The Knitting Siren

Baby leggings!

Stay Put Baby Leggings (Ravelry link)

Handknit baby leggings that stay up!  Is that possible?  

Why yes it is!  And here's the proof:

Yes, that is snow in the background and yes he is barefoot.  It's actually a warm day and our 5ft of snow is melting away to near nothing.  Yay!

Even while crawling.

The secret is elastic enclosted thigh band.  You can put elastic in the top and bottom or just the top.  The pair shown have elastic in only the top.

Why baby leggings?  First of all they are just stinkin' cute.  Secondly, for around the house they make for nice quick diaper changes or if you EC your baby they make potty trips easy.  Also, it's cold here and they make a nice quick easy second layer.  In the spring they are nice for changing weather.  If you leave the house and it's warm but it gets colder later in the day, pull a pair out of your diaper bag and cover those legs up!

And did I mention they are ridiculously cute.  The yarn is from Biscotte & Cie off Etsy.  I love knitting self-striping yarn.

I'm writing this up as a basic recipe so you can use whatever yarn and needle size you want.  Need help?  Just ask!

Materials:  Yarn of your choice.  Appropriate needle for the yarn.  I used a 40" length and magic looped.  DPN's would work just fine as well.  About 9-11" of 1/2" width elastic.  

1.  Figure out your gauge per inch.  I got about 5.75 sts per inch.

2.  Figure out your circumference by measuring baby's thigh.  Muchkin has 8" thighs (he's a squirt) and I added an inch so there was a little room to grow for a total of 9".

3.  Multiply your gauge per inch by your desired circumference.  5.75x9=51.75  We'll round that up to 52.

4.  We will work the thigh band like this: Enclosed Elastic Waistband (in this case it's a thighband).  You don't have to do it this way.  You can do a normal (but loose) cast on and just sew the band shut.

• Provisional cast on the # you get in step 4 (52 for me).
• Do not join in a round!  Knit flat stockinette (knit 1 row, purl 1 row) for about 3/4".  End having worked a knit row.  Do not turn.
• Instead of turning, now join in a round, place a marker and purl this first round.
• Knit stockinette stitch for 3/4"or until the ends meet when folded in half at the purl ridge (see tutorial if this doesn't make sense).
• Place provisional cast on edge onto another circular needle the same size or smaller than the working needle.
• Knit the provisional cast on edge to the working edge (again, see tutorial for pictures)
• You should now have the same amount of stitches on the needle as you started out with.

5.  Now we will work even (knit stockinette stitch straight) until piece measured as long as desired.  I measured a pair of store bought baby legs to get my length, so about 13".  If you want to work a simple 1x1 or 2x2 ribbing on the bottom, work 1" less than desired length.  

6.  Ankle band:  For an enclosed elastic band at the bottom, purl 1 round.  Stop working in the round and just knit stockinette stitch flat for about 3/4" like you did at the top.  Bind off very loosely.  Fold at the purl ridge and sew in place.

1x1 ribbing:  K1, p1 around for 1"

2x2 ribbing: K2, p2 around for 1"

Or use whatever cuff you like (lots to choose from in the Adorabubble Baby Britches Pattern.)  I think these would be super cute with a fringie cuff.  I need a girl to knit for.

7.  Elastic:  Cut amount of elastic needed, thigh circumference plus about 1/2."  Make sure you don't make it too tight and cut off circulation.  Feed elastic through using a diaper safety pin and sew ends together securely.  You can sew the hole shut but I left mine open in case I need to adjust the elastic as the munchkin grows (or slims down as he is now a speed crawler).

Sew ends in and you're done!

I'm casting on a pair in worsted weight wool right now and I think I'll write this up into a more formal pattern so you don't have to do any math.  I love math but I know not everyone else does.  It'll be in sock weight and worsted weight.

Once you make a pair, I'd love to see them!  Like me on Facebook and post a picture in the album.

 

Recipe for an awesome hat.

