Bear Sweater Pattern

One of the charities that my knitting guild participates in is called Precious Pals.  Stuffed animals are dressed in knitted clothing and donated to the local police department for giving to children in crises situations.  At the guild meeting last month I had a conversation with another knitter who was having trouble with a sweater pattern for one of these animals.  The pattern was very frustrating because it was more difficult than it should have been.  So I wrote up a simple pattern. I call it a "Beary Easy Sweater". (I thought it was a cute name).  Anyway, it's suitable for a beginning knitter.  Hope you like it.

Beary Easy Sweater

Seamless sweater for a 10 inch bear

Materials: worsted weight yarn about 40 yards,

needles US 7 (4.5 mm), 4 markers 

Gauge 18 stitches = 4 inches

Begin at neck edge: Cast on 30 stitches.

Rows 1 & 2: Knit

Row 3: (WS) Knit 2, Purl 4, place marker, Purl 4, place marker, Purl 10, place marker, Purl 4, place marker, Purl 4, Knit 2

Row 4: (RS) increase row *Knit to stitch before marker, knit in the front and back of that stitch (Kfb), slip marker, Kfb, repeat from * 3 times, knit to end of row. 8 stitches increased.

Row 5: K2, P to last 2 stitches, K2

Row 6: *K to stitch before marker, Kfb, slip marker, Kfb, repeat from * 3 times, K to end of row.

Repeat rows 5 & 6 five more times. (86 stitches)

Row 17: (WS) K2, P to next marker, K to next marker, P to next marker, K to next marker,

P to last 2 stitches, K2

Row 18: K to marker, Bind off 18 stitches, K to next marker, Bind off 18 stitches , K to end

Row 19: K2, Purl to last 2 stitches joining fronts and back, K2. (50 stitches)

Rows 20 - 24 : Continue knitting on the right side and purling on the wrong side, keeping the first 2 and last 2 stitches in knit stitch.

Row 25: (WS) Knit

Bind off.

Weave in ends.

Abbreviations: K- Knit, P-Purl, RS- right side, WS-wrong side, Kfb- knit in the front and back of the stitch

Please use this pattern for charity or personal use.

OC Knitter October 2010

Lots of Projects

I'm still working through my shawl obsession.  I've already knit more than I'll ever use in my life time.  But I enjoy knitting them, so there are still more in the future.  These are both from stash yarn.

 These are hats that will be donated to the Knots of Love Charity.  They send hats to cancer centers throughout the country. This charity is a little different from others that do the same work in that they specify the brand of yarn that you use.

A twirly skirt.
And these don't even add up to half the projects I've finished in the last few months.

Felted Bag

                                                                 

       I started this bag after a conversation with a friend in my knitting guild.  She asked me what I did with my scraps.  I gave her some suggestions none of which was a bag.  The idea came to me when I got home and looked at my scraps. Yes, I save scraps of yarn. A few yards here, a few yards there and it all add up into a project.          

Catch Up

Yes, It's been a while since I last posted. And, yes, I'm still knitting  (because you know I can't stop).  So here are my  recent projects. This is my recycled shawl.  I found a  cashmere sweater for a few dollars at Goodwill and unraveled it  to knit this.   I had to wind the yarn into hanks, wash it, then wind it into balls before knitting.  It was worth the work.  Very soft!

More cat beds.  And I still have yarn for many more.  They have already been donated to the animal shelter.

A Lovely Shawl

I have been obsessing about the pattern for this shawl for some time.  I looked through my stash and didn't find anything that would work.  So I had to buy the wool - only one skein - although a large and expensive one.  It took me a week to knit it up.  I think it turned out lovely.

Pet Beds

My  resolution this year ( as it has been every year) is to knit down my stash.  During the holidays most of my wool yarn was put away in a very unorganized manner.  So I 've started knitting with my never ending acrylic stash which was more accessible.   Since the beginning of the year I have knit four of these cat or small dog beds.   They are knit with a double strand  to make them sturdy so they use a lot of yarn!  They have all been donated to the local animal shelter.

Hats on Heads

Winners in the lottery of knitted hats.

Can you spot the yarn in this picture?

There must be over 60 skeins of vintage yarn stuffed inside the ottoman. My dear sister is a genius at finding yarn for me in thrift shops. The last time she brought some over in a square plastic blanket bag. Just the perfect size for an ottoman. It was simple idea really to knit a cover for it. Knit from bulky acrylic yarn, it's a perfect and practical way to disguise my stash. Yarn covering yarn.

More Hats

I've been on a hat knitting binge. They're fast and easy. Each one using up a skein of yarn from my stash. I didn't have anyone in mind to knit them for, I just knit them because I wanted to try out the patterns (all free patterns ). Starting clockwise from the upper left is a basic beanie. From a pattern called turn a square - the stripes make a square pattern on the crown. It's knit of Wool-Ease, a washable acrylic blend and it turned out big, which is OK. The white hat on the upper right is called Sisters Hat. I used washable wool for this one. I fits my 21" head a little snug. The earflap hat pattern is named Thorpe. Knit from Bernat chunky acrylic. I really like how it turned out, but I knit the small size, so it's for a child. The blue hat, also knit from Wool-Ease has a trellis pattern made of small cables and the ribbing makes it stretchy. It's pattern is called Claudia. So - friends and family, you may find a hat in your stocking this holiday!

Slouchy Hat

This was a fun hat to knit from a popular pattern named Star Crossed Slouchy Beret. You can't tell from the picture but it has a little slouch to it. It's 100% wool so I plan to gift this to someone who won't throw it in the washing machine. But it will be more like a Cinderella hat, given to the person it fits. I have someone in mind. If there is any demand, I have another skein of this yarn, so maybe I'll just make another.