchier.
Continue 2K2P for 22 rows.

I decided on a shorter, doubled cuff, so I knit 11 rows of 1x1 rib, then one purl row, and another 11 rows of 1x1 rib. Instead of a traditional stretchy bind off, I folded the cuff in (so the purl row was at the crease) and cast off my stitches by sewing them to the line where I picked up for the cuff. This gave me the added bonus of being able to sew up any pesky holes left from where I picked up stitches.

Repeat for second leg.

Belly Gusset and Finishing:

Slip Belly sts onto a circular needle. Place markers on either side of the Belly sts.

Pick up 1 sts per row along the sides, and slip on Back sts, so that bottom edge of entire sweater is on needles.

Row 1: Wrong side. Work ONLY the Belly sts – 2K2P rib, beginning and ending with P. Decrease twice evenly spaced to correct st count.

Row 2: Turn piece, and work right side. Slide 1 side st (outside marker) from right-hand needle to left. K2T (one st outside marker, one st inside marker). 2K2P rib until st before second marker. SSK (one st inside marker, one inside marker).

Row 3: Repeat Row 2, but on wrong side.

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 until gusset is 5cm long.

Begin working in rounds on right side.

Round 1: Slide 1 side st (outside marker) from right-hand needle to left. K2T (one st outside marker, one st inside marker). 2K2P rib until st before second marker. SSK (one st inside marker, one inside marker). Continue 2K2P for side and Back sts. Decrease evenly as necessary for ribs to match up.

Round 2: Slide 1 side st (outside marker) from right-hand needle to left. K2T (one st outside marker, one st inside marker). 2K2P rib until st before second marker. SSK (one st inside marker, one inside marker). Continue 2K2P for rest of round.

Repeat Round 2 until ribbing is 2 cm long. Bind off.

Sew in the ends, and your sweater is done! I had some left over yarn, so I decided to knit Nami a hat in the same variable stripes pattern so that she and Picot can match when they go on walks this winter.



Finally it was time for the big reveal!! Here is Picot modeling the finished product.

It is a little big around the body for her, but hopefully that means it will be comfortable for her to run and jump when she plays on the beach near her house.

I hope you love your sweater, Picot!

Mashup!

Here is where I need to admit that I have been watching Glee. It came a little late to Japan - we are just now at the end of the first season - and I am really enjoying a little bit of added Americana in my life.

One of the things they do on Glee is take two different songs and perform them together as a mashup. The idea is that the songs may be very different from one another, but they find a common element and make a new, exciting combination of the two. And that made me think of knitting. (I know, I know, I'm obsessed.) What a great idea to take two great knitting patterns, and mash them up into a new and amazing project!

So here it is - my very own knitting mashup. I combined the Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet pattern that originally calls for chunky yarn and 1x1 rib edging, with the gull lace pattern from the ever-popular February Lady Sweater. Add in picot edging for spice, and the mashup is complete.

For a better fit I knit two short rows on each side in the front for bust-shaping. Otherwise, the shape is a straight-forward top-down raglan.

I knit this sweater on size 3 needles using a 100% cotton yarn I got at Yuzawaya for 98 JPY a skein. What a bargain! In total (not including labor), this shrug cost me about $2.50.

Picot's Dog Sweater - Body

With the go-ahead to forge on ahead after our fitting, the rest of Picot's striped sweater knit up pretty quickly. I started off casting off for the leg openings:

K10, Cast Off 9 sts, K71, Cast off 9 sts, K10. (I slipped the stitches onto some scrap yarn to make them easier to pick up later.)

Work belly and back back and forth at the same time (using two skeins).

Continue in stockinette stitch for 9 rows.

Double check your measurements to make sure the leg openings will be big enough for the dog's leg before casting the stitches back on. I used a provisional cast on - again to make picking up stitches for the cuff easier.

CO 9 sts over leg openings, and join to knit in round. (total 113 sts)

There - that was the hardest part of the sweater (until the trim). After the leg holes, knitting the rest of the body is just smooth sailing.

Continue in stockinette stitch until sweater is 50cm from neck ribbing.

Cast off 12 sts, K85, Cast off 12 sts.

I slipped the “cast off sts” onto a piece of scrap yarn – these will be the “Belly sts." From now on, you knit the body back and forth, decreasing on each side.

