Rainbow Scarf/Runner
This was knit from six inexpensive acrylic colours, sport weight, on US size 5 needles. It was inspired by an NPR story about ridiculously mean people who were saying bigoted things about gay marriage rights. I became so infuriated at their ignorance and intolerance that I felt I had to make something for our home to illustrate our support of full gay marriage rights. It is simple knit-purl stitching, switching colours regularly. It's actually too wide to be a scarf, as first intended, so it tends to live on the back of our couch as a runner.
The second photo is of the end of it glowing in the sun. The colours are very bright, so much so that on a sunny day, they shine through the entire room.
The third photo is my daughter playing with it at about 15 months old.
Baby Blanket
This is a baby blanket I designed myself shortly after learning I was pregnant. I made a blue one for my baby (we didn't know when I started whether I was having a boy or a girl, but we aren't fans of pink anyway). The yellow one was made for my sister-in-law's baby, and I chose yellow because it is her husband's preferred colour. It is 33in/83cm wide, 42in/106cm long.
It is made with Bernat CottonTots 100% cotton yarn, which is amazingly soft. The yellow is called Sunshine and the blue is called Blue Berry. For free pattern details, please see the Baby Blanket pattern page.
I took photos with and without the flash, plus have provided a close-up detail of what the pattern looks like.
To see the same pattern turned into an adult-sized throw, check out Vana's Blanket below. It has also been made in a different yarn for a multicolour effect below.
First Baby Hats
When I found out I was pregnant in early 2005, I decided to try knitting some baby hats. I looked up free patterns online and didn't understand a single one of them, but they seemed to often use double-pointed needles. So I bought some, learned how to use them (see my double-pointed needle tutorial to learn how they work), and started experimenting with my own hat patterns. These are the two that were worth keeping, after many others that got pulled apart because they were wonky or badly sized. The yarn is Bernat CottonTots Confetti, which is by far the softest 100% cotton yarn I've found in craft stores.
I didn't record a pattern as I made them. The one on the left was started with a few rows of purling, then a knit-2, purl-2 ribbed combination, eventually being reduced in the knit sections to form a dome. There was a bit of a hole on top so I made a pom-pom out of the same yarn and stitched it on to cover the hole.
The one on the right was started wide in standard knit stitch, then reduced at a regular rate counting around the needles so it wouldn't form reduction lines (I think it was about every five stitches, but I can't remember exactly). I kept reducing until it came to a single stitch left, then tied that off, fed the dangle through the point with a yarn needle, and tied a knot inside.
I don't recall the stitch counts, but they're very small, suitable only for newborns (as shown in the baby picture). Probably in the 60-ish range at cast-on.
Dolly
This was my first experiment at making a toy using double-pointed needles (see my double-pointed needle tutorial to learn how they work). It is a simple series of tubes stitched strongly together to withstand toddler abuse. It flops around nicely to do a "dance" which makes my baby very happy.
For free pattern details, please see the Dolly pattern page.
Sputnik Ball
I invented this toy to serve as a grabbable, multi-textured baby toy with bright colours. For free pattern details, please see the Sputnik Ball pattern page.
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Rainbow Ball
This ball was made using inexpensive rainbow acrylic yarn, using US size 4 needles and Val's Original Yarnball Pattern, except that I added two additional wedges for a fuller look. It was stuffed loosely with cotton to be nice and squishy.
Coiling Snake
This was my first experiment with self-coiling tubes (see my tutorial on twisted tubes to learn how to make one). For free pattern details, please see the Coiling Snake pattern page.
The whole thing, body and head, in its relaxed coil is about 23in/54cm long. As shown in the pictures, it coils very well around crib bars.
Rainbow Worm
This little guy was made very similarly to the snake above. He was also formed using the self-twisting tube technique (see my tutorial on twisted tubes to learn how to make one). For free pattern details, please see the Wormie pattern page.
Baby's First DNA Model
This is a knitted model of DNA, complete with GC/TA base pairs represented by orange-green bars with a pointed join and blue-yellow bars with a stepped join (because there weren't enough stitches to make a wave or curve), replicating the standard simplified DNA model. As you can see from the pictures, it also makes a good toy insofar as it holds its shape while squished or stretched, because it is stuffed firmly with cotton balls. It also can be balanced on its end with some effort.
