Red Panda for Sweet N

I loved crocheting this red panda for N!  I hope she loves it.  The pattern was designed by Kezma Kilian, and I made a few changes.  I used Premier Chunky Parfait yarn and a size I 5.5mm crochet hook.

The yarn is very soft and plush, but it frays very easily.  It is suitable for amigurumi that isn't very detailed.  When sewing details onto the animal, you have to sew around the stitches because the yarn is just made of fluffy bits on a string.  The tail of yarn that you sew with can also fray very easily.  But, this pattern worked very well.  

I added the black heart since red pandas have black fur on their underside.  I stitched the eyebrows just over the eyes and made the white cheeks smaller than the pattern instructions.  This pattern was really fun to crochet.
 

I used size 16 or 18 mm eyes and 18 mm nose.  I spaced the eyes a bit closer with 10 sc between the eyes.  I skipped the bobbles on the legs and made them 3 rows longer than the pattern. I sewed the arms and legs a bit angled on the body.  I spaced the arms farther out than the pattern instructed.  

I can't wait to give it to N!  

My notes:  The Heart is the Large Heart from Love Hearts by June Gilbank of Planet June.  Acrylic worsted weight yarn and size H hook.

Arms and legs:  slip stitch to 1st sc to end and leave a long tail.  Sew the top edge closed.  Sew the arms and legs by sewing one thread of sc on top edge of arm/leg, and then around underside, also sew one thread of arm/leg to body to make it secure.  I also sew the ears closed and sew each front/back edge to the head. 

A Bunny for K!

 I loved crocheting this cute bunny for K.  She loves it!  The pattern is by lestescrochet, and the yarn is Parfait Chunky Yarn.  I used a size 5.5mm I crochet hook.

 I crocheted a heart for the bunny and added flowers to her ears.

My notes:

I added a tail in white Parfait Chunky.  Magic ring:  6 sc.  2:  Increase around to 12 stitches.  R3 and R4)  12 sc.  Join with a slip stitch and leave a tail for sewing.

15 mm blue safety eyes

Flowers for Bunny ears:  2 layer flowers.  Cotton yarn.  3.5mm hook  Pink, purple, deep pink, turquoise blue.

1) Light Pink.  Ch. 5.  Join with a slip stitch into the first chain to form a circle.

Ch1 (doesn't count as a stitch) (SC, Ch3) into the ring until you have 7 loops.  Join with a slip stitch to 1st. sc.

2) Petals:  (Sc, ch1, 2dc, ch1, sc) into each loop.  Slip stitch into the first sc.  7 petals.

2nd Layer:  Dark Pink.  (You can use the same color if you chain 1 and turn to the wrong side.)

With the back facing:  Insert the hook behind a spoke and work a slip stitch.  Chain 5.  (Slip stitch into the next spoke, ch 5) around.  7 loops.

Ch1 and turn flower over to front.  Each petal:   (Sc, ch1, 3dc, ch1, sc) around.  Join with slip stitch into first petal. 

Cut and leave longish tails for dark pink yarn.  Bury the tails a bit to fasten them securely and then use them to tie onto the bunny's ears.  One flower had turquoise blue and deep rose color yarns.

Ears:  I flatten and sew the ears closed with a few stitches.  I sew on arms on the top of the arm and on the lower layer of the arms for more security. 

Join pieces with a slip stitch into the first stitch to end off.  Cut the yarn, pull the tail out, leaving a long tail for sewing.  

 
 

A Crocheted Cow for A!

 I really enjoyed crocheting this cow for my granddaughter.  She loved it!  

The yarn is Sweet & Snuggles, and it's a very bulky yarn.  It frays easily, and it's a bit hard to see stitches, so it was a little bit of a challenge to work with, but it's very snuggly and soft.  I used hook size 8 mm (L).

The pattern is by kaysplushies.   I crocheted a heart in place of one of the spots.   I used Parfait Chunky yarn for the spots with size 5.5mm I hook.  The eyes are 24 mm safety eyes.

My notes:  

Heart Patch:  Ch2.  In the first chain:

2 DC, 2 HDC, DC, 2HDC, 2DC, ch2, slip stitch into chain stitch.

Another heart:  Magic Ring:  Ch2, 3TC, 3DC, ch1, 1TC, ch1, 3DC, 3TC, ch2, slip stitch into ring.  Pull tight. 

Snout in pattern was difficult to figure out.  I did this:

1) Chain 7 stitches.  SC in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th stitches.  6th stitch:  3 sc.

Underside:  Sc in next 4 chains and 3 sc in last chain.  15 stitches.

2:  Sc in next 6 sc, 3 sc.  Underside:  SC in next 5 stitches, 3 sc, sc.  19 stitches.  

3)  SC in 19 stitches  Finish with a slip stitch in the first stitch.  Cut and pull loop out leaving a long tail for sewing.    

