Notebook Cover

It's been a long time since I last posted, and I really can only blame Module 11, it has taken so much work, time and effort, but I am pleased to say I actually passed it! :D

Anyway, I decided to make this little cover for a notebook or a book. I am always one for taking a book away with me, but it is always a little sad when you carefully put you book in your bag, only to take it out and it's managed to worm its way under everything, and bent the pages and now your water bottle has leaked all over it...
Admittedly this cover isn't waterproof but it can protect against most things!

The material I used I got in a fat quarter pack, and I used most of two of those fat quarters.

You need four pieces of material for the case, the width approximately 11 inches and 13 inches in length. I found folding a fat quarter in half along its long edge gave me the 11 inches before trimming the top down to 13 inches.

Two of these pieces will be the outside of the case and the other two will be the inside. Using a material in between the two materials can give the case more protection, but is entirely optional. I used some childs craft felt between my layers. It used two A4 size pieces, with a strip from another piece of felt to make up the width. If you are using felt, place the felt in the portrait position, with the fabric also in that position. There will be a gap between the felt and the top of the fabric, this is okay.

So we have four pieces of fabric and two pieces of padding. I started by laying two of the pieces of fabric right side together, then on top of that, laying one piece of padding. Making sure that the edges of all three pieces are lined up, I then made a seem with a straight stitch down one side, along the bottom and along the other long side, making sure to leave the top open. Then turn it the right way around. That is one side of the case.

I repeated that with the other three pieces of material, and I had two sides done. This is the point when I couldn't decide what fabric I wanted as my lining and what I wanted as the outside. Seeing as I had two halves with one side of each I decided to sew them together so each side was different.

I've got the two sides, and still the top is unsewn. I placed the two pieces right sides together (it doesn't really matter the way I did it, but if you want the inner and outer to be different then do!) and pinned them in place before sewing the two pieces together. Now this step can be done with a sewing machine, but my sides were very thick, and I didn't want to take much away from the space inside the case with seams. So I hand stitched around the outside. Admittedly this did take longer, but I think it was worth it.

Finally with the case mostly done, I just had to finish the top on both sides. I did this by folding the two rough edges inwards, and sewing a straight stitch along the top. Not forgetting to add a ribbon half way along one edge to be able to close the case.

There are a few different ways to secure the case shut, you could add buttons, button holes or loops to hold it shut, but I felt that a ribbon would be able to accommodate different sized books and notebooks that I wanted to put in there.

Also this case isn't just limited to books, it can be used for anything that would fit inside it that you wanted to cover!

I am sorry that I didn't take any step by step photos of how I did it. I can imagine that it could become difficult to follow. I am also aware that there might be an easier way to make this, so feel free to experiment and take away from this any ideas that you might have!!

Happy Making!

Mitred Knitting: Cushion Cover

Recently I was tasked with making a knitted cushion cover. I took this as a good way to try something new, so off I went to the library and trawled through a load of books on knitting (old fashioned I know, but I love the library!) and found out about mitred knitting, and I decided to make my own pattern for a cushion cover using different colour pieces of yarn to create a square pattern with a twist!

For those who are unfamiliar with the idea of mitred knitting, it's a way to knit several pieces of yarn together with little to no sewing the parts together.

What I found out was that there is a way to make about three different shapes, a big square, and L shape, a rectangle and a little square, all with the same base pattern.

The base pattern starts with the small square and the other shapes are done by repeating the pattern of the small square.

To start with one of the following shapes needs to be knitted on its own, I started with a small square as I found it easier but there are no rules as to what you can and can't knit! After one of the squares has been knitted, the next one is knitted, but when casting on loops are made through the edge of another square. This joins the two squares together, with no sewing.

The small square pattern is:

Cast on 19 sts

Row 1 and every odd row: k to last st, sl 1 pwise wyif. (The ending to this I've explained here in my scarf pattern.)
Row 2: k8, sl1, k2tog, psso, k7, sl1 pwise wyif (17)
Row 4: k7, sl1, k2tog, psso, k6, sl1 pwise wyif (15)
Row 6: k6, sl1, k2tog, psso, k5, sl1 pwise wyif (13)
Row 8: k5, sl1, k2tog, psso, k4, sl1 pwise wyif (11)
Row 10: k4, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, sl1 pwise wyif (9)
Row 12: k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, k2, sl1 pwise wyif (7)
Row 14: k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, k1, sl1 pwise wyif (5)
Row 16: k1, sl1, k2tog, psso, sl1 pwise wyif (3)
Row 18: sl1, k2tog, psso, cut yarn and pull through last stitch to cast off.

To make any of the larger sizes the square pattern is repeated, so to make the rectangle the pattern will start:

Cast on 38.
Row 1: k38
Row 2: k8, sl1, k2tog, psso, k8, k8, sl1, k2tog, psso, k7, sl1 pwise wyif.

The 'L' shaped size has three repeats, and the large square four in the style mentioned above. I find it easier when working a square made up of more then one little square, to put stitch markers every 19 stitches, so I can easily see where to start and finish the repeat of the pattern.

