Plymouth Yarn Blog » felting

Free Pattern & Kids’ Camps

Allison — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:58:05 +0000

I only have 7 more days until my sweet, darling, little boy is on summer vacation. I am not looking forward to the extra dishes in the sink or my house looking like a toy store exploded when I get home. He’ll be going to camp 3 days a week. I chose a mainly academic camp, with sporting activities in the afternoons. When doing my research, I found so many cool camps! Sports, acting, farming, and knitting! Unfortunately, I don’t meet the age requirements for any of them. Yes, I know I can take a class but there’s something about these camps that just sounds so fun.

I wanted to share some of the links I found about kids knitting camps all over the country. I’m trying to talk the boss into letting me review each one in person, individually. I don’t think he’s going for it! After the links, check out a free pattern for a one ball purse in Boku. A popular pattern for workshops and classes.

The Whole Nine Yarns, Woodstock, GA

Baskets of Yarn, Charlotte, NC

Kids Knitwork, CA

Stitch House, Dorchester, MA

Knit Picky, Winston-Salem, NC

Pattern F184 PDF Download

Pattern F184 Boku 1 Ball Purse

BOKU
Small 1-Ball Felted Purse

Size: Approx. Finished Measurements (after felting): 6” wide x 7” tall
Materials: Boku (shown in color 2): 1 – 50g ball
Gauge: 14 sts = 4” on a US 10 needle over stockinette st before felting.
Needles: US 10, or size necessary to obtain given gauge. Small amount of Galway for sewing needed.
Note: Use a flat wool yarn such as Galway to sew purse together.

With size 10 needles, cast on 30 sts.
Rows 1-8: Knit 8 rows.
Row 9: K7, bind off 16 sts, K7.
Row 10: K7, turn and using cable cast on technique, cast on 16 sts, turn back and finish knitting the row: 30 sts.
Row 11-16: Knit 6 rows.

Begin working in stockinette st: work 15½-16” in st st, leaving enough yarn to finish the handle at the other end. End st st section with a purl row.

Second handle:
Rows 1-6: Knit 6 rows.
Row 7: K7, bind off 16 sts, K7.
Row 8: K7, turn and using cable cast on technique, cast on 16 sts, turn back and finish knitting the row: 30 sts.
Row 9-16: Knit 8 rows.

Bind off.

Fold in half & sew up side seams using a flat wool yarn. (Use the Galway Worsted). Felt.

Felting:
Set the washer to hot wash, cold rinse, and lowest water level. Add a small bit of soap. Place purse flat in mesh lingerie bag. Do not put anything else in the machine. Check on the purse every 5 minutes. Felting could take 20-25 minutes or so. Keep setting back the timer to make the wash cycle longer. When desired felting is achieved, rinse and lightly spin. Excessive spinning can set in creases. Remove purse, lay flat and block out to a nice finished shape. Straighten handle section. Let dry. With scissors or a razor remove any excess fuzz.

A Mitt for Mom

Allison — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:58:40 +0000

Now that my Easter ham is gone and the jelly beans have been eaten, it’s time for me to get set for the next Spring celebration. Wouldn’t mom love a homemade gift this Mother’s day that doesn’t involve elbow macaroni and glitter?

Since I’ve become a mother, I love all the things my son glues and glitters up for Mother’s day. Those paintings and attempts at pottery will be cherished forever. However, my mother and mother-in-law most likely would not appreciate it if I made them a plastic beaded bracelet. But homemade gifts are still cherished, this I know from the great Christmas cowl knit-a-thon I endured just a few months ago. So this year, I have started on new pattern in a favorite yarn and wanted to share it with you.

If you’ve read my blogs before, you might know that I love felting. It’s been a while since I’ve felted anything so I am excited to see how my new washer will do(I guess that means I get the test mitt!). I also came across a couple of charms at a craft fair that I want to sew in at the end. This oven mitt made in Galway is going to be adorable. I love the wide range of colors, it’s perfect to match everyone’s kitchen. Check out the free pattern below.

F439 Galway Oven Mitt PDF download

F439 Galway Oven Mitt

GALWAY WORSTED
Felted Oven Mitt

Materials: 2 balls Galway Worsted
Needles: US #11 (8.0 mm) double pointed needles, Stitch markers
Gauge: Not important on this project –
about 2.5-3 sts =1”.

