Author Archives: hardielander

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Hair Band Bun Cover

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This pattern does not have the two lines of knit stitches right next to each other like this picture does… I fixed it so the pattern repeats evenly. But it was the only good picture I was able to get!

Yarn:

Worsted weight

I used wool for the stretchiness but have found that less stretchy yarn (like cotton) still works.

Needles:

US size 5

I prefer magic loop on circular but straight needles should work fine

Key:

k – knit

yo – yarn over

sl – slip one stitch knitwise

k2tog – knit two stitches together

psso – pass slipped stitch over the following stitch

ssk – slip two stitches knitwise and then knit them together

Cast on 56 stitches around a hair band:

This is the fun part. It works kind of like a crochet cast on.

Tie the end of the yarn to the hair band. You don’t need much of a tail. You’ll just be weaving it in later.

Holding the working yarn as you normally would, stick the tip of the right needle through the hair band as if it was a very large stitch.

Wrap the working yarn around the needle and pull it through like a normal knit stitch.

Now wrap the working yarn around the needle again and using the left needle if you need to, pull it through the loop you’ve made. Now you have one stitch on the needle and around the hair band!

Once you’ve cast on all of them, mark the beginning of the round.

If you need to cast on more for a larger size, use multiples of 4 for the pattern. You may need to experiment with the decrease rounds to get it to look a way that makes you happy.

Pattern rounds:

Repeat four times. More if you want a bigger bun cover or less if you want a smaller one.

  1. Knit around
  2. yo, k1, yo, sl, k2tog, psso – repeat all the way around
  3. Knit around
  4. sl, k2tog, psso, yo, k1, yo – repeat all the way around

Decrease rounds:

  1. Knit around
  2. k1, sl, k2tog, psso – repeat to end with 28 stitches
  3. Knit around
  4. Knit the first stitch in the round and slip it next to the last stitch. Starting with the second stitch (which is now the first) ssk all the way around – end with 14 stitches
  5. Knit around
  6. Break yarn and use a darning needle to run the tail through the stitches purlwise as you take them off the needles. Run the tail through again once or twice and pull tight. I like to make a little knot. Weave in the ends and you’re done!

You are welcome to distribute this pattern and use the ideas included and gift or sell whatever you make from it. But if you distribute it, please do so as a whole, with attribution and this info included. Thanks!


This work by Suzanne Lander is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

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Peppermint Drops

20171122_112306.jpg

I made these using the pattern below with a few tweaks. Instead of a yarn over,  I increased with a make one. I started with the white yarn for one repeat before changing to the red yarn. After that I knit one repeat in red and two in white until I had 15 repeats. That’s one less than the pattern called for but it worked. The last white section is only one repeat so it makes two when stitched or grafted to the first.

I have yet to figure out how to make the middle look nice. If you have any ideas leave them in the comments!

Smaller Short Row Dishcloth

with perfectly placed kitchener graft

IMG_20171110_095216

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Materials

Worsted weight cotton

Size 7 needles

Darning needle

Once I’ve washed these they come out about 7 inches across.

Basic Pattern

Cast on 12 stitches

*

  1. Knit
  2. K3, YO, K7
  3. Turn, Slip1 and knit back
  4. K3, YO, K6
  5. Turn, Slip1 and knit back
  6. K3, YO, K5
  7. Turn, Slip1 and knit back
  8. Cast off 3 stitches, knit to end of row
  9. Turn and knit back (no slipped stitch)

Repeat rows 2-9 15 more times. Cut a long tail to stitch together the beginning and ending edges and then run through the bumps of the stitches around the center hole and cinch it up. Weave in the ends around and around through the center stitches. 

* For a perfectly placed kitchener graft

Start with a provisional cast on and skip row 1. On the last repeat stop on row 8 after casting off the first three stitches. Then put the first row of stitches back on another needle and kitchener stitch the two sides (there should be 12 stitches on each side).

To kitchener stitch in garter stitch, which is a little different than doing it in stockinette, start by cutting the yarn about 4 times as long as the length to be stitched together. Hold the needles next to each other and using a darning needle, run the yarn through the first stitch on the needle closest to you pearlwise. Then run it through the first stitch on the back needle pearlwise.

Then:

  1. Run the yarn through the first stitch on the front needle knitwise and slip that stitch off the needle. Then run the yarn through the next stitch on the front needle pearlwise.
  2. Run the yarn through the first stitch on the back needle knitwise and slip that stitch off the needle. Then run the yarn through the next stitch on the back needle pearlwise.

