Easter Bunny Egg Cozy

Lent started this week with Ash Wednesday. This means that Holy week is only 40 days away and it's time to start with some easter decoration projects.

This cute little knitted egg cozy is shaped like bunny head. It keeps your breakfast eggs warm and doubles as a lovely table decoration. It's knitted flat, all in garter stitch and in one piece - with short rows for shaping. It's a fun project for using up some leftover yarn and maybe nice for trying out short rows or a small 3D project for the first time.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.




Materials

• less than 10 grams of sports weight yarn
• 3mm needles
• a tapestry needle for grafting and for embroidering the face
• about 40 cm of scrap in a contrast color (I used fingering weight, you can use embroidery floss as well)
• scrap yarn for provisional CO

Techniques

• Provisional CO: My favorite method for a provision CO is the crochet provisional CO - it is shown in this Youtube video by New Stitch a Day.
• Knitted Cast-On: a method to cast on stitches at the side of your knitted piece - see this YouTube video 
• Short rows with wrap and turn (w+t) - as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.

Instructions
Provisionally CO 24 sts
Setup row: k all
Ridge 1: k11, w+t, k to end
Ridge 2: k4, w+t, k to end
Ridge 3: k6, w+t, k to end

Ridge 4: k8, w+t, k to end
Ridge 5: k all, turn, k all
Ridge 6: k22, w+t, k9, w+t,
   k8, w+t, k7, w+t,
   k6, w+t, k5, w+t
   k4, w+t, k to end
Ridge 7: k all, turn, BO13, k to end
Ridge 8: k all, turn, k1, ssk, k to end
Ridge 9 and 10: k all, turn, k all
Ridge 11: k all, turn, k1, kfb, k to end
Ridge 12: k all, turn, k all
Ridge 13: k all, CO13 (with knitted CO), turn, k all
Ridge 14: k20, w+t, k4, w+t
   k5, w+t, k6, w+t
   k7, w+t, k8, w+t
   k9, w+t, k to end
Ridge 15: k11, w+t, k to end
Ridge 16: k4, w+t, k to end

Ridge 17: k6, w+t, k to end

Ridge 18: k8, w+t, k to end

Ridge 19: k all, turn, k all
Ridge 20: 22, w+t, k9, w+t,
   k8, w+t, k7, w+t,
   k6, w+t, k5, w+t
   k4, w+t, k to end
Ridge 21: k all, turn, BO13, k to end
Ridge 22: k all, turn, k1, ssk, k to end
Ridge 23 and 24: k all, turn, k all
Ridge 25: k all, turn, k1, kfb, k to end
Ridge 26: k all, turn, k all
Ridge 27: k all, CO13 (with knitted CO), turn, k all
Ridge 28:  k20, w+t, k4, w+t
   k5, w+t, k6, w+t
   k7, w+t, k8, w+t
   k9, w+t, k to end

Now your piece should look similar to picture 1. Put the stitches from the provisional CO on another needle, cut yarn, fold piece along the horizontal middle line and graft live stitches from the two needles together in garter stitch. Now your piece should look like photo no. 2.

Now, sew the upper edge together along the dotted line in photo 2. Turn back right sides out and it's finished.

Thread your tapestry needle with the yarn in contrast color and embroider face according to chart below (or the way you like it best).




Chart
The chart can be used as a complete pattern. The number on the top of a ridge indicates the number of k-stitches, i.e. of blank rectangles (the w+t is the next stitch).

Easter Bunny Egg Cozy Chart - click on picture to enlarge or here for chart as PDF (link updated 03.10.21)

 

This post was featured at the New Tuesday PINspiration Link Party, at the Funtastic Friday Link Party No. 122 and at the Sew Can Do Easter Craftastic Monday Link Party. Thank you!

     

Ramble Mitts

After finishing the Inbetween Mitts I liked the long ribbing so much, that I wanted to have another pair of "long" fingerless gloves. These can be worn with the upper ribbing folded down to allow more freedom of movement for the hands or folded up to keep a bit warmer.

These mitts are quite easy to knit - they are knit stitch only plus some basic increases and decreases; and they are knitted all in one piece - therefore, there are only two ends to weave in per mitt.

