Machine Knit Baby Sweater Using Sock Yarn

If you've followed my blog for a long time, you may remember this pattern. Sideways knit with sock yarn. I think it's part cotton, part acrylic, fairly standard sock yarn.
It almost fits Luca. It appears there's some growing room in the sleeves and length. I'm glad to see the proportions are fairly good, so can recommend it to you to make. I remember being amazed that the two fronts seem to match---a happy accident. I'm sure if I tried I wouldn't have gotten it right. It's a free pattern if you follow the link. http://marzipanknits.blogspot.com/2011/05/machine-knit-baby-sweater-using-sock.html OR, scroll way down on the right side until you see the sweater, then click on it to be transported to the post. In order to see the schematic better, you may need to click on it to enlarge it, then print out.

Too bad the temp is in the 80's in LA. But Jeans!!! How cute is that!

Clever Laundry Instructions

From http://stream.pleated-jeans.com/post/4004715964/guide-to-laundry-symbols

Still no knitting content, but worth a chuckle. If you can't read some of the small print, click on the image and the focus should become a little more clear.

The wonders of technology...maybe

Have never embedded a video before....so this is an experiment!

Kari and Luca from Luca on Vimeo.

Back to regular programming

Had a wonderful Christmas vacation. Santa Cruz is beautiful, especially the ocean and coastline. They had unseasonably warm weather plus sunshine, so that was a bonus. My little Santa became exhausted after completing all his rounds. Thought you might like to see that hat on a real baby. (See previous post if you'd like the pattern.)

I think I'll make it an annual affair---knitting a Santa hat for him. He's 3 months old now.

We are having very unusual weather in Minnesota too. Today is supposed to reach 47 degrees F. Normally this time of year we are 20 degrees BELOW zero. A recent poll on a local tv station indicated that 75% of Minnesotans loved this warmth and 25% hated it. Probably the 25% are avid skiers and snowmobilers and we have no snow other than the stuff the ski resorts are making.

Yesterday I installed DAK 8 on a new laptop. I left DAK 7 on my old desktop with Windows XP and am hoping it doesn't die any time soon. This new version looks easy to use. I like the thumbnails---easier to search. Some things are exactly the same, so I don't think it will be difficult to learn. I'm supposed to teach some classes on DAK 8 at the Purls of Joy seminar in April, SO, I better get crackin'.

On the knitting front, I'm working on some prayer shawls to donate. Will post photos soon, I hope.

Also hoping you have a wonderful new year!

Free machine knit pattern for a baby Santa hat

Pretty much done with gifts, done knitting the annual order for Minnetonka Ski Team hats, finished with other holiday preparations, so I thought I'd knit a baby Santa hat for my grandson. The fish hat I thought about doing will have to wait. This hat is really soft---although it doesn't look like it in the picture.

Here's the pattern if you are interested.

Machine: Standard gauge (no ribber required)
Gauge of stockinette part: 7 st x 10 r = 1” at T 7
Yarn: Tamm Sky or yarn that will knit to gauge (a couple of ounces) white for brim and red for hat, and white Lion Brand Fun Fur (1/4 skein)for brim
Finished sizes: 0-3 months (6-9 months in parenthesis)—about 13.5” (15”) circumference unstretched at brim.

DIRECTIONS
Cast on with waste yarn over 101 (109) needles, every other needle. (I did every other needle to accommodate the doubled yarn of the brim then changed to single strand for the body of the hat.) Knit about an inch of waste yarn. Change to the strand of white and fun fur run separately through the mast and joined at the carriage. Yank the knitting down after every row to make sure the fur doesn’t get hung up on the gate pegs. Knit 20 rows at T 9, or twice the depth you want the brim. Hang a hem and knit one row to seal. Cut the two yarns leaving ends long enough to weave in later. Change to red, single strand, put the in- between needles into work and changing to T 7, RC 000, knit 44 (54) rows. Remove on waste yarn or garter bar and decrease every 8 stitches across. Knit 6 rows. Remove on waste yarn or garter bar and decrease every 7 stitches across, Knit 6 rows. Continue in this manner until you are decreasing every 4 stitches across, then knit 10 rows. After decreasing every 3 stitches across, knit 20 rows. Decrease every 2 stitches across and knit 10 rows. Continue decreasing evenly across until you have 4 or 5 stitches left. Change to I cord setting---consult your manual, but for Brother, push in one part button. Knit I cord for 20 rows and bind off.

TIE- knit a 4 stitch I cord 270 rows at T 7 and bind off.

FINISHING: Remove the waste yarn from the start of the hem. Seam the side of the hat leaving about 1 ½ inches open at the bottom. That is, leave the white part and a little of the red open. I did this because the doubled yarn of the brim wasn’t as stretchy as normal, and I thought I needed to allow for a larger head size. The tie can make the adjustment if necessary. (Baby not available right now for a fitting!) Run the I cord through the hem and make pom poms with the red yarn for the ends of the tie. Make one larger pom pom of the fun fur and white yarn for the tip of the hat. Hide all yarn ends. Brush the fun fur a little to make it move to the right side. Ho ho ho, really cute, don’t you think?