Repeat 1 and 2 until all stitches are off the needles.

Here’s a YouTube video from KnittingHelp.com to get an idea of what this looks like.

Run the leftover tail through the bumps of the stitches around the center hole and cinch it up.  Then you can weave in the ends around and around through the stitches in the center.

You are welcome to distribute this pattern and use the ideas included and gift or sell whatever you make from it. But if you distribute it, please do so as a whole, with attribution and this info included. Thanks!

Creative Commons License
This work by Suzanne Lander is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Lone Star Shawl

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“You can drive all day and still be in Texas.” From the Piney Woods in the east to the mountains in the west, the desert, plains, hill country, and ocean, there’s a lot to see in Texas. This pattern started for me with a curiosity as to whether I could make a five pointed star as a center for a shawl and continued on from there inspired by the different landscapes I’ve lived in and passed through in my home state.

I don’t think I’m going to be able to get the charts up on the website for this one. I may at some point in the future. But the whole pattern is written out here, either way.

Gauge: 8 stitches and 10 rows over 2 inches square in stockinette before blocking
blocked to a diameter of 56 inches

Yarn: 1200 yards, fingering weight

Key:

k g knit

p h purl

yo j yarn over

m1 ; bar increase – make one by knitting into the front of a stitch, leaving it on the needle while knitting into the back of the same stitch

k2tog c knit two stitches together

ssk x slip two stitches knitwise onto the right needle, slip the left needle through the other side of the stitches and then knit the stitches together

sl1, k2tog, psso v slip one stitch knitwise, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over

* slip the last stitch from the previous round to use as the first stitch of the sl1, k2tog, psso at the beginning of the next round

a Blank squares in the chart are place holders that aren’t part of the pattern.

+ The increases are not spaced evenly throughout the pattern, so it might be difficult to add diameter just by doing more repeats. But if you want to try, you could probably get away with adding an 8 row repeat just after row 58. Start with repeating row 27 and then knit around repeating this pattern: sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo, k1, yo, k3. You could also probably repeat rows 78 through 93 before going on to row 94.

Blue squares just mark the beginning of repetitions on the chart.

Cast on: 10 stitches in the round. Repeat instructions for each round all the way to its end.

Chart 1:
1 join and knit around
2 m1 for each stitch using bar increases
3 and all unmarked odd rounds following… knit around
4 m1, k2, m1
6 m1, k4, m1
8 m1, k6, m1
10 m1, k8, m1
12 m1, k10, m1
14 m1, k12, m1
16 m1, k14, m1
18 m1, k16, m1
20 k1, yo, k19, yo
22 (k1,yo) 2 times, ssk, k15, k2tog, yo, k1, yo
24 k1, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k13, k2tog, yo, k3, yo
26 k1, yo, k5, yo, ssk, k11, k2tog, yo, k5, yo
27 knit around to last stitch, slip last stitch – this slipped stitch is now the first slipped stitch in the next round
28 sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k1, yo, ssk, k9, k2tog, yo, k2, (yo, k1)2 times, k2
29 repeat 27
30 sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k3, yo, ssk, k7, k2tog, yo, k4, (yo, k1)2 times, k2
31 repeat 27
32 sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k5, yo, ssk, k5, k2tog, yo, k6, (yo, k1)2 times, k2
33 repeat 27
34 sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k7, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k8, (yo, k1)2 times, k2
36 k1, yo, k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k4, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k5, (yo, k1)2 times, k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo
38 k1, yo, k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k6, yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k7, (yo, k1)2 times, k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo
40 (k1, yo, k3, s1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo)4 times
42 repeat 40
43 repeat 27

44 sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k8, (yo, k1)2 times, k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k2
45 repeat 27
46 sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k10, (yo, k1)2 times, k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k2
47 repeat 27
48 sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k2, ssk, k3, k2tog, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, (yo, k1)2 times, k2
49 repeat 27
50 repeat 48
52 (k1, yo, k3, s1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo)2 times, k1, yo, k3, yo, (k1, yo, k3, s1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo)2 times
54 (k1, yo, k3, s1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo)2 times, k1, yo, k5, yo, (k1, yo, k3, s1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo)2 times
56 (k1, yo, k3, s1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo)2 times, k1, yo, k7, yo, (k1, yo, k3, s1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo)2 times
58 (k1, yo, k3, s1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo)2 times, k1, yo, k2, ssk, k1, k2tog, k2, yo, (k1, yo, k3, s1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo)2 times
+