The pattern is written in a way that it can be adapted to different hand sizes and yarn weights. Since they are knitted in different directions, they are great to show off selfstriping yarn.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Materials

• about 40 grams of fingering weight yarn
• 3mm needles (I used a set of dpns for parts 1, 3, 4 and 5, and a circular needle for part 2) and another needle for the three-needle BOs and the provisional COs
• two stitch markers
• scrap yarn for the provisional CO(s)
• a crochet hook for provisional CO
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques

• Provisional CO: My favorite method for a provision CO is the crochet provisional CO - it is shown in this Youtube video by New Stitch a Day.
• German Short Rows with wrap and turn (w+t) - as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits.
• Three-Needle Bind Off: https://youtu.be/Ph93jWSzTa0
• Picking up stitches from the side and knitting them: https://youtu.be/4XtGL8vJf-g or https://youtu.be/htAHtNnuE7Q or https://youtu.be/oUPhLYkC0Fw 
• Grafting in garter stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.
• Picking up stitches from a gap or ditch: After both three needle bind-offs there is one left over stitch which tends to have a distance to the stitches next to it. To avoid holes, I usually pick up one stitch from the gap and decrease over the new stitch in the following row (see also this YouTube video where it is shown on the example of a thumb gusset). In my experience (or the way I knit :) it's even better to pick up two stitches and knit decreases over them in the following two rows.

Gauge and Measurements
In garter stitch 12 sts gave 5 cm in width, and 13 garter stitch ridges gave 5 cm in height. The mitt in the pictures measures 26 cm in length. 20 cm in circumference at the lower edge of the cuff. The thumb circumference of is about 7 cm.
The pattern is written in a way that it can be adapted to different hand sizes. However, I have given the row counts that I used as an example - these numbers are given in purple.

General Construction
Part 1 - the cuff - is knitted flat and in garter stitch with a few short rows for shaping, i.e. to ensure that the lower end is wider than the upper end. It ends with a three-needle bind off. Part 2 - the palm - starts with picking up stitches from the upper edge of the cuff and is knitted in stockinette stitch in the round. Part 3 is again garter stitch and knitted flat, like part 1, it ends with a three-needle BO. Part 4 - the lower part of the thumb - is knitted in the round. Finally, part 5 - the stockinette "ribbing" of the thumb is knitted flat again. It ends with grafting in garter stitch.


Instructions

Part 1 (Cuff - knitted flat)
Provisionally CO 22 sts
Setup row (RS): k all
Row 1 (WS): sl1, k to end
Row 2 (RS): k all
Repeat rows 1 and 2 four more times
Row 11 (WS, RS): k 15, t+p, k to end
Repeat rows 1 to 11 until the cuff fits around your wrist

For the mitts in the picture I knitted a total of 8 repeats of rows 1 to 11 plus rows 1 and 2 twice more.

Move stitches from provisional CO to a third needle, hold together with current stitches and do a 3 needle BO until there is only one stitch left.
Before doing the three-needle BO your piece should now look similar to photo 1 of the illustrations.

Part 2 (Palm - knitted in the round)
Turn the mitt right sides out (i.e. so that the seam from the three-needle BO is on the inside). Starting from the stitch that is still on your needle pick up and knit stitches from the upper edge of the cuff. If necessary (i.e. if the gap between the leftover stitch and the slip stitches at the upper edge are too wide) pick up a stitch from the gap. Join in round.

For the mitt in the pictures, I picked up 43 sts.

Knit 10 rounds of stockinette stitch.
Round 11: k1 pm k1 k to end
Round 12: k to m, slip marker, mk1r, k to marker, mk1l, slip marker, k to end
Rounds 13 - 15: k all
Repeat rounds 12 to 15 four more times - now there should be 11 stitches between the two markers. These 11 sts are the thumb stitches and will be used again in part 4.

Part 3 (Upper ribbing - knitted flat)
Knit to second marker, remove this marker, and provisionally CO 22 sts on another needle.
Continue knitting the stitches from the provisional CO - your piece should look like in photo 2.
Turn work
Row 1: k21, k2tog (i.e. the last stitch from the provisional CO with the next stitch of the stockinette part), turn
Row 2: sl1, k to end
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until you have "used up" all stitches of the stockinette part, i.e. until you have reached the marker that marked the beginning of the thumb stitches.
Try the mitt on to check whether the upper ribbing fits around your fingers. If it is not wide enough, knit a few repeats of the following rows.
Row 1: k22
Row 2: sl1, k21

I knitted a total of 6 more rows (i.e. 3 repeats of these rows).