NOTE: Galway used double stranded throughout.
Loosely cast on 46 sts and divide onto 3 DPN’s. Join, taking care not to twist and work 1 ridge of garter st as follows: knit 1 round, purl 1 round.
Continue in st st – knitting every round for 15 rounds.
Next round: With a piece of waste cotton, knit next 5 sts. Slide the 5 sts just worked back to the LH needle and picking up the MC yarn, Knit them again. Continue working in st st for 24 additional rounds.
Place a stitch marker at the beginning of the round and between sts 23 & 24. Work decreases at the top of the mitten as follows:
Round 1: * (SSK, knit until 2 sts remain before marker, K2tog), repeat from * once more for second side of mitt.
Round 2: Knit all sts.
Repeat these 2 rounds until a total of 20 sts remain.
Divide sts onto 2 needles and work Kitchener st to join at top of mitt. Weave in ends.

Thumb
Remove the waste cotton and place the 5 sts at the bottom of the opening onto one DPN and put the 5 sts at the
top of the opening on another DPN. Knit 5 sts from first needle, pick up and knit 3 sts on side between needles, k5 from second needle, pick up and knit 3 sts between needles. Distribute the 16 sts between the 3 needles. Work 10 rounds in st st.
Begin decreases at top of thumb as follows:
Round 1: (K2, k2tog) 4 times.
Round 2: Knit
Round 3: (K1, k2tog) 4 times.
Round 4: Knit
Round 5: (K2tog) 4 times.
Cut yarn and thread onto tapestry needle. Pull yarn through all sts on the needles and pull top of thumb
together. Weave in ends.

Felting Instructions
Place the mitt in a zippered bag and put in washing machine with a small amount of soap and a pair of old jeans.
Use lowest water level and hottest water temperature possible. All machines work differently so check the progress about halfway through the first wash cycle. Check to make sure that the thumb has not felted to itself.
Depending on machine, and water chemistry and temperatures, two or three cycles may be required to fully felt the mitt. Once felted to desired level, rinse and spin lightly so as to remove excess water, but not create creases. Pull into shape and air dry over a tall bottle.

Oh yeah, we love crafts too.

Allison — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:09:04 +0000

I started my Christmas knitting but I’m also planning which cookies I am making and starting to piece together some of my holiday cards. I realized there are probably lots of other knitters and crocheters out there just like me. Your craftiness doesn’t end with yarn and you aren’t always using it with hooks or needles. I was first introduced to yarn while making plastic canvas tissue box covers with my grandmother when I was 6. Then, a decade or so later, I used a furry, eyelash type of yarn and wrapped it around a large wreath form. That wreath, which is a bit tattered, still goes on my inside door every Christmas season. It wasn’t until my early days at Plymouth Yarn that I started knitting almost daily. I am always looking for deals on blocks of paper and scrapbook supplies. I’ve tried at least half of Martha Stewart’s recipes. I own hundreds of buttons but rarely use them in clothing. Finally, anytime I go on vacation I try to find a ceramic studio to take my son to, as they are few and far between where I live. My yarn stash lives down in my basement but I have 3 shelves of non-yarn goodies too.

Where am I going with this? Most of us who like to play with yarn, also like to craft, bake and create. We had a rare snow in Bucks County, PA over the weekend and it was a wet, cold, slushy mess. I opted to stay in and found a fun website that caters to all of my crafting needs. If you are looking for a project, of any type, check out Craftfoxes. I found this adorable free pattern for a crochet zombie from the book Crobots: 20 Amigurumi Robots To Make by Nelly Pailloux. Image by Andrew Perris. Encore DK would be perfect for this project.

Crobots: 20 Amigurumi Robots to Make

I also found this fun free pattern for a crochet sandwich from the book Yummy ‘Gurumi: Over 60 Gourmet Crochet Treats to Make by Christen Haden and Mariarosa Sala. Image by Jeremy Hopley. You’ll find the perfect colors in Encore Worsted. Everyone needs a crocheted sandwich, it has only a fraction of the calories a real sandwich has!

Yummy 'Gurumi: Over 60 Gourmet Crochet Treats to Make

I also found how-tos on recycling old books, DIY decor, recipes from pickles to cookies, and so much more. They even have instructions on coffee dying! So if you want to make your holiday gifts this year, craftfoxes is the place to start. Become their fan on facebook and follow them on twitter. Find a yarn shop near you to start with those knitting and crochet patterns!