Chart 2:
60 k1, yo, k9, yo
61-63 knit around
64 k4, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k3
66 k3, k2tog, (yo, k1)3 times, yo, ssk, k2
68 k2, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k5, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k1
70 k1, k2tog, (yo, k1)3 times, ssk, k1, k2tog, (k1, yo)3 times, ssk
71 repeat 27
72 sl1, k2tog, psso, (yo, k1)3 times, ssk, ssk, k1, k2tog, k2tog, (k1, yo)3 times
75 purl
77 purl

Chart 3:
78 (k1, yo)3 times, (ssk)3 times, k1, (k2tog)3 times, (yo, k1)2 times, yo
79 knit
80-89 repeat 78-79 five times
91 purl
93 purl
+
94-103 repeat 78-79 five times
104 (k1, yo)2 times, k15, (yo, k1)2 times, yo

Chart 4:
107 k1, yo, k1, ssk, k8
108 k2, yo, k1, ssk, k7
109 k3, yo, k1, ssk, k6
110 k4, yo, k1, ssk, k5
111 k5, k2tog, k1, yo, k4
112 k4, k2tog, k1, yo, k5
113 k3, k2tog, k1, yo, k6
114 k2, k2tog, k1, yo, k7
115 k9, k2tog, k1, yo
116 k8, k2tog, k1, yo, k1
117 k7, k2tog, k1, yo, k2
118 k6, k2tog, k1, yo, k3
119 k5, yo, k1, ssk, k4
120 k6, yo, k1, ssk, k3
121 k7, yo, k1, ssk, k2
122 k8, yo, k1, ssk, k1
125 (yo, k2tog) repeat to end of round
126 knit

Bind off: Insert crochet hook knit-wise into first stitch, and wrap yarn around hook as if to knit. Pull yarn through the stitch. Work the next stitch the same way, so you have two stitches on the hook. Wrap and pull yarn through both stitches. Continue working the next stitch from left needle and then pulling the loop through both stitches that leaves on the hook. At the end, break yarn and pull it all the way through the last loop.

You are welcome to distribute this pattern and use the ideas included and gift or sell whatever you make from it. But if you distribute it, please do so as a whole, with attribution and this info included. Thanks!

Creative Commons License
This work by Suzanne Lander is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Little Poseable Dolls

goofy knitted dolls     

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This is a good project for scrap yarn. I used worsted weight or a little lighter and size 4 or 5 needles. Basically, you want to use needles small enough for you to get a fairly tight fabric so you can stuff the doll without the stuffing showing or coming through the fabric.

What you’ll need: A few yards of yarn, circular or double pointed needles for knitting I-cord and knitting in the round, a stitch holder, waste yarn or fluff for stuffing, darning needle for dealing with ends, and twist ties from a bread bag or what have you for making arms and legs poseable.

Cast on 4 stitches and knit I-cord for 20 rows to make a leg (or however long you want it… that goes for all measurements). Set this leg aside on a stitch holder and repeat to make the second leg (if you like, you can cast on two sets of 4 stitches with two balls of yarn – or the two ends of one ball – and knit both legs at once).

Once both legs are finished, put them on the same needle and knit across both with the same working yarn for 8 stitches total. Work a couple of twist ties into the legs if you want to make the doll poseable. If you have trouble, pull them through with a darning needle as if they were yarn.

Separate the stitches on different needles or parts of your circulars for knitting in the round and join.

Continue knitting for 10 rounds to make the body. Leave the tail of yarn left over from the first leg to sew up the crotch later.

Once you’ve finished the body, separate the stitches again to make the arms so you have 4 stitches on one needle with the working yarn at the left side of the stitches for knitting I-cord and 4 stitches on a stitch holder (or you could work them both at the same time again with separate balls of yarn…)

Start the I-cord arm with k1, k2tog, k1 to get to 3 stitches total.

Continue knitting I-cord for 15 rows. Break thread and run the end of the yarn back through the stitches and pull tight to bind off.

Put the next 4 stitches back on your needles and repeat arm instructions for second arm.

This is where I like to go ahead and stuff a little fluff or waste yarn into the body. Then you can work twist ties (or one longer one) into the arms to make them poseable.