I made this hat out of a chunky yarn on size #11 needles.  It's the best way to make a hat fast.  Work your favorite cable pattern (here I used a basic 3 strand braid), pick up stitches for the hat body  and then decrease for the crown.  It's really quite simple.  I've even included directions for a ponytail hole. 

Gather your Materials:

Yarn of your choice and appropriate 16-20" circular needles.  4 safety pins and 6 stitch markers.  Tape measure and your head.

The Recipe: 

First you'll want to figure out your gauge, though you won't need it initially.  I got about 3 sts per 1".

For a braid like mine, using a provisional cast on, CO 10 sts.  9 sts for the actual cable and the end stitch will be where you pick up stitches for the body of the hat.  You can use a regular cast on and seam the ends together instead of graft.  I just prefer a seamless look.

Follow the chart at the bottom until the band is long enough to fit comfortably around your head.  Try to end on the last row of the chart.  If you can't, no big deal.  It's at the back of the hat anyway.

Here is where your gauge comes into play.  Before you sew or graft the ends together, measure how long your band is (mine was 20.5").  Multiply that number by your gauge (20.5x3=61.5).  Now you'll want to make that number a number that can be divided by 6.  6 goes evenly into 60, so 60 it is!  That will be the number of stitches you will pick up along the edge of the hat.

Sew/graft ends together.  

To help you pick up stitches evenly, place a safety pin at the 1/2 way point and at the 1/4 and 3/4 way points.  Work 1/4 of your stitches between each of the pins.  You didn't know there would be so much math involved, did you?

Now sit back, relax and knit.  Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.  You'll just knit in the round until the piece measures about 6" unless you are working a ponytail hole.  See the option at the bottom.  You can try it on as you go for the perfect fit.  Stop knitting once the hat reaches the point on you head where your noggin starts to curve.  6" seems to work for most adult heads.

Now you'll place your 6 stitch markers to mark where you will do you decreases.  Divide the number of stitches you picked up by 6 and place a marker after that number of stitches.  For me it was every 10 sts.  

Decrease rows:

Rd 1: Knit to 2 stitches before the marker, k2tog, slip marker.  Repeat to beginning of the round.

Rd 2: Knit

Repeat these 2 rounds until you decreased your stitches by half (30 sts on the needles for me).

Now work the decrease round every round until you have 6 stitches remaining.  You can still try it on as you go and stop at any point when the hat fits perfect.  You'll just draw the yarn through 12 or 18 sts instead of 6.  Cut yarn leaving a tail long enough to sew in.  Draw yarn through remaining stitches and pull tight to close the hole.  Weave ends it and put it on your head.

Ponytail Hole

Work the body of the hat until it reaches almost to the bottom of your ponytail.  Try it on with a ponytail at the level you normally put it. A hole about 1.5" wide seems adequate for me (4 sts wide).  The hole will be worked over the beginning and end of the round, so remove the stitch marker and back up half the stitches you need for the hole plus 1 extra stitch (half of 4 is 2 +1=3).  Purl the hole stitches (6 sts total for me, 3 from each side of the stitch marker).  Work around back to the hole stitches, knit the first stitch, bind off center stitches (4 for me), purl the last stitch.  Knit all stitches except purl the last stitch, turn.  Purl next row, turn.  Purl the first stitch, knit remaining stitches except purl the last stitch.  Do not turn.

Cable cast on the same number of stitch you bound off.  Join back in a round and knit around to 1 stitch before the cable cast on.  Purl the hole stitches (including the 1 stitch on either side).  

Now just continue on in stockinette until it's time to decrease.  Work decreases as described above.

 

Baby Surprise Bunting

So I had this gorgeous fluffy handspun BFL that was just asking to be something special for my little squirt coming in May.  This is probably the softest wool I have ever felt so it will be perfect next to newborn skin.

 

I spun it fairly thin and then did a Navajo 3 ply which, by the way, is super fun and easy to do.  This is a great video (not by me) with slow motion to really show how to do it.  I like how the Navajo 3 ply makes it more of self stripping yarn than a normal 2 ply.  It's exactly what I wanted for this bunting.

