Machine Knitting: Buffalo Check Baby Blanket on the 22 pin Sentro Knitting Machine

If you've been involved in the knitting world on YouTube in the last year or so, you've probably seen the Sentro Knitting Machines. They are a circular, plastic, toy-looking knitting machine that is actually used by knitters (adults) for all kinds of projects. I had toyed with getting one or months, but it finally got me, and this project definitely helped me justify the splurge. My sister was having her first baby at the beginning of June, so I used that as the perfect chance to make this up.

I made this entire blanket on my 22 pin Sentro knitting machine in 2 days. Yes, really. I saw several tutorials and patterns making this same idea, but I knew I could figure it out on my own (controversial, I know). This entire blanket is double layered, because all the strips are knit in tubes and then flattened to seam them together. My sister really likes the black and gray baby trend that's been going around, so I decided to make this look like buffalo check. I used I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby in Greybead, Black, and White, and I made each square 17 rows, then switched to the next color, then switched back, etc until I had 12 squares per strip. This made my finished blanket 52 x 41 inches, so a good baby blanket size. Was the knitting perfect? Absolutely not, lol. This was my first actual project on the machine, so I learned a few important tips in making this:

• make sure the yarn is free flowing into the machine with no added resistance or you will get tucked stitches and weirdness
• snug your new color yarn after about 3 stitches, then tie it to the previous color after 4 or 5 rows
• don't crank too fast or you will drop stitches
• angle the machine on the edge of the table to the tube can fall freely and not bunch up or get twisted

Let's just say I'm thankful this project is double sided with the same color behind each square. If it didn't have that double layer, you would see ALL kinds of weird holes and spaced out stitches, but the double layer fills in the gaps. 

Seaming this beast took as much time (if not more) than cranking out the pieces. I tried out 2 methods of seaming the strips together- crocheting the edge stitches into each other, and mattress stitch. In the end, I liked the smooth look of the mattress stitch, so that is what I used, but man did that take a long time. Also being a double layer, this was quite warm to seam together in May/June in Florida. Just saying. For seaming, I started from the center of each line and worked outward, trying to make sure the squares lined up to give the plaid look I was going for. I think I mostly succeeded. This project is a major yarn hog though, so be warned. This baby blanket took almost the entire 4 skeins of yarn. Because of this, it's wonderfully squishy, but it is certainly a blanket for colder times.

Since this was a gift for my new nephew, I decided to add one of my tags :) Then hopefully he will know where this came from when he gets older. Part of why I wanted to make this was just to learn the construction, but also to see how sturdy it felt with all that seaming. I'm pleasantly surprised at how together this blanket feels. I was afraid the weight of the other strips would cause them to pull away from each other and create gaps, but if I didn't tell people it was made in strips then I don't think they would ever know.

I let my other new nephew test it out before I sent it to the recipient, and it passed the cozy baby test with flying colors :) 

All in all, I'm really happy with this project. You can't beat the speed, and for baby gifts this will give me a very impressive look without all the time I would usually have to spend (which is why I don't ever knit blankets - I get bored). I am certain I will be making more of these blankets for other new babies in the future, and it really makes my purchase of this little machine feel more justified. I have the most ridiculous yarn stash, so I'm excited about the greater possibilities of using it quicker.

Summary:

Yarn: Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn 2 skeins in Greybeard, 1 skein in Black, 1 skein in White: $14.96

Pattern: My own based off Koala Knits and Calumet Knits You Tube videos

Time: 2 Days

FO: Girly Gramps Cardigan

My sister, Shannon, had her first baby last year and of course I had to make her something :) We knew it was going to be a girl beforehand, and given that she's in a colder area and the time of year the baby was born, I decided to use this as an opportunity to finally knit up a baby sweater. I searched my pattern stash and yarn stash and settled on this ADORABLE sweater and I'm so pleased with the results.

