Free Pattern: Wooly Christmas Heart

 

Wooly Christmas Heart “Julehjerter” 

Christmas hearts were originally done in paper, and supposedly conceived by Hans Christian Anderson, thus they have been around since 1860 ish. They are a traditional Danish holiday ornament. A woolen julehjerter will last much longer than a paper heart!  This heart is knitted in two colors and then felted.

 Materials: *One skein each Paton’s Wool in red and white will make lots of hearts 

                   *knitting needles to get a gauge of 4 ½ stitches per inch 

With white yarn, cast on 16 stitches. 

Row 1: Adding red color in this row: knit 4 white, 4 red, 4 white, 4 white. You can strand the colors in the back, but don't go crazy as they will felt in

Row 2: Purl back, keeping colors as set. 

Row 3: Knit, keeping colors as set. 

Row 4: Purl, keeping colors as set. 

Rows 5-8: reverse the colors 

Rows 9-12: return to original color pattern 

Rows 13-16: repeat rows 5-8. You have a sort of square grid of red and white squares. Next, form one side of top of heart in white

Rows: 17-20: Cut off Red yarn then knit 4 rows of white in stockinette stitch, knitting in red yarn end on the first row. 

Row 21: k1, sl1, k1, psso, knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1 (14 sts) 

Row 22: Purl 

Rows 23 and 25: Repeat row 21 

Rows 24 and 26: Repeat row 22. (10 sts) 

Row 28: k1, (sl1, K1, psso) x2, knit to last 5 stitches, k2tog x 2, k1 (6 sts) 

Row 29: purl back

Row 30: k1, sl1, k1, psso, k2tog, k1 (4 sts) 

Cut yarn and slip end through remaining stitches, pull tight 

With red yarn, pickup and knit 16 stitches on the opposite side of the top Purl one row, knit one row, purl one row. 

Follow directions for rows 21 through 30, to make right side of top of heart in red. 

Next, make another heart as above, but REVERSE the colors. 

When you have both sides made, pickup 3 stitches in red at the middle part of one heart. Knit in “idiot cord” for 6 inches: Knit 3, slip stitches back onto left needle, knit 3, slip back onto left needle, continue.

When you have 6 inches, cut yarn and pull the end through the 3 stitches, but use the end to sew in place at top center of the other heart.

Place hearts wrong side together and sew together at the bottom. Secure all ends by sewing in. 

FELTING I felted my heart in the washer. I did 3 washes on a warm cycle, checking size each time. You can try washing on hot but be careful if you are unsure whether your red yarn will bleed in hot. Once it is a size that you like, dry flat.

My heart is 4 " by 6 ".

Free Shawl Pattern: Flyde

                                            Flyde Shawl 

by Wendy Avery

I love the beautiful tones of multicolored hand dyed yarn but don't always know how to put them to best use. It occurred to me that I could use one multicolored yarn and one more tonal yarn in combination. This easy to knit crescent shaped shawl uses basic knit and purl stitches but also optional dropped yarn over stitches to create a lacey effect. The pattern helps to avoid pooling of colors and highlights the multicolored merino. The yarn creates a floaty fabric; "flyde" is Danish for "float."

Materials:

Large circular knitting needle size 2 or 3; sample was knitted with size 2. 

Yarn: Handmaiden's Halo Bundle has a skein of Angel Hair (kid mohair and silk) and a skein of Merino Slim (merino) which have been dyed together. I used Angel Hair and Merino Slim from two different Halo Bundles. The orange Angel Hair is more tonal; the Merino Slim is more multicolored featuring orange, purple, and yellow.  You could use a single bundle as well, or experiment with a fingering weight single and a silk mohair yarn, or any other 2 yarns.  Experiment!

Directions: gauge is not important. I got about 5 stitches per inch, unblocked. 

Note: rows 2 and 3 are always done with multicolored yarn; rows 3 and 4 with tonal yarn.

Cast on 10 stitches with multicolored yarn.

Row 1.   Knit

Row 2. K1, yo, k1, yo, knit to 2 stitches before end, yo, k1, yo, k1.

Row 3. Knit. Switch yarn.

Row 4. Same as Row 2. 

Row 5. Purl

Repeat rows 2 through 5.

