Please respect my copyright and remember that these knitsofacto patterns are freely shared for your personal use only. And although they really are free you'd make me a very happy bunny indeed if you'd consider making a charitable donation of a pound/dollar or two to p/hop if you enjoyed knitting your Downton hat or Runrig mitts etc..
Nest
A miniature Easter nest to knit.
You will need:
Assorted remnants of differently textured yarns in nesty colours. I used two strands of a remnant of double knit bouclé yarn (so ancient I have no memory of the fibre content), one of Ganpi Abaka, and one of a shiny rayon embroidery thread in greys, greens and golds
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4 x 5mm double pointed needles
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Tiny feathers and little sugar eggs
Pattern:
Cast on 33 stitches (cable cast on is recommended).
Distribute the stitches evenly across three of the double pointed needles and close the round, being careful not to twist the knitting. Place marker and work five knit rounds. Remove marker.
Next, continuing to knit around, work the following decrease sequence:
k1, (k2tog, k9) x3, (k2tog, k5) x7, (k2tog, k3) x7, (k2tog, k2) x2, (k2tog, k1) x2.
12 stitchs remain.
Thread the working yarn through these 12 sts, turn the work inside out, pull the yarn tight to close and sew in the end.
Voilà, one miniature, reverse stocking stitch nest.
Tiny tsutsumi gift bag
You will need:
Noro Ganpi Abaca tape*, 20 g
2 x 3.75 mm needles
1 x 4mm needle
Length of narrow ribbon or fine cord
The bag (you can read more about it here) is knitted flat, in one piece from the top down, and when finished is just 10 cm wide and 12 cm high.
Pattern:
Cable cast on 43 stitches. This creates a firm edge for the top of the bag.
Row 1 (wrong side), and all odd numbered rows, purl.
Row 2 k1, *yo, k3, pass first knit st over the other two, repeat from * to end of row
Row 4 *yo, k3, pass first knit st over the other two, repeat from * to last st, k1
Row 6 k2 *yo, k3, pass first knit stitch over the other two, repeat from * to the last 2 sts, yo, k2, pass first knit st over the second
Repeat these 6 pattern rows 5 more times
Row 37 as row 5
Row 38 (right side) k20 k2tog, 21 sts on right hand needle, 21 sts on left hand needle
Bind off/seam using three needle bind off, as follows.
Fold right side of work on right hand needle back against right side of work on left hand needle, then ktog 1 st from each 3.75 mm needle using the 4 mm needle, repeat, pass first st on 4mm needle over second, continue to end, leaving final loop on 4 mm needle or secured on a safety pin. Do not break yarn.
Using 3.75 mm needle and starting at cast on edge pick up 25 sts evenly along left side of work, making sure they are aligned knitwise. Repeat with other needle for right side of work. With right sides together the yarn will be in position to now bind off as above, passing the st retained on the 4 mm needle over the first k2tog. Draw yarn through final loop and cut. Weave in ends on inside of seam.
This finishing method helps to give the bag body.
Thread ribbon or cord through the eyelets.
*Correct tension is not important for this simple bag but as the Noro Ganpi Abaka tape has been discontinued it may help you if you are looking for an alternative to know that 50g of the tape measures 225 meters. Although this pattern has been designed for paper yarns it is perfectly possible to knit it in any other yarn of similar weight, although the effect and finished size will of course be different.
Felted mini-Christmas tree
Method: Cut a square of paper to roughly the height you want the top of your tree top to be, e.g. 5". Using the pencil and ruler, divide as illustrated and cut away the white triangles. The grey shaded shape is your tree pattern. Cut one per tree.
With wrong sides together tightly oversew sides B to C and D to E (it's easiest to work toward the point). Now, to complete the cone, sew side A to side F in the same way. Turn right sides out.
Any beads or embroidery should be added now - being careful not to stitch the front to the back (that's the voice of experience speaking there!) - and you might like to blanket stitch the lower edge. Next, stuff just the tip of the tree with the fibre fill. Wrap more fibre fill around the top of the twig and push it into the tree, packing in as much more stuffing as is necessary to hold the stick securely without stuffing all the way to the open end. As this is an ornament and not a toy there is no need to close the base of the tree top, the stuffing will stay in place, never fear.
Make a little plug of Blu Tack and pop it into the bottom of the hole in the cotton reel. Now push the twig into the hole from above and on down into the Blu tack. In keeping with the woolly theme I had wrapped my cotton reel with some acorn-dyed Lopi so I used a few loops of the yarn to stop my twig wobbling, but Blu tack would work for this too.
Take a few moments to pull, plump, and tweek into just the shape you want. And there you have it, your mini felted Christmas tree!
To felt knitting you will need: a knitted woollen square at least 30% bigger than you want the finished piece to be (DK or worsted works best for the mini Christmas tree), or an old wool sweater.
If knitted using more than one colour - stripes work well, as do simple Fair Isle patterns - it's a good idea to test your yarn for colour-fastness at higher temperatures. Superwash yarns won't felt, although alpaca, angora, camel and cashmere will, they'll just take longer. If knitting from scratch use needles a size or two bigger than recommended for the yarn.
Place your square flat inside a mesh bag, or your sweater inside an old pillow case, and pop into your washing machine along with a small amount of pure soap flakes (put the latter into the drum with the knitting not into the detergent dispenser). If you have a front loading machine add a small towel to increase friction. Now run a short, HOT wash, and repeat as often as is necessary to achieve the desired degree of felting. Have fun!