The pattern is gramps by tincanknits. It has a huge array of sizes, going from 0-6 months up to adult, and it was just so cute. I made the smallest size and it honestly still is a bit large for a standard sized infant. She was still swimming in it at 4 months, but that worked ok because it fit for the coldest time. I decided to really girl it up and make this little old man style sweater in Strawberry Cream colored Cascade 220 Superwash with the same in Cream for the accents. This way she gets the warmth of wool, but it's still easy care for washing. I've had these yarns in my stash for years from a different baby project for a friend's baby, so I was happy to use it for another little babe.

The knitting on this was pretty straight forward - it's knit seamless and then you have to add the adorable pockets and elbow patches. Are these frivolous? Absolutely. But are they the cutest thing ever? Of course. 

I used some of what I call my Magic Tube of Buttons for this. I got an entire tube of these buttons for $2 a few years ago and they have worked for SO MANY projects. I think I've used them for a few sweaters for myself as well as a button down shirt and possibly something else. I still have a bunch left, so they will continue to show up from time to time. They are just the right touch for a lot of things.

So that was it - an adorable sweater for an adorable baby :) 

Summary:

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash - 0.85 skeins of Strawberry Cream, 0.58 skeins of Aran

Pattern: gramps by tincanknits

Notions: 5 Buttons

Time: just shy of 1 month

 

FO: Chill Pill-ow

This project was a request from my sister about 2 years before I made it, lol. Can't rush. Last summer I was on a big kick to finally fulfill the promised makes for my family, and this one turned out to be a huge hit.

About 2 years before, my sister sent me this photo and asked if I could crochet her one. The original is tufted, but I knew I could translate it into crochet without much difficulty. So I said yes and the promptly did not make it up, lol.

I did make a chart for myself back when she asked me initially for this pillow, which was handy. I just guessed at the size and it turned out to be right - woo hoo. I didn't know what to do for the actual outer size of the pillow itself, so I made it as a bit of a rounded edge rectangle knowing I could serge off the areas I didn't need later. This file is large enough to print just in case anyone else needs a chill pillow of their own.

And this was the finished top! I made this while watching old Twilight Zone episodes, lol. I was pretty pleased with it. I did this as tapestry crochet where you carry the other color along and crochet it into each stitch so it is available when you need to switch. I remember I did have to fudge the chart in one place because it didn't look right - it was somewhere on the 100mg part, I just can't remember specifically what I had to do. Once it was all crocheted, I just made a template of what shape I wanted the pillow to be that would use the most of the crochet I could while still making it look uniform and deliberate. I then used that template piece to cut out some white denim from my stash, and I sewed and serged the pieces together, leaving a few inches to flip it and stuff before closing it by hand.

The back is plain but sturdy, helping give this a good finished shape. I find it's hard to get a fully crocheted pillow to keep the shape you want without it bulging in odd areas since it has so much give built in. Also, I stuffed this thing within an inch of its life. My philosophy with anything you will be hugging and squeezing or laying on is that you want to stuff it very firmly in the beginning because the stuffing with compact over time. So this was very firmly stuffed when it went to its new owners.

It turned out a nice bolster size, which has now made this pillow legendary in our family. My mom brought this along with a few other things I sewed for my sister when she visited her for the birth of her baby. She had the baby, and this pillow became invaluable. She now swears that I should make this pillow for everyone as a baby gift - they use it to prop up the baby, to prop their arms up when feeding, all kinds of things. Who knew? 

My other 2 sisters also just had babies, so now I have to make more pillows similar to this but without the crochet. Maybe this can be my signature baby gift? A firmly stuffed bolster pillow. I really like how this came out initially and I'm very glad that I buckled down and got it done in a time that my sister could get the most use out of it.

Summary:

Yarn: I Love This Yarn in Soft Blue and Antique White - $3.00

Pattern: My own 

Fabric: 1/4 yard of white denim - Free

Time: 2 Days
 

Tiny FO: Pacifier Clips

So, I've had a little side project going on the past few weeks - I've been helping to take care of 2 adorable twin baby girls! I get them one day a week until they are old enough for daycare and we have been having a grand time :) Of course having little peeps around makes me want to make things for them, and the first thing I made was ridiculously simple but necessary. The girls kept knocking their pacifiers out of their mouths and they would fall on the floor when out and about - no cool! I couldn't have nasty floor germs infecting these cuties. I had to swing by Hobby Lobby for something and what did I find but a pack of pacifier clips - perfect! I grabbed a 4 pack and made some that night.