Continue in stockinette stitch, decreasing one stitch at the beginning (SSK) and one stitch at the end (K2T), for each Knit row until there are 60 sts remaining (25 rows).

Continue in stockinette stitch (without decreasing) until sweater is 72 cm long.

Decrease one stitch at the beginning (SSK) and one stitch at the end (K2T), Knitting in between, for 5 rows (This will be garter stitch).

Instead of this garter stitch ending, I decreased on one side, slipped 10 stitches at the beginning and end of the row onto some scrap yarn until all the stitches were on the scrap yarn. This created a gentle curving back end.

Cast off. (I suggest slipping “cast off sts” onto a piece of scrap yarn. These will be the “Back sts”.)

The sweater should look something like this now:

It has the shape of a dog's body. Trim will make the finished product more polished, but the general shape is complete. This is the belly view, so you can see the slipped belly stitches and both leg holes.

I hope to finish up the trim this week, so Picot will have her turtleneck sweater just in time for July (only the hottest month of the year)!

Picot's Dog Sweater - Neck and Yoke

Before I started knitting, I asked Nami what color pattern she wanted me to use. She had already purchased a happy collection of pink, red and orange yarns, so I asked her to send me an example of how she wanted me to combine them. This is what she sent:

I cast on the red yarn for the neck, and set to work.

Neck: Using size 8 needle, CO 64 sts. Place marker, and join to knit in round. Knit K2P2 ribbing for 30 cm.

Nami wanted a turtleneck with ribbing for Picot because her other dog sweaters tended to stretch out too much around the neck. If this neck is too long, she can always fold it down, and still see the pink detailing.

Yoke:

Row 1: Knit. Increase 15 sts evenly across round. (K6, M1, *K4, M1* K6)

Row 2: Knit.Row 3: K1, M1, Knit, M1, K1Repeat Rows 2 and 3 until you have 113 sts. (until Row 35)

[NOTE: To make a better fit, I ended up making two short rows; one in Row 16 and another in Row 28.]

Continue knitting until sweater measures 32 cm from the neck as measured along the increase line. (until Row 69).

This is the point where you would cast off for the front leg openings. Even though Nami sent fantastic measurements, I wanted to make sure that I was on the right track, so I set up a fitting with Picot. Before the fitting, I slipped all the sts onto scrap yarn, and marked where the pattern said to bind off for the leg openings with removable markers. That way, I could move the markers during the fitting to the actual placement of Picot's legs.

Lucky me! The sweater fit perfectly. I didn't even have to move the leg markers.

I am forging right along with the rest of the sweater, and will have it finished just in time for the hottest months of the year (go figure)!

Green Poppy Hat

I was in the mood for a quick project this weekend, so I dug around in my stash, found some old yarn that needed to be used up, and cast on for a Poppy hat. I was drawn to this hat by it's cute, retro style. I modified the pattern slightly by knitting 4 short rows (two at 5 sts from the end, and two at 10 sts from the end) and by not picking up any sts along the edge for the ribbing.

By not picking up any sts for the ribbing, I ended up with a little hole on either side of the hat where the edges come together. I am planning to find a cute flower accessory to pin on, and that hole be the perfect place to put it.

I was supremely lazy, and failed to do any sort of effective swatching, so what I intended to knit as an adult hat turned out decidedly baby-sized (I'm guessing 6-month-ish?).

Even so, I'm keeping it for myself, and adding it to the FBC (Future Baby Collection).

Henry's Hedgehog Bibs

We seem to be in the midst of a mini baby boom right now. Our friends are procreating left and right - which means lots of baby knitting for me! I started a sweater for baby Henry back in January, but grew bored with the project. Since he is a Spring baby, a sweater probably wouldn't be the best gift anyway, so I set out to find something new.

At Yuzawaya (only my favorite yarn store in the whole world - and I'm not exaggerating about that whole world bit), I found 100% cotton yarn on sale for 98 yen per skein. Even though my stash is taking over closets in our apartment, I knew I couldn't pass up such a great deal. I bought 10 skeins in white, grey, aqua and pink. The yarn is fine, super soft and all the colors are pastels - perfect for baby knitting.