Side opening to adjust for size:


Note: On Ravelry I've seen some darling ones that have a much longer tip--- some that drape all the way to the ground. I opted to make a shorter one to avoid all thoughts of the possibility of the end being wrapped around the baby's neck. If you were using the hat just for a picture and wanted the longer end, just increase the number of plain rows between decreases to get the desired length.

And...... here's my cutie. I took some stills from a little video, hence the numbers at the bottom. I just thought his expressions were so sweet.

Yes, I'm besotted.

Beautiful Machine Knit Fingerless Gloves

Some people are "naturals" I think. I received this email from Mattie who needed just a tiny bit of clarification about the fingerless mitts pattern on my blog here and off she went. Aren't they handsome? She used Red Heart Gemstone yarn. I love the colors in it. She said:

Thank you for the instructions. I finally finished making a pair. It turned out really nice. Now to make a few more. These gloves were a great start for me, as I just bought the Silver Reed 860 mid gauge a couple of weeks ago and finally had the courage to use it, instead of just admiring it.
Thanks again,
Mattie

If you're interested in making this pattern, scroll down on the right side to the picture, click on it and you'll be taken to the free pattern.

I'm gratified that someone else could make the mitts from my pattern! Mattie is to be congratulated on a job well done!!!

And, here's another job well done... the new grandson. He's 2 1/2 months old. You sure can't tell he was early. He's growing like a weed. Every now and then I stop and marvel at how lucky we are to have him.

Free Machine Knit Pattern for a Baby Bee Hat

I've been trying to get back into the swing of knitting. I always seem to be able to muster up the energy to make something for the new grandson, even when there are other things I should be finishing.

This pattern actually wasn't my original idea. A hand knit version of the hat was shown at one of the knit clubs I go to and I thought it was adorable. So, since it wasn't my own design, I thought I should share it with you rather than selling the pattern. If you want to save the pattern, highlight what you want and copy it, then paste into a word processing program.

Machine knit Baby Bee Hat by Mar Heck
Machine standard gauge (no ribber required)
Gauge 7 st x 10 r = 4" (10 cm) T 7
Yarn Small amounts that will knit to gauge. Black and gold. I used Mary Lou Solo.
Finished sizes 0-3 months (6-9 months in parenthesis); About 13 1/2" (15") circumference unstretched.
Directions
Cast on with waste yarn over 95 (105) needles. Knit a few rows. Knit one row ravel cord left to right. Change to black. T 5, knit 9 rows. Knit one row T 8. T6, knit 9 rows. Hang a hem from the ravel cord. Change to T 7 and knit one row.
RC 000.From here on out, knit 4 rows gold, 4 rows black. Carry unused yarn up the side. Don't snip the yarn when you change colors. Knit 44 (54 rows). Begin decreases. Remove on waste yarn or garter bar if you have one. Decrease every 8 stitches across. (Double up stitches 7 and 8 with no empty needles.) Knit 2 rows, remembering to keep to the color sequence. Decrease every 7 stitches across (double up stitches 6 and 7 across). Knit 2 rows. Continue in this manner until you have decreased every 5 stitches across (doubling up stitch 4 and 5). Decrease the tension to T 5, Knit 2 rows. Take off on 12" piece of yarn and cinch up tightly. Remove the ravel cord and waste yarn. Mattress stitch the seam, being careful to keep the stripes going nicely across the seam.

I cord Antennae: Make 2. With black yarn, bring out 5 needles. (Yup, 5 to make a fatter antenna.) Set machine to slip one way, knit the other. Ewrap onto the 5 needles. RC 000. T 3, Knit 30 rows and bind off, leaving a 3" end to secure the antennae to the inside of the hat. Make tiny pom pom for the end of each antenna and fasten on securely. Put both antennae (the un-pom pommed ends) into the hole at the top of the hat, making them even in length. Turn the hat inside out and tack the ends of the antennae securely with the 3" end you left on. Hide the ends. DONE!

I have the hem turned up, but it could go either way--folded up or not. If you wanted to make a larger hat, just use one of your tried and true patterns to get the dimensions right and follow the bee-themed idea. Would work on any other machine too once you get the dimensions you want. I'm selling the finished hat in my Etsy shop too if you are interested in just buying the hat!

Now I'm thinking of knitting a baby fish hat.
The hand knit pattern is on Knitty. http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTfishy.php The description: Do you smell something fishy? No, of course you don’t! Don’t worry that bad smells will scare people away when you wear this hat. This 100% odorless fish will attract people to you instead.

I think it would be easy to convert to mk. Oh, the patterning possibilities. I'm thinking red lips, scales, snowflakes??? Stay tuned.