Pacifier clips are one of the easiest yet most annoying things to sew depending on your sewing machine, lol. Mine definitely did not like sewing them. I searched pinterest for a tutorial just to make sure I cut the right size pieces, and this one was great. I pulled out my scrap cotton bag and came up with 4 different fabrics with just barely enough - it's moments like this that I am actually grateful I don't get rid of any scraps. I even had scrap piece of interfacing - a total win!

 The clip pieces are some colored plastic ones by Babyville. Having never had a baby, these took a moment to figure out. That sucker really clips on! Definitely go with these instead of the suspenders clip style if you have a kid that pulls on things. I was worried I would break it just trying to get it open, lol. No breaking yet though.

 So I followed the tutorial and sewed an interfaced tube of fabric, turned it right side out, then tucked one end inside as best I could (it's not great - I hate tubes, lol). You just slip the fabric in the clip and overlap the fabric enough for your machine to fit across and make a square. In my case, I went with 2 lines and they are not as close to the cli pas I wanted - my machine really hated making these and I had to push the fabric through with a stiletto the whole way (thus the uneven stitching - ugh). It's not my neatest work, but it held on so I went with it.

At the other end of the tube I just added a loop of ribbon to the tube before top stitching it closed. This goes through the holes on the pacifier to connect it to the clip. Again - not my best work, but they babies have yet to complain...

 I made 4 that night with fabrics that matched the clip colors best :) I love that all of the materials are scraps except the clips themselves - even the ribbon was leftover from costume projects. So for $2.25 plus about 30 minutes, I have 4 clips ready to go. I gave 2 to the foster parents and I kept 2 at my house in case the others get lost or I need them at my house. The girlies seem to like them:

The family has even designated which clip goes to which baby, lol, so we can help tell them apart. The babies aren't super mobile yet, but it does make these easier to grab and find due to the bright colors on the straps. I know they will be even more important as the girls get bigger.

Another one in use while I watched them one day :)

So I know this is kind of a silly post for something so easy, but if you know anyone having a baby I would recommend making some up as a gift. Grab a few pacifiers at the store and them make a thoughtful yet useful present. Also aren't these babies so cute?!

Prepare to see a few more baby related posts staring these girls :) I just couldn't help but make them some things.

Hurricane FO: A Pair of Birdie Rattles

After making my Lions on Saturday night, I had to get situated for another project on Sunday night (when the worst part of the storm passed through). When packing my yarn, I deliberately chose colors that I could use on multiple projects for multiple babies. Next up were a couple of birdies!

This is the Sweet Tweeter! pattern from Modern Baby Crochet by Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitches. I just love her books, and I love this pattern. It's so simple (and quick) to make, but babies seem to love the shape and they make for a fun opportunity to use bright colors. This one is for a particular little girl, so having already made a pink one I wanted to make this different and chose purple. I used I Love This Yarn in the hGrape colorway for the body and Red Heart With Love in Daffodil for the beak.

And of course I added a rattle :) Rattle all the things! I haven't seen the baby this one is intended for in a while, but I'm hoping she likes it.

Since the storm was still raging, I settled in to make my second bird rattle of the night. This is where I had to do a lot of starting and stopping as well as crochet by candle light and/or flashlight, lol. Our power kept going on and off while I was making the body of this birdy, but I was undeterred.

This is another bird intended for a baby girl, and I just love this color so I try to fit it into projects wherever possible. I used Red Heart With Love in Jade for the body and the same Daffodil for the beak.

And this has a rattle as well :) Don't you just love their little faces? I used 10 mm safety eyes for both birds, and I like to put them a little closer together then the pattern calls for.

And here are both birds just after I finished them :) This picture was taken by candle light and with my camera flash, lol. I hope the little ladies I made these for like them and have as much fun shaking them as I do!