The first group of photos are the correct right-hand twist. The second are the original model, which was incorrectly left-twisting. See my tutorial on twisted tubes to learn how to make either direction of twist. For free pattern details, please see the Baby's First DNA Model pattern page.
Ever since showing it off, all of my geeky friends online want one. My OB/GYN and his nurse want one. Everyone seems to want one. I am making one more for my sister-in-law's child, but that's it, so don't email me and ask me to make you one, even for pay. I get too easily bored by making the same thing over and over again. Make it yourself, it's easy! You can even make it bigger or smaller, longer or shorter, with different colours if you like.
Mushroom
Knitted Mushroom, pattern by me. There is a squeaker in the cap.
For free pattern details, please see the Mushroom pattern page.
Eggplant
Knitted Eggplant, pattern by me, not yet available online.
Corn
Knitted ear of corn with removable leaves and a squeaker inside, pattern by me. The last picture shows my daughter enjoying the toy.
For free pattern details, please see the Corn pattern page.
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Rings
Knitted rings of my design. Please see the Rings Tutorial for information on how to make them.
Giant Ring
A giant ring of my design with a snap-close end. The other rings above all fit on this one. Please see the Rings Tutorial for information on how to make one, as well as the Double-Pointed Needles Tutorial for the general straight parts and the Twisted Tube Tutorial for the twisted parts.
Flopsy Bear
A bear of my design, plus some pictures of my daughter playing with Flopsy and surrounded by some of the other toys from this page. The bear's head turns independently. Free pattern available on the Flopsy Bear pattern page.
Peo's Toy Bag
A bag of my design with my daughter Peo's name on it, technique/pattern not yet available online. It has a drawstring closure plus a flap and button. It also has a strap.
Stacking Rings and Inner Peg
A set of colourful stacking rings and an inner peg. I chose the colours to match the number of the ring, as in one colour for the top ring, two for the second, etc. I varied the pattern to challenge a child to learn to count the colours and associate them to the corresponding ring number.
The inner peg also has a jingle bell assembly inside so it jingles with the slightest movement, plus a squeaker right on the bottom so it squeaks when dropped.
I don't have a pattern posted yet for the peg, but please see the Rings Tutorial for information on how to make the rings.
Alphabet
Knitted alphabet characters of my own design. The patterns are mathematically calculated to yield uniform sizes for each letter so they can be used to spell words, shown in the first picture spelling my daughter's name or in the second spelling my niece Lillian's name.
This pattern is now available for purchase! The entire alphabet can be viewed on the pattern page as well.
Little Dudes
Tiny knitted dolls of my own design, the perfect size for baby hands to pick up, manipulate, and of course chew. To see many more Little Dudes and instructions on how to make them, please visit the Little Dudes page.
Caterpillar
A rainbow caterpillar, free pattern available on the Caterpillar pattern page. There is a squeaker in the back end and a jingle bell assembly in the head.
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Dolphin
Dolphin from World of Knitted Toys by Kath Dalmeny. I included a squeaker inside.
Abstract Black and White Toy
Abstract toy I made while experimenting with stranded/Fair Isle type knitting.
Yellow Dress
A knitted lace dress from Mama's Girl; 5 knit dresses for baby by Larisa Scott with smiley face buttons.
Baby Hat - Green With Yellow Flowers
This was my submission for the Caps the Capital charity event. The flower pattern is by Jessica Tromp. For free pattern details, please see the Baby Hat - Green With Yellow Flowers pattern page.
Bibs
Since it's hard to find bibs I like, I started knitting my own in Sugar and Cream cotton. The first one was sized roughly to some IKEA bibs we have, but with stretching it was a bit too big. The second one is the perfect size for my daughter, including great little shoulder bits so when she turns her head, she doesn't drool any food onto her clothes. The third one is the same style as the second, but with a modified version of Rhonda White's Australian dish cloth pattern, leaving out the letters.
They all have snap closures.
Parrot
A parrot, mostly following the pattern from World of Knitted Toys by Kath Dalmeny, but I used DPNs for the toes instead of sewing a flat piece into tubes.