For the head, pick up 4 stitches from arm to arm on the front of the doll and 4 stitches in back.

K4, k1 front and back, k4, k1 front and back for 10 stitches total.

Knit around

K5, k1 front and back, k5, k1 front and back for 12 stitches total.

Knit around until you think the head is big enough. I usually do two or three more rounds. You can even work more rounds of increases, if you like.

Now or at the next row is a good time to stuff the head.

K2tog all the way around to get 6 stitches total (if you made more increases, you will have to have more rounds like this, so take that into account when figuring out how big your doll’s head will be – either way, you want to end up with about 6 stitches).

Run the yarn back through the stitches and pull tight to close the hole. Secure the yarn tightly (I like to run it back through the stitches again) and hide the end inside the doll.

Stitch up the crotch and secure and hide all ends and you’re done!

You can use thread or yarn to make a face, or you can draw it on with markers. You can also add hair by tying bits of yarn of whatever length through the stitches around the head.

For a little dress:

Cast on 12 stitches in the round

K2, k1 front and back, k3, repeat to get 14 stitches total

Knit around

K2, k2 front and back, k3, repeat to get 18 stitches total

Knit around

K2, k1 front and back, k2, k1 front and back, k3, repeat to get 22 stitches total

Knit around

K2, k1 front and back, k4, k1 front and back, k3, repeat to get 26 stitches total

K3, bind off 7, k3, repeat to get 12 stitches left on the needles

K2, to make the bound off stitches into sleeves k1 front and back and then yarn over, k3, repeat to get 16 stitches total

Knit around, knitting into the back of the yarn overs so that you don’t leave a hole

Continue to knit around until the dress is as long as you’d like it to be. I worked a round of k2tog, yo just before casting off to create a little pattern at the bottom.

Cast off and weave in the end.

You are welcome to distribute this pattern and use the ideas included and gift or sell whatever you make from it. But if you distribute it, please do so as a whole, with attribution and this info included. Thanks!

Creative Commons License
This work by Suzanne Lander is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

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Cabled Cap

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This is a pattern from 2005. It was on another post earlier that’s gone now. I’m having a heck of a time getting the chart on here. Sorry :) If it’s just showing up as letters for you, try downloading the font Knitting Symbols by CET.

I originally knit this hat to match a sweater handed down to my daughter that was made for my husband by his aunt when he was a child. I’ve still got them packed away somewhere. Hopefully. My son wore the sweater, too, a little bit.

The chart is numbered for knitting flat but I worked this pattern out in the round. If you knit it flat and then seam up the edges, you may want to add a selvedge stitch to one or both sides of the work — possibly in place of the column of purl stitches on the left side. The odd rows would be the wrong side and the even the right side. If you knit this cap in the round, read all the rows right to left. If you knit flat, just follow the numbers and knit the odd rows left to right. For any row not on the chart (most of the odd ones) knit into knit stitches and purl into purl stitches.

20 stitches x 30 rows per 4 inches

Cast on 104 stitches with needles 2 sizes smaller

Work in k1 p1 crossed ribbing for 10 rows

(knit through the back on even row knit stitches)

Switch to larger needles and begin row 1 of the chart. This will be a wrong side row if you’re not knitting in the round. Repeat each row of chart one time for each row/round of the hat — the chart is 52 stitches wide, the cap is 104 stitches around.

Bind off and sew up the top, or weave the sides together using kitchener stitch. To make sure the pattern matches at the top if you’re weaving it together, you’ll have to switch the last two stitches on each side to the other needle. Since some of the stitches will be purled, you’ll need to follow the kitchener pattern backwards for those. Instead of purling into the stitch on the front needle and later knitting it off the needle, for example, you’ll need to knit into those purl stitches and then purl them off like you would if it was on the back needle. When you get to the four stitches at the top of the diamond pattern, slip the first two on the front needle off onto a cable needle, hold them forward, and kitchener the next two. Then go back to the two on the cable needle to get the twist on the diamond at the top of the hat.