Hurricane FO: A Pair of Lion Rattles

No matter where you live in the world, you are bound to have some type of potential for nature to try to wipe you off its turf: floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc. As far as natural disasters go, I'm ok with the fact that the one I deal with most is the hurricane over most others. Generally we have at least a few days to prepare before the storm arrives, and we are able to hunker down and hope for the best, unlike the spontaneity of a tornado or an earthquake. So we work our butts off for days boarding up, buying supplies, and taking other precautions before the storm comes, then we just sit inside and watch the news until it's safe to come outside again. This means we get a bit of downtime :) As I packed up my possessions before Hurricane Irma struck my area, I made sure to pack a few projects to work on to pass the time if we were stuck inside or if I couldn't return to my place for a while afterward. I packed my sewing machine and a dress project, some yarn (including my swift, winder, and scale lol), and some patterns I've been planning but had yet to make. First off I wanted to take advantage of the downtime to make a few baby gifts for friends who are expecting and/or just had babies. I've really had fun making rattles lately - I mean it's just so much more fun and functional for a baby if it makes noise, right? - so I decided to pack my rattles and try out a pattern I've always wanted to make.

I bought the Vanna's Choice Easy Crochet Critters (Leisure Arts #75266) booklet back when I first learned to crochet just so I could make this adorable lion :) Isn't it the cutest?! It's called Little Amigurumi Lion and I just love the shape of it. This is the first version I made - this is for a baby girl, so I wanted to go with slightly cutesy/girly colors.

I grabbed all these yarns from my stash, and they are: I Love This Yarn in Gray Mist and Ocean as well as some extremely old light purple yarn (like I've had this yarn since high school so I have no idea what it is). I liked the way the colors worked together. The body is basically a ball with a flat side for the face, which is just so cute :)

There is also a little tail on the back with a purple ball - the perfect appendage for tiny hands to grab :) I put a rattle in the belly before sealing this up and it is very fun to shake.

Teal feet! lol I just love how this lion turned out and I can't wait to give it to its new owner. I was so happy with this first version that I immediately started on a second. When I was packing my yarn I couldn't decide which color combo to use for this one, and since the first came out so cute I decided to make another in the traditional colors for a baby boy.

So again it's the same pattern (obviously), but this time I used Red Heart With Love in Daffodil, Red Heart Super Saver in Cafe Latté, and a mystery orange acrylic yarn I got at a thrift store. I love the colors and think it's adorable, but this time the yellow yarn was a bit thicker then the orange so the mane looks smaller. I think this gives the effect of it looking like a yellow cat with a fake mane, lol. Not a bad thing, just something I noticed. I also forgot to mention that I used 9 mm safety eyes on both of these.

Again with the ball body shape - so cute!

And the little ball tail!

And this guy got brown feet. I managed to finish both of these on the first night before the hurricane. I can't remember what day of the week that was now though, lol, maybe Saturday? All the days kind of run together in my memory. Suffice it to say that I managed to make both of these in just a few hours, so I am really liking this pattern, lol. Really these are some extremely simple shapes to make, so if you feel at all inclined I definitely recommend you give it a try.

FO: Beagle for Baby

I found out earlier this year that my cousin would be having her first baby in June. I knew I wanted to make a toy for her, but it took me a while to decide what to do. Now that it's made I know it's so perfect that I can't believe I didn't see it straight off!

It's a beagle! This particular baby has two beagles siblings that my cousin has had for years now, and they are an integral part of their family. So why not make a mini beagle of her very own for the new baby girl :) I used the Beagle pattern from Fresh Stitches by Stacey Trock. I always love her patterns - they are so straight forward and well explained. Because of her fantastic directions, this puppy only took a few hours to make.

I love the body shape and the color blocking - I think with amigurumi dogs it can be hard to make different breeds, but this one is obviously a beagle to everyone, so that's a sign of a job well done to me. I love the bog floppy ears! I worked from my stash on this one (as ever), so this is made of Red Heart Super Saver in Cafe Latte and Black along with Vanna's Choice in White and Dusty Rose.