Toddler Bee Dress
A toddler dress incorporating several bee motifs. The dress itself is of my own design (pattern not yet available online), but the bee motifs are by Jessica Tromp. My daughter is modelling the dress along with a black onesie with ruffled sleeves and black tights. In the last photo, she is feeding Cheerios to her John Puppet.
They Might Be Giants - John Puppet
This was inspired by my daughter's obsession with the "Here Come The ABCs" DVD by They Might Be Giants. I paused on a good shot of the puppets, did some counting and calculations, and pretty much reverse-engineered one of them. I also substituted stitched eyes for buttons to make it infant-safe. The upper part of the head, beneath the felt hair, is supported by a disc of styrofoam (also encased in black felt for visual continuity as well as structural integrity), but the rest of the head is softer than the puppets in the video in order to make it a viable toy.
Now whenever "D is For Drums" comes on, she shouts, "John! John!" and must find the puppet so it can be made to sing and dance along with the song/DVD.
There is a photo in the Toddler Bee Dress section above of her feeding John some Cheerios.
Please note that I have emailled the band and their management several times asking for permission to post a free pattern, but they have never answered. Plus, they are partnered with Disney, a company that has come down on me before for bead patterns, so I will NOT be posting a pattern for this at any time, nor will I ever sell items for which I do not have full copyright permissions. Please do not ask me for a pattern or to make one for you; all requests will be ignored.
Frank The Baby Goat from LiveJournal
This was made in response to an informal contest on LiveJournal to replicate the baby goat named Frank from their logo and comic in three dimensions. More photos of my daughter playing with it can be seen in this batch of baby photos. Free pattern available on the Baby Frank pattern page.
Cloths
I occasionally experiment with cloths using Sugar and Cream cotton yarn, mostly because the yarn is nice to work with and it's fun to do short, brainless projects now and then. Plus, the cloths are somewhat useful; while not as good at wiping counters as terrycloth (which leaves less water behind), they're better than terrycloth for scrubbing dishes.
The first cloth to the left is a 2x2 knit/purl combo (ie row 1: k2, p2; row 2: k2 p2; row 3: p2 k2; row 4: p2 k2; repeat for desired length). The second is a 1x1 seed stitch. The third was an experimental attempt to make a baby washcloth with a duck in it, but the graphic ended up off-centre and a bit funny-looking, so I'll probably try again another day and do it better. At least my daughter knew what it was!
The fourth through seventh (the green ones) were samples made with the initials of my sister-in-law and her fiancee so she could choose the design for her wedding throw, still in progress. The last of that set has no initials, but is a seed-stitch border version of my basketweave baby blanket above.
The eighth is a cloth with the letter G in it done for a girl whose name begins with G. The free pattern is courtesy of Rhonda White.
The ninth was made with a 5-stitch woven look for several rows, then a middle with seed stitch for extra scrubbing power, and then more woven rows.
Berry Hat
This is a Fair Isle/stranded hat with a berry motif. The original motif was by Jessica Tromp, but was a border with more elements and the portion I used should have been one colour instead of two. The first version was made with calculations based on regular stockinette stitch, so with the pulling inherent to stranding, it ended up too tight for my daughter. But since it fits her doll and the yarn is inexpensive (Lily Sugar'n'Cream cotton), I let her have it as is.
Then I made a second version, calculating it to be larger to fit her. Unfortunately, I overcompensated and it ended up adult-size. Still, you can see in the last picture that it almost fits her!
Pattern not yet available online.
Panta
This is somewhere between a headscarf and headband, used to keep hair back and warm the ears against cold winds. It is from this pattern on DROPS, although I converted it to Lily Sugar'n'Cream cotton yarn.
Duck Overalls for Toddler
I created this overalls pattern myself for my duck-obsessed daughter, basing the sizing on gauge calculations and a pair of her pajamas I knew fitted with room to grow, including extra room for cloth diapers. As a result, it was a bit big when I first completed it, but within a few months the fit was pretty good and there's still lots of room to grow. The cuffs roll up to guard against wind and to accommodate short legs, but roll down either to cover shoeless feet during a stroller ride or as needed as legs grow. The straps need to be crossed over in the back for a snug fit now, but next season will leave more room if uncrossed. Lastly, the straps are extra-long so buttons can be moved as needed for a growing child. With luck I will get two falls/winters out of this, possibly even three.