 

Using Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) design, I simply added a bottom section to make it into a bunting.

The instructions for the BSJ can be found in her book "The Opinionated Knitter" or from Schoolhouse Press here.

Follow the instructions up to the final bind off row.  Instead of binding it all off, bind off just the edges along the left and right side, leaving the bottom stitches live. On the side you choose to put the button holes on, also bind off the bottom edge of the button hole section.

Cast on 12 sts, turn and knit across newly cast on stitches, across the bottom section and then cast on 12 stitch on the other side.  Mark the 12th stitch on both sides.  This will mark where you will do the decreases for the mitered squares. 

Knit to 1 stitch before the marked st, slip 1, k2tog, psso.  Repeat with the second marked stitch.  Turn.

Knit 1 row.

Repeat the last 2 rows until you can't decrease any more.

You should have 12 ridges of garter, a section of live stitches and 12 ridges of garter.  Pick up 12 stitches along the 12 ridges, knit across the live stitches and pick up 12 stitches along the next 12 ridges.  Work in garter stitch until desired length is reached.  I did a 3 needle bind off to finish the bottom, but you can easily just sew it together.  Sew up the mitered corners to the button holes.

*Optional:  You could just skipped the mitered squares at the bottom and just join the piece in the round and work in garter stitch until desired length.

Add some sole to your socks!

Sole as in a Linen Stitch sole.  If your anything like me, the thought of getting holes in the bottoms of your precious hand-knit socks is almost too much to bear.  I've been toying around with different ideas, from double-knit souls to thick stitch patterns.  I'm working on a pair of socks right now with a linen stitch sole and love it.  Very simple to do and it look cool to boot!

You can do this on any of your favorite pairs of socks (as long as the sole of the sock has no shaping or stitch pattern).
On the bottom half of your stitches, sole only (top down, toe-up, both work):
Round 1: k1, *wyif sl 1, k1; repeat from * across (if you have an odd # of stitches, just knit the last stitch).
Round 2: Knit across.
Round 3: K2, *wyif sl1, k1; repeat across * to last 2 sts, end k2.
Round 4: Knit across.

Linen stitch does end up having shorter rows than regular stitch, so you will want to make up the difference with a short row every so often.  So, hold up your work and if your sole looks about 2 rows shorter than the top, work a short row as follows.  You'll want to do this starting with round 1 or 3 of the linen stitch.

Work in pattern across to last stitch, turn.
Backward yo onto right needle, purl across to last stitch, turn.
Backward yo onto right needle, work in pattern to previously worked yo, knit yo together with the next st. 
Work in your sock's pattern across the top of the foot.
Ssk the next stitch together with the loop.

Repeat the short row directions as needed to keep the bottom of the sock level with the top.

Next I'm going to try a sort of double knit sole...

Frilly Hat pattern

Knit from the top down so you can try it on as you go! Basic hat with a frilly brim.

Size: 0-6 months (6-12 months, 2-3T, child's small, child's large, adult)

Materials: worsted weight wool (www.doodlebirds.com BFL is shown), US #6 needle or size needed to obtain gauge.
Gauge: 5 sts per 1"

CO 12 st onto dpn's or a 40" circular needle for magic looping.  Join in a round being careful not to twist the stitches.  Place a stitch marker after every 2 sts.

Rd 1: *Knit to stitch marker M1, slip marker; repeat from * across.
Rd 2: Knit even.
Repeat these 2 rounds until you have 60(72, 78, 84, 96).
Knit evenly until piece measures 2 (2 ½‚", 3", 3 ½", 4", 4.25", 4.5") from last increase round.

Brim:
Rd 1: *P5,k1; repeat across.
Rd 2: *P5, M1, k1, M1: repeat across.
Rd 3:  *P5, k3; repeat across.
Rd 4:  *P5, M1, k3, M1; repeat across.
Rd 5:  *P5, K5; repeat across.