Move stitches from provisional CO to a third needle, Fold the upper ribbing right sides together and do a three-needle BO of the 22 sts of the upper ribbing. Before you start the three-needle BO your piece should look similar to photo 4.

Part 4 (Thumb - knitted in the round)
Turn the upper ribbing back right sides out. Now you can 1 sts left from the three-needle BO and 11 sts of the thumb gusset.
Round 1: Pick up stitches from the slip stitch edge of the upper ribbing. pick up one to three stitches from the first gap, knit the 11 stitches from the thumb gusset, and pick up one to three stitches from the gap.

At the end of the round 1 I had 20 stitches on my needles: 1 leftover from the 3NBO, 3 from the slip stitches of the upper ribbing, 2 from the first gap, 11 from the thumb gusset (of part 2), and 3 from the second gap (1+3+2+11+3=20).

Over the next four rounds, knit stockinette stitch while decreasing over the stitches you picked up over the gap - until there are 16 stitches left.

For the mitts in the photos the next four rounds were as follows:
Round 2: k3, k2tog, k12, ssk, k1
Round 3: k all
Round 4: k all
Round 5: k2, k2tog, k12, ssk

Part 5 (Thumb ribbing - knitted flat)
The last part is rather fiddly. You can avoid this by knitting a few rounds of k1p1-ribbing and then binding off. However, I wanted a garter stitch ribbing - so I did it the same way as I did the upper ribbing of the palm part (i.e. like part 3).

With scrap yarn do a provisional CO of 8 stitches on a new needle. Hold this needle close to the thumb stitches of your glove and knit these 8 new stitches.
Row1: k7, k2tog (i.e. the last stitch from the provisional CO with the next stitch of the stockinette part), turn
Row 2: sl1, k to end

Repeat until all the original thumb stitches have been used.

Move the stitches from the provisional CO to a new needle and graft both sides in garter stitch (see photo 6). 

Make two.
Weave in ends.

This post was featured at the New Tuesday PINspiration Link Party {28}. Thank you!

Kitty Egg Warmers

After finishing my Garter Stitch Xmas Gnomes last year, I found that they fitted quite nicely over an egg. That's when I got the idea to knit some egg warmers in an animal shape. My first thought was to to knit an easter bunny (which still needs some adjustments :)  - then I tried a cat.  At first I wanted to create the face with colorwork knitting, but this look too pixelated (or just ugly), so I ended up with an embroidered face.

The egg warmer is knitted completely in garter stitch with a few short rows for shaping. For this project you can use up small leftovers of yarn. A small project such as this is also great for learning a new technique like short rows. provisional CO or grafting in garter stitch.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.



Materials

• about 6 to 9 grams of yarn (Sports weight)
• about 40 cm of scrap in a contrast color (I used fingering weight)
• 2.5 mm knitting needles 
• scrap yarn for provisional CO
• a tapestry needle for grafting and for embroidering the face

Techniques

• Provisional CO: My favorite method for a provision CO is the crochet provisional CO - it is shown in this Youtube video by New Stitch a Day.
• Short rows with wrap and turn (w+t) - as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.

Instructions
With scrap yarn provisionally CO16 sts
Setup row (WS): k all
Ridge 1: k8, w+t, k to end
Ridge 2: k10, w+t, k to end
Ridge 3: k12, w+t, k to end
Ridge 4: k10, w+t, k to end
Ridge 5: k8, w+t, k to end
Ridge 6: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 7: k all, turn, k1, ssk, k to end
Ridge 8: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 9: k all turn, k1, ssk, k to end
Ridge 10: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 11: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 12: k all, turn, k to end - I'd advise to mark this row with a stitch marker or some scrap yarn, it's the middle of the cat's face and will help to start the embroidery at the right place
Ridge 13: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 14: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 15: k all, turn, k1, kfb, k to end
Ridge 16: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 17: k all, turn, k1, kfb, k to end
Ridge 18: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 19: k8, w+t, k to end
Ridge 20: k10, w+t, k to end
Ridge 21: k12, w+t, k to end
Ridge 22: k10, w+t, k to end
Ridge 23:  k8, w+t, k to end
Ridge 24: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 25: k all, turn, k1, ssk, k to end
Ridge 26: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 27: k all, turn, k1, ssk, k to end
Ridge 28: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 29: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 30: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 31: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 32: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 33: k all, turn, k1, kfb, k to end
Ridge 34: k all, turn, k to end
Ridge 35: k all, turn, k1, kfb, k to end
Ridge 36: k all, turn, k to end
Now your piece should look like photo no. 1.
Put the stitches from the provisional CO on another needle, cut yarn, fold piece and graft live stitches from the two needles together in garter stitch. Now your piece should look like photo no. 2. The pink piece of scrap yarn that you see on the photos was what I used as a marker for ridge 12.