Invisible Decrease:  Insert hook into the front loop of the next 2 stitches.  YO and draw through 2 loops.  Yarn over and draw through next 2 loops.  

2 balls of Sweet & Snuggles white, 1 of gray.  One brown ball of Parfait Chunky yarn for spots.  

K's Traditional Norwegian Selbugenser

 I loved knitting this Selbugener for K, and I loved taking Patricia's (Knitography Farms) online class.  The pattern is 227-R Selbugenser by Rauma Designs.  The pattern was in Norwegian, and Patricia translated it for us and taught us the traditional Norwegian techniques.  K looks so pretty in her Selbugenser!

The neckline was knit using a very small steek and shaping the neckline by using increases on each side.  I reinforced the steek before cutting it.  The neckline ribbing is knit 1, purl 1 until it is long enough, then a purl round for turning, then a facing of k1, p1.  The facing is sewn by hand to the wrong side of the neckline, covering the steek stitches.  

The body is knit in the round from the top down.  The Norwegian motifs are very traditional.  The sleeves are knit until about long enough, and then put on a holder.  I used wool thread to reinforce where the sleeves will go into the body, and then cut the body to insert the sleeves.  The sleeves are knit with a facing at the top, which is sewn down over the steek stitches on the wrong side. The length of the sleeve is finished after the sleeves are sewn in to be sure it is the correct length.
 

                                                                     Sleeve Facing

I really enjoyed knitting this sweater for K, and K loves her sweater!  I love the finishing techniques used in this sweater.  I can see why Norwegian sweaters last a lifetime.

Notes:  Size small.  Rauma Finullgarm, 3 skeins white and 7 skeins red.  Needles:  Size  2.5 mm for ribbing and 3mm for sweater.  I made the sleeve cuffs smaller--60 stitches, and the sleeves longer.

K's Fair Isle Style Hermione's Scarf

 Hermione wore a beautiful Fair Isle style scarf in the movie, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," and I knew my granddaughter would love a scarf like it.  

Freshisle Fibers on Ravelry came up with a knitting chart and posted about her scarf on her blog.  The colors of the motifs on the scarf are difficult to see in the movie, but it's fun to knit a scarf similar to Hermione's scarf.

I was going to use KnitPicks Palette yarn, but they were out of the purple, so I am using a Norwegian wool yarn called Strikkegarn.  There are lots of colors available, but the yarn is heavier, so her scarf will be thicker and warmer.  I'm using 3.5mm needles.

There are online pictures of Hermione wearing the scarf, and knitters are coming up with various shades of colors for their scarves

The scarf is knit in the round and then the ends are sewn closed.  This is a very fun knit!

Randy's Socks

 These socks are great for fall, early spring, and warmer winter days.  They are hand knitted using Paton's Kroy sock yarn.  Kroy yarn is a bit thicker than some fingering weight yarns, and it wears very well.  I love knitting with it.  It makes a really nice pair of socks.

I used the pattern, "How I Make my Socks," by Susan B. Anderson.  On her blog, she has instructions for making the men's socks larger, which I used.  

So, I cast on 72 stitches with size US1 (2.25mm) needles using the Norwegian cast on.  My gauge was 9 stitches and 11 rows per inch.  I knit ribbing of k2, p2 for 2", then switched to size US 1.5 (2.5mm) needles and knit the leg in k3, p1.  I knit the leg for 4.5" total.  I used 2 balls of Paton's Kroy sock yarn.  When knitting a longer leg, I would need 3 balls of yarn.

 

                              Two pairs of Paton's Kroy socks and Opal 8 ply socks.

Randy loves his warm socks!

Notes: 
Leg:  4.5 inches total.  Stop after needle 3.  Heel flap:  36 stitches, needles 4 and 1.  18 slipped stitches.  Heel flap:  2 3/4".  Gusset decreases to 72 stitches.

Heel turn:  sl 1, p19 (20 stitches), p2 tog, p1, turn.  Slip 1, k5, ssk k1, turn.  You will end up with 20 stitches on the needle after heel turn.

Pick up 18 sl stitches plus one in the corner.  Decrease twice in a row because of the extra stitch.  Then decrease every other row.

Toe decreases every other row to 40 stitches, then knit 1 round.  Then every row to 32 stitches.

Men's pattern says work foot to 2" shorter than foot.  Toe to 32 stitches (16 plus 16).  Kitchener 16 and 16 together.

I worked the foot to 9 1/4" then did the toe.  He needed a bit longer length from the last sock.

The socks turned out very nice.  It used almost the whole 2 balls of Paton's Kroy sock yarn.

Really nice socks!

K's Norwegian Kofte, the Gammel Sandvik

I'm really happy with how the Norwegian sweater turned out for K.  She looks so pretty!  She chose the colors, and they look beautiful on her.  I love the flower design.  It will keep her warm this winter!  It was very fun to knit for her!