Repeat in like manner until brim is about 2" long or desired length. 

Picot Bind off:
Bind off 2, *place stitch from right needle back onto left needle, cable cast on 3, bind off 5; repeat from *across.

Or Crochet picot bind off:
With crochet hook, bind off 2 sts, *chain 3, sl st in base of chain 3, bind off 3 sts; repeat from * to end.

Or, just do a regular bind off.

Weave in ends.  There will be a hole on the top of the hat, just weave the end in around the hole and pull tight to close it.

The frilly brim makes a great ruffle for the edge of longies too!

Papallona Earflap Hat

 

Aww, ain't he cute!

Materials: worsted weight yarn, wool works great, superwash wool even better.

US #7 16" circular needles.

6 st markers.

Gauge: 5 sts per 1 inch

Sizes: Infant (child, small adult, large adult)

Finished dimensions 14 (16, 18, 20)"  Pick a size that is about 2" smaller than actual head circumference.

 

 

Rolled brim:
Cast on 70 (80, 90, 100) sts loosely. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round. Join in a round and work in stockinette st for 6 rounds.

 

Stitch pattern:

Rows 1, 3 and 5: *k5, sl 5 wyif; repeat from * to beginning.

Rows 2 and 4: Knit.

Row 6: K7, * insert needle between the 3 loose strands and the knit fabric coming from the top to bottom, yarn over needle and draw loop up (this will gather the 3 strands together); knit the next st and pass loop over knit st, knit 9; repeat from * end last repeat k2.

Rows 7, 9, and 11: *sl 5 wyif, k5; repeat from * to beginning.

Rows 8 and 10: Knit.

Row 12: K2, * insert needle between the 3 loose strands and the knit fabric coming from the top to bottom, yarn over needle and draw loop up (this will gather the 3 strands together); knit the next st and pass loop over knit st, knit 9; repeat from * end last repeat k7.

 

Repeat these 12 rows until piece measures about 4” (5”, 6”) from edge of rolled brim. You’ll want to end having just worked either row 6 or row 12.

 

Prep row for decreases:

Knitting even, decrease 4 (2, 0, 4) sts evenly over the next row. You will now have 66 (78, 90, 96) stitches.

 

Crown decreases:

Place a stitch marker after every 11 (13, 15, 16).

*Knit to 2 stitches before the stitch marker, k2tog, slip marker; repeat from * to beginning. 6 decreases total.

Knit even.

Repeat these last 2 rows until 6 sts remain (you can stop earlier for a less pointy top).

When you stitches get too tight to continue, switch to dpn's, magic loop or 2 circ method.

Draw yarn through these 6 sts, pull tight and weave in ends.

 

Optional knot top: Decrease from 6 to 4 sts. Work i-cord for 2”, weave in ends and tie in a knot.

 

Optional earflaps:

Place hat on the head of the person the hat is knit for. Mark wear the earlobes are. If person is unavailable, fold hat in half and mark about ½” back from halfway mark.

With hat right side out, count 6 rows in from cast on edge. Count 8 stitches back from your mark. Pick up 8 stitches, make sure you are at your earlobe mark, pick up 8 more stitches past the mark.

Work in garter st or seed st for about 2 (2.5, 3, 3.5)”.

K2tog, work to last 2 sts, ssk.

Work in pattern.

Repeat last 2 rows until 4 sts remain.

Continue on in pattern or work an i-cord on the remaining 4 stitches until long enough to tie under chin.

Drop Stitch Hair Thingie

 

Yes, I'm in a naming funk.  Again, any suggestions?

Nothing too fancy with this one, just another great way to use up scraps.

I used some scrap linen I had, very slubby "natural" yarn, but I love that about it.  This is fingering weight and I used US #3 needles.  Experiment with any yarn fiber and size you have.  Just remember, fatter yarn will make a fatter headband.

Stitches: Garter stitch, just knit each row.
kfb, knit in the front and the back of the next stitch (use whichever increase you prefer).
Knit, purl and yo.