Illustration

Sew upper edge together. Thread your tapestry needle with the yarn in contrast color and embroider face according to chart below (or the way you like it best). Weave in ends.

How to read the chart: The chart can be used as complete pattern. Each column shows one knitted ridge. When the ridge ends with a "w+t", knit on RS up to that point, then wrap and turn your work (i.e. knit a short row). All other rows are knitted to the end. When a stitch is marked with kfb or ssk, knit this stitch on the WS. 

This blogpost has been featured at New Tuesday Pin-spiration Link Party {27}. Thank you!

Bat Mitts

These were designed and knitted for a friend of my Mum's who had seen her black fingerless gloves and asked whether she could have a pair of black ones herself.

As usual, I thought it would be boring to knit the same ones again and wanted to do something different. Furthermore I had long thought about doing something on the lines of the Circle Mitts but with a lacy pattern. However, it wasn't quite as easy as I had hoped. It took me about four attempts of knitting and frogging to get this right ... but I quite like the end result. I even knitted a second pair in a lighter color a) to keep to for myself and b) to be able to get better pictures, because black yarn is difficult to capture on photo :)

In the end the lace pattern reminded me of the fingers of bat's wings - hence the name.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.






Materials

• about 35 grams of fingering weight yarn
• 3mm knitting needles (I used 80 cm circulars with the Magic Loop method)
• 8 stitch markers
• a third needle for three-needle BO
• tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques and Abbreviations

• Three-Needle Bind-Off: https://youtu.be/Ph93jWSzTa0
• Short Rows in the Round (and t+ky) I learned short rows in the round with this helpful video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCgycxLce94; however, I ended up doing the pick-ups differently.
  - "Wrapping" of the StitchesBasically, when you're on the RS, you do wrap the working yarn around the next stitch (from front to back) and then turn your work, i.e. the "normal" wrap and turn (w+t).
  When you are on the WS you slip the last stitch, turn your work with the yarn in front, wrap the yarn around the RIGHT needle and knit the slipped stitch. That creates a sort of double-stitch - one half of it has to be knitted together with the stitch in front when you're picking up the stitches. In the pattern, throughout the pattern I will call this stitch, t+ky (short for "turn and knit w/yarn-over").
  - Picking-upWhen encountering a w+t, I turned the wrapped stitch on the needle, picked up the wrap from the front and knitted the stitch and the wrap together through the back of the loop.
  When reaching the stitch BEFORE the “double-stitch”, I turned this stitch and knitted it together with the yo through the back of the loop. 
• Picking up stitches from a gap or ditch: After the three needle bind-off there is one left over stitch which tends to have a distance to the stitches next to it. To avoid holes, I usually pick up one stitch from the gap and decrease over the new stitch in the following row (see also this YouTube video where it is shown on the example of a thumb gusset). In my experience (or the way I knit :) it's even better to pick up two stitches and knit decreases over them in the following two rows.
• k1tbl: knit one through the back loop: https://youtu.be/vWuDsCsk9MI (YouTube video by crazyknittinglady)
• p1tbl: purl one through the back loop: https://youtu.be/gOHAqYFjvUM (YouTube video by Knit Purl Hunter)
• mk1p: make one purl stitch; https://youtu.be/7WLQ9qXa88k (YouTube video by Knit Purl Hunter - you can use one the first two method shown there)

Gauge and Measurements
In stockinette stitch 6 stitches gave 2cm in width and 7 rows gave 2cm in height. The finished mitts measures and 18cm in diameter a the widest point and about 18cm in length.

