Category: Tutorial

Knitting pattern · Tutorial

Knitting Pattern · Cloud Friends Hat

Emmaknitty1 Comment

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Ahhh, Nothing gets you longing for Christmas, snow, chilly days and wintry walks like a cosy bobble hat. What’s even better than that is when they’re on everyone’s head, and that’s why I designed this chunky hat for both big and little kids! This adorable pattern is not only ideal for advanced beginners, but super quick to make – if you need a fast gift idea this is the one for you – and looks way more complicated that it actually is!

If you’re new to the world of knitting and are a bit bored of making endless scarves and potholders, this simple hat is perfect for expanding your skill set and exploring techniques such as Fair Isle knitting using a chart. I hope you enjoy working up this satisfying project and experimenting with colour to make your own Cloud Friends Hat!

Cloud Friends Hat

Level: Advanced Beginner

Sizing: Consult this guide for detailed sizing information.

Gauge: 8 stitches, 12 rows to 10cm/4″

You will need:

16″ 10.00mm & 9.00mm (US 14 & 15) circular needles, a stitch marker, scissors, a tapestry needle (ideally one with a collapsible eye), one and a half balls of Millamia Naturally Soft Super Chunky (100g in main colour, 50g in secondary colour), approx 20-50g of scrap chunky yarn for pom-pom (I used Katia Alaska in Off-White), XL pom-pom maker.

Skills:

Long-tail cast on, bind off, joining in the round using the gapless/invisible method, knit stitch, purl stitch, Fair Isle knitting using a chart, K2tog decrease, making a pom pom, seaming, weaving in ends.

Size: Child (4-6 years) Adult – Instructions for the adult size are given in italics and underlined.

Notes:

Worked from bottom to top, we’ll work a few rounds of 1×1 ribbing before continuing wuth a few rounds of stockinette (knitting every stitch) around. Then we shall work our Fair Isle design with colour two, start decreasing, seam and add our big pompom on top. When working Fair Isle, remember to keep your stitches fairly loose. It takes a while to perfect this technique, so if you’re new to it don’t worry if your stitches look less than even. Always remember to err on the side of loose tension, don’t pull too tightly, and use stitch markers to mark the beginning and ends of the chart on your work if it helps to keep tracks of where you are. Are you finding the adult sized hat a bit too snug? You can easily make the size bigger by adding 2+1 extra stitches when you cast on.

Chart (Four round, six stitch repeat):

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In this case, pink is my main colour and blue the secondary one. Your colours will be different depending on the shades you choose, so do bear this in mind.

Method:

Cast on 37 (43) stitches onto the 9.00mm/US 14 circular needle and join using the invisible join method (36) (42). Place marker and pull the tail end to tighten.

Knit 1, purl 1* to end for six rounds.

Change to 10.00/US 15 circular needles and work eight rounds in stockinette stitch (knit every stitch).

Now, pick up your secondary colour yarn and start working the colours according to the chart.

TIP! If it helps, from the beginning of the round place a stitch marker every 6th stitch so you can keep track of where you are.

After this, knit in stockinette until the piece measures 7.”/18cm for kids size or 8.25″/21cm for adults.

For the next round, k2tog every stitch.

Knit one round plain.

Bind off all stitches, seam together by weaving the yarn under each stitch and pulling tight. Weave in ends securely.

Make a pom-pom and attach it by sewing both ends through either end of the seamed part of the top of the hat. Thread the yarn upwards up and through the centre of the pom-pom, trimming these ends to match the length of the pom-pom.

You’re done! Don’t forget to tag your projects with #Cloudfriendshat (Yes, I know this hashtags looks a bit dodgy) on Instagram so I can check out your lovely work!

This free pattern is ©emmaknitty 2018. It must not be copied, reproduced or sold. Do not claim it as your own.

Tutorial

Tutorial · Crocheting onto a zip

Emmaknitty3 Comments

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Zipped clutches are all the rage right now, and it’s so easy to knit or crochet a fantastic little bag in a couple of hours. However, isn’t it a pain to sew a zip in afterwards?

In this tutorial I’m going to explain how to attach a zip to a project from the top down – that is, zip first! It’s a fun way of creating cute pouches, bags, cushion covers and lots of other projects that need a zip closure, but without the hassle of sewing a zip on once you’re done.

One of the best things about this method is that you can use it for knitted items too. As long as you know how to pick up stitches (check out this easy-as-pie tutorial here) you can knit off the crocheted edge and off you go.

How about using this method to make a cute makeup bag or pencil case?

What you’ll need:

A standard 20cm “YKK” zip in the colour of your choice, a sharp wool needle, approx 30g of chunky weight yarn, 4.50 (US 7) crochet hook, a removable ‘clip’ style stitch marker.

Skills:

Chain stitch, slip stitch, double (UK ‘treble’) crochet stitch (in this tutorial I will refer to this stitch as double crochet), sewn running stitch.

How to:

1. Using your yarn, make 32 running stitches around the zip, including two stitches at the top and bottom ends of the zip (see photo below). If you end up making a few more or a few less it doesn’t matter as the method will be the same, but you need to make sure that you have an even number. The instructions here will refer to a zip with 32 running stitches, so if you have more or less your final number of crochet stitches will be different. It’s a good idea to make the top and bottom stitches a little lower down onto the zip (as shown) so that the open ends of the zip’s fabric will be hidden once you start crocheting. When you finish making the running stitches, tightly tie off both tail ends of the yarn and knot together. Don’t tie them so tight that the zip puckers.

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Pictured: Your hook inserted into top running stitch at the end of the zip. You should have the same ‘top’ stitch at the opposite end of the zip too.

