Baby Hats Off!! POTD

Hey everyone! Happy Thursday, its horrible again and rainy so I think that sunny spell was a bit of a weird spell. Hope we are all doing well out there. Today I am going to do a bit of a POTD because we have been sharing a lot of different patterns in our group on Ravelry and it has been making me grab my needles and cast on.

This little hat was recommended to me because it is so simple, and so easy and has made up the staple of many of my friends project lists. This is Little Boy Blue Ribbed Baby hat, which is actually in my case Little Baby Cream, but is a cute ribbed hat which is great for a new knitter, learning to purl

Here is mine:

It is knit with some of the leftover from my ripple cotton blanket- Stylecraft Special Aran in Cream on 4.5mm needles. This was the last of my non-pink knits so pretty much everything you will see this month will be pink- different shades mind you, but pink.

Have a great day all, I will be spending the rest of my evening here making sure my hair does not resemble Sideshow Bob now it has been cut short again and watching Great British Menu! Oh and finishing off knitting with Sirdar Snowflake- that could be a bigger task than taming the aforementioned hair!!!

POTD: Fable Fingerless Mitts

Hi everyone, Happy Sunday!!! It is an absolutely beautiful day here in the South and we are really enjoying it. We bought our new garden storage yesterday and the Blattman spent the rest of the afternoon knocking the old one down and building the new one. It looks fantastic in the garden now, we are really enjoying the sun and relaxing. I start working 6 days a week for the next three weeks so I will be rushing about and working hard so I apologise if there will be a few days without posts.

Today's POTD is a fingerless mitts pattern, and this does seem a little ridiculous on such a warm day, but its what I'm going with so bear with me. Its a small pattern so you might fancy knitting small projects on these warm days, plus you can get a few finished objects in before the christmas rush and have all your presents made and finished and you can relax!!

The Fable Fingerless Mitts is a pattern originally knit in Cotton, but you can use any DK to knit these, they also come in two sizes, small and medium, and you can make use of some very pretty buttons on the cuff. I knit these in Silk, so they are so pretty and soft, but I have yet to add my button band.

I knit these using the small size, because I have very small hands- yep even my motorcycle gloves are child size (in my defence a big child size!) These are a nice fit. And this yarn is beautiful, and these were knit with one skein so I can afford to use some of my more expensive, pretty yarn. These would make a great present, and knitted in any yarn they would be great

Have a great day everyone!

POTD: Feather and Fan Baby Hat (and Booties)

Happy Wednesday Everyone!! Not such a happy Wednesday for the Blattcave thanks to the people at British Gas!!! I will be using the good old comparison sites today to sort them out!!

Today's POTD is Feather and Fan Baby Hat, and you get the bonus matching booties pattern too on the same page. I have knit this in a pink variegated Peter Pan DK that was in my stash. It is a knit flat pattern, unlike a lot of my others that I just knit flat anyway!! It is also a top down pattern that I haven't really come across much in hat knitting, so it was something different for me to work with. It also includes a very simple feather and fan pattern which is fantastic for any new lace knitters, there is only a 4 row pattern repeat and only one of those is a lace row.

There is also a bootie pattern that matches this little hat, and that pattern is free too so if anything that is a great thing. You can make a matching set for a new baby, and it will take less than a ball of yarn to do so. Find one of my amazing £1 odd ball bin finds and that is one seriously cheap, but absolutely amazing present. The hand knitted ones are always the best. (I know I know, I'm Bias!!)

Have a great day everyone!!

POTD: Lace-Edged Woman's Hat

Hi All!!! hope you are all well.

Today's POTD is the Lace-Edged Woman's hat. I found this lovely hat on Ravelry, and used some of the James C Brett Twinkle that I love! And I completely love this colour too. The hat pattern is made on 4mm needles with a DK yarn of your choice, and I love all the finished objects with a variety of different yarns, each one shows the lovely lace pattern perfectly.

