Zebra Slouchy Messy Bun Hat free pattern

This is just a design for an oversized, slouchy messy-bun hat made with alternating rows of two Red Heart colorways: zebra and soft white. (Having a plain white row between each zebra row helps prevent the zebra colors from pooling too much.) This is bean stitch worked in the round.

I started by FSC 40 and joining to work in the round, then continued working in bean stitch in increasing rows to 80 stitches. Worked straight in bean stitch until hat was about the length I wanted, then worked three rows in HDC in third loop (for the triple band above the ribbing). Finished with three rows of front/back post DC for the ribbing.

I like the fit because it’s long enough to comfortably cover my ears (with a bit of fashionable slouch in the back) and loose enough to skim my head without being too constricting.

Orbit the Magical, Mystical Dragon CAL free pattern

I haven't attempted much amigurumi, but when I saw the free crochet-a-long for Orbit the Dragon  that started in June, I knew I had to try to make him.

I had to do some sleuthing to figure out the color name of the variegated yarn I’m using for the main body of my dragon because the skein was gifted to me without a label on it. I figured it was probably something by Red Heart, so I clicked around on the Red Heart site until I found a match. This one works well as the main body color for this pattern because the color changes are very short - about every 2 inches - which contributes to the mystical body “scales” appearance.

I kept up with the CAL until the end when it was time to assemble the pieces. That was the part that scared me so I procrastinated doing the assembly for months. But I wanted to give Orbit to my daughter for Christmas, so when Dec. 20th rolled around I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. Aughhh! But I took my time and followed the instructions carefully and Orbit turned out just as cute as expected. Yay!

Week 1:

Week 2: 

Week 3:

Starting assembly:

Orbit assembled!

Color breakdown:

Head, body, nostrils: Red Heart in Monet Print
Eyes: Red Heart in Soft White and Black
Cheeks: Red Heart With Love in Bubble Gum
Horns: Red Heart in Soft White and Monet Print
Belly: Red Heart in Perfect Pink
Fins: Red Heart in Honeydew
Paws: Red Heart in Perfect Pik
Legs: Red Heart in Monet Print
Tail: Red Heart in Monet Print
Ears: Red Heart in Monet

Huffleclaw/Ravenpuff Hermione cloche

I decided to start this one off a bit differently by using a nice, stretchy cable cast-on in color A. Unlike the provisional cast-on in the pattern, the cable cast-on will remain a part of the finished hat, giving the B side especially a nice touch of twisted-rope contrast at the bottom edge.

This is also the first project I've made while using my new Knit Picks Shorties - and I LOVE them!! They make working a hat brim SOOO much easier. Love, love, love them.

 

 

Here's a link to my Ravelry project page with details about the yarn colors and needle sizes I used.

 

Full disclosure: My decision to use the cable cast-on for this turned out to not be the best thing to do. The double-knit brim as worked in Katerina's pattern is much stretchier and more comfortable. So don't try my idea! Stick with the provisional cast-on that flows you right into the stretchy double-knit brim.

I made this hat for me, since I identify with Hermione's character, except in my case I would probably be sorted into either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Hence, I straddle the fence and call myself a Huffleclaw/Ravenpuff.

Russian brioche hat

Pattern is on Katerina's blog (scroll down for English version). And you don't have to speak Russian to benefit from her companion video, which walks you through each step.

I know the technique she's using here isn't traditional brioche knitting, but I don't know enough about knitting terminology to know what this is called in English so I'm just calling it Russian brioche. It resembles traditional two-color brioche in appearance and squishy, stretchy texture ... so why not call it brioche? 

I love everything about this pattern: The two-color double-knit brim makes a perfect base from which to launch into the two-color Russian brioche crown - and a super-warm, soft and stretchy band to hug the wearer's head. And the crown has the gorgeous look of brioche without the difficulty of knitting in brioche. And it's reversible!!

I'm rating this pattern as "medium" difficulty only because there are a couple of intermediate stitches involved (the double-knit brim and knitting and purling into the row below) and the decreases are a bit challenging, but I'm sure a skilled beginner can manage them if they watch the video closely.

This hat will be one of Silver's gifts this Christmas. Here's the link to my Ravelry project page, which has the details for yarn colors and needle sizes used.

Afghans two ways

Same yarn, two different afghan styles. Which one do you like best?

We've had the spiral one in our living room for the last five years, and now I'm cannibalizing it to make the one on the right.

Lanyards for festival season

Break out the handmade lanyards — it's festival time again. 

Knitting a long 3-stitch i-cord is a fast and easy way to make lanyards that are soft and comfortable to wear. These won't cut into your skin or feel scratchy like standard ribbon lanyards or lanyards with breakaway clasps. You can customize your lanyard by using any colors you desire and even add beads or other findings for a truly unique piece that suits you.

I used worsted weight yarn and size 6 DPNs to make the lanyards in the photo, but they can be made with any yarn weight and needles that give you a nice, snug gauge on the i-cord. Leave a 6-inch tail at each end of your work so you have plenty of length to secure the hardware and fasten with knots before weaving in the ends.

I'm thinking a nice fingering weight yarn on size 1 needles with lots of sparkly seed beads would make a lovely one. I'm going to have to try that next.

These work up quickly. I made the worsted weight ones approximately 36-38 inches long, and they each took just about an hour to knit. (Adding beads would, of course, make the knitting time significantly longer.) At this gauge my lanyards each used about 12.5 yards of yarn. After fastening off and securing the hardware with a few knots and weaving in the ends, I'd estimate each lanyard takes about 90 minutes to complete. And you could easily sell these for about $10 each, depending on your audience, so ... not a bad ROI.

Before tying the ends together add a small keychain split ring or a large jump ring and a spring-close clip or lobster clasp. Tie the ends together over the split ring/jump ring and weave the ends back through the i-cord. Simple, easy finish.