Friday 21 February 2014

Winter Headband with a Twist (Knit)

I saw someone walking down the street with a headband similar to this, and decided to make one for myself. The pattern is pretty simple, don't be put off by the single cable. I posted a picture tutorial for cabling under my last headband pattern, which you can find here. The knit 1 purl 1 ribbing on this piece makes it a bit thicker, and helps keep it flat instead of curling at the edges. Hope you enjoy the pattern! 


Materials
Worsted weight yarn
Size 8 (5mm) needles, and a spare needle

Cast on 20 stitches
Work knit 1 purl 1 ribbing until half the length of the diameter of your head (approx. 9").
Put the first 10 stitches on a spare needle and hold them to the front of your work.  K1 P1 to end of the row. Put the first 10 stitches back onto the needle, and then K1 P1 to end of row. 
Work knit 1 purl 1 ribbing until desired length. Cast off stitches, and sew the two ends together, and weave in yarns ends. 

Finished size: approx. 18" x 3"

What the piece looks like before being sewn together

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Cabled Throw Blanket (Knit)

This is my favourite go-to blanket pattern. The cables are gorgeous, and there's just enough of a pattern to keep it from getting boring. The pattern is modified from a baby blanket pattern available from redheart.com, but I added a border, and changed the size of the ribbing between cables. If you haven't tried cabling before it isn't as hard as it looks! A cabling tutorial with pictures is available on my cabled headband pattern post. If you want to make this blanket smaller for a baby, or a bigger throw blanket, then add or subtract stitches in multiples of 12. Enjoy!


Materials
Lion Brand Homespun yarn, or another bulky weight yarn (4 balls, or 20 oz total)
Size 11 (8 mm) circular needle (a slightly different size will do)
Cabling or spare needle. 


Cast on 108 stitches

Knit 10 rows

A) Row 1, 3, 5, 7

K5, *K2, P2, K6, P2*, repeat from * to * to last 7 stitches, K7


B) Row 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

K5, *P2, K2, P6, K2*, repeat from * to * to last 7 stitches, P2, K5


C) Row 9

K5, *K2, P2, C3F, P2*, repeat from * to * to last 7 stitches, K7


When desired length, knit 10 rows and then cast off, and sew in loose ends. 

Note: C3F means put 3 stitches on a spare needle and hold to the front of your work, knit 3 stitches, but the stitches from the spare needle back on the circular needle, them knit those 3 stitches.

Finished size approx. 40" x 50"


This blanket is very similar to this pattern, but with more rows in between cables