Variegated Dribbler

I am a big fan of  Kate Blackburn's Baby Bandana Bib but find its shape doesn't suit self striping yarn so well. So have developed this one to allow some shapely striping to take place, whilst hopefully still keeping the simplicity.  If you don't have a self striping/variegated yarn to hand, just switch yarns every 2 rows for a more dominant stripe.  To increase absorbancy power wash and dry 2-3 times before use.

Using a cotton or bamboo DK yarn (I used Sirdar Summer Stripes) and 4mm needles...

Cast on 3
Row 1 - K1, YO, place marker, K1, YO, K1
Row 2 - purl
Row 3 - K1, M1L, knit to marker, M1L, slip marker, K1, M1R, knit to last stitch, M1R, K1
Row 4 - purl

Repeat rows 3 and 4 until about 65 stitches (the odd row before or after won't make too much difference if you're bad at counting) ending on a row 4.

Complete a picot cast off by casting on 2 stitches, cast off 4, slip stitch back onto left hand needle and repeat to end.  (if you are doing this for a really manly boy then you can just do a normal cast off, but I personally don't feel its too feminine for most)

Cast on 3 and knit 7 1/2 inches of i-cord on double pointed needles. 

Edge the top of the triangle by knitting 2 of the i-cord stitches and slipping the 3rd purlwise, yarn over and pick up one stitch from straight edge. Slip over the slipped stitch and yarn over, so 3 stitches remain on needle. Continue to the end of the triangle. 

Knit a further 7 1/2 inches of 3 stitch i-cord, knit 3 together and thread yarn through remaining stitch.

Weave in ends, and voilà! So cute!

Elf Hat

A quick little elf hat, great for unisex babies and also for stash busting.  It doesn't use much yarn and can incorporate stripes very easily.

Using DK yarn and 4.5mm DPN needles (I used a stash of Rico Poems and and unknown gem hidden in my stash!)

Cast on 56 and space amongst 4 needles (14 per needle)

Knit until 3 inches long (curl unrolled)

[K12, K2TOG] repeat 3 more times

Knit 3 rounds

[K11, K2TOG] repeat 3 more times

Knit 1 round

[K10, K2TOG] repeat 3 more times

Repeat this decrease round (decreasing the last two stitches at the end of each needle) until 5 stitches remain on each needle

Knit 1 round

[K3, K2TOG] repeat 3 more times

Knit 1 round

[K2, K2TOG] repeat 3 more times

[K1, K2TOG] repeat 3 more times

[K2, K2TOG] twice

Knit 1 round

[K1, K2TOG] twice

Transfer onto one needle and turn to i-cord [4 stitches]

Knit i-cord for 1 ½ inches

K1, K2TOG, K1

Knit 3 rows

K1, K2TOG

Knit 1 row

K2TOG

Feed yarn through remaining stitch.

Tie loose knot in the i-cord stem.

Sunrise Seaswim Hat

Is there a better way to celebrate Esther's 30th Birthday than taking a dip in the North Devon sea as the sun makes it's first appearance of the day?  Well yes it turns out there is; knitting a hat ready for when your little hot water bottle (I mean bump) makes it's first appearance of the day whilst everyone else goes in for their second dip of the day!  A simple repetative pattern keeps you on your toes but can easily be done alongside other distractions.  And the use of two yarns makes it that little bit thicker and warmer for an approaching winter baby.

The pattern is to fit a small newborn or larger preemi.  To make suitable for a larger newborn cast on an additional 7 stitches and depending on your guage use 4.5mm needles, continuing for 4 1/2 - 5 inches before decreasing

Using DK yarn and 4mm needles...

Cast on 56 stitches in contrast colour [CC] and join into round (14 on each needle if using DPNs)

Rounds 1-4: K2 P2 rib
Round 5: change to main colour [MC] and K2TOG, K5 ** K1[CC], K6[MC] repeat from ** to end and using first stitch of next round as final stitch for this pattern
Rounds 6 onwards: K5[MC] P1[MC] K1[CC] repeat to end and using first stitch of next round for the next 4 inches (you are purling on the contrast stitch of the row below, then adding in a constrast knit stitch nextdoor to that - this is the main pattern)

Depending how many rows you do will depend where you are in the spiral pattern when you start the decreasing.

