Lovely Little Bed Socks for Children

Posted on March 9, 2012 by MakerKnit

My daughter modeling her new bed socks.

I finally made my daughter another pair of bed socks to replace the ones I mistakenly felted in the washing machine.  Knitting up another pair also allowed me to double check my pattern so I could finalize it and then make it available for download.

My children’s bed socks are based on Churchmouse Classic’s design for Turkish Bed Socks.  The Churchmouse pattern is fantastic and I’ve made many pairs of these lovely little socks for myself, family and friends.1 My daughter wanted a pair of her own, so I adapted the Churchmouse pattern to fit her then 4-year-old feet.

Showing off our first pairs of bed socks.

My daughter’s feet have grown since that first pair, so along with double-checking the pattern I was also able to confirm that my instructions for making the socks to fit a child with longer feet are accurate in practice, not just in theory.2 My daughter’s feet are now 6.5″ long, so I knit an extra 4 rounds at the foot, just as my original pattern suggested, and the socks fit perfectly.

While I designed these bed socks for my daughter, they are equally suitable for a boy.3 To make a lovely little pair for your own child, download my pattern here:

 

  1. 7 adult pairs and counting: I have two Koigu hanks at the ready–one of mixed greens to make another pair for my mom, and one of red to make another pair for myself.  I’m telling you, they are terrific little socks! [↩]
  2. In writing-up the pattern, I used my gauge and math to extrapolate how many rounds to add. [↩]
  3. Although he’d probably prefer a color other than pink! [↩]
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Knitting with Variegated Yarn, Part 2: The Mixed Berries Hat

Posted on February 29, 2012 by MakerKnit

My daughter's Mixed Berries Hat.

This hat is a companion to the Mixed Berries Scarf I designed for my daughter.  For continuity, I used the same yarn and began the hat with the same double moss stitch pattern I used for the scarf.  However, while I wanted the hat and scarf to look like they belonged together, I didn’t want them to be identical, so for the hat I only used double moss stitch for 16 rounds and then switched to Stockinette stitch.  Not only does it make for a more interesting hat in my opinion, it also shows off the beautifully-variegated yarn in a completely different way than the double moss stitch does.

The hat and scarf together with my daughter's new winter coat, which inspired the set.

This hat is a quick and easy project and really good for highlighting variegated yarn.  It also makes for a nice set with the Mixed Berries Scarf, and like the scarf it can easily be made to fit an adult.

For all the details, including instructions for making both a child’s hat and an adult’s hat, download my Mixed Berries Hat pattern:

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Kindle E-reader Cover: A Lovely Variation with Seed Stitch

Posted on February 27, 2012 by MakerKnit

Kay's lovely e-reader cover, using seed stitch along the flap's sides and bottom.

A fellow knitter, Kay, sent me photos of her beautiful rendition of the e-reader cover I designed and has very kindly agreed to let me share those photos along with details about her cover.

The biggest change she made to the original pattern was to use seed stitch along the flap’s sides and at its bottom.  She kept three edge stitches on each side of the flap in seed stitch (rather than garter stitch as called for in the original pattern) and knitted seven rows of seed stitch at the flap’s bottom (rather than just continuing in Stockinette stitch to the bottom as in the original pattern).  Along with being an attractive detail, seed stitch is also a good choice as an edge border to help lessen Stockinette stitch’s natural tendency to curl.  It’s only been a few weeks since Kay finished her e-reader cover, but she reports that her flap seems to be doing very well and is laying flat.

Here you can see the three rows of seed stitch Kay added before binding off to create the pocket. Such a pretty--and practical--detail.

Another change Kay made to the original pattern was adding three rows of seed stitch along the top of the pocket before binding off.  This addition was to provide continuity–knowing she was going to use seed stitch on the flap–as well as to prevent potential curling at the pocket’s edge.

The yarn she used is Queensland Collection Air in color 03 Navy Combo.  It is listed as a super bulky yarn, knitting up at 2.5 stitches per inch on size 15 needles, however Kay thought it was more akin to just a bulky yarn.  She knit a swatch with size 8 needles and achieved the exact gauge in the pattern, so she didn’t have to make any further adjustments.  And using smaller needles than called for on the yarn label created a dense fabric, which is a great benefit for an e-reader cover and was one of my goals with the original pattern.

Kay’s e-reader cover is just beautiful1 and such a great example of how you can take a pattern and change it to fit your own preferences, or to ward off curling edges, or to do both.

Thank you again, Kay, for sharing your photos and for so generously providing all the details of your e-reader cover!

[simple_series title=”See all my posts on designing and knitting a Kindle e-reader cover:”]

  1. I know, I’m partial to seed stitch, but objectively, it is! [↩]
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