Free Patterns by TwinSet Designs
named for the angora content of the Bunny Hop yarn in which the originals were knit. This pattern is great if you have high arches and narrow ankles but strong (i.e. big!) calves. It cinches in around the ankle and then loosens up - no sliding down of your socks and no tourniquets around your calves. The reverse stockinette sole provides you with a smooth walking surface, great for those of you who dislike walking on purl bumps. The finished sock looks a bit odd until you put it on!
This helmet liner pattern is based on the several patterns that are available for knitting these invaluable items for our troops. Versions designed by others for knit or crochet can be found at http://www.geocities.com/helmetliner/ where you will also find instructions for mailing in your donations.
The existing patterns are fine patterns, but I have made a few changes which I believe improve the fit and function. And though they look fiddly-er, I actually find this pattern easier to knit. I don’t have to constantly check where I am placing my decreases or struggle to make them symmetrical. The earlier patterns give instructions to decrease either vaguely (4 locations around the face) or specifically in ways that make it hard to have a coherent design; i.e. specifying decreases at the 2:00, 4:00, 8:00 and 10:00 positions, but you end up with purls at 2 and 8 and knits at 4 and 10. What’s an obsessive compulsive knitter to do?
Rewrite the pattern, of course!
Here it is, with a neck stand of sorts added and gussets added off the sides of the neckstand to allow for a nice panel of decreases on the sides of the face opening and a smooth fit.
This cap was designed and knit for a friend of mine who was facing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. Her determination and will to win over cancer and not to let it define her was my inspiration. It’s a quick and fun knit – can be done in an evening. And, it’s a nice way to let someone know you care. The fabric is very elastic and comfortable to keep a bare head warm and casually stylish.
After finishing my wristers from Susanna Hansson’s Bohus class, I couldn’t bear to leave the scraps of yarn alone. I had enough to knit a little swatch to cover a hair clip. Here is a tutorial on how you can do the same, using any fine gauge knitting swatch.
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Super simple and speedy hat - my 2009 Sleepout for the Homeless Project. The thick/thin yarn makes an interesting fabric.
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Handed Yes, Fingered No Mitts that Fit
Take a good look at your hand. Does your thumb extend straight out to the side? Mine doesn’t. I want mitts with thumb gussets that accommodate my anatomical reality, handed mitts, designed to fit my right and left hands properly. The needed modifications are quite simple.
This pattern also incorporates a simple jogless striping technique. Simply work a round of one color followed by the next. There is no need to carry a yarn or twist ends in - the stripes form as the two spirals of color intertwine. Susan Saari of Sisu Designs Knitting and Weaving Studio in Ely, MN (sisuyarn@cpinternet.com, 218-365-6613, website at http://sisudesigns.theshoppe.com) first showed me this technique, though she acknowledges that others may have unvented it before her. You could certainly knit these in one color only, but you’d miss the interplay of knits and purls and stripes.
Jan and Ellen are identical twins who have always had an innate fashion sense. Crafting is an integral part of their lives and they stay stitched together sharing their love of knitting, family and community.