December 17, 2005
Fuzzy Scarf with Ribbon
This is the perfect beginner pattern using the small round knitting machine, since it requires no special skills & the boucle yarn is really forgiving – if you have uneven tension or screwy stitches, it’ll hide it perfectly. The finished product makes a cute gift that’s unbelievably soft and great for giving as a last-minute gift – it looks so much more complicated than it really is!
You’ll need one skein of TLC Amore yarn – I used #3823, Lake Blue. When you begin, pull about ten yards off the skein and reserve it for the fringe. You’ll also need about ten yards of satin ribbon in a coordinating color – I used the 45-cent navy blue stuff from the craft store.
Cast on to the machine and knit in a tube until you reach the desired length or the end of the skein, whichever comes first. (I’m 5’3″ and had to stop with a little under a quarter of the skein left to make this waist-length scarf.) Cast off and sew the ends flat and shut.
Using a tapesty needle, weave the ribbon through the scarf – I went “one inch in, one inch out”. Knot it tightly on the ends of the scarf and cut the excess off.
Attach 8″ long sections of fringe in multiples of three to the scarf using a crochet hook or a tapestry needle – fold the fringe in half, then pull the center of the fringe into a loop. Push this loop through the end of the scarf using the needle/hook, and tie into a knot by pulling the end of the fringe through the loop.
Skully Purse and iPod/Cellphone Cozy
This project is quick to complete and ridiculously easy. You use all three of the recommended knitting machines (i-corder, small round, and flatbed), along with cross-stitch.
I used a skein each of the yarns and had plenty left over. I used Red Heart Super Saver #328 Brown & Red Heart Classic #737 Pink – usually, I shy away from the stiff acrylic yarns, but in a purse they give a good bit of heft and shape to the fabric. For the I-Cord, you’ll use Aunt Lydia’s Fast Five crochet thread in gold, pink, and white.
To make the purse base, cast on to 86 needles on the flatbed machine. Knit 180 rows. Cast off. You’ll have a big brown rectangle – fold it in half with the purl/”wrong” side showing. Mattress stitch the side seams using brown yarn – you’ll see a pouch forming. Leave the top of the bag as is – the rolled seams give it a casual slouchy look.
Now you have the basic bag base. Find the center of the bag & using cross-stitch with the pink yarn, you’re going to place the skull pattern in. I use a pattern from Glampyre Knits –
Now that you’ve got the pink skull sewn in, you’ll add the straps. Knit two three-foot long pieces of i-cord from the pink and white crochet thread. With the bag turned purl/wrongside out, keep about four inches of the cord inside the bag & sew onto the seam using brown yarn.
I try to make sure to really, really, REALLY get as many stitches as I can into the cord to make it super-strong.
Pinch a small section of the bag’s top opening on either side of the sewn-in cord straps. Sew around the straps from the top to make a finished edge.
Using the gold and pink crochet thread, make two three-foot-long sections of i-cord. Fold the cord in upon itself to make the flowers, then sew through the center using matching crochet thread. Attach to the top right of the bag with tight stitches of pink yarn (it’ll look invisible if pulled tightly!). Attach a button in the center if you like.
Machine Knitting 