Round 29ish: Knit as pattern until first [CC] where it is K2TOG.  Then repeat K4[MC] P1 [MC] K2TOG [CC] to end.
Round 30: Knit as pattern but K4[MC] P1[MC] K1[CC]
repeat these two rounds three more times (with one less main colour knit stitch after each decrease obviously).
Using just [MC] K2TOG to end and thread yarn through remaining 8 stitches.

And voila!  You might need to give a good tug from side to side to even out the coloured raised stitches.

Christmas Phoebe-Pud Hat

Using a mix of knitting in the round, i-cord and flat knitting this creates a textured hat of much festive joy that is underneath it all remarkably simple.  Knitting this as an advent present for a dear friend's newly arrived bundle of joy it really made me go quite squishy and want one.  But remember people, a baby is for life not just for wearing hand knitted hats.

Using brown, white/cream, red and green DK yarn and 4mm needles...

For a small head ('very-newborn' - preemi or just tiny delicate cuties) cast on 57 stitches in brown (B) and join into the round by knitting the first and last stitch together.  To make bigger, go up in multiples of 8, making the necessary decreases to have 12 stitches on or around Round 10.

Knit in stockinette for 4 inches, (not stretching the cast on curl).

Join in white(W) yarn and as follows:

Round 1: K2(W), K6(B) until 1 stitch away from (W)

Round 2: K4(W), K4(B) until 1 stitch away from (W)

Round 3: K6(W), K2(B) until 1 stitch away from (W)

Working only in white (W)

Knit 3 stitches, place marker and as follows:

Round 4: K2TOG, K6 until marker

Round 5: K2TOG, K5 until marker

Round 6: K2TOG, K4 until marker

Round 7: K2TOG, K3 until marker

Round 8: K2TOG, K2 until marker

Round 9: K2TOG, K1 until marker

Round 10: K1, (K2TOG, K1 until marker) (10 stitches remain)

Switch to red (R) yarn 

K1, K2TOG, K1

Using DPN with these 3 stitches i-cord in red for 2 inches (or enough to tie a loose knot with the cord)

Switch to green (G) yarn (TIP a varigated/helix yarn works best)  to complete holly leaf.

Row 1: Knit still as i-cord

Row 2: turn and knit as a flat piece going forwards

Row 3: KFB, K1, KFB (5 stitches)

Row 4: KFB, K3, KFB (7 stitches)

Row 5: K2TOGtbl, K3, K2TOG (5 stitches)

Row 6: K2TOGtbl, K1, K2TOG (3 stitches)

Row 7: KFB, K1, KFB (5 stitches)

Row 8: KFB, K3, KFB (7 stitches)

Row 9: K2TOGtbl, K3, K2TOG (5 stitches)

Row 10: K2TOGtbl, K1, K2TOG (3 stitches)

Row 11: Knit

Row 12: sl1, K2TOG, PSSO

Cut yarn and thread through remaining stitch.

Going back to the remaining white stitches, repeat red i-cord and green leaf two more times.

(TIP If necessary, use the tail of the red to join the three i-cords beneath the berry knots with a small stitch in the centre to prevent a hole)  Weave in remaining ends.

Tie a loose knot in the i-cord so the red produces a 'berry' and the leaf pops out of the top.

Stand back and melt with festive adorable cheer.

Bobble Car Seat Blanket

A sampler style pattern of several different stitches designed to be easy to use with baby's car seat.  The slits allow you to clip in with the buckle on the outside, and little darling cannot kick it off during the journey!

Using DK wool (I like Sirdar Snuggly as washes and drys well and is super soft) and 4mm needles, make four of each square...

Slip Stitch Honeycomb [H]
Cast on 25
row 1 & 3 - knit
row 2 - K1, * sl1p wyib, K1 - repeat from *
row 4 - K2, * sl1p wyib, K1 - repeat from *
repeat rows 1-4 eight more times, or until it forms a square, cast off on row 37

Scale [S]
Cast on 24
row 1 - YO, K3, pass YO over the K3, wyib sl3p - repeat to end
row 2 - knit
row 3 - YO, K3, pass the YOP over the K3, P3 - repeat to end
row 4 - K1, use RH needle to lift thread from YO in row 1, knit it with the next stitch, K4 - repeat to end
row 5 - wyib sl3p, YO, K3, pass the YO over the K3 - repeat to end
row 6 - knit
row 7 -  P3, YO, K3, pass YO over the K3, - repeat to end
row 8 - K4, use RH needle to lift thread from YO in row 5, knit it with the next stitch, K1 - repeat to end
repeat rows 1-8 three more times, or until it forms a square, cast off purl wise on row 33

