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!!

YOTD: Rowan Purelife Organic Cotton DK

Hi Everyone!!! Happy Wednesday!!! Hope you are all doing well, and have entered the competition I'm running, and get the chance to win the yarn and/or book!! Today's Post is a YOTD post and it wasn't until I started researching this yarn that I realised it was discontinued. I'm still giving you the review because I know there will be lots of odd balls and ends in shops that you will come across and probably on sale, so this is perfect timing for a YOTD post about it.

Rowan Purelife Organic Cotton DK Naturally Dyed is an epic title for a ball of wool, but it is a 100% organic cotton yarn, and it has been made to ensure that everyone in the line of growing, spinning and creating the yarn gets the best money and make the best living for their families. Now normally a ball of this costs you £5.50 for 120m of DK yarn. I think this is quite a lot of money in comparison to other cotton yarns, but you are getting organic and naturally dyed. The tension of this yarn is 22sts over 30 rows over 10cm, so within the basic DK tension requirements.

My yarn cost me £1. Yep, £1 a ball, from John Lewis in Bluewater, in the odd ball bin. Mine is also faded. I have the indigo shade, and it has faded on the outside, so I am guessing if you leave your garments out or in the back of the car, then they are going to fade. However, I have 2 balls of it, and I actually don't mind the fading. The yarns are pretty much all varigated anyway so the fading doesn't really matter to me.

I like this yarn. It is soft, and surprisingly for a cotton yarn it is not too splitty when you knit it on wooden needles. On metal, it does a bit, but still it is not as bad as others so I actually love it. The colour is delicate and pretty, and I like it. Its expensive I think for what it is, but I am not an organic kinda girl. I am not going to justify my position, because each to their own. The tension is good, and I love the finished fabric. It knits well on 4mm needles, and I wouldn't go any bigger on the needles, with some cottons you can, not with this one.

Would I buy this cotton again? Actually, if I was looking for a cotton, then yes I would. I know its discontinued, but it is a lovely non-split cotton yarn, easily blocked but the colour runs. The natural dye does run a bit, not majorly, and because of the variegated it doesn't really notice. It is hand wash only and non-tumble driable so the care of the finished work is problematic. I've knit a bib from it to get a good swatch, and its cotton, so it has to be a bit absorbent.

So colours? Now the one above is a slightly faded Indigo (994) a pretty shade of blue. Others include Madder (980) a light rose pink, Brazilwood (982) a brighter rose pink, Quebracho and Cuba (983) a pale green, Lipstick Tree (985) a very bright orange, Natural (986) which looks like natural cotton, Quebracho Bark (987) which is a milk chocolate colour, Myrobolan (988) a light tan colour, Cherry Plum (989) a reddy brown, Oak Apple (990) a charcoal grey, Chrysanthamum (991) a very dusky pink, Chlorophyll (992) a light green, Oak Bark (995) a light grey, Rhubarb (996) a light yellow/ cream and finally Light Brazilwood (997) a lighter version of 982.

Now I'm off because I've already burnt one of my cakes for my Dad's birthday cake getting too involved with wool!!!! Happy 50th Birthday Daddy!!!

POTD: Baby Eyelet Cardigan

Happy Tuesday everyone!! I'm playing nurse today because the Blattman has hurt his knee- doing something silly no doubt, but he is on the sofa with his knee up and an ice pack, moaning and generally feeling sorry for himself. I'm giving him zero sympathy outwardly, but do feel a bit sorry for him- Bless!!

POTD today is the very first Raglan cardigan I knit, and is a great pattern for newbies for Raglan, and circular needles too, and is all knit flat. It has a really cute eyelet pattern, and it is very simple, so great for lace newbies too. It is only 8 pattern repeats too so it is over before you know it, and so very easy. Here is the link for the Baby Eyelet Cardigan. 

Both of these cute little cardigans took one ball of yarn, Peter Pan DK (above in brown) and Peter Pan Sweetheart (below in blue). They are lovely little knits, and also use up one of your leftover cute buttons. The pattern is easy, and worth a go. It is a small one, uses basic increases, and basic lace.

This was the first cardigan I knit all in one go, and I have now knit 16 different cardigans using the raglan increases. I love them and I am hooked completely. I actually turn down patterns that are made up of fronts and back and sleeves. I love doing it all in one go.
Just had a look at the pattern page, and there is now a new link to a crew neck version of this little cardy and I may just have to cast on one of those today- here's the link for the Crew Neck Instructions.