This is a great pattern, and I can see me creating a scarf and gloves using the same lace pattern to create a set. The yarn is beautiful and there is a lot of lovely sparkle which isn't too scratchy either. If I had to change anything on the pattern, I would add some extra length for my big head!!! It comes just to my ears and looks frankly ridiculous!!!! There is no way I would post a pic of me looking that silly- I also have a pic of my step-dad in it too, and he actually looks even more ridiculous than me, which is really going some!! This one will probably go to charity as we are a big headed family thats for sure!!!!

Have a great day all!!

POTD: Impossibly Large Impossibly Simple Shawl

Hi All!! Happy Wednesday!!

Today's POTD is the Impossibly Large Impossibly Simple Shawl and they do not lie. This is a great beginners Shawl. It is normally knit on 10mm needles, but for the Picasso one I have made below, I used 7mm needles. You knit the shawl and then on the last row of the pattern, before you cast off, you drop a stitch across the row in the pattern. This stitch drops creates the ladders and makes the shawl even bigger. There is an eyelet pattern up the centre and around the edge of the shawl too.

This is a lovely pattern and I have made 3 of these so far, and I love them. They can use any weight of yarn and really any size needles, maybe 4-5 sizes bigger than recommended. You can also see the lovely pattern that comes from this beautiful yarn, it is made with the same yarn as my feather and fan blanket. I just love its softness and its patterning. I cannot wait to use the blue version I have of this yarn too- just need to find the right pattern for it.

Have a great day all!!!

Pattern: Birthday Present Frilled Apron

Hi Everyone!!! Happy Monday!! So today instead of a pattern of the day like I normally do, I am going to publish one of my own designs for you all to knit. I knit this for my mum's birthday and it is a great apron. My mum loves waist aprons- so no bib, and I always buy, or make, or knit one for her at least once a year. I have sewn them and knit them, and this is the pattern for my frilled apron. Here it is- being fetchingly modelled by my mum- now I know she doesn't like this photo so I apologise now, but its the only one I've got, so I'll replace it when she takes a new one!! (nothing like a bit of parental bribery!!)

So this is knit in Sirdar Juicy, a DK yarn made from 80% Bamboo and 20% cotton. It is therefore pretty absorbent and of course washable- which really is a good thing for an apron. I used some cotton fabric for the ties and sewed the apron to the cotton across the top. There are plenty of other absorbent and washable yarns, I would recommend anything with a cotton content, they have a good drape like this one too. 

You knit the main piece and frill in one go and then sew on a pocket and pocket frill separately. You could miss out the pocket if you don't need/want one.

So You Will Need

Approximately 4 balls of Sirdar Juicy (95m per ball) in orange, and 1 ball in a contrast colour, here it is pink.

4mm needles

Cotton Fabric for ties

Needle for sewing up.

Abbreviations

sts- Stitches

K- Knit

gt st- garter stitch (knit every row)

kfb- knit into the front and back of the stitch, to increase

Pattern

Main Piece

Cast on 80 stitches in main colour

Garter Stitch (Knit every row) until piece measures 14 inches or 35cm or until your desired length. (14 inches came to my mum's mid thigh and she has long legs so you might want to go a bit longer)

Change to second/contrast colour**

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: Knit

Row 3: K

Row 4: K

Row 5: Kfb in every stitch (160 sts)

Rows 6-8: K

Row 9: *K1, kfb* to end (240 sts)

Rows 10-12: K

Cast off K wise

Pocket- Optional

Cast on 40 stitches in main colour

Garter Stitch (knit every row) to desired length for your pocket (on the one above it was 6 inches)

Cast off

Sew to front of apron

Frill for Pocket

Cast on 40 sts

Follow the main pattern from ** to end to create frill.

Sew the frill to the front of the pocket.

For the ties, I used a strip of gingham cotton and sewed it to the back of the apron to give long ties. You can knit ties by casting on the number of stitches you need for width- around 10-15 should be perfect, and then garter stitch until they are the right length for you. If you do make sure you strengthen the ties with some cotton fabric to prevent them over stretching.

I hope you like the pattern and enjoy knitting it. It is a beginners pattern, and should be easy to do. Email or comment if you have any problems, and I'll do my best to sort them out. I have not had this pattern tested, so let me know if there are any problems.

