Jean's Knits: août 2012

Well, I guess I should put a disclaimer in here that a lot of this stuff is going to be animal related...mostly because as a student it's difficult to find time (and money!) to do large projects like sweaters and blankets and the like. Thus the good thing about knitting for animals is that you can use inexpensive yarn (they're probably just going to chew through it anyway) and for most projects you can use whatever leftover yarn you have lying around! They make the perfect projects!

Here's my latest knit though! Made today. If you don't know about it already, the site Ravelry (click on the link to go there) has a whole bunch of knitting ideas for every stage of knitter, and you can search patterns based on what kind of yarn and needles you have! Pretty cool.

I found a Cat Ball Toy and made it in about an hour, and my cat can't get enough of it! It's a really simple idea, and easy to make. The only things you need to know are knit, pearl, slipping stitches and picking them up.

Here's the link to the page where you can download the PDF file free! Out Of Yarn!

Here are some pictures of the finished product. Sorry about how blurry they are...I literally could not get him to sit still for more than a second to take the photos he loves it so much!

Hello everyone!

I finally feel it's time for me to get out there and put some of my knitting patterns out into the wide world. I've been knitting for over 13 years at this point. My mother started me off before I can even remember, and I've been hooked every since!

So, lets get right into it, shall we?

The first pattern to go in this blog is a Kitty Sweater! I've done a bunch of variations with this sweater, and the best part about it is that you can use pretty much any yarn/needle size combo you want! All you have to do is make a small test strip to see the gauge of the yarn and then measure your cat! Then cast on [inches around the widest part of the belly]x[# of stitches in an inch]!

For convenience, I've put down the pattern I normally use for my cat, who weighs about 12 pounds (but not fat). I usually use sock-weight yarn and size 3 (cm + US) needles, which is what the following pattern uses!

Abbreviations:

C/O = Cast on

B/O = Bind off

Stst = Stockinette Stitch

K2P2 – knit 2 pearl 2 ribbing

K2tog = Knit 2 stitches together

K = knit

P= pearl

St= stitch(es)

Instructions: This makes a sweater with a circumference of about 15 inches

1. C/O 80 st

2. Work in K2P2 for 10 rows (15 rows if you’re working with a finer yarn).

3. Switch to stst and knit a row in main color.

4. K1P1 for 10 st, ending in on a pearl stitch (this is the first half of the chest plate)

5. Follow pattern for 60 stitches

6. K1P1 for 10 st ending on a pearl (the second half of the chest plate)

7. P1K1 for 10 st ending on a knit (this will make a moss stitch on the breastplate. St 1-10 + 70-80 make up the breastplate and st 11-69 are the back of the sweater)

8. Follow steps 5-7 for 20 rows.

9. Continue in moss st for 10 st and then transfer st 11-69 to a needle holder (the back of the sweater).

10. Turn the work and continue in moss st for another 26 rows. (you are now working back and fourth, as if on straight needles)

11. Put the chestplate st on a needle holder and pick up st 11-69 (the back).

12. Continue the pattern on the back until the end. (as if using straight needles)

13. Put all the st back in the needles K2 rows, connecting the chest plate and the back of the sweater.

14. Place markers after st 10 and after st 69 (as to mark where breast plate ends). K 8, K2tog, knit until next marker, K st 70, k2tog.

15. Work 1 knit row.

16. Repeat steps 14-15 until 60 st remain.

17. Switch to Color 2 and work in K2P2 for 10 rows.

18. B/O the 60 st leaving a very long tail to sew the collar.

19. Fold the collar in half, towards the interior of the sweater and sew the end of the collar into the beginning of the collar.

20. Sew in ends, and you have yourself a kitty sweater!

[ADDITION!] Here are the patterns I used for the tree sweater and the lyre sweater! They're both very large patterns that take up the whole back of the sweater (lyre = 33st X 37 rows // tree = 60st X 46 rows). If you click on them they should get bigger. If not click here for the Lyre, and here for the Tree!