General Construction

These mitts are knitted in four parts. Part 1 - the thumb - is knitted in the round. Part 2 - the first part of the palm - is also knitted in the round, at its end there is a small ribbing knitted on top to make sure that the upper BO doesn't curl in. Part 3 is knitted flat and ends with a three-needle BO. Part 4 - the cuff - starts with a few short rows to even out the height differences. It is knitted in the round and ends with a few rounds of ribbing.
The second mitt will have different instructions to make it look mirror inverted to the first one.


Instructions

First Mitt

Part 1: Thumb
Knitted in the round
Loosely CO 16 sts and join in round - place marker at the end of round
Rounds 1-7: * k1tbl, p1, repeat from * to end
Round 8: * k1tbl, p1, mk1p, k1tbl, p1, repeat from * to end
Rounds 9-11: * k1tbl, p2, k1tbl, p1 repeat from * to end
Round 12: * k1tbl, p2, k1tbl, p1, mk1p, repeat from * to end
Round 13-14: *ktbl1, p2, repeat from * to end

Illustrations

Part 2
Knitted in the round
Round 1: * k1tbl, yo, k2, place marker, repeat from * to end
Round 2: * k1tbl, k to m, slip marker, repeat from * to end
Round 3: * k1tbl, yo, k to m, sllip marker, repeat from * to end
Round 4: * k1tbl, k to m, slip marker, repeat from * to end
Repeat rounds 3 and 4  five more times
Round 15: k1tbl, yo, * k1 p1, repeat from * to marker, slip marker; + k1tbl, yo, k to m, slip marker, repeat from + to end
Round 16: k1tbl, p1, * k1 p1, repeat from * to marker, slip marker; + k1tbl, k to m, slip marker, repeat from + to end
Round 17: k1tbl, yo, p1, * k1 p1, repeat from * to marker, slip marker; + k1tbl, yo, k to m, slip marker, repeat from * to end
Round 18: k1tbl, * k1 p1, repeat from * to marker, slip marker; + k1tbl, k to m, slip marker, repeat from + to end
Round 19: BO14 sts in pattern (remove the stitch markers you encounter during the BO), k to marker, slip marker; and continue round like round 3 (i.e.  * k1tbl, yo, k to m, sllip marker, repeat from * to end) - your piece should now look similar to photo 1 of the illustrations.

Part 3
Knitted flat
Row 1 (WS): p2tog, p6, t+ky, k to end, turn;
    * p to 1 bef m, p1tbl,  repeat from * to end
Row 2 (RS): k2tog, k6, t+p, p to end, turn;
    * k to m, slip marker, k1tbl, yo, repeat from * up to and including last marker, k to end
Row 3 (WS): p7, t+ky, k to end, turn:
    * p to 1 bef m, p1tbl,  repeat from * to end
Row 4 (RS): k8, t+p, p to end, turn;
    * k to m, slip marker, k1tbl, yo, repeat from * up to and including last marker, k to end
Row 5 = Row 3
Row 6 = Row 4
Row 7 (WS): * p to 1 bef m, p1tbl,  repeat from * to end

Fold piece in half, right sides together. Your piece should now look as in photo 2.
Do a three-needle BO of 31 stitches (remove the stitch markers you encounter during the BO), secure the last stitch and turn the piece back right sides out. Your piece should now look similar to photo 3.

Part 4
Knitted in the round - with some short rows around the last stitch of the three-needle BO
Round 1:  pick up 1 or 2 stitches from gap; * k to m, slip marker,  k1tbl, yo, repeat from * once more, k to end, pick up 1 or 2 stitches from gap
Round 2: k1, ktog, k2, w+t;
     p5, p2tog, p2, t+ky;
     k4, k2tog, k3, w+t;
     p6, p2tog, p3, t+ky;
     k to m, * slip marker, k1tbl, k to m, repeat once more from *, k to end
Round 3: k1, k2tog, k3, w+t;
     p5, p2tog, p3, t+ky;
     k11, w+t;
     p13, t+ky;
     k to m, * slip marker, k1tbl, yo, k to m, repeat once more from *, k to end
Round 4: k1, k2tog, k3, w+t;
    p6, p2tog, p3, t+ky;
    k11, w+t;
    p13, t+ky;
    k to m, * slip marker, k1tbl, k to m, repeat once more from *, k to end
Round 5: k2tog, k to m, * slip marker, k1tbl, yo, k to m, repeat once more from *, k to end
Round 6: k to m, * slip marker, k1tbl, k to m, repeat once more from *, k to end

Knit 7 rounds of p1, k1tbl-ribbing
Bind off loosely in pattern.