(American) Double Moss [M]
Cast on 20
row 1&4 - K2, P2, repeat to end
row 2&3 - P2, K2, repeat to end
repeat rows 1-4 six and a half more times, until it forms a square, casting off on row 31

Bobble [B]
MB - [K1, P1, K1] in stitch, turn and P3, turn and K3, turn and P3, turn and K3TOG

Cast on 20
row 1 - knit
row 2 and all evens - purl
row 3 - K7, [MB, K5] repeat, end K6
row 5 - knit
row 7 - K4, [MB, K5] repeat, end K3
row 8 purl
repeat rows 1-8 two more times, until it forms a square, casting off on row 25

Joining
Using the long tails, crochet down the left hand side and along the bottom of most squares, ordered as below:

M  S  B  H

S  B  H  M

B  H  M  S

H  M  S  B

So you start with the Moss, adding a Scale both to the right side and to the bottom, then move onto that right Scale and add a Bobble to the right.

However, the Scale and Bobble on the top row DO NOT want to join to the Bobble and Honeycomb in the second row, neither do those two want to join to the Honeycombe and Moss in the third row - these two 'holes' are designed for putting the car seat buckle/clip through.  (unless you choose not to have that feature!)

Edging
SR8 - short row 8... K8, turn and K6, turn and K4, turn and K3, turn and  K2, turn and K5

Choosing your main colour, pick up stitches from one side of the blanket. The exact number is not important; aim for 40 but if its 30 or 60 the only thing that affects is how ruffly it is.

row 1 - KFB, knit to last stitch, KFB
row 2 - YO, K2TOG
row 3 - KFB, knit to last stitch, KFB
(now count how many stitches you have, divide by 8, minus 2 then divide the remainder by 2 and make this '#' below)
row 4 - KFB, K# [K8, SR8] to last stitch, K#, KFB
row 5 - knit and cast off

Repeat for each edge, and matress stitch the angled corners.

Colours
I really really wanted to make this beautiful colours and had in mind unisex greens and purples, but the mother I was knitting this for requested white or cream. So, as mothers know best, I did it so. I was keen to make it slightly 'textured' in terms of a contrast for the checker effect, so picked a white and a cream.  The honeycomb and scale are in shade 0303 and moss and bobble in shade 0344.  There are so many different colour ways you could do, or keep it simple.  Would love to see all the variations.

Munchkin Bobble Hat

I really struggle knitting presents for friends expecting baby boys.  Knitting lends itself to floral cutsie stuff, and for boys all you find is either boring plain-in-blue or tacky Bob-the-Builder style cartoon stuff.  So this is my attempt to get something cute but not feminine into the selection for newborns.  If you err to the side of cartoon stuff then you could use bright colours and turn the bobbles to eyes to make it look alien/monster-ish if you really want.  And if you have a girl, then pink or purple will work just as well!

Using DK wool (I used a slight variegated one – Wendy Peter Pan Raindrop Surprise) and 3.5mm circular needles, and a smidgen of scrap yarn for stuffing…

Cast on 60 stitches in contrast colour and join in the round (magic loop is easiest in my opinion, particularly for switching to the i-cord at the end)

rounds 1-7 - Knit contrast colour

round 8 - Change to main colour (on second round of main colour, slip the first stitch to avoid a jog in the colour – thanks Techknitter!)

rounds 9-35 - Knit a further 26  rounds

round 36 - K4, K2TOG (50 st remain)

round 37 - Knit

round 38 - K3 K2TOG (40 st remain)

round 39 - Knit

round 40 - K2 K2TOG (30 st remain)

round 41 - Knit

round 42 - K1 K2TOG (20 st remain)

round 43 - Knit

round 44 - K2TOG (10 st remain)

round 45 - K2TOG (5 st remain) - you will need to switch from magic loop to 'flat' on this round

rows 46-50  - Knit i-cord for 5 rows

row 51 - KFB (10 st) - switch back to magic loop after this row

round 52 - Knit

round 53 - K1, KFB (15 st)

round 54 - Knit

round 55 - K1, K2TOG (10 st remain)

round 56 - Knit

round 57 - K2TOG (5 st remain) - you will need to switch from magic loop to 'flat' on this round

at this point, put some scrap wool in to ensure the bobble remains round and not deflated

rows 58-62 - Knit i-cord for 5 rows

row 63 - KFB (10 st) - switch back to magic loop after this row

round 64 - Knit

round 65 - Knit
round 66 - K2TOG (5 st remain) - you will need to switch from magic loop to 'flat' on this round

at this point, put some scrap wool in to ensure the bobble remains round and not deflated

row 67 - Knit
row 68 - K2TOG, K1, K2TOG, (3 st remain) then pass stitch 1 and 2 over 3 (1 st remain)
Thread yarn through remaining stitch, and weave in loose ends.

