Double Knit Adventures

I've done some double knitting in the past, but never really made an actual project out of it.  Mostly just little patches for fun.  I decided it was time to embark on a larger double knitting adventure! So I made a hat.

One thing I learned on this project that I didn't really learn on my smaller double knitting experiments is that double knitting takes twice as long.  Who would have guessed? :P  Also, I was knitting in the round orange side out, and you can tell the orange side looks a little better than the blue.  I need to work on that.  I think what happens is that I don't pull as tightly or as consistently when I purl, so the blue side looks a bit lumpy and uneven.  But it looks fine when it's on a head, so that's good.

Made another double knit hat, this one portal themed!  I had this idea since I first started experimenting with double knitting and I am glad I finally got around to it.  I also have a good idea for a double knit Super Meat Boy/Bandage Girl scarf.  That will probably happen sometime.

I plan on selling both of these at Anime Detour in Minneapolis later this month.  Speaking of which, I need to get knitting!  There is so much to do!

Calcifer

Hello again!

I don't know about you but I am a huge Hayao Miyazaki fan.  It is my goal to eventually own all of the movies he has made.  So far my collection is small, but includes my favorite (My Neighbor Totoro) and a few others.  Among these is Howl's Moving Castle.  By far my favorite character in this movie is the fire demon Calcifer.  He's just got a loveable spunk!  So I decided to knit up a Calcifer of my own.

Calcifer is made of fire and I wanted to get the colors right, so I decided to hand dye some yarn for this project.  I initially dyed the yarn yellow and then made a gradient with some red.  The result is quite flame like.  Next, I just knit him up, added some facial features, and BAM!  Cute little fire demon!

 

 

In other news, I was recently interviewed about my Finn the Human pattern! Check out the interview here!

Blue

I finished my hat for my friend!  It was a Navi hat!  I really like the way that the yarn I dyed worked out.  The hat ended up looking kind of pixel-y which worked really well since Navi is from a video game and all.  Anyways, here he is with his brother as Link at Comic-Con:

 

Here are some more images where you can see the hat a bit better.  I used some thin wire to hold the wings up, which worked quite well.

I recently got an itty bitty crochet hook and some embroidery yarn and tried my hand at making an little octopus!  It is super cute!  It made my hands hurt a lot to use the little hook, but it was worth it!  And then I turned it into a key chain!  Woo!

Also, I finally started to make Jake the Dog for my sister!  Hopefully I will finish it within the next two weeks.

Balls

Narwhal complete!  I had originally planned for my narwhal to be a little longer and thinner, but it wasn't until I was about halfway down the tail that I realized that he was going to be pretty short and fat.  I didn't want to pull out my work, so I went with it.  I showed the finished body to my boyfriend, and he ended up dubbing it a "Narball", which was very appropriate!  (I also hummed this very appropriately themed song all week while I was making this).  Ultimately, the narball ended up being quite cute, even if his body is a little out of the ordinary.

I also made another Katamari!  I finished it in about a day!  Weekends are awesome!

La laaaaaa

la la la la la la la

Katamari Damacy

doo doo doo!

Song!

Look out! It's a Kraken!!!

Though, I have to say, this is probably the least threatening kraken I have ever seen. I mean,come on, look at how adorable it is!

Dawwwwww!

^__________^

So cute!

 My narwhal project (which is also very cute of course) is almost complete!  I just have to add it's horn and then I will post pictures!

New Job and New Projects

I'm starting my new "real world" job this next Monday.  This has positives and negatives to it:
Positive: More money = more yarn.
Negative:  Less time to actually knit
So, there may be a decrease in the number of projects finished per month now. :(

Speaking of projects, I am currently super into octopi!  I keep making little stuffed octopi...

 

Woo!

And am finishing up my intarsia octopus hat (I am not looking forward to sewing in all the loose ends O.o).  After that I have plans to make a stuffed Narwhal, and then perhaps a Kraken from the same book I got the stuffed octopus pattern from.  Stay tuned!

Finn the Human

Finn the Human

Materials:

Size 3 (3.25 mm) straight knitting needles

Size 5 (3.75 mm) double pointed needles

Yarn:  One skein each of Vanna’s Choice yarn in White, Rose, Aqua, Colonial Blue, Beige, Fern, Black, and Olive.  About a yard of purple yarn in worsted weight.

Tapestry Needle

2 medium sized eyes

One button

Stuffing

Notes:

Inc: Knit/Purl front and back

Dec: Knit/Purl two together

When sewing together pieces, use the invisiblehorizontal/vertical seam methods.

I find that the cable cast on method works best for this project.