 

This pattern was quite a challenge since I had never knit a Norwegian sweater before.  I learned a lot of new techniques.  The pattern is over 100 years old.  Norwegian patterns were an oral tradition, taught from mother to daughter, so much of it wasn't written down.

This was an online class from Patricia of Knitography Farm in Norway.  She is an excellent instructor, and she provides videos, handouts, pattern translations, and zoom meetings.   It's wonderful to be able to learn the traditional Norwegian knitting techniques.  The pattern was in Norwegian, and she translated it for us and gave us much more information that isn't included in the pattern.

I'm so glad the sweater fits K.  Since the pattern was given to us in stages, I didn't know the finished number of stitches for the circumference until we got to that point in the pattern, so I didn't know it would be so close to the finished chest measurement.  So, I added 2 inches of ease to the body of the Kofte when I split the arms from the yoke.  So, I added 2 stitches into each flower motif to increase the chest measurement a total of 2 inches (12 stitches), which was just enough.  

I learned so many new techniques.  We raised the back of the neck of the Kofte with Norwegian short rows, which works wonderfully.  It makes a sweater much more comfortable to wear.

Patricia taught me to take my time and make my work as neat as possible.  There is a lot of finishing work by hand in this traditional Kofte pattern.  She recommends handsewing the steek (the stitches where you cut the sweater open) to stabilize it with wool thread, as the knitters did long ago.  She prefers handsewing because a sewing machine can distort the stitches, and also with handsewing you can use wool thread, which matches the sweater.

The vertical buttonbands are knitted with a knitted on facing, and then sewn down by hand.  Then the facing is sewn by hand over the cut steek.  You can add a woven ribbon over the facing, too, if you choose.  

I really enjoyed knitting this sweater for K and learned so much about Norwegian traditional sweater knitting. 

My notes:  Cascade Sport, 2.5 and 3.5 mm needles.  24 stitches/inch.  Size XS/S, increased 2 inches at chest.  

Buttonhole:  I cast off 2 stitches in ribbing pattern.  Next row, I turned to the other side and cast on stitches using cable cast on a little loose.  Before placing the last cast on stitch onto the left needle, take the yarn to the front.  I took the left needle under the stitch to put it on the left needle.

Norwegian short rows:  2 per side of neckline:  at 28 stitches left, 24 stitches left, and 20 stitches left.  Before shaping with short rows, purl one row so short rows start with a knit row.

Cast on 4 stitches for steek (plus the 2 edge stitches which no longer count as stitches for the pattern)  Beginning of round will start after steek stitches.  Increase to 164 stitches (162 plus 2 edge stitches).

Cast on steek stitches with back loop.  Next round, knit them through the back loop.  So, 6 stitches will be the steek (4 plus 2 edge stitches)  I ended up adding 2 extra stitches (6 plus 2 edge), but next time I wouldn't do that--too bulky.

Cut the contrast yarn at the steek for the plain background rows between motifs.  You can catch them in the sewing.  Machine sewing seems more durable.  Or weave them in.  I machine sewed one line of stitching and handsewed another line on each side of the steek.

Before splitting for the arms, I finished Chart B except for the 4 plain rows.  First row after dividing is first plain row.  The yoke is almost 9.5" long, not counting the ribbing.

K's arm is 11".  I added 2 inches to the sweater body width.

Before dividing, there were 288 stitches, 8 repeats.  After splitting the sleeves, there would be 204 stitches, which would be 34 inches plus one buttonband width, not enough ease.

So, I added 12 stitches when I divided the sleeves for 2 more inches=216 stitches.  Continue with Chart B, so 36 stitch motif, 6 times around.

Front 45,  Cast on 20, 86 for back, cast on 20, 45 front.  Take off 56 stitches for sleeves.  216 for body = 36 inches plus buttonband.  So, sleeves will end up a little wider, too.

Body of Kofte: 4 complete flowers for the body length.  From the beginning of the steek to the end of the last flower is 20" before the ribbing.

I used 2.5 mm for ribbing of k1,p1 for 2" wrist cuff and bottom ribbing.  Cast off in pattern using 2.75 mm needle so it's not too tight.

Underarm:  Picked up 20 stitches at underarm, 3 stitches at corners and decrease to 78 stitches.  Knit using Chart C.  Decreases down sleeve: k1 (or p1) k2tog....ssk.

You can do an underarm seam starting about 1/2" from beginning.  Either purl underarm stitch each round, or k underarm stitch one round, p underarm stitch next round.  Repeat.  

Right buttonband is buttonhole side.  Left is button side.  7 buttons, 5/8".

Buttonholes: First is 3/8 inch from top.  Each buttonhole is about 3.5" apart. About 30 rows between buttonholes.  Last buttonhole about 1-1 1/4 inches into ribbing.