There are snaps along the insides of the legs and crotch for easy diaper changes (although the cuffs are whole) and I found some nice little plastic duck buttons. It is knitted entirely in Lily Sugar'n'Cream cotton yarn except for the embroidery floss used to strengthen the button holes and a small circle of black felt sewn on for the eye. So far it has held up to extensive play and several machine washings (draped over a stair railing to dry) without any noticeable stretching or fading, proving that this yarn can be used for small garments where thick cotton softness is desired.
I don't have the full pattern posted yet, but the chart for the duck is available with the photos on the left. It was created from a photo of a duck brad (a pin used in scarpbooking) and turned into a rough graph using MicroRevolt's free KnitPro utility. It was done using standard intarsia techniques.
Finger Puppets
These are some silly finger puppets I made while stuck on the couch due to illness. I couldn't knit anything big because it was too hard on my arms while lying down, so I whipped these up. I didn't record patterns for them. The clown's collar is a hyperbolic increase and the princess's dress layers have some very basic lace to them with a picot edge on the white layer.
For more finger puppets, see my listing below for Moo Baa Lalala Finger Puppets.
"Moo Baa La La La" Finger Puppets
These are some silly finger puppets I made while stuck on the couch due to illness. I couldn't knit anything big because it was too hard on my arms while lying down, so I whipped these up. I didn't record patterns for them. They are based on Sandra Boynton's board book "Moo Baa La La La", which is one of my daughter's favourite books.
For more finger puppets, see my listing above for Finger Puppets.
Muppets
This is my first attempt to knit a Muppet-style puppet using Lion Brand Fun Fur, in this case one of the Muppaphone performers from the first season of The Muppet Show (my daughter loves that sketch). It is a variation on Val's Original Yarnball Pattern without seaming the ends fully (to allow for the hand to enter) and leaving two segments partially open (for the mouth). Unfortunately, it came out a bit smaller than I wished, so I didn't do much finishing on the mouth. The eyes are cut out of felt, glued together, and sewn on. The mouth is flexible craft foam. I am almost finished a second version that is much larger and closer to the actual Muppaphone Muppets, and will post a pattern for that when I get a chance.
Banana
Knitted banana with removable peel and a squeaker inside. Free pattern available on the Banana pattern page.
Small Articulated Bear With Hat
This bear is from Jean Greenhowe's Toy Collection. The original pattern is done flat and then stitched, but I have since made other ones converting the pattern to being knit in the round (see below). The limbs and head all move and stay put when positioned.
When I gave the bear to my daughter, she immediately requested a hat. I asked her what colour hat she wanted, and being a toddler, she randomly named some colours, so that's what I did. I didn't record a pattern for it; it's simply expanded from the top outwards, then a few rows down, then a few rows of hyperbolic increase for a ruffle.
More Small Articulated Bears
These bears are from Jean Greenhowe's Toy Collection. The original pattern is done flat and then stitched, but I have converted the pattern to being knit in the round to avoid seaming. The limbs and head all move and stay put when positioned. It is my standard pattern for quick toddler birthday party gifts. The pink ones are two different bears.
Vana's Blanket
My younger sister-in-law saw the baby blanket I made for my older sister-in-law's son and requested a larger version in a sturdier yarn to be a throw in celebration of her wedding. She also asked for me to incorporate her and her husband's initials and the year they were married into the design. The baby version is available as a free pattern on the Baby Blanket pattern page, although the border on this is done in seed stitch rather than stockinette stitch so it wouldn't curl. This version was made with Sugar and Cream Cotton in Sage Green, with the same yarn in Ecru for the letters. It was done on a US size 5 circular needle with a 30" cord. Each basketweave row is 22 squares wide and there are 31 rows (I was intending to do 32 but ran out of time and it was long enough at that).
Cookie Monster
My daughter figured out just before the age of two that I can knit anything she asks for, so she asked me to make a Cookie Monster. I said I could do that. Then she asked me to make a Big Bird, and I replied that I could do that, but asked which she wanted first. She told me she wanted Big Bird first and I said okay. Then she frowned and said she wanted Cookie Monster first, so I said I'd make him first. She frowned some more and said, "Make Cookie Monster and Big Bird first!" So I just picked Cookie Monster first and did him as seen here.
