Another Mother’s Day Spa Set, with Patterns (finally!)

Posted on June 25, 2011 by MakerKnit

In addition to making a Mother’s Day Spa Set with bath mitt and votive sleeve, I also knitted a set with a washcloth and different votive sleeve pattern.

As with the bath mitt, I used a worsted weight organic cotton1 and the small quilted cross-stitch pattern to make the washcloth.  The differences were that I used a multicolored yarn and mostly Stockinette stitch to create the bath mitt and a solid color2 and solely small quilted cross-stitch for the washcloth.

I really love the pattern created by small quilted cross-stitch.  While it is certainly more involved than Stockinette stitch, it looks more complicated than it is.  In actuality it is a fairly easy stitch pattern, and it provides a bit of a “wow” factor for just a little effort, which is one of the reasons I think it’s fabulous.3 However I felt it was too “busy” to use overall with the multicolored cotton, but perfect to be shown off in the deep, beautiful, solid-colored yarn.

Vine Lace votive sleeve with candle lit--a beautiful effect.

For the accompanying votive sleeve I chose the vine lace pattern.4 I thought it was just lacy enough to make a nice votive sleeve and I also really liked that the pattern naturally created a ripple along the cast-on edge.  I thought a scalloped edge would be really pretty so I just knit my sleeve and then turned it upside down when placing it onto the glass votive so the ripple would be at the top.

Both votive sleeves were made using Rowan Siena, a 4 ply 100% mercerized cotton fingering weight yarn.  The color shown here is 676 Tandoori.

While I originally created this set for Mother’s Day, it would make a lovely gift at any time of year.  Both yarns I used come in a variety of colors, so you could tailor your color choices to the occasion or, as I did, to the recipient.5

Download the washcloth and votive sleeve patterns here:

  1. Blue Sky Alpacas Multi Cotton for the bath mitt and Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton for the washcloth. [↩]
  2. It is color 637 Raspberry in Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton yarn. [↩]
  3. I also love that it creates a dense, sturdy, deeply-textured fabric, ideal for a bath mitt or washcloth. [↩]
  4. Found in Barbara Walker’s “A Treasury of Knitting Patterns.” [↩]
  5. My mother loves mauves and pinks and raspberry shades. My mother-in-law wore a blouse in a beautiful shade of blue on Easter which inspired my color choices for her. [↩]
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Adorable “Itty-Bitty” Hats, Ready to Wear!

Posted on June 23, 2011 by MakerKnit

I finished my first upside-down daisy hat and the little pumpkin hat, and they are just so cute I have to show them off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Knitting Hats During the Summer?!

I know it may seem crazy to be knitting hats in the summer, but these are actually quite practical summer knits.

  • Firstly, they’re knitted with 100% cotton, which is a much more pleasant fiber to work with in warm weather than, say, wool or mohair.1
  • Secondly, the hats are small projects that you can take along anywhere.  Each requires just one ball for the main color with little amounts of accenting yarn.  The amounts of yarn needed for stems, petals, and leaves are so small that you could just wind butterflies, as done for an intarsia project, and thus easily have everything you need to completely finish your hat while traveling, which seemingly everyone does more of over the summer months.
  • Lastly, these hats are so quick and easy to make that you could have them all finished and ready to wear before the first cold snap arrives in the fall.  I am happy just to finish a project within the season for which it is intended; to have finished a project BEFORE its intended season makes me absolutely giddy.

Overall both hats were easy knits, but I did have a few stumbles before I was able to finish them.

Upside-Down Daisy Hat

Sewing the petal on the upside-down daisy hat was a little tricky because the hat is so small and I couldn’t keep all the petals pinned on as I was sewing.  But I did pin them all on initially to get an idea of how they would fit.  Then I just worked one at a time, laying out all the petals again before proceeding to make sure I was sewing them on in their correct positions and they’d all fit evenly around the hat.

Finishing the hat required a little planning and took some time–I did restart two petals because I wasn’t happy with how I had placed and sewn them–but the end result is so worth it.  And as you know, if your finishing doesn’t look good, it makes the entire piece look shoddy.  So don’t be discouraged or put off by it, just take your time and start over when needed–you’ll thank yourself in the end.