Legs:

Using Black and straight needles, cast on 18 stitches

R1) Knit

R2) P1, inc, P17 (19 st)

R3) Knit

R4) P1, inc, P18 (20 st)

R5) Knit

R6) Purl

R7) Knit

R8) P1, dec, P18 (19 st)

R9) Knit

R10) P1, dec, P17 (18 st)

R11) Knit

R12) Cast off 8, P10 (10 st)

Continue in stockinet stitch for 8 more rows with Black.

Switch to Beige

Continue in stockinet stitch 30 rows

Switch to Colonial Blue

Continue in stockinet stitch 11 rows

Cut yarn and move all stitches to a stitch holder.

Make another leg, but this time read all rows backwards like so:
R1) Knit

R2) P17, inc, P1

R3) Knit

R4) P18, inc, P1

Etc...

Keep the second leg on the straight needles and do not cut the yarn.

Body:
(Continue working on the second leg)
R1) K10, Cast on 15 st, place first leg from stitch holder onto needles, K10 from first leg (thus connecting the two legs into one piece) (35 st)

Continue 14 more rows in stockinet stitch with Colonial Blue

Switch to Aqua

Continue in stockinet stitch for 35 rows

Switch to White

Continue in stockinet stitch for 5 rows

Knit (stockinet stitch) the next 19 rows using the Face template and Beige yarn.

Face Template

Continue in stockinet stitch for 6 rows with White

Ears:

(Continue working on the Body)
R1) K8, Cast off 19 st, K8

R2) P8, put the other 8 stitches onto a stitch holder

Continue in stockinet stitch for 5 more rows, then cast off.

Pick up the 8 stitches form the stitch holder.

Continue in stockinet stitch for 6 more rows, then cast off.

Repeat the Legs, Body, and Ears section once more.  Only this time, instead of working the Face Template, just work 19 rows in White.

Assembling Finn:

Begin sewing the two sides of Finn together starting at the feet.  Sew together the boot sections of his feet but don’t go much further.  If you continue to sew together the rest of his legs it will make it more difficult to sew on his socks.

Socks (Make 2):

Using the double pointed needles and White yarn, make a 5 stitch I-cord 30 rows long. 

Before casting off your I-cord, first check to make sure it fits around Finn’s leg.  I stuffed Finn’s boots to make sure it was long enough before I cast off.

Once making sure the I-cord is long enough, cast off.  Sew the two ends of the I-cord together and then sew the cord onto Finn’s leg where the top of his boots meet his legs. 

Next, sew together the two sides of Finn until you reach slightly above the bottom of his shorts.  At this point you want to embroider the bottom of his shorts with a chain stitch using the Colonial Blue yarn. 
Continue to sew the two halves together, embroidering at the bottom of the shirt with Aqua, and at the bottom of the hat with White.  Chain stitch with White yarn along the outside of the face. 
Do not start to sew together the ears or the top of the head yet.

Arms (Make 2):

With straight needles and Aqua, cast on 19 stitches

 Work in stockinet stitch for 15 rows in Aqua

Switch to Beige

Continue in stockinet stitch for 35 rows

Cast off.

Sew together the two long edges of the hand, making sure to stop and chain stitch the bottom of the sleeve in Aqua along the way.  Sew the bottom of the arm together such that the seam from the long edges is in the middle bottom part of the hand (see figure on left below).  Once the bottom of the hand is sewn up, stuff the bottom of the arm.  Next sew two 1 inch sections at the bottom of the arm, such that the appearance of fingers is achieved (see figure on right below).

Stuff the rest of the arm and then sew it onto the body just slightly under the bottom of the white hat.  To do this, I first sewed the top of the arm in place using invisible horizontal seam method and then sewed the bottom on about two rows under that.  This joint should not be heavily stuffed in order to allow for more movement.

Once both arms have been sewn onto the body, add facial features.  Place the eyes where they look good to you, and then add a mouth using a basic back stitch.

Stuff the body and then continue sewing the two halves of Finn together.  Continue stuffing as you sew together the ears and top of head.  Tie off the ends and hide them inside the body.

Backpack:

Back:

Using Dark Olive yarn and straight needles, cast on 25 stitches

R1) Knit

R2) P1, inc, Purl to last two stitches, inc, P1 (27 st)

R3) Knit

R4) Repeat row 2  (29 st)

R5) Knit

R6) Repeat row 2 (31 st)

R7) Knit

R8) Repeat row 2 (33 st)

R9) Knit

R10) Repeat row 2 (35 st)
R11-R18) Continue in Stockinet Stitch

Switch to Fern

R19-R26) Continue in Stockinet Stitch

R27) K1, dec, Knit to last three stitches, dec, K1 (33 st)

R28) Purl

R29) Repeat row 28 (31 st)

R30) Purl

R31) Repeat row 28 (29 st)

R32) Purl

R33) Repeat row 28 (27 st)

R34) Purl

R35) Repeat row 28 (25 st)

R36) Purl

Cast off.