 

CO 4, work garter stitch for about 5".
Kfb, k2, kfb.
Knit 3 rows.
Kfb, k4, kfb.
Knit 3 rows.
kfb, k6, kfb.
Knit 3 rows.
kfb, k8, kfb.
You'll now have 12 stitches on your needles. Insert your needle into the next stitch, wrap your yarn around the needle 3 times and pull through stitch taking stitch off the needle. Repeat this for each stitch across.
Knit the first stitch dropping the extra yo's off your needle. Do this for each stitch across. This will create an elongated stitch.
Knit 2 rows.
Repeat the last 4 rows until the piece measures about 23" from the cast on edge.
Decrease rows:
k2tog, knit to last 2 stitches, ssk.
knit 3 rows.
Repeat the last 4 rows until 4 stitch remain.
Work in garter stitch for 5".
Bind off and weave in ends.
That's it!

Hair Thingie, crochet pattern

I'm horrible at coming up with names.  If you can think of a better one, please pass it on!  This is crocheted.  One day I might come up with a simple knit one.

 

 

Materials:  Scraps of any yarn.  The one pictured is made with my bamboo/cotton blend worsted weight.  Use a hook size appropriate for you yarn (I used a G).

Special st:
Decrease 1 st,insert hook into first st and pull loop through, insert into next st and pull loop through, yarn over and pull strand through all three loops on hook.

Ch 3, turn.
Skip the first chain, sc in the next 2 ch, ch 1, turn.
Sc in the next 2 sts, ch 1, turn.
Repeat last row 32 times. 2 sc in the next 2 sts, ch 1, turn. (4 sts)
Sc in the next 4 sts, ch 1, turn.
2 sc in the first st, sc in the next 2 sts, 2 sc in the last st, ch 1, turn. (6 sts)
Sc in the next 6 sts, ch 1, turn.
2 sc in the first st, sc in the next 4 sts, 2 sc in the last st, ch 1, turn. (8 sts)
Sc in the next 8 sts, ch 1, turn.
Dc, sc across, ch 1, turn. (8 sts)
Repeat the last row until piece measures 14" from last inc row. You will work the double crochets in a previously worked single and the single crochets in a previously worked double. Decrease 1 st, sc to the last 2 sts, work decrease 1 st in last 2 sts (see special sts for decrease 1 st), ch 1, turn. (6 sts)
Sc in the next 6 sts, ch 1, turn.
Repeat the last 2 rows until you have 2 sts.
Sc in next 2 sts, ch 1 turn.
Repeat last row 32 times.

Weave in ends. Voila!

Elvish

New pattern!  And it's free :-)

I won't take credit for this concept since I have seen it before.  I'm just sharing what I figured out.  If I can remember where I saw this hat, I'll add a link to it later.

Another pattern that works beautifully with hand-dyed worsted weight yarns.  You could easily get 2 kid-sized hats out of the pattern.

Sizes: newborn (Infant, toddler, big kid, adult)

Finished dimensions:  13 (15", 17", 18", 19")

Gauge in stockinette stitch: 5 sts per 1"  I used 16" long circular needles, US #6 and switched to a 40" cable to magic loop the top.

Materials:  100 gms (218 yds or less) worsted weight hand-dyed yarn.  Doodlebirds.com "doodlebirds" colorway is pictured.

Stitches: M1R (make 1 right), M1L (make 1 left)
DD (double decrease):  Slip the next 2 stitch together knitwise, knit the next stitch, pass the 2 slipped stitches over the last knit stitch.