After a while, I got bored and decided to add some yarn overs which I did in row 5 with the orange tonal yarn. If you do this, be sure to drop them in the subsequent row 2. Do them between the beginning and ending  "K1, yo, k1, yo" sequence. I did some with 2 yarn overs then some with 3 yarn overs.  In the photo below, the first 3 orange stockinette rows are the basic pattern as written, the 4th row has 2 yarn overs, and the 5th and 6th rows have 3 yarn overs. 

Continue until the yarn runs out, then bind off loosely.

Enjoy!

Use this pattern as you wish, but please credit me and don't claim it as your design. 

Carolina Bell Shawlette...free pattern

I am happy today to celebrate my wonderful state of South Carolina, and the wonderful diversity here, not the least of which is expressed in alpaca genetics!

My brother lives near an alpaca farm in upstate SC, in Inman. When I visited two years ago I was happy to discover that the owner had a shop. The shop was HUGE with a vast supply of commercial yarn, but what I zoomed in on was the yarn from their own alpacas.  Here is the creative result:

Carolina Bell Shawlette

Have you found yourself in a yarn store picking up…say 3 skeins of yarn, one of a contrasting color to the other two, that you thought were beautiful with no plan in mind?  Well…here’s the plan…

This is a shawlette with vertical garter stripes and a lace border.  My finished shawlette is 60 inches in width and in 13 inches in length at the longest point.

Yarn Requirements: 3 skeins of yarn, two of the same color (color A), and one of a second color (color B). I used 3 skeins of alpaca from a local (in state) alpaca farm.  For me, this was Northwoods Farm in Inman, SC.  I had 2 skeins of 183 yards each in Carolina Bell (neutral)  and 1 skein from Guyson,  210 yards(chocolate brown).  Each skein was 4 ounces.

I used half of color B for half the striped section of the shawl.

My shawlette is very heavy and warm in the yarn I used, however you could use a lighter weight yarn and looser stitch at the same gauge and produce a lighter, more summery shawlette.

Gauge: Knit a gauge swatch with your yarn and find a fabric drape using garter stitch with the size needle that pleases you.  My gauge in garter stitch for the body of the shawl is 5 stitches per inch. I used a size 3 circular needle. Be warned however: if you stray from my yardage, gauge, and yarn halving technique, you may need more or less yarn, so be sure to use the technique here:

Yarn halving technique for Color B: take your skein of color B.  You can do this by weighing it and wind two balls of half the whole weight. If you have a yarn measuring tool, you can use that.  

Directions:

Cast on 10 stitches in color A.

1)   Knit 1 row Color A

2)   Knit 1 row Color A

3)   Knit 1 row Color B

4)   With color B, k1, increase 1 by loop method, finish row in knit.

Continue in this way until you have 52 stitches. Continue knitting straight: 2 rows color A and 2 rows color B. When you have used half of color B, or perhaps a little less to be on the safe side, begin decreasing:

1)   Knit 1 row Color A

2)   Knit 1 row Color A

3)   Knit 1 row Color B

4)   With Color B, decrease one stitch by psso method (slip one, knit one, passed slipped stitch over knitted stitch) and finish row with Color B.

When you have returned to 10 stitches on the needle, bind off loosely.

Lace border:  at this point you should have a serious amount of Color A left for the lace border, which is done in garter lace.  Proceed with the lace border this way:

 With the shawl on your left, right side up and lower edge in your lap, with the same size needle that you used for the body of the shawl:  Cast on 4 stitches onto left needle.

Row 1: S1, k1, yo, k1, pickup stitch from in between the garter ribs, knit that stitch together with the 5^th cast on stitch. With all odd rows, continue picking up a stitch between knit “ribs”  and knitting 2 together for the final stitch.

Row 2 and all even rows through row 16: turn and knit.

Row 3: S1, k1, yo, k2, knit last stitch together with stitch picked up from shawl border.

Row 5: S1, k1, yo, k3, knit last stitch together with stitch picked up from shawl border.

Row 7: S1, k1, yo, k4, knit last stitch together with stitch picked up from shawl border.

Row 9: S1, k2 tog, yo, k2 tog, k2, knit last stitch together with stitch picked up from shawl border.

Row 11: S1, k2 tog, yo, k2 tog, k1, knit last stitch together with stitch picked up from shawl border.

Row 13: S1, k2tog, yo, k2tog, knit last stitch together with stitch picked up from shawl border

Row 15: S1, k2tog, k1, knit last stitch together with stitch picked up from shawl border.

Here is a graph if you prefer:

You may need to “fudge” a bit to add or subtract stitches that you pick up to end the lace at the end of the shawl.