Bottom Front:

Using Olive and straight needles, cast on 25 stitches

R1) Knit

R2) P1, inc, Purl to last two stitches, inc, P1 (27 st)

R3) Knit

R4) Repeat row 2  (29 st)

R5) Knit

R6) Repeat row 2 (31 st)

R7) Knit

R8) Repeat row 2 (33 st)

R9) Knit

R10) Repeat row 2 (35 st)
R11-R18) Continue in Stockinet Stitch

R19-R23) Work in K2, P2 ribbing

Cast off.

Upper front:

Using Fern and straight needles, cast on 25 stitches

R1) Knit

R2) P1, inc, Purl to last two stitches, inc, P1 (27 st)

R3) Knit

R4) Repeat row 2  (29 st)

R5) Knit

R6) Repeat row 2 (31 st)

R7) Knit

R8) Repeat row 2 (33 st)

R9) Knit

R10) Repeat row 2 (35 st)
R11-R13) Continue in Stockinet Stitch

R14-R18) Work in K2, P2 ribbing

Cast off.

Backpack Straps (Make 2):

Olive and straight needles, cast on 12 stitches

Work in stockinet stitch for 24 rows

Switch to Fern

Work in stockinet stitch for 24 rows

Cast off.

Sew Backpack back, upper front, and lower front together.  Make sure that the upper front is sewed on over the bottom front.  Sew on arm straps close to the edge of the Backpack.  I ended up sewing the ends of each strap very close to each other as well.  Sew on button and then sew on a crocheted or braided cord for a button loop.

Like-Like Sweater:

Using Rose and the double pointed needles, cast on 72 stitches and distribute them onto the three needles

Work 4 rows in K2, P2 ribbing

Work 27 rows in stockinet stitch

Forming arm holes:

Cast off 10 stitches, K26, cast off 10 stitches, K26

Cast on 10 stitches, K26, cast on 10 stitches, K26

Continue in stockinet stitch for 4 more rows

Work 4 rows in K2, P2 ribbing

Cast off.

Sweater Sleeves:

Pick up 24 stitches from the arm hole with the DPNs and distribute them onto the three needles

Work 3 rows in stockinet stitch

*K3, inc, repeat from * until end of row (30 st)

Work in stockinet stitch for 33 rows

*K3, dec, repeat from * until end of row (24 st)
Work 4 rows in K2, P2 ribbing

Cast off.

Sew in loose ends.  Stitch a heart with purple yarn in the top right corner of the front of the sweater.

Now you have your very own Finn the go on adventures with! Enjoy!

Oh my glob, he is so cute!

Finished Finn the Human!  Super pleased with how everything turned out! 

 The Finn!

 The backpack!

 But what's inside?

 Awwww, his sweater from Princess Bubblegum!

Mathematical!

Dat Octopus

Finished up my octopus (pattern from the book Amigurimi Knits)! His legs are bendy and twisty and he is very friendly. :)




Also completed my Finn the Human from Adventure Time! I am still planning on making his backpack and pink heart sweater that he got from Princess Bubblegum.

Gifts Received!

Some pictures of my knitted gifts with their new owners!

Helena with Tree Trunks,

and Asher on his new blanket!

Catan Blanket 2

It's done! The baby blanket is completed! It turned out wonderfully!


Also, recursion! (And our couch area because I think it's pretty cool!)

Tower of Hexagons

So, it turns out that making small hexagons takes a lot less time than large ones. I have finished making the hexagons for the Baby Catan Blanket in less than a week! (When I made this blanket (larger) in the past it took weeks to crochet the hexagons. )

I have started to sew the pieces together and will probably be done either later tonight or sometime tomorrow! I will post pictures of the final project then!

Once upon a time....

I told my self that I would never crochet crap loads of hexagons ever again. That was a lie.

Catan blanket round 2!

Chrsitmas Gifts!

It's been a long time.

Mostly I just haven't been crafting. I got a full time job this summer in the Chicago area. I lived with friends of the family and just didn't really get around to making anything. Then school came around. It was my last semester....which doesn't mean that I worked really hard or anything. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was my smallest credit load and the classes weren't all that difficult. I just didn't really feel like making things.
That is until November came around and I realized that Christmas was just a month away. It was time to make gifts!!

I made a few things, mostly for my boyfriend's (Alex's) family.

I made this Rikke hat for my Alex's brother's girfriend.


I made said brother a Wisconsin hat. He had one that was similar to it back in the day, but it got destroyed when his apartment caught fire. (He really liked it!)


I made Alex's sister a pair of mittens. I end up only finishing one for Christmas, but fortunately her birthday is on the 29th of December, so I was able to give her the second one then!




And last but not least I made said sister's husband some Star Wars ornaments for their tree:




So, that is it for now! I will probably update again soon as I have gotten back into the crafting mood!