Have a great day everyone, and Happy Knitting!!!

YOTD: Sirdar Summer Stripes

So todays YOTD is Sirdar Summer Stripes. This yarn was released last year and is a 60% cotton 40% acrylic number which knits up in DK, tension over 10cm is 22sts by 28 rows . It hopefully then should make good knitting for summer this year too. Here are the facts, then Ill get down to some actual reviewing. You get 158m on a 50g ball of this yarn, which is pretty good meterage and it costs normally around £3.50 a ball, but todays shop of choice is Black Sheep Wool and they have it on offer for £2.99 a ball. (On a side note, Ive ordered from BSW before, they are fantastic, great customer service and very quick delivery.)

The yarn is another self striping yarn, and the colours are muted and more washed out than others, they look like they might have been washed a few times first. There are a few of my stitches without colour at all. The colours are quite pretty, and the cardy knit below was from one ball. This yarn is a bit hard but it is very easy to knit with. It doesnt split like the normal cotton yarns that I have been testing and I enjoyed knitting with it. The stitch definition is good and creates a nice knitted fabric. I blocked the cardy, and it didnt get any softer, but the colours didnt run so I was impressed. It is not like a normal cotton yarn, it holds together well and isnt heavy. I like it. I am not a fan of self stripers- im way too fussy about matching for that, but this is probably one of the best. I did enjoy it for this pattern where I didnt have to worry about matching anything up, and I enjoyed seeing the ball unravel and the colours reveal themselves. This yarn is also machine washable! Hooray for machine washable yarns! So would I buy this one again? Actually for a one ball knit, yes I would.

Again, I only have one colour today in this yarn, but this colour Tequila Sunrise (310) is one of 9 created by Sirdar. Calypso (317) is a stripy mix of reds, yellows, blues and pinks. Tropicana (316) is more blue and green but still has the pinks, yellow and white. Sombrero (315) is orange, blue, yellow, green and a number of other smaller stripes of colour too. Margarita (314) is pink primarily mixed with an aqua green and a lighter green. This colour is probably my favourite of the lot, but I am quite a pink girl. Oasis (312) is very lilac and blue. Some of these colours have so many different coloured stripes, but Oasis is much more bluey purple, like denim really. Pina Colada (311) is more beige and green, which a few yellow and purple stripes. Blue/Green/Sand (309) does not have the fantastic tropical names of its followers but does what is says on the tin, as does the two final colours Khaki/Purple/Mustard (308) and Tan/Orange/Purple (307).

I have now decided to let the Blattman way in on these. As he isnt a knitter, you are going to probably get exactly what he thinks!! He thinks this one is rough to touch and that the yarn is washed out, and makes it look a bit old before you have worn it. He says however it looks good knitted up. He is concise if nothing else!!!

Hope to see you tomorrow for another YOTD, and whatever else I get up to. Off to Westfield Stratford tomorrow so who knows what the odd ball bin in John Lewis might hold for me

YOTD: Peter Pan Sweetheart

Hi Everyone!! Hope we are all doing well. Thanks to my lovely Ladies over on Rav, I am going to get better at this reviewing malarky, and they have given me so many tips on what they want to know about their yarn and their knits that hopefully I can be the best reviewer on the web- then (pay attention yarn companies) I can get sent lots of free yarn!! Oh, and be incredibly useful to knitters everywhere!!!!

So todays YOTD is Peter Pan Sweetheart. Now the 2 particular balls I started with were gifted to me by my mum. Where I say gifted, I mean she really didnt like it. But I'll go into that later. Lets start with the essentials. A 50g ball will afford you 158 yrds and its tension over 10cm is 22sts x 31 rows on 4mm needles. This is another DK yarn, and it is a 45% cotton 55% acrylic blend. A ball of this will cost you about £3-£3.10 depending on where you find it.

Now this yarn is soft, but I am just not a fan. It is designed primarily for babies, and Peter Pan are normally my staple baby yarn but this is just not my favourite. As you can see from the swatch above the stitch definition is a bit off, its splitty and it kinda pulls as you knit it. (Watch out for all those technical terms there!!) It is soft, but not in a dreamy baby sort of way, it has a bit of a scratch to it. It blocks quite nicely, and does become softer with blocking. As you can see from below, I knit some lace with it, which is the ultimate test for blocking and it did come out quite nicely. It is machine washable, on 30, which is always a bonus. I am torn really on whether or not to like it or not.