POTD: Easy-Peasy Baby Bibs

Hi Everyone!!! Happy Thursday!! Sorry there wasn't a post yesterday, but I had a meeting for publicity photographs yesterday morning (that sounds a whole lot more professional than it was I assure you) and then we helped my step-brother and his partner and my baby nephew move home. We worked non-stop and they were all moved in and could actually sit down on the sofa and sleep in their bed so that is a winner in my book! It was a hard days work, but worth it and we are finally even now for my step-brother painting my living room!!

I'm keeping with what would be the pattern for these posts so today will be a POTD, and the YOTD will wait until Sunday. So today's pattern of the day will be Easy-Peasy Baby Bibs. These are perfect for going out, and for using up those leftover bits of cotton. They don't take much yarn to make and only one button, so they are great little stash busters.

I used the Rowan Purelife cotton for these and they have come out really well. I am really pleased with the finished result. For this particular pattern I used 4mm needles and I cast on 35 sts rather than the 25 in the pattern because I wanted them to be a bit wider. If you are using bigger needles and a more aran/worsted weight yarn then stick with the pattern. I also added another buttonhole on the neck strap. So those are my changes to the pattern which made the one above mostly because I was using a thinner cotton than the recommended.

Today I am working on some recycling fabric. I have some fleece pjs that are hardly worn because they are too short in the leg. So I am taking them apart for the fabric and will be using them for fabric for all sorts of things. They will be perfect blanket backs too.
Have a lovely day everyone!!

POTD: Newborn Hospital Hat

Well, Happy Bank Holiday Monday Everyone!!! Hope you are all well. I am prepping for the drawing of the competition tomorrow- remember it finishes at midnight tonight and I'll be publishing the names tomorrow in my blog post from work, so get excited!! Of course, I have had to organise some sort of hat to draw the names from, and if it wasn't knitted then that would just be silly!! That has inspired today's POTD. Now these little baby hats aren't quite big enough to pick the names out, but they are still so blooming cute, and perfect for little ones, and for gifts.

The Hospital Hat pattern uses up all those leftovers from the balls you have used to knit the cardigans. You can knit a matching set for a gift and with minimal effort and yarn. This hat is also so so quick, so emergency knits for mums-to-be are no longer a problem. These also knit up with any DK which can be shown in my picture below!! I've knit them to match most of the little cardigans that I have knit.

As you can see I've made them above in Wendy Bambino, Sirdar Snuggly and in Sublime Baby Silk and Bamboo. They are all roughly the same size on 4mm needles. The silk one is the smallest but it is still about newborn size, and feels like a dream!!

With the Baby Silk and Bamboo and Snuggly I also added the pattern rows from the cardigan I knit so that they would match. It was a perfect fit too for the pattern and I'm really pleased with the end result. I also know that this pattern is a great basic one and therefore you can add whatever pattern you need. I also like this because instead of rib they have a garter stitch band, and this then also matches all the other garter stitch parts of my cardigan.

This hat was knit on 4.5mm needles instead using Wendy Bamboo and this has really made a great hat and slightly bigger than the newborn size, but I've heard that babies do have a habit of growing so that is probably a useful thing!!!

Have a great rest of the bank holiday, and enjoy yourselves all. I'm knitting another little cardigan in a lovely soft cashmere blend- its lovely- so that's what the rest of my day is shaping up like. My mum seems to have decided crochet is the new black so that's what she is up to- makes me want to pick up my hook again and make another blanket- but we will see. The lure of the needles is certainly strong!!

POTD: Little Sugar Mouse

Happy Thursday Everyone!! Hope you are all well today. We are back to the miserable weather, but it is so perfect for knitting and staying warm and dry so I'm Happy. I have been knitting away with a yarn that I love the end result but HATE knitting and will feature on the next YOTD but today I am sharing with you a really cute little toy pattern that I knit up for my Grandma and it is so quick and easy.