Moon Mobile

Increases and short rows make cute little stuffed crecent moons with added button stars to send little one off to sleep in their own colourful night time sky.

Alongside the different colours of DK wool (a perfect stashbusting project) you will need star buttons (I used really small ones; Trimit Nylon Mini Buttons) in same or contrasting colours, stuffing, 130inch of craft wire, 5x 4inch round dowel, 10x buttons and glue. 

Using DK wool and 4.5mm needles...

Cast on 3
row 1 - K3
row 2 - P3
row 3 - K3
row 4 - P3
row 5 - KFB KFB KFB
row 6 - P6
row 7 - K6
row 8 - P6
row 9 - KFB KFB KFB K3
row 10 - P9
row 11 - K8 W&T
row 12 - P8
row 13 - K6 W&T
row 14 - P6
row 15 - K4 W&T
row 16 - P4
row 17 - K2 W&T
row 18 - P2
row 19 - K4 (picking up the W&T on stitch 3), W&T
row 20 - P4
row 21 - K6 (picking up the W&Ts on stitch 5), W&T
row 22 - P6
row 23 - K8 (picking up the W&Ts on stitch 7), W&T
row 24 - P8
row 25 - K9 (picking up the W&Ts on stitch 9)
row 26 - P9
row 27 - K2TOG K2TOG K2TOG K3
row 28 - P6
row 29 - K6
row 30 - P6
row 31 - K2TOG K2TOG K2TOG
row 32 - P3
row 33 - K3
row 34 - P3 casting off

W&T means wrap and turn and is a way of making sure the short rows don't create holes in your knitting, see purlbee for a good tutorial

Make two sides per moon in the same colour (6 moons, 12 sides in total for the whole mobile in a variety of colours).

These will look almost triangular when flat, but once stuffed lightly and 3D they take on a more crescent appearance (they will look triangular again if you over stuff them).

Single crochet around the larger edge, joining two edges wrong side to wrong side.  Then add a bit of stuffing and single crochet the shorter side.

Slip stitch your last crochet with the first stitch, and then chain stitch for 10-20 stitches, or until as long as you want to dangle it.  Cut yarn and keep final chain loose - this will be how you attach it to the dowel.

Now add your stars - you want to use the craft wire like thread attaching the mini-buttons through the knitting, but instead of knotting wrap it round a dowel or pencil to create a spiral and sliding out once formed, like a starburst.

 

Hook the chain stitch over the dowel and pull to tighten, cut yarn and thread down into chain.  Eventually you will need to glue this to ensure it stays in the same place.  You want your dowel and moon pieces to be like a family tree.  First dowel has two dowel children, each of those dowel children have one dowel grandchild and one moon grandchild.  Each of those dowel grandchildren has two moon grandchildren.  You will need to do 4 sets of chains the same as on the end of the crescent, but leaving the starting chain loose to hook onto the middle of a children's dowel.

It is a careful balancing act working out where on the dowel your chains need to be placed.  First of all, once all chains are on the right dowels, use glue to attach a button on the end of each dowel.  This will stop the chains and moons falling off the dowel as you try to balance them.  Next, starting with the grandchildren, glue the moons chain to the dowel about 5mm in from the buttons on each side.  Now hold up this section by the chain that will attach it to the children, and move the chain side to side until it hangs evenly (somewhere near halfway at the centre).  Do this for the grandchildren on the other side.  Next, on the children glue the moon chain 5mm from the button, and the chain from the grandchildren 5mm from the other button.  Now hang from the chain to the parent and balance this (somewhere near one third to a quarter towards the chain from grandchildren).  This will take very careful patient balancing and gentle nudging till it works - then glue it quick!  Do the other side.  And now glue both of these to the top dowel, 5mm from each button.  And your top chain can be glued where balanced - close to the centre.  And if you've got the patience to get all of that perfect - you've got the patience to look after children that won't sleep!!

And there you go, a sprinkling of star dust on wonderful wonderful yarn.