The pattern isn't available yet, but it's more or less a variation on Jean Greenhowe's little articulated bear as shown above in terms of how the limbs are attached.
Big Bird
See Cookie Monster above for the story behind these two Sesame Street toys. When it was completed, my daughter gave me a wide-eyed look and said, "Thank you thank you mummy!" which almost made me cry!
Pattern not yet available, but I can tell you that I used Lion Brand chenille yarn for the yellow parts. The last photo shows what it looked like before I sewed some red felt into the beak.
Pumpkin Bag
As my daughter's first participatory Halloween approached, I realized it just wouldn't do to have her use a standard plastic pumpkin or other store-bought bag for her goodies, so I whipped up this fast and easy pumpkin bag. She also happens to love orange (I think it's her favourite colour) so she's become obsessed with "sumpkins", as she calls them, making this an appreciated accessory as shown in the playful photos.
For free pattern details, please see the Pumpkin Bag Pattern Page.
Dalek from Doctor Who
This was made as a silly Christmas gift for Corran in 2007. It is a Dalek from the Doctor Who series, which is a monster-robot focused on human extermination. It was made using Penwiper's free EXTERMIKNIT! pattern, with some minor adjustments, including doing the eyestalk in the round instead of as i-cord (I found it to be smoother that way) and adding a row to accommodate the blue bead I inserted for that creepy Dalek eyeball look. I also finished the bottom seam using the kitchener stitch which pulled it together very nicely.
The final touch was teaching our toddler daughter to growl, "EXTERMINATE!" whenever she sees it.
Tooth Pixie
This is from Jean Greenhowe's Little Gift Dolls. I adjusted the pattern slightly to do some parts in the round to save on seaming time.
Binary Scarf
This was made using Knitty's Binary pattern by Christine Dumoulin.
After doing the first half and getting into a good rhythm with the pattern (I did specific characters spelling out LOVE in ASCII), I found that doing the upside-down ones were annoying. So after a few rows of those, I broke the yarn and started again going up from the other side, planning to kitchener them together, but since that was creating a half-stitch jog in the pattern, instead I did an inside-out three-needle-bindoff to put them together.
The result is that there's a slight pucker where the pieces are put together, so it's not nice and invisible like kitchener, but you can hardly see it so it's okay. If I did it again, I'd do each half separately so the pucker would be at the back in the middle rather than more obvious on one side.
My husband likes the scarf but finds it a bit too thick to stay wrapped around freely, so it's best when used tucked into a jacket, which unfortunately would hide the pattern work.
"Blue Fuzzy Monster Who Likes Baked Goods" Hat
This is a very simple and quick hat, created when my daughter asked for a hat resembling a particular licensed character. The eyes are actually too far apart to look like said character properly, but she knows what it is and it's correctly identified as such by young and old alike whenever she wears it in public. The bottom two photos show it before it had eyes on, illustrating how it can work as a fuzzy hat on its own, or have other monster/animal pieces attached for a different look.
For free pattern details, please see the "Blue Fuzzy Monster Who Likes Baked Goods" Hat pattern page.
In case you're wondering why this is obfuscated while other items aren't, it's the inclusion of the pattern that could present a problem, while other items of named characters fall within fair use since they don't have patterns provided.
Goldfish Cracker
My daughter loves to eat Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, but recently I've had to put a limit on her consumption. When she demanded some at a time when I wasn't allowing them, I whipped up this knit version for her to play with instead, since she likes to "cook" with them using her toy pots and pans. The second photo shows it above a real Goldfish cracker for comparison.
For free pattern details, please see the Goldfish pattern page.
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Valentine Heart
A cute, quick, and easy heart for Valentine's Day. I added a squeaker and a smiley face. Made using Knittersdelight's Seamless Heart Pattern, available for free.
Market Bag 1
After experimenting with several free market bag patterns and not liking the results, I made this using a garter stitch base, then picked up stitches all the way around the base, then did one row of adding a YO between all sts and the following row dropping the YOs. When it seemed long enough, I did a YO row but then made the next few rows regular st-st, then bound off between the handles, decreased them for tapering, and did a garter stitch handle grafted together with the kitchener stitch. It is very soft, made with Bernat Handicrafter holiday twists yarn, which is why it looks like candy canes.