Now to actually join the the squares together the second has to be knitted onto the first, this is done when casting on, as loops are pulled through the edges of the first square. Lets say we wanted to add another small square to our first small square.
To start with cast on 9 stitches on your needle, the 10th stitch should be in the corner of the square. The next 9 stitches are pulled through the edge loops of the square, under the two pieces that make the neat straight edge:

Needle passed under edge loops

When I'm casting on stitches through the first square, I always pull them through from the front, which means that the messy bit is at the back. To do this I find it easier to swap the needles over in my hands, and sort of knit the loops as if they were another stitch!

Most of the cast on rows that I knit onto other squares have a mixture of stitches both through the side of the previous square and just cast on to the needle.

Both loops and cast on

With this style of mitred knitting a huge variety of different shapes can be made, and some really nice effects achieved. The cushion case I am covering is 20 inches by 20 inches, so I had a large square to try and knit. With my tension and using double knit wool with size 9 needles, the small square measures 2 inches by 2 inches, so I drew out on square paper a large square, which was 20 squares by 20 squares on the paper, and I drew out within that square the shapes and sizes of the smaller squares made using this pattern to make the large cushion cover size!

If you are planning to make something to a specific size like a cushion cover then it would be best to knit one square with the wool and needles that you plan to use, then measure the square and you then will have an idea of how many squares and how large you need to make the final piece.

The beauty of this pattern is that when making something larger, you can plan it out and stick to the design you've planned, or just grab the needles and wool and knit whatever you decide is best next, and all variations are easy to do, and the spontaneous nature of the project can be really fun!

I haven't completely finished the cushion cover yet, but I am most of the way there, and with it laid out you can get a good idea of the finished product, I'm now excited to get it all done and put together.

The Nearly Finished Cover

A Little Bit of Bunting

Yet again I had another idea of what to do with my leftover project scraps, bunting! 

I find it cute and can be permanent or brought out for a special occasion. 

For my triangles, I used double knit yarn and a 4mm hook, although this really can be done with any sort of yarn and any hook!

Pattern:

Chain 2

Row 1: 2dc in second chain from hook, 1ch turn.

Row 2: 2dc in each dc, 1ch turn.

Row 3: 2dc in first dc, 1dc in every remaining dc, 1ch turn.

Repeat Row 3 as many times as needed. 

There is no set size to bunting triangles, they can be big, small, or all different sizes! I prefer all my triangles to be the same size, so when making them I've been comparing to other triangles that I've made so they all look the same size, even if the yarn is a different weight.

With all of your triangles made there are a couple of ways to put them all together in a string. The method I prefer is with ribbon. I have folded the ribbon in half and pinned it together and at intervals placed a triangle between the two sides of ribbon and then sewn the edges together, but I would suggest only doing that if you have a sewing machine, as a line of bunting can be quite long! 

The other option is to crochet a line to put them onto, this can be done by crocheting a string of a few rows and sewing the triangles on, or when chaining the string, chain into the top of the triangles, then work a couple of rows to give the string more strength.

Shells and Chains Crochet Snood

Recently I decided to try out a new crochet stitch, and to use up some of my sneaky yarn stash, which is getting increasingly bigger!

Foundation chain with stitch markers
to help keep count

So I came across the shell and chains pattern and it is a crochet pattern with shells, but is not as tight, and a bit more hole-y then the normal shells pattern. I used a chunky and variegated yarn from my stash, as it looked the nicest to make a snood out of. Although from this experience I don't think that a variegated yarn is the best for this pattern!

I started off with a chunky yarn and a 6.5mm hook, but this pattern can be done with any yarn and the appropriately sized hook.

The foundation chain should have a multiple of 6 chains and then another two.
I have chained 50 (8 x 6, + 2), this gave me a snood which is 125cm long which I have sewn together at the ends to create the snoodness.

Row 1 Complete

Here is the pattern:


Chain 50

Row 1: 1 dc in 2nd ch from hook, *miss next 2 ch, 1dc, (1tr, 1ch, 1tr, 1ch, 1tr) in next ch, repeat from * to the end of the row then turn.

Row 2: 4ch, 1tr in first stitch (The 4ch counts as one treble crochet and one chain), miss next tr, 1dc in next tr (this is the centre tr of the shell), *(1tr, 1ch, 1tr, 1ch, 1tr) in the next dc - between the shells - miss next tr, 1dc in centre tr, repeat from * and end with (1tr, 1ch, 1tr) in the last dc and turn.

Note: I found when chaining 4 for the second row it helped to keep a stitch marker in the third chain, which acts as the first treble, then I know without confusion where to end the third row!

Stitch marker in third chain

Row 3: 1ch (this doesn't count as a stitch!), 1dc in first tr, *(1tr, 1ch, 1tr, 1ch, 1tr) in the next dc, miss the next tr, 1dc in next tr, repeat from * until end, once the last dc has been made, 4ch for the next row.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 continuing the pattern.

For my snood I used a whole 200g ball of chunky wool, but the work measured 125cm (49 in), which is plenty long enough for a snuggly snood for a woman. By repeating row 2 and 3 you can create the snood as small or as large as you wish.