CO 78 (90, 102, 108, 114).  Join in a round, place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.  Purl the first round placing stitch markers after 26 (30, 34, 36, 38) sts and after 52 (60, 68, 72, 76) stitches.  This divides the hat into 3 sections.
Rd 2: *K1, M1L, k11 (k13, 15, 16, 17), DD, k11 (k13, 15, 16, 17), M1R, slip marker; repeat from * to beginning.
Rd 3: Purl.
Rds 4 and 5: Repeat 2 and 3 once more.
Rd 6: Repeat rd 2.
Rd 7: Knit.
Repeat 6 and 7 until piece measures 3.5" (4", 5", 5.5", 6") from the cast on edge.  Measure from the tip of one of the v's.
Decrease rounds:
Rd 1: *K12 (14, 16, 17, 18), DD, k11 (13, 15, 16, 17); repeat from * to beginning st marker.
Rd 2: Knit next round even.
Repeat decrease rounds 1 and 2 until 6 stitches remain.  You'll want to switch to dpn's or magic loop once the stitches get tight on your needle.

Draw yarn through remaining stitches, pull tight and weave in ends.
*Optional* decrease 2 more stitches so you have 4 remaining and work an i-cord for about 2".

Side view:

On the Sunny Side

I'm going to be highlighting one of my free patterns every so often as a way to move them over from my old blog.  Today, On the Sunny Side.  This is my most popular free pattern, 79 projects on Ravelry and it's been favorited 209 (and counting).  It has a sweet and fairly simple lace brim and fits sizes 3 months to 4 years.  I've heard from several people that they liked the brim shorter than what the pattern calls for, so stop working the lace pattern when you feel the brim is long enough. 

You can download the PDF here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/on-the-sunny-side and store it in your Ravelry Library, or just follow the directions below!

You have two options for the brim of this hat. The first is a closed work brim. This style will have no holes in it. The second is an open work brim. This is more of a lacy style, pretty but lets the sun shine through.

**When working a lace pattern, I find it helpful to place st markers after every pattern repeat. In the case of this pattern, place them every 12 sts. It helps to keep track of your stitches and you'll know instantly if you did something wrong.

Materials: 

50 gms Worsted weight cotton or wool, The Knitting Siren's Bamboo/Cotton works great.

Size US 8 (5mm) circular needles, 16" or size needed to obtain gauge.

Gauge:

17 sts and 24 rows in 4"square

Sizes 3 mos. (6 mos, 12 mos, 2t-4t). 

Opt #1 Closed work Brim

CO 108 (120, 132, 144). Join in a round being careful not to twist the stitches, place marker to mark beginning of the round. Work lace pattern (below) 2 times, or stop at desired length. Work rounds 1 and 2 one more time. 

Lace Pattern:

Rd 1: *(k2tog) 2 times, (M1, k1) 4 times, (ssk) 2 times. Repeat from *around. 

Rds 2 -4: Knit even.

Opt #2 Open work Brim

CO 108 (120, 132, 144). Join in a round being careful not to twist the stitches, place marker to mark beginning of the round. Work lace pattern (below) 2 times. Work rounds 1 and 2 one more time. 

Lace Pattern:

Rd 1: *(k2tog) 2 times, (yo, k1) 4 times, (ssk) 2 times. Repeat from * around.

Rd 2-4: Knit even. 

Body of Hat

*K3tog, k2tog, k2, ssk, k3tog tbl. Repeat from * around. End number of stitches, 54 (60, 66, 72).

Work Stockinette stitch (knit even) until hat measures 2 (2 ½‚Äù, 3‚Äù, 3 ½‚Äù) not counting brim. 

Begin decreases

Place markers every 9 (10, 11, 12) sts, 6 markers total.

*Knit to within 2 sts of the st marker, k2tog, slip marker. Repeat from *around to first marker.

Knit next round even.

Repeat last 2 rounds until 6 sts remain. Cut yarn, draw through sts with a tapestry needle, weave in ends.

Optional Ties

Fold hat in half and mark the halfway points (use a safety pin) where the brim meets the body of thehat. Pick up 4 sts at one marker and work an I-cord for about 5‚Äù. Do the same on the other side.

Stitch Abbreviations:

k = knit

p = purl

tbl = through the back loop

ssk = slip, slip, knit

k2tog = knit 2 together

M1 = Make one (pick up strand between stitches, knit into the back)

yo = yarn over.