I imagined a onesie-type knit, but for a boy decided to go for overalls. I completely improvised this project, so I just took a shot in the dark and started knitting.

Here is the final project:

The straps are 8 sts wide garter stitch, knit at the same time using two balls of yarn. I put in three button holes so that this outfit can grow with baby Henry all summer.

The bibs ended up pretty wide - I just eyeballed the whole thing size-wise, and to be honest, the number of sts cast on to connect the front and back bibs was based more on how many sts I needed to fill the needle for knitting in the round, and less on actual baby proportions.

To fix this problem I used elastic cord, threaded through the ribs at the top, to gather the top, and then tied the ends together at the back. It's not the most professional solution, but it does add a little more adjustability, for when Henry gets bigger.

I may not have any children myself, but I have watched enough nieces and nephews to know the importance of diaper access. I knit the legs flat, and then picked up sts along the inside to knit a ribbed edge, sewed on a few snaps, and - voila - it's just like a store-bought onesie.

The finishing touch was a decorative patch (found at the 100 yen store). The blue flower picks up the grey yarn nicely without being too matchy-matchy, and the hedgehog is whimsical - perfect for a little boy.

50 Fabulous Knit Stitches

Over Golden Week I was back in the US. While my adorable and slightly geeky husband was browsing in Best Buy (why, I have no idea - the electronics stores in Japan are vastly superior), I wandered over to Michael's. I am not allowed to buy new yarn any time soon - my stash is enormous - but yarn is so intoxicating! To take my mind of the skeins of chunky wool that were calling my name, I made an impulse buy - 50 Fabulous Knit Stitches by Rita Weiss.

This is the very first knitting book I have ever purchased. I rely almost exclusively on Ravelry. Tante Relly gifted me a sock book when she was teaching me the ropes of sock knitting, but never have I purchased an instruction book of my own. It turns out I like this book-learning thing!

I am not much of a pattern-follower, but learning new stitches is fun (and gives me unending great ideas for how to modify other projects I have been thinking of). Right now I am devoting about an hour each morning to testing out a new stitch.

I imagine a funky cardigan knit bottom-up using these shell-shaped scallops and big, bright buttons.

Leaves are a great, classic motif, and I can see them running up a scarf or a sleeve.

This purple beauty was my introduction to bobbles - I think it would make a great hat (or even mittens)!

Mama Jacket - Pattern

Here is my version of the Drops Jacket pattern. This is not my original pattern, but my modifications to the Drops pattern. Modifications include a straight collar, raglan sleeves, and one piece construction.

Mama Jacket

Gauge - 17 sts = 10 cm

22 rows = 10 cm

Needle - Size 8

Yarn - KnitPicks Cadena

Measurements:

Hips: 100 cm
Waist: 76 cm
below bust: 90 cm
bust: 98 cm
upper arm: 30 cm
elbow: 25 cm
fullest below elbow: 25 cm
distance waist/hips: 17 cm
distance waist/bust: 20 cm
neck opening: 50 cm

Collar:

CO 100 sts.
Knit Double Moss st for about 20 cm.

Optional collar button: About 4 cm above the body, knit a button hole. (k2, p2, k1, cast off one, double moss st. Next row CO one st over the cast off stitch.)

Last row (wrong side), decrease 4 times (by k2tog) (total 96 sts)

Purl one row

Body:

Double moss st. 28 sts. Place moss marker. All sts before this marker will be Double moss.
Knit 2. Place marker. This marks where to increase for the right front panel.
Knit 8 sts. Place marker. This is the right sleeve.
Knit 28 sts. Place marker. This is the back.
Knit 8 sts. Place marker. This is the left sleeve.
Knit 2. Place moss marker. All sts after this marker will be Double moss.
Double moss st 20 sts. This is the left from panel.

Continue knitting Double moss on the front panels, stockinette st all others. Increase on either side of each increase marker on the right side by knitting in the front and back of each st.

Crochet a button loop about 2 cm from the top on the left front panel.

Knit a button hole on the right front panel, every 8-10 cm.