2. Insert your crochet hook up and under one of the top running stitches. Pull up a loop of yarn and chain 3. This will count as the first double crochet stitch. Make another double crochet stitch in the same space. You now have two stitches in the same space. Chain one, which will be a corner space.

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Pictured: Chain 3 and double crochet stitch in the same space with chain 1 corner stitch.

3. Double crochet into the next stitch to the left, two double crochet into the following stitch. Repeat this around until you reach the last stitch before the opposite ‘top’ stitch (the stitch near the zip fastener).

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Pictured: Following the pattern ‘one double crochet in first stitch, two double crochet in next stitch’, you’ve reached the opposite end of the zip.

4. To make a corner stitch, chain one. Now insert your hook into the ‘top’ stitch and make two double crochet stitches into this stitch. Chain one. One double crochet in next stitch, two double crochet in the next stitch, continuing around until you reach the end of the opposite side of the zip. Chain one and slip stitch into the top of your original chain three. Clip a stitch marker into this stitch to mark it. You should have 52 stitches.

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Pictured: The last stitch (one double crochet) before you slip stitch into the top of your first chain three.

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Pictured: The finished crocheted zip closure with 52 stitches.

Your zip should lie flat. If you find it curling up or puckering you may need to add more stitches or your tension is too tight. One way of rectifying this to go up a hook size and try again. If you are a particularly tight hooker (sorry, I couldn’t resist) try making two double crochet stitches in every stitch around.

And you’ve finished! From now on it’s up to you how you continue. You can carry on crocheting around these stitches to make a bag or pouch and seam up the bottom when you’re done, or you can pick up these stitches and knit. How about adding a fabric lining for a really special touch?

I’d love to see your work, so feel free to tag @emmaknitty or use the hashtag #ziptocrochet on your Instagram posts so I can take a peek! What will you make next?

Knitting pattern · Tutorial

Bimba Blanket · Free Knitting Pattern

EmmaknittyLeave a comment

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I know that the month of July isn’t really a good month for knitting blankets – hello sweaty – but I couldn’t wait to share this pattern with you!

As a designer, I’m always on the hunt for the perfect lazy yet satisfying project. To me that means a pattern that is simple enough to make whilst watching TV or relaxing somewhere but interesting enough to still keep your attention – especially important for big, bulky projects like blankets that can take a while to make and could get boring after a while. For me, 90% of the time frogging a project isn’t because of a mistake, but because my knitting ADHD takes over and I get devastatingly bored and want to start something else. Or I just give up and put it in the ‘projects that will remain unfinished forever’ basket up in my studio. Don’t all of us makers have one of those?

The idea behind the Bimba Blanket was to involve ribbing (even though ain’t nobody got time for that), but knowing that ribbing puckers in on itself and could look weird on a blanket, I wanted a stitch that looked like a rib but with something extra. In fact, the pretty, squishy stitch you can see is “sand stitch”, a stitch I’ve been using for years and years not knowing its name – and once convincing myself that I’d invented it like a total loser.

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The best thing about this project is seeing the gorgeous stitches pop out and enjoying the tact as you work. On the right side it’s a rib-like texture wheras the wrong side is a kind of separated moss/seed stitch. It’s chunky, almost rubbery feeling, puffy and one of the most enjoyable stitches to work! I promise you that you’ll spend 50% of your making time actually knitting it and the rest just stroking it.

You can of course choose how big you want this blanket to be, but in this pattern it is measured to be a nap blanket for children, or even a cute stroller blanket if you like.

BIMBA BLANKET

(Measures 35″/89cm – 27″/68cm)

Skill Level: Beginner.

Yarn: 420g (approx) of chunky weight yarn.

I chose a ‘brandless’ 100% acrylic yarn that I fell in love with and was desperate to use, but check out my list below for some yarns that would be awesome to use with this project.

Recommended yarns: Stylecraft Special Chunky, Paintbox Yarns Simply Chunky, Debbie Bliss Rialto Chunky, Drops Big Merino (held double), DMC Natura XL.

Extras: For the pompoms, I used a small amount of Paintbox Yarns Simply Chunky in Neon Orange, Neon Yellow, Pale Lilac and Neon Pink.

Tools: 1 pair 8.00mm/US 11 circular needles, scissors, small-sized pompom maker, wool or tapestry needle.

Skills: Long-tail cast on, slipping stitches purlwise, knit stitch, purl stitch, casting/binding off, weaving in ends, making pompoms.

Gauge: Not important.

NOTES: You will be using the circular needles in the same way as straight needles (working back and forth but not joining). You can substitute the circular needles for straight needles, but be aware that the work will become heavy after a while. Circular needles take the strain of weighty projects like blankets and stop your arms falling off. When making the pompoms, use the same yarn as you used in the project to tie the pompoms off. This means that when you attach them and weave in the ends they will blend into the work and not be noticeable.

METHOD:

Cast on 90 stitches using the long-tail method.

Work sand stitch as follows (remembering to slip the first stitch of every row purlwise to ensure a smooth edge) until the piece measures 27″/68cm (or as long as you like) from the cast on edge;

Row 1 (wrong side): (Slip first stitch purlwise) Knit to end.

Row 2: (Slip first stitch purlwise) *Knit 1, purl 1 until two stitches remain. Knit these last two stitches.

The purl side is the ‘right’ side.

Cast/bind off all stitches and weave in the ends.

Make four pompoms in your chosen colours, attach them to each of the corners and weave in the ends.

You’re done!

Don’t forget to tag your photos on social media with the hashtag #bimbablanket so I can check out your work!

This free pattern is ©emmaknitty 2018. It must not be copied, reproduced or sold. Do not claim it as your own.