Slouchy Hat

02/16/201203/20/2012Leave a comment

I had never knit anything other than a beanie (okay, a LOT of beanies) before I found this pattern. I had been wanting one, but couldn’t bring myself to buy one before I tried making one myself.

This one is made from the Olympic Tam pattern by Lisa Gaskell. It has bobbles and a yarn-over pattern. I omitted the pompom on top.

One of the interesting things about this project was that you block it over a dinner plate to get the slouchy look.

Do you prefer to make something first, or buy it? What kind of accessories do you like to make instead of buying?

(Also, what kind of information about these projects would you like to see?)

Soft Kitty

02/14/201203/20/20121 Comment

I made this little guy as a parting gift for one of the boys I had been babysitting. The time had come for me to move on to the next job, and so I wanted to give him a little gift. He loves stuffed animals (What three-year-old doesn’t?) and has a couple of cats, so I decided to make him a stuffed kitty.

This cat is made from the “Mao” pattern by Angela Tong, found here. It’s knit from the ears down in one piece, with the i-cord tail picked up in the back at the end, so there is no real sewing involved aside from the face.

The bottom is flat, so he stands up very nicely. It was the first stuffy I had made, at least in a long time and the only one for a child instead of an animal.

What kind of gifts do you like to make for kids? Anyone have an interesting stuffy pattern you have used recently?

Nook Pouch

01/03/201203/20/2012Leave a comment

I got a Nook for Christmas!

Ok, I got a Target gift card for Christmas and bought a Nook, but I still got it for Christmas.

So now I need something to protect it.Why go out and use more of my Christmas money to buy a cover when I can make one?

I found some green and yellow yarn left over from a previous glove project and set about to make a square pouch for my eReader.

Because I like to make things in one piece with minimal sewing, I decided to use a “double knitting” technique. By working every other stitch with a different ball of yarn, I created two separate panels of fabric connected at the and bottom.