Little Pumpkin Hat

When finishing the stem on the little pumpkin hat I forgot to purl the last row before closing the stem’s top.  I did not realize this until after I had weaved in all the ends and was taking photos of the hat.  Not having that purl row certainly didn’t affect the overall cuteness of the hat, but it does add something–it makes the stem appear like an actual pumpkin stem that is a little gnarled at its top from being picked off the vine.  This wonderful detail is just another example of how great Susan B. Anderson’s designs are.

Even though it meant having yet another end to secure and weave in, I went back and rejoined the brown yarn to add that purled row and refinish my hat.  Initially it was very difficult to accept that I was not done and to put the hat back on my mental “to-do” list, but I’m really glad I did it.  So when you make your own little pumpkin hat, don’t forget the purl row!

Marshmallow Bonnet

Marshmallow bonnet in progress.

I also started the marshmallow bonnet last week.  My version is going to be a pink bonnet with cream accents.  The original pattern calls for the opposite–a cream bonnet with pink accents–but my super-girly, I-love-pink daughter wanted a pink bonnet so I just switched the colors around.2

I haven’t been working on the bonnet much because it’s been so warm here.  The bonnet is knit with Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK (a merino, microfiber and cashmere blend) and Rowan Kidsilk Haze (a kid mohair and silk blend).  This combination makes for a soft, fluffy, and surely incredibly warm bonnet, but those just aren’t the fibers I want to be working with when it’s 90 degrees out.  So I’ve put down the bonnet for now and am working on the upside-down daisy hat for my daughter, which uses Rowan’s Handknit Cotton and is much more pleasant for me during this beautiful summer weather.

I hope you, too, are enjoying a lovely warm summer and that seeing my finished Itty-Bitty hats inspire you to knit your own.

  1. Trust me on this and read on to my section on the Marshmallow Bonnet. [↩]
  2. Switching wasn’t a problem because you need one ball of each color in each yarn for the bonnet regardless of which color you choose to be the main color. [↩]
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Adorable “Itty-Bitty” Hats and More Praise for Susan B. Anderson

Posted on June 14, 2011 by MakerKnit

I have talked before about Susan B. Anderson and her fabulous patterns, and am once again singing her praises for her “Itty-Bitty Hats” designs.

Almost-finished upside-down daisy hat. I just have to attach the petals around the stem.

I have almost finished my first hat from her book, the upside-down daisy, which is just adorable and absolutely iconic.  I suspect every girl with a knitting mother, grandmother, or auntie has one.1  This first upside-down daisy hat is for some friends expecting a little girl later this year.  And as soon as my yarn order arrives, I’ll be starting a second upside-down daisy hat for my own daughter.

Little pumpkin hat in progress.

In the meantime, I have started knitting Susan’s little pumpkin hat for my daughter.  Like many parents, my husband often refers to our daughter as “pumpkin” so this hat is especially sweet.2

My daughter saw “Itty-Bitty Hats” on our coffee table and asked to look at it.  In addition to liking the upside-down daisy hat which she saw me knitting for our friends’ baby, she liked the marshmallow bonnet3 and asked me to make that for her.  So that’s also in my hat queue.

I have said it before but I’ll say it again, I love Susan B. Anderson’s designs.  They are super-cute, well-written and easy to follow, and often use clever construction techniques.4 I highly recommend you check them out if you haven’t already.

Currently I own three of her four books–Itty-Bitty Toys, Itty-Bitty Hats, and Spud & Chloe at the Farm.  Had I discovered Susan’s work when my daughter was still an infant, I would also already own the fourth–Itty-Bitty Nursery.  I am sure I will acquire that fourth one at some point in the future just because I have such admiration for Susan’s designs.  As for the three I already own, they are all fabulous and worth adding to your knitting library.

Check back in the coming weeks for photos of all my completed, and completely adorable, “Itty-Bitty” hats!

  1. In fact, it’s so cute I’m thinking of adapting the pattern for an adult size. Who wouldn’t enjoy a little whimsy during the cold, grey days of winter? [↩]
  2. And it’s a quick and easy knit that I know I can have finished by October. [↩]
  3. The marshmallow bonnet is knitted in seed stitch with soft and lofty white yarn, resulting in a hat that resembles a fluffy marshmallow. It’s very sweet. (No pun intended!) [↩]
  4. Meaning they require less finishing work! [↩]
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