Category: free patterns

Winter Solstice Hand Warmers

Posted on Posted in free patterns, holidays, sewingTagged , 10 Comments

My youngest asked me about some handwarmers to use on her walks through the woods. I did a little research, and they are easy to make. Many sites come up if you google “DIY hand warmers.” I read a few to get the gist, and then proceeded to make my own. The following recipe makes two 3 inch square hand warmers.

What you need:

  1. cotton, linen, or wool fabric scraps
  2. whole flax seed
  3. a little dried lavender or other herbs if you are feeling fancy and want them to have a fragrance, although the flaxseed smells wonderful on its own
  4. small funnel
  5. cotton thread preferable, but poly thread works

Directions:

  1. Cut four 3 and 1/2 inch squares of 100% cotton fabric. (You could also use linen or wool, but don’t use anything synthetic.)
  2. Finish one edge of each square separately by serging or zig zag stitch. This will be the top edge seam.
  3. Place two squares together with right sides together, top seams matching, for each hand warmer.
  4. For each hand warmer, sew or serge the other three sides together with a seam allowance of about 1/4 inch. Finish the seams with a zig zag stitch if not serging. This is important, as flax seeds are small and you don’t want them working themselves out.
  5. Turn the hand warmers inside out. Turn the top edges under 1/4 inch. Press.
  6. Sew around all the edges of each square, about 1/8 inch from the edge. Sew along the top edge as well, leaving about 1/2 inch open so you can fill the pouch with flax seeds.
  7. Using a small funnel, fill the hand warmers with whole flax seeds as full as you can without allowing them to spill out.
  8. Stitch the opening closed either by hand or using your sewing machine.

That’s it. Pretty simple!

Directions for use:

  1. Place the hand warmers in the microwave for 30 seconds on high
  2. Take them out carefully (they’re hot!)
  3. Pop one into each pocket. These will keep your hands warm for 15-20 minutes, maybe longer!

This made a nice little Winter Solstice gift for my youngest along with a chocolate. These would also make great stocking stuffers!

Number 9 Beanie: Friday Finished Object

Posted on Posted in free patterns, hats, knittingTagged , , 15 Comments

This beanie is for my oldest. Yarn is Valley Superwash DK in (starting at the brim) Classic Navy, Eggplant, Steel Grey, Squash, Forest, Burgundy, and Blue Mist. Superwash so if it gets thrown in with laundry, it will not felt.

My stitch gauge is 22 stitches to 4 inches on size 6 needles. I used size 4 needles for the ribbed brim. I cast on 100 stitches, knit 9 rounds of ribbing, then 9 rounds of each color until I reached 9 inches in length, maintaining the color order for the stripes. Then I began a five point decrease for the crown, starting with knit 18, knit 2 together, every other row for a stripe, then every row until 5 stitches were left. I won’t bother writing out the crown, but if you want that, leave me a comment. This is really more of a recipe than a pattern.

It looks like I missed a round of Steel Grey. Oops!

I hope this beanie fits and is loved. The last beanie was a little short, but gets worn. My children have big heads (for their big brains).

This post is JoJo Approved.

All in for Shetland

Posted on Posted in fiber love, field trips, free patterns, knitting, yarnTagged , , , , , 9 Comments

When I was at my LYS a week or two ago I lunged at this yarn in colorway mossbank. I bought 10 hanks. At first I thought I might make yet another sweater but now I think I might knit up a throw blanket. This is the first yarn I’ve purchased in a long time without a pattern in mind. I was thinking maybe a gansey patterned throw but this yarn is so pretty I might stick with something simple. Maybe this Hip to be Square blanket?

I am feeling a little better but I tire easily.

Who wants to go on a knitters trip to Shetland?

2020 might be ambitious, but maybe 2021?

Blue Ribbon Beanie

Posted on Posted in design, finished objects, free patterns, hatsTagged , , , , , 10 Comments

This went really fast and I love it. It’s the perfect beanie: a little tam, a little slouch, but not too much to be a beanie.