The back has a black splotch that continues onto the tail. I also love that the tail is curved to one side - so cute! To add to the fun (and hopefully make this more interesting to a very young baby) I added a jingling cat ball to the belly and a speaker to the foot. So not only does this have many appendages to chew on when teething, there are even fun sounds to go with it :)

I was also very excited to use some of my dog noses on this make! I have regular triangle generic toy noses too, but I grabbed some of these dog style noses at The Sewing Studio in one of their sales a while back and I've never made any dogs that called for a safety nose. I LOVE the little nose. I think it really adds to the cuteness factor on this doggy.

Once I finished assembly, I thought it looked a little plain, so I made a pink collar to jazz things up. All I did was chain 3, sc into 2nd st from hook, ch 1 and turn, sc 2, ch 1 and turn, etc until it was long enough to go around the neck. I cut a long tail so I could not only sew the collar together at the back, but also so I could go in and out of the collar and secure it to the body. In my experience it's pieces like this that get pulled on and stretched out and quickly look icky when they aren't secured down. I think it turned out as just the right touch :)

And here is the puppy with her new owner - Emma! Isn't she adorable?! I can't wait to meet here in person. I hope she grows to enjoy her very own beagle. My cousin says it's great to have a beagle that won't get up and leave the room when the baby come in, lol. 

Yay for babies, and cute puppies, and great patterns to make them with :) If you need a beagle of your own, I can't recommend this pattern enough!

FO: Uni the Unicorn

Continuing on my crochet baby toy adventure lately, I had another gift I needed to make. My best friend, Leigh, had her 3rd baby and her 1st girl at the end of January. I had the flu at the time, so I didn't want to risk a visit (even though she was ridiculously cute and I really wanted to meet her), so I waited until all signs of illness were gone. I wanted to make her a meaningful gift, so I started wracking my brain about what I could do when I remembered something that Leigh had made for the baby.

Leigh was inspired by a very pretty children's book called Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Brigitte Barrager. The book has beautiful illustrations, and Leigh decided to paint her own copy of the cover for the baby's room. Didn't it turn out great?! She's so talented :) I knew that making a Uni the Unicorn toy would be a good choice, so I looked through Ravelry to find a suitable pattern. Oddly enough the one that had the best body shape for Uni was actually from a Creativebug class.

Twinkie Chan has a class to make your own Crocheted Unicorn on Creativebug. The class includes the pdf pattern and then the video walks you through every step to make your own unicorn. I made slight modifications to make my unicorn more like Uni, but overall the pattern worked really well and is very simple to make.

I dug through my stash to find fun yarns that would match the inspiration picture. I used Red Heart Super Saver in white for the body (an easily washed acrylic workhorse). The hooves are actually made from a rayon metallic yarn I acquired by unraveling a thrifted sweater. It was really the perfect yarn - gold and sparkly :) The horn is made from Aunt Lydia's Iced Bamboo size 3 crochet thread - I held a strand of Aqua Ice and Icicle together as one to get the sort of twist in the colors.

The hair was the most fun to choose. I used Premier Everyday Soft Worsted in Aubergine for the main purple color and mixed it with Red Heart With Love in Hot Pink, Golden Bamboo Fingering in Rose Red, and the gold I used for the hooves. I think the hair turns out really fun with just a bit of sparkle.

For the eyes I went with some of my beloved Suncatcher 6mm ones in teal. They are safety eyes, but just look at how vibrant the color is! For them being only 6 mm that's pretty impressive :) They seemed the perfect color so I just had to use them.

I ended up stuffing the legs on this. I left them unstuffed at first, but when I sewed them on the unicorn just couldn't hold herself up with such flimsy legs. Stuffed it is! I added just enough stuffing to get them to stand firm and now she's able to stand up just fine.

And that is my unicorn. Well, Elliot's unicorn :) I was finally able to go visit her at the beginning of March, and while she's a little young to really do much with her toy right now I hope she grows to love it. I added a rattle to the tummy, plus that gold yarn is so sparkly and the legs are so easy to put in a small mouth that I'm sure this will get some use, lol.

And here's the beautiful little girl with her unicorn :) Isn't she adorable? And look at all that hair! I just love her. Welcome to the world, Elliot :) I hope you enjoy your own little Uni.