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Cupcake 1
I made this using ax174's free pattern, tweaked to add extra stitches when switching to the cake colour, but I'm not thrilled with the results. Peo knows it's a cupcake, but I think I can make a better one, so I'm working on a new pattern of my own. I didn't put the cherry on top from the original pattern because Peo doesn't know about having cherries on cupcakes and I don't want her to demand one, since we don't have those kind of cherries in the house.
Fancy Cupcake
A fancy cupcake with icing and sprinkles, made to look as though it is in a paper/silicone baking cup. The first photo shows how it would look without the icing. The last two photos show my daughter playing with it, pretending to eat it and feeding it to a toy frog.
For free pattern details, please see the Fancy Cupcake pattern page.
Rainbow Dinosaur
This is an adapted version of the Green Dinosaur from Jean Greenhowe's Toy Collection. I made it with Red Heart Mexicana yarn to make the rainbow stripes, and I also knitted much of it in the round on DPNs to avoid seaming. The nature of the yarn meant I had to make the features bigger with more contrast to show up.
Where's My Cow Patch for the 2008 Pratchgan
A Ravelry-based fan group for the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett put together an afghan for Mr. Pratchett with squares depicting various scenes and themes from the books. I did "Where's My Cow?" which is a children's book based on the series. The scene shows a bit of the city of Ankh-Morpork with doors, shutters, etc. that open to reveal speech balloons with phrases from the book.
Orange Wig
A fun orange wig for Peo, made with Knitty's free Hallowig pattern. There are some corners at the front and back that protrude more than I'd like, but otherwise it's a good result and I might make more in the future.
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Easter Eggs
I made several of these eggs for a playgroup Easter event so all of the kids could take one home. The free pattern by Jean Greenhowe is fast, easy, and yields a better result than some others I tried; the others became misshapen when squished, while this one always returned to its egg-shape. I worked it in the round instead of flat in order to save time and avoid seaming.
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Mini Easter Egg Toys
I needed some small toys to fit in 2.25" plastic Easter eggs, but most patterns I found were too big to fit. So I designed some quick little spring/Easter-themed toys to fit small eggs and have posted the free patterns here. In the group photo, the flowers are from Nicky Epstein's Knitted Flowers with i-cord stems added, the white goose-duck thing is from Jan Messent's Knit a Fantasy Story with additional shaping, and the man is a basic Little Dude.
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Cherry Pie
This quick and relatively easy pattern is free by Jennifer Tallapaneni.
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Strawberry
Fast and easy pattern is free by Pezdiva.
Drummer Boy
This is from Jean Greenhowe's Little Gift Dolls. It was made as a birthday present for a little boy Peo played with throughout toddlerhood. I converted most of it to DPNs as I went to avoid seaming.
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Toy Boat 1
Someone on a Ravelry group mentioned that she couldn't find a pattern for a toy boat, even though there are lots of patterns for flat boats. I took it as a challenge and created this initial prototype. However, I decided the mast (which needs to be that big to accommodate enough stuffing for firmness) was too big for the hull, so I then made a second boat (below) and posted its free pattern.
Toy Boat 2
This boat is an improvement on the prototype above. The free pattern allows for the mast to be centred or offset as desired, and it includes the anchor and lifepreserver.
Elephant Girl
Made for a playgroup friend. From Jean Greenhowe's Knitted Animals, except converted to being knit in the round wherever possible.
Pirate Skull Hat
Made for a neighbour's son. From this free pattern: We Call Them Pirates.
Multicoloured Baby Blanket
Another version of the baby blanket above, this time done in Bernat Berella afghan yarn. Made for a friend's new baby. For free pattern details, please see the Baby Blanket pattern page.
A doll was later made to match this blanket, shown below.
Jayne Hat
As inspired by the TV show Firefly. Made for a friend's child, but modelled by Peo. From this free pattern: RedShirt Knitting's "My Jayne Hat Pattern".
Fuzzy Poncho
I made this using several basic poncho patterns as inspiration. I can't remember the name of the yarn, but it was something Peo picked out herself at Hobby Lobby.