Second Mitt
To make the mitts mirror-inverted there are two differences between the first and second mitt:

• placement of the increases: for the first mitt the k1tbl-yo occurs just after the stitch marker - for the second mitt a yo-k1bl occurs just before the stitch marker
• for the second mitt the bind-off at the end of part 2 starts 2 sts before the end of the last row (instead of just at the beginning of the last row); that way the bind off "covers" two yo's

Here's it spelled out:

Part 1: Thumb
Knitted in the round
Loosely CO 16 sts and join in round - place marker at the end of round
Rounds 1-7: * p1, k1tbl repeat from * to end
Round 8: * mk1p, p1, k1tbl repeat from * to end
Rounds 9-11: * p2, k1tbl, p1, k1tbl  repeat from * to end
Round 12: * p2, k1tbl, mk1p, p1, k1tbl repeat from * to end
Round 13-14: *p2, ktbl1 repeat from * to end

Part 2
Knitted in the round
Round 1: * k2, yo, k1tbl, place marker, repeat from * to end
Round 2: * k to 1 bef m, k1tbl, slip marker, repeat from * to end
Round 3: * k to 1 bef m, yo, k1tbl, slip marker, repeat from * to end
Round 4: * k to 1 bef m, k1tbl, slip marker, repeat from * to end
Repeat rounds 3 and 4  five more times
Round 15: * k1 p1 repeat from * to 1 bef m, yo k1tbl. slip marker; + k to 1 bef m, yo, k1tbl, slip marker,k1tbl, repeat from + to end
Round 16: * k1 p1 repeat from * to 1 bef m, k1tbl, slip marker; + k to 1 bef m, k1tbl, slip marker, repeat from + to end
Round 17: * k1 p1 repeat from * to 1 bef m, yo k1tbl. slip marker; + k to 1 bef m, yo, k1tbl, slip marker,k1tbl, repeat from + to end
Round 18: * k1 p1 repeat from * to 1 bef m, k1tbl, slip marker; + k to 1 bef m, k1tbl, slip marker, repeat from + to 2 sts before end, BO2
Round 19: BO12 sts in pattern (remove the stitch markers you encounter during the BO), k to marker, slip marker; and continue round like round 3 (i.e.* k to 1 bef m, yo, k1tbl, slip marker, repeat from * to end)

Part 3
Knitted flat
Row 1 (WS): p2tog, p6, t+ky, k to end, turn;
    * p to m, p1tbl,  repeat from * to end
Row 2 (RS): k2tog, k6, t+p, p to end, turn;
    * k to 1 bef m, yo, k1tbl, repeat from * up to and including last marker, k to end
Row 3 (WS): p7, t+ky, k to end, turn:
    * p to m, p1tbl,  repeat from * to end
Row 4 (RS): k8, t+p, p to end, turn;
    * k to 1 bef m, yo, k1tbl, repeat from * up to and including last marker, k to end
Row 5 = Row 3
Row 6 = Row 4
Row 7 (WS): * p to m, p1tbl,  repeat from * to end

Fold piece in half, right sides together. Your piece should now look as in photo 2.
Do a three-needle BO of 31 stitches (remove the stitch markers you encounter during the BO), secure the last stitch and turn the piece back right sides out. Your piece should now look similar to photo 3.

Part 4
Knitted in the round - with some short rows around the last stitch of the three-needle BO
Round 1:  pick up 1 or 2 stitches from gap; * k to 1 bef m, k1tbl, yo, slip marker, repeat from * once more, k to end, pick up 1 or 2 stitches from gap
Round 2: k1, ktog, k2, w+t;
     p5, p2tog, p2, t+ky;
     k4, k2tog, k3, w+t;
     p6, p2tog, p3, t+ky;
     * k to 1 bef m, k1tbl, slip marker, repeat once more from *, k to end
Round 3: k1, k2tog, k3, w+t;
     p5, p2tog, p3, t+ky;
     k11, w+t;
     p13, t+ky;
     * k to 1 bef m, yo, k1tbl, repeat once more from *, k to end
Round 4: k1, k2tog, k3, w+t;
    p6, p2tog, p3, t+ky;
    k11, w+t;
    p13, t+ky;
    * k to 1 bef m, k1tbl, slip marker, repeat once more from *, k to end
Round 5: k2tog, * k to 1 bef m, yo, k1tbl, repeat once more from *, k to end
Round 6: * k to 1 bef m, k1tbl,  slip marker, repeat once more from *, k to end

Knit 7 rounds of p1, k1tbl-ribbing
Bind off loosely in pattern.