Increase until sts are:
Right Front – 55
Right Sleeve – 60
Back – 82
Left Sleeve – 60
Left Front – 47
(Total 304 sts)

Separate sleeves – hold on scrap yarn to knit later. (CO 6 sts, place marker, CO 6 sts) under each arm. (Total 196 sts)

Shaping:

Increase on the front side of the each marker (the side toward on the front of the jacket) every knit row until there are 214 sts. (18 times)

Knit one short row on right and left front panels.

Decrease on the front side of each marker every knit row until there are 202 sts (12 times).

Continue knitting, with Double Moss st on front panels.

About 15 cm below the short rows for the bust, decrease 4 sts, evenly distributed across the back of the jacket (at each marker on the back side of the jacket, and twice evenly distributed across the back, every 3 rows, until there are 178 sts (6 times).

Increase 4 sts, evenly distributed (on back of jacket), every other knit row, until there are 202 sts (6 times).

Increase 2 sts on the front side of each marker every knit row until there are 218 sts (8 times).

Knit Double Moss pattern for 14 rows.
Bind off.

Sleeves:

Pick up 17 sts to be knit in the round (total 77 sts). Place 2 markers centered under armpit.

Row 1 – K6, K2tog, K2tog, K56, K2tog, K2tog, K6, K1 (total 73 sts)
Row 2 – K5, K2tog, K2tog, K54, K2tog, K2tog, K5, K1 (total 69 sts)
Row 3 – K2, K2tog, K2tog, K2tog, K52, K2tog, K2tog, K2tog, K2, K1 (total 63 sts)
Row 4 – Knit (total 63 sts)
Row 5 – Decrease one stitch on each side of marker. (total 61 sts)
Row 6 – Knit
Row 7 – Knit

Repeat rows 5-7 until there are 49 sts. (total 36 rows)

In the next row, decrease once (total 48 sts).

Continue knitting until sleeves are 7 cm short of desired length. Knit Double Moss pattern for 14 rows.

Bind off.

Picot's Dog Sweater - Pattern

Based on Picot's measurements, I wrote up a pattern for the dog sweater. Again, this pattern borrows heavily from Esther Smith Bozak's Custom Fit Dog Sweater and Terri Lee Royea's Side Button Greyhound Sweater (mostly from Esther - thank you!).

Picot's Dog Sweater

Gauge: 10 sts – 7cm
15 rows – 7 cm

Needles: Size 8 Circular
Size 7 DPN

Measurements:

1. Neck – 44cm 64 sts

2. Chest – 79cm 113 sts

3. Leg (circumference) – 24cm 32 sts

Leg (width) 12cm 25 rows

4. Leg (length) – 10cm 22 rows

5. Front (Neck to underarm) – 33-34cm

6. Front (Neck to sternum) – 69cm 148 rows

7. Back – 77cm 165 rows

* * * * *

Neck:

Using size 8 needle, CO 64 sts. Place marker, and join to knit in round.

Knit K2P2 ribbing for 30 cm.

Yoke:

Row 1: Knit. Increase 15 sts evenly across round. (K6, M1, *K4, M1* K6)
Row 2: Knit.
Row 3: K1, M1, Knit, M1, K1

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 until you have 113 sts. (until Row 35)

[NOTE: To make a better fit, I ended up making two short rows; one in Row 16 and another in Row 28.]

Continue knitting until sweater measures 32 cm from the neck as measured along the increase line. (until Row 69).

Leg Openings:

Row 70: K10, Cast Off 9 sts, K71, Cast off 9 sts, K10. (I suggest slipping “cast off sts” onto a piece of scrap yarn.)

Work belly and back back and forth at the same time (using two skeins)

Continue in stockinette stitch for 9 rows (until Row 78).

Chest:

Row 79: CO 9 sts over leg openings, and join to knit in round. (total 113 sts)

Continue in stockinette stitch until sweater is 50cm from neck ribbing.

Cast off 12 sts, K85, Cast off 12 sts. (I suggest slipping “cast off sts” onto a piece of scrap yarn – these will be the “Belly sts”.)

Back:

Continue in stockinette stitch, decreasing one stitch at the beginning (SSK) and one stitch at the end (K2T), for each Knit row until there are 60 sts remaining (25 rows).

Continue in stockinette stitch until sweater is 72 cm long.

Decrease one stitch at the beginning (SSK) and one stitch at the end (K2T), Knitting in between, for 5 rows (This will be garter stitch).