This little Sugar mouse has been made from a pattern by PhoenixKnits on Ravelry. She specialises in a variety of fun creatures and a lot of the Harry Potter Characters too- Hagrid and a gorgeous Hippogriff. Even a Fraggle!! This little mouse uses basic techniques, and uses I-Cord for the tail. I was totally afraid of I-Cord before I tried it, and now I love it as a technique. You use 2 DPNs (Double Pointed Needles) and instead of turning the yarn like you normally would to purl the back, you simply slide your stitches to the other end of the DPN and knit. I am going to feature I-Cord in my Techniques Saturday soon so hopefully you can pick it up there. Don't be scared of it, it is good and easy, and you will find lots of things to use it on.

Tomorrow is Book Review Friday, so I hope to see you all then, and of course, don't forget to enter the competition and win either yarn or a Jean Greenhowe book that has been out of print for years!!

POTD: Puerperium Cardigan

Finally the Sun Shines!!!!! Happy Monday Everyone!!! Hope you are all well, and today because the sun is shining I'm sharing my most favourite pattern for baby clothes, and then we can move on to other things to knit- I promise!! I have knit three of these so far, and I really think there will be another in due course. They are so easy and make the cutest little cardy!!!

Puerperium is designed for little ones, about 8lbs-11lbs. However every time I knit this I get a different size. I have knit it on the recommended 4mm needles twice, one in Mirage DK- a cotton yarn, and in Trentino- an acrylic yarn. The cotton one is bigger because of the yarn, but both are really cute and I guarantee that with 5 siblings between us we are bound to have a little one that will fit each one.

This is the Mirage DK version, with some red buttons from my stash. You use circulars and stitch markers like the other knits and it is so quick and fab. The one below is made from Trentino and again some buttons from my stash.

I've also knit this pattern on 4.5mm needles using pink Bambino, and it has made a bigger cardigan and it is very snuggly too.

I seriously cannot recommend this pattern enough. It is so simple to knit, cute and makes a great little knit for anyone expecting. If you only knit one pattern of all of these baby knits, knit this one.

Come back tomorrow because it will be the start of my competition!!! I have two prizes to win and I am really excited, and I hope you will all come and take a chance at winning!!

POTD: Seamless Yoked Baby Cardigan

Happy Thursday! Well it is blooming miserable here that's for sure!! Today was one of those mornings where you get up and check your shed (and rather rickety fence panel) is still there. It is still raining and blowing a gale out there and who would have thought it was nearly May? Oh well, this is most definitely knitting weather, and that has got to be a good thing!!! So what have I been up to? Well at the moment I am knitting a feather and fan blanket I started last year and I figured I better actually get that finished. Doing these YOTDs are definitely making me fish through all the UFOs in my cupboard (no nothing flying, UFO means UnFinished Object).

So here is pattern of the day. I have featured this cardigan pattern on the last couple of YOTD and I have really loved it. It has made a really sweet little cardigan, which is different to the normal basic cardigans with a patterned yoke. The designer, Carol Barenys, has designed a lot of different baby knits including preemie knits, and also has a variety of different designs on her website, Carol's Baby Knits. This particular pattern is for the Seamless Yoked Baby Cardigan. Here are my two versions of the cardigan, minus buttons. I'm still trying to find the perfect ones, so please excuse their clear non-existence!!

This first one is knit using Sirdar Snuggly DK in white. It is a very soft, very cute little cardigan. I don't really have any babies to size this up against, well we do but he was a preemie and his sizing is a little bit misleading!!! The pattern states it is probably a newborn to 3 month size, and the pattern also makes a 3-6 month size.

This is my second one in Sublime Baby Silk and Bamboo DK in Juicy, or a subtle lime green. The pattern is knit on circular needles like all the other raglan increase cardigans I have been featuring and includes a cute little pattern on the yoke, bottom of the cardigan, and around the wrists on the sleeves. The pattern states you can leave the ones of the bottom if you are making for a little boy. The pattern is quite a girly one, but it is really cute that's for sure. It is well written and if you just follow the pattern row by row, which is how it is written, it is really simple.

Have a lovely day everyone, and I do hope your weather is better than ours!!