/ no stitch

g knit (p on wrong side)

h purl (k on wrong side)

c knit two together (p2tog on wrong side)

f knit three together

x slip, slip, knit (p2tog tbl on wrong side)

a slip 1, k2tog, psso

CFGM slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold in front, knit 2 stitches from left needle, knit 2 stitches from cable needle

CHJM slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold in back, knit 2 stitches from left needle, knit 2 stitches from cable needle

FG> slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold in front, purl 1 stitch from left needle, knit 2 stitches from cable needle

ZHJ slip 1 stitch from cable needle and hold in back, knit 2 stitches from left needle, purl 1 stitch from cable needle

CHJ slip 1 stitch to cable needle and hold in back, knit 2 stitches from left needle, knit 1 stitch from cable needle

Link to Cabled Cap xls Chart


Creative Commons License
You are welcome to distribute this pattern and use the ideas included and gift or sell whatever you make from it. But if you distribute it, please do so as a whole, with attribution and this info included. Thanks!

This work by Suzanne Lander is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Still figuring things out

I’m sure I didn’t really give things enough time, but I’m messing with them, anyway. I’ve decided to go halvsies. I am still going to try to put patterns on my blog and they’ll all have the Creative Commons License. But I’m going to attempt .99 for pdf downloads. Granted this will net me about .49 after PayPal’s cut. But whatever. I miss having *something* in my account to buy other patterns with.

Open Source

I’m a big fan of open source for lots of reasons. And of the copyleft movement. Up to this point I have sold some patterns and offered some for free. Mostly the free ones were patterns I didn’t feel too confident about or that were unfinished or just so simple I didn’t feel like I could justify putting a price on them. The ones I did charge for were either bigger in scope, more complicated, or something I had worked up out of my own imagination to some degree.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what to charge and when to charge and whether it’s better not to in order to increase the flow of information. Or if not charging or charging too little is a sin against the work we put into what we do. Honestly, I don’t have a clue. I enjoy making money off my patterns. I often use the money to buy patterns from other people. I like that people are interested enough to pay even if it’s just a little bit. How much of a trip was it to be able to buy a pattern from a well known designer with money I made selling mine?! I get *way* more downloads of my free patterns, though. Heck, way more of the patterns I download are free, so….

I think what I’m going to do in the near future is switch to a free/donation supported way of doing things. I’m not sure how that’ll go. I’m going to need to look into it. Then I’ll have to redo some of my patterns. Which I guess won’t be as nice for the people who’ve bought them already… maybe they’ll consider it a pre-donation. I am thankful to them for helping support my “yarning” (as my 4 year old calls it) habit. And thankful to anyone else who decides to chip in in the future.

Quick and Simple Tam

tam

Tam

 

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Knit in the round from the center of the top down to the brim.

Start out by swatching your yarn and measuring your head. I used bulky yarn and size 10 needles. I stretched the swatch to mimic a snug fit around my head (if you want a looser fit, don’t stretch) which gave me about 6 stitches over 4 inches or 1.5 stitches per inch. The measurement of where I wanted the brim of my tam to be on my head was 22 inches.

Multiply the inches by the number of stitches per inch. In my example, it was 22×1.5=33. This is the number of stitches for the brim.
Double the number of stitches for the brim to get the stitch count for the largest part of the hat. 33×2=66 for mine.

Divide that number by 16 to get your cast on stitch count. 66÷16=4.125. I rounded down to 4 here and planned to make up any difference in stitch count at the decrease for the brim if I felt the need.
If you’re using lighter weight yarn and your cast on stitch count is more than 8, you can divide that number by 2 and add another increase round at round 32.

Cast on, spreading the stitches over 4 double points or on two or one circular needles, however you like to knit in the round.

1. Knit around.
2. Increase (also on rounds 4, 8, and 16): K1, yarn over (yo) to end of round. If you don’t want eyelet circles in the top of your tam, you can use any increase stitch you like instead of a yo.
Knit around on all other rounds.

By round 16 (or 32, if using lighter yarn) you should have reached your highest stitch count number. I was a little short at 64 stitches because of rounding down at cast on.

Knit until your hat measures 4 inches (more or less, depending on your taste) from the last increase round.

Knit 2 together to end of round. If I had followed this, I would have ended up with 32 stitches, so I skipped the last decrease and knit both of the last two stitches separately to get 33.

Knit another inch or so and bind off. This will create a rolled edge. If you’d like to do a knit 1, purl 1 ribbing, you could do that easily as long as your final stitch count is an even number.

You are welcome to distribute this pattern and use the ideas included and gift or sell whatever you make from it. But if you distribute it, please do so as a whole, with attribution and this info included. Thanks!

Creative Commons License
This work by Suzanne Lander is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

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