Cast off. (I suggest slipping “cast off sts” onto a piece of scrap yarn. These will be the “Back sts”.)

Sleeves:

Using Size 7 DPNs, slip/pick up leg sts. Work in the round 2K2P, decreasing evenly in first round to correct for rib.

Continue 2K2P for 22 rows.

Repeat for second leg.

Belly Gusset and Finishing:

Slip Belly sts onto a circular needle. Place markers on either side of the Belly sts.

Pick up 1 sts per row along the sides, and slip on Back sts, so that bottom edge of entire sweater is on needles.

Row 1: Wrong side. Work ONLY the Belly sts – 2K2P rib, beginning and ending with P. Decrease twice evenly spaced to correct st count.

Row 2: Turn piece, and work right side. Slide 1 side st (outside marker) from right-hand needle to left. K2T (one st outside marker, one st inside marker). 2K2P rib until st before second marker. SSK (one st inside marker, one inside marker).

Row 3: Repeat Row 2, but on wrong side.

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 until gusset is 5cm long.

Begin working in rounds on right side.

Round 1: Slide 1 side st (outside marker) from right-hand needle to left. K2T (one st outside marker, one st inside marker). 2K2P rib until st before second marker. SSK (one st inside marker, one inside marker). Continue 2K2P for side and Back sts. Decrease evenly as necessary for ribs to match up.

Round 2: Slide 1 side st (outside marker) from right-hand needle to left. K2T (one st outside marker, one st inside marker). 2K2P rib until st before second marker. SSK (one st inside marker, one inside marker). Continue 2K2P for rest of round.

Repeat Round 2 until ribbing is 2 cm long. Bind off.

Sew in all loose ends.

Mama Jacket

I finished my first, real-deal, adult-sized sweater over Golden Week. It is the popular Drops Jacket, knit in one piece, top-down, as inspired by CanarySanctuary.

I used nine skeins of KnitPicks Cadena yarn, a nice alpaca blend, in neutral. The yarn bloomed a bit when washed, but generally held its size and shape (and also accepted some gentle tugging to make the body longer).

The buttons are wooden toggles that look like bamboo, purchased at Tokyu Hands. Michael helped me with button selection - and thank goodness for that. I had my eye on some beautiful shell buttons (that were about 1600 yen a pop), but Michael convinced me they would just blend into the creme wool, and encouraged me to get these dark beauties. It definitely helped that they rang up at 105 yen each!

I didn't even try to make gauge - I knew that I wanted to add some modifications and wanted to strive for a custom fit. SO - I wrote out my own pattern. I have found that I am terrible at following patterns (ditto on recipes - it must be a personality flaw), but I find great delight in writing my own patterns based on patterns I find on Ravelry. I changed it up a little as I went along (per usual), but I'll be posting the final result on the blog.

Picot's Dog Sweater - Measurements

My friend, Nami, asked me to knit a dog sweater for her dog, Picot. I looked at some dog sweater patterns on Ravelry, and decided to use a few to put together my own version. I borrowed heavily from Esther Smith Bozak's Custom Fit Dog Sweater and Terri Lee Royea's Side Button Greyhound Sweater.

The first step was getting Picot's measurements:

1. Neck measurement. - Nami wants Picot to have a turtleneck sweater. Because her t-shirts usually end up too stretched out around the neck, I will knit a ribbed neck to keep it fitted on Picot's neck. Nami measured around Picot's neck, where her collar normally sits.

2. Chest Measurement. This measurement should be around the biggest part of the chest. With Picot's hair, Nami got a range of measurements.

3. Chest Length. Nami measured from the neck to the end of Picot's sternum. This will be the length of the sweater as it extends down Picot's belly. You don't want to extend the sweater too far down, to avoid any pee wetting the sweater. (I know, what a lovely thought.)

4. Leg Circumference. This sweater will have leg openings and small cuffs. The measurement should be taken around the largest part of the leg.

5. Back Measurement. This measurement, from the neck to the tail, will be the full length of the sweater on the dog's back.

While Nami took measurements, I knit up a gauge swatch. My yarn's gauge on size 8 needles is 10 sts x 15 rows = 7x7 cm.