Once the snood is to length, cut a large tail from the ball, and pass it through the last remaining loop to fasten the work. Use this long tail to sew the two ends of the snood together, or if you wish make the pattern long enough to make into a scarf, then you can keep the nice scalloped edge you have created.

Finished Snood

Sewing the ends together

From my experience making this snood, I do not think that using a variegated chunky yarn is really the best way of bringing out the shape of the pattern, this I think would be done much better by using a thinner plain yarn, like double knit, and perhaps even changing colours each row. But we live and we learn!

Striped Scarf

Mr M in his scarf

A little while ago, Mr M asked me to make him a scarf for his football team. So I set about finding the right wool, and thinking about how to actually make the scarf.

I decided on using double knit wool, so the scarf wouldn't be too thick, and I used a single rib stitch. The end result was a nice scarf with the desired effect. Bellow is the pattern.

In the pattern there is an interesting finish to the edge of the scarf (sl 1 pwise wyif), this gives a smooth and neat edge to the scarf, I tend to use this when I need to create something in which the edges are most likely to be seen. The abbreviations here can be looked up in the abbreviations page in the side bar.

Here is what it actually means:
So the k1, p1 stitch is done until there is only one stitch left in the row, then like you would if you were doing a purl stitch, bring the yarn to the front of the needle. Then put the needle through the front of the stitch (like a purl) and slip the stitch from the right needle onto the left, and there you have finished the row! The stitch will be the first to be knitted on the next row, so it does not need to be worried about.

Yarn in front of needle

Needle through front of stitch

Finished row

Pattern:
Size 7 and size 9 needles (UK)
200g of DK wool
100g of colour A
100g of colour B

With size 7 needles cast on 50 sts with colour A

Row 1: (K1, P1) to last st, sl 1 pwise wyif.
Repeat row 1 for three more rows, change to size 9 needles.

Row 5: (K1, P1) to last st, sl 1 pwise wyif.
Repeat row 5 until you have 28 rows in colour A,

Switch to colour B and knit 24 rows of:
(K1, P1) to last st, sl 1 pwise wyif.

Repeat knitting stripes of 24 rows until you have 21 stripes

On the last stripe, when row 24 has been reached, switch to size 7 needles.
Knit four more rows of:
(K1, P1) to last st, sl 1 pwise wyif.

Cast off.

Tassels:
Tassels are optional in this pattern but I have included them on the scarf for Mr M, so this is how I've made them.

I started off with the two ends of the remaining yarn. In my tassels I've used both colours, but you can use only one colour if you wish, but you will have to wrap the yarn twice as much to get the same amount of tassels. I wrapped the yarn twice around my hand, cut it off the ball at the bottom, then along the same place as the ends, cut one side of the loops.

When wrapping the yarn you can wrap it around anything that has two straight edges if you don't wish to use your hand. By using something else you will be able to vary the size of tassel you make and if you are making multiple tassels then you will be able to ensure they are all the same size.

Now you should have four longish lengths of yarn, which are folded in half. With the top end of the tassel (the fold) pull it through a stitch (but not all the way) on the very edge of the scarf at the end. Once you have pulled the tassel part way through the stitch you will have a small loop on one side of the scarf and the tails on the other. Pull the tails through the loop and pull the tails so they tighten the loop around that bottom stitch. Now the tassel is attached.

On my scarf I have made 13 tassels and tried to equally space them along the bottom of the scarf, although if you made 25 tassels you would be able to place them at every other stitch along the bottom of the scarf. But the number of tassels and where you attach them is entirely down to your preference.

Crochet Magic Rings

Magic rings are something in crochet that I have struggled with for quite a while, and I've now finally got it all figured out and I feel like I need to share this.

Being left handed, I also crochet left handed (but knit right handed - go figure) which can get confusing when looking at pictures of what to do and having to flip them around!

First Step Left Handed

First Step Right Handed

So the first step is to loop the yarn around your hand (the one that you don't hold the hook in) like this:

This image is left handed, but I have flipped the image so it is right handed and also put it up, so that if anyone does get a little confused you can work it all out!

Step Two.

Then the hook should be fed under the yarn tail above the cross in the yarn. It helps to put your thumb over the cross so it all stays in place. Then grab the other loop of yarn and pull it under the tail piece.

Loop yarn pulled under the tail piece.

dc's along the ring and tail.

With this loop, chain one and that becomes the first stitch in the magic ring. I tend to put in a stitch marker on this stitch so I know where the begining of my round is when starting off a project with a magic ring. So to finish the magic ring off, double crochet (or what the pattern says) along the magic ring, around the loop and the tail.

After the double crochet's have been done and right number of stitches in your magic ring has been reached, the tail that is left sticking out can be pulled tight to create the ring.

The great thing about magic rings is that when they are pulled tight there is no hole in the middle of the ring, which you do have if you try and make a circle by chaining six or so and slip stitching them together.

Because of non-holey-ness this is often used in patterns and until recently I have been guilty of skipping the pattern if it has got a magic ring in it! But now I feel like I have mastered the magic ring, and now have the chance to take on any pattern I feel like.

Finished magic ring with hook through first stitch