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Christmas Lights
My own design, free pattern available here. I've been meaning to make more including some with faces but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
Pumpkin Hat
Peo decided she wanted to be a Jack-O-Lantern for Halloween 2008, so I whipped up this quick hat to go with her pumpkin sweater and pumpkin bag. I also used makeup to paint little Jack-O-Lanterns on her cheeks and hands, plus she painted a wooden mask as a separate craft. No pattern available; I just winged it.
Skeleton Sweater
I made this from the booklet, "Bernat #542057, Spooky Stuff" which seems to have been discontinued. However, Bernat currently has the pattern available free to registered members (registration is free). The bones glow in the dark using Bernat's Glow in the Dark yarn.
It was made in fall of 2008, and in 2009 it was used as part of Peo's Halloween costume, which was, as she put it, "the skeleton of a tyrannosaurus rex that is dirty because it has just been dug up by a paleontologist."
Dinosaurs
I made the blue dinosaur first, using a pattern from Jean Greenhowe's Toy Collection, as a gift for a friend's child. When Peo saw it, she requested a red one and an orange cape for him.
Tiny Scarecrow
This is Tiny Scarecrow, a character from the PBS show The Biscuit Brothers. This pattern was developed with permission from the show's producer/director, who also voices the puppet character. The free pattern is available here.
The jacket is removable, which was tricky given that he has huge hands.
It was originally supposed to be much smaller, but in trying to capture sufficient detail for the face (which is worked as short-row intarsia, making this an advanced pattern), I ended up having to go much bigger. But it means he's about actual size relative to the show, and Peo can carry him around and play with him. Note that as a very cautious scarecrow, he even wears his seatbelt while in the car.
I had some difficulty getting the mouth right, in part because I wanted to make him smile, but Tiny does not smile. He's a pretty angsty puppet. Luckily he's surrounded by the much happier Biscuit Brothers, as shown in the last two photos where they convinced Peo to let them hold him for a photo at a local concert event.
There are also Biscuit Brothers Little Dudes.
Kai-Lan
Peo is a big fan of Kai-Lan from the show Ni-Hao Kai-Lan, so I made her one for her birthday. I made one for a friend's child as well, but didn't record the pattern, so no pattern will be made available.
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Snowflake-to-Skull Fingerless Gloves
A rare project that's all for me! From the free pattern Snowball's Chance in Hell, but I worked the motif as stranded instead of duplicate stitch, and I made them much shorter by working at a smaller gauge.
I managed to miss a couple of lines in one of the motifs on one side, but decided it was close enough and didn't go back to fix it. So one glove is two rows shorter than the other. Bet you can't tell, because I can't when I'm wearing them!
Celestine
From the Berroco free pattern, but I used Red Heart Super Saver Mexicana.
I had some trouble remembering how many rows to do at the end on some points if I was working on this at a conversational knit group, so some of them came out more pointy than others. it's also much bigger than I expected, even taking into account the thicker yarn I used. It's now a toy for Peo, and we have a family game where Corran calls it a stellated dodecahedron and Peo and I call it a ball.
Water Bottle Holders
I've been experimenting with various colour techniques while making carriers for our family's various-sized water bottles. The chart designs are from Charted Knitting Designs: A Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker.
Long Pink Scarf
A friend's child wanted a long pink scarf for Christmas, so I used several kinds of fuzzy pink yarn given to me by de-stashing knit group friends to whip this up. One of them is even sparkly!
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Doll to Match Blanket
This was made for a friend's child when it was reported that the blanket made with the same yarn had become the child's favourite lovey. The pattern is the Elf doll from Christmas Tree Decorations by Val Love.
Skull Bag
This was made for a friend using this free motif: Deathflake by Reliquary Arts. I whipped up a fast in-the-round base to get up to the right number of sts, then worked it five times with a blank row between each, repeated the chart for a second layer, then some plain black, then some ribbing that included holes for the cord. The cord is the same yarn as the colour in the pattern (Red Heart Kids, can't remember the colour name), but just braided. I put in a lighter lining for three reasons: 1) it's annoying to find things inside a dark bag, 2) knitted bags always let small things fall out, and 3) I carried super-long floats when working the chart.
Fabulous Sparkly Red Bag
Peo saw some sparkly red eyelash yarn in the store and requested a bag made from it, so she got one! No pattern, I just winged it.
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Little Witch Doll
When Peo saw the pattern book Holiday Decorations by Val Love, she requested this witch, so I made her one.