Now I didn't buy this yarn so the major question is going to be would I? If I am totally honest, No. I just wasn't a fan. I found it too splitty and the stitch definition wasnt perfect enough for me for such a smooth yarn. The same reason it found its way into my stash in the first place. For the just under a ball I have left, I will probably use it for something Im not so bothered about keeping, maybe bibs, small hats or washcloths. I wish I could tell you all I love it, and rave about it, but above anything with this reviewing I want to be honest.

All the colours in this particular yarn are solid colours, and the one above is called Dove (1607). It is a bluey grey and is a nice colour for anyone. The colour hasn't run on washing and it seems to have retained its colour well. There are seven colours available in the range at the moment, and along with Dove, there are Primrose (1604) which is a pale yellow/cream, Blush (1603) which is a very baby pink, Poppy (1608) which is a bright red, Mallow (1605) which is a pale lilac, Cloud (1602) which is a pale baby blue and Atlantic (1606) which is a deep blue (not bright, just a dark blue).

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow, and as always, your comments are always welcome, and thankyou all for reading and enjoying!!

YOTD: Patons Mirage DK

So yesterday's post went down well, so I am going to continue YOTD and hopefully you will find it useful!!

Today's yarn is Patons Mirage DK. (No, I'm not sponsored by Patons either, just remembered that yesterdays was a Patons yarn too- tomorrows will be different I promise!) Mirage is a 50% Cotton 50% Bamboo Viscose yarn, and knits to DK. You get 120m/131yrds on your 50g ball, and a 50g ball is around £3.90 a ball. I bought this ball in John Lewis at Bluewater, and fortunately found it in the odd ball bin, and found 4 at the end of a dye lot. I paid £1.75 a ball.

Patons Mirage DK comes in 10 different colourways, and each one is a mix of colours. The colourway I have is called Bright Blue Mix (shade 00082) and in the colourway is red, dark blue, light sky blue, white and green. As you knit through the ball more and more colours arise. This is great if you are knitting a one piece item, but for me, I just cannot have sleeves that don't match so I had to roll some off a ball to get the right pattern on the sleeves. Luckily I had spares. You can see the colours best in the cardigan I knit below. It is the Puerperium Cardigan which can be found on Ravelry. 

The yarn could be described as splitty, as it is quite a soft yarn, but it is nice and knits up well, the stitch definition is good. It is machine washable and again dry flat. I still recommend this for all knits, dry them flat, and lay them out, they will thank you and always keep in good shape. I was happy with this yarn, and I was surprised with the number of colours as you go through the ball, and if you have a one ball knit, then this is a great yarn. Due to my inability to have unmatching fronts or sleeves on a cardy or item, the striping was too irregular for my liking. Love the yarn, not sure I'd buy it again.

There are 9 other colours available in this particular yarn, some are very light and delicate colours and some are much more bright. Alongside my blue mix above, there are three other bright mixes. Jamaica (86) is purple, black and yellow and Exotic (80) is blue, pink, yellow and orange. Sea Mix (89) is another of the brighter shades and features many shades of blue, from a navy to a light sky blue. The rest are lighter mixes, much more muted colours. Soft Blue Mix (85) is pretty much as it says on the tin, various shades of light blues and yellows. Soft Pink Mix (83) is light shades of pink, yellow and grey. Purple Mix (84) is light shades of purple, green and blue. Lemon Mix (90) is pink and yellow and again a very light shade. Natural Mix (91) is made up of shades of light browns and greys, and lastly Violet Mix (88) is a mix of light purple, blues and greens. (Again Deramores is a great place to see the swatches for these colours, maybe if I mention them enough they might send me yarn- is that wishful thinking?!?!?!!)

I was very lucky to get to go to John Lewis yesterday too and found more bargains in their odd ball bin. As you probably know, I tend to only knit one or two ball knits, because I get a bit bored!!! This makes an odd ball bin a wonder to me. I will be sharing lots more as I knit them up.

I hope to get a YOTD every day, but because I want to knit them up first to give you all the best idea of how they knit up, the stitch definition and all the colours I own in that particular yarn it might take me more than a day.

Please please let me know if they are useful, or if there are any other things you want me to add to my reviews that would be useful to you