This blogpost was featured at Oombawka Design's Link and Share Wednesday Party 181 and at the Linky Ladies Party #93. Thank you!

My Knitting Failures in January

In January, I felt as though I had lost my knitting mojo ... Apart from the fact that I have currently, four half-finished knitting patterns not quite ready for publication, most of the new projects I started in January have somehow not worked, i.e. were (or will be) frogged.

The main reason I'm posting this is to say that nice knitting designs don't happen magically. Sometimes you've got an idea and it just doesn't work the way you planned it. You have to try, and try again and again and again ...

The first idea was for a new pair of fingerless mitts - again knitted in one piece with a special construction that wouldn't require to cut the yarn while. I planned to model it similar to the U-Turn mitts, but with a triagular (rather than round) turning. I had to start four times over to get the proportions right (short rows for the garter stitch ribbing vs. angles for the triangle on top). And the fifth time, I made it too wide to fit my hands. I am currently debating with myself whether to frog and forget it or whether to give the idea a new chance (and try again for the sixth time ...)

The second idea was a cowl knitted in the round with a fair isle pattern. I wanted the color A to blend into color B and then do it in reverse on the way back. I used some reclaimed yarn for this, i.e. yarn from a previous project that got frogged because I didn't wear it.
Unfortunately, my skills at this kind of colorwork are "suboptimal" (to put it mildly) and with this wriggly reclaimed yarn the color changes looked even worse than usual. I considered finishing it - hoping the problems would heal themselves in blocking, but in the end I decided to frog it again and start something different with this yarn.

The last project was a cowl I started as a "waiting room project";  I wanted to have something to knit to accompany my Mum to the hospital for a follow-up on her bone fractures. That meant it had to be

• easy to remember (no written or printed pattern to read),
• easy to carry, and
• something that wouldn't require me to make notes or take photos - for a pattern I meant to publish later. 

I settled on an idea for a short row design that I had drawn some time ago. It doesn't look too bad on the picture, but I don't quite like it. I'm not really sure why, perhaps the colors or the texture (I should have taken bigger needles). Not sure whether to try with bigger needles (and some other slight modifications) or to give it up completely.

The patterns and posts I published in January were actually knitted last year - so it didn't look so bleak on the blog :)

To finish on a positive note (and to give the absolute counter-example :) The pattern for the Ice Maiden Cowl was something that I wrote on a tiny Post-It note when I sat on the train to Zurich in November - planning an easy knitting project that could be done while playing Dungeons & Dragons. I only new that I wanted some intarsia pattern and I just wrote down some number (stitches of each colors) that I thought might work. I cast on and started it and even after I had knitted a few repeats, I wasn't sure whether to keep it or not ... But now that it's finished, I like it :)

Ice Maiden Cowl

This winter give a sparkle to your outfit with this beautiful colorwork cowl. It is knitted flat and all in garter stitch.

This knitting pattern is available for purchase 

• on Ravelry, 
• on loveknitting, and
• on Payhip. 

The pattern PDF contains both a written version and a chart.

To knit this cowl you need the following skills:

• Provisional CO: My favorite method for a provision CO is the crochet provisional CO - it is shown in this Youtube video by New Stitch a Day.
• Intarsia: Changing colors with the intarsia technique - as shown in this YouTube video by knitwithpat; or this YouTube video by Francoise Danoy.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.

Materials used to knit this cowl:

• about 210 grams of Sports weight yarn – in two colors, about 140 grams of the main color (blue in the photos) and 70 grams of the contrast color (white in the photos) - I used some beautiful Bilum yarn that I bought at Swisswullefestival (Bilum Lifestyle, to be precise) and some white merino as a contrast color. If you want to use a similar yarn - here's a link to Bilum's etsy shop. 
• 3.75 mm knitting needles
• scrap yarn for provisional CO
• a tapestry needle for grafting and for weaving in ends