And I love the color!

Yarn: Malabrigo Arroyo DK Matisse Blue

Needles: 1 size US 4 16″ circular, 1 size US 6 16″ circular, Size US 6 double points, or size needed to obtain gauge

Gauge: 5 stitches per inch on larger needles

Begin Pattern:

Cast on 100 stitches on the smaller circular needle size. ( I use crochet cast on for elasticity.)

Place marker and join to knit in the round.

Begin K2 P2 and continue for 2 inches.

Change to larger circular needle and knit in stockinette stitch for 5 inches (total length 7 inches).

Begin decreasing on next round: K 18 K 2 together 5 times (until end of round).

K 1 round

K 17 K 2 together 5 times (until end of round)

Knit 1 round

Continue decreasing in this manner (decreasing 5 stitches every other round) until you are at K 12 K 2 together, or 65 stitches total.

Switch from circular needles to double points when stitches become too small for the circular needle.

Begin decreasing in the same manner EVERY round, starting with K 11 K 2 together, until you have 10 stitches total left on needles.

Break yarn, and use darning needle to run the tail through the remaining stitches. Tie off and weave in loose ends.

Voila! Blue Ribbon Beanie. Enjoy!

Color Theory!

Posted on Posted in design, free patterns, hats, what makes me tickTagged , , , 2 Comments

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I really enjoyed my Color Theory class at Yarn It and Haberdashery, Look at Esther! Can you imagine a better person to learn from about Color Theory?

The best tip of the evening was learning to use colors that are opposite (or almost) on the color wheel but also using cool tones against warm tones to really make them pop. I can’t wait to get my Milarrochy Tweed yarn to see how the palette works together!

In the meantime, I will make some black and white copies of my chart and color in some potential options.

I also purchased a new skein of yarn to start on Brassica, which I fell in love with while swiping through my Ravelry app. Although I would have loved to have used the Cascade called for, I found instead a skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Chunky in – guess what color? Grey.

Last night, I confessed to the fun and funky ladies at class that I’m a boring knitter. Esther corrected me and called me an “Over the Pond” knitter. Her shop is filled with bright and fun colors, and everyone is knitting speckled yarn. She says that’s what the Americans like. But not me. It’s true. I follow KnitBritish. I like natural fibers in neutral colors. I like cables and texture work, and if colors, then stranded Fair Isle or Nordic colorways. One time I took a “What kind of knitter are you?” quiz, and the answer was “Purist.”

I waxed rhapsodic about my navy stockinette pullover I will knit for myself one day. There were a lot of eye rolls.

I’m exaggerating a bit, but I do think it’s interesting. I like the history of knitting. I like the tradition. I want to hug sheep.

Speaking of, I have an exciting field trip this week which I can’t wait to blog about next weekend!

Will I blog tomorrow and make this a two-blog weekend? I guess we will find out tomorrow!

More Looking Back (and a Free Pattern)

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Back in the old Liberty Handknits days – one of my small businesses I tried to get off the ground – the Button Up Cloche was my most popular and best selling handknit. It was the first pattern I wrote out and dared to put out into the world. I submitted it to a knitting publication, though it was not accepted. I did sell a few on Etsy. I thought it might be fun to offer it here for free!

This pattern only includes the pie crust cable pattern for the brim, but you can knit any cabled pattern that can be worked in bulky yarn in a panel of about 4 inches, button the ends together, turn it on its side, and knit a hat on top!

Button Up Cloche Knitting Pattern

I found the pattern in an old email I had sent to myself for some reason, in Microsoft Works format! 😆 Luckily I found a file converter online.

I didn’t have as much luck finding the Geensie pattern.

I really like this hat, though, and will probably try to recreate it, or some variation of it. And it’s hard to believe my eldest son is now a full grown man!