FO: Pokemon Hat & Scarf Set

 

The final hat and scarf set was for my 11 year old nephew and I decided to make it Pokemon themed. He's been into Pokemon for years, so I knew this would be well received. I also knew I had the perfect yarns in my stash to make this happen, which is always nice.

The scarf was actually the first thing I made out of all of these gifts. I made it on the Sentro machine first, but I didn't like how the front yellow section had so many tucked stitches and it looked sloppy. When the Ravenclaw one came out so great on my flat bed machine, I decided to unravel this entire scarf and redo it on the Babylock machine and I'm so happy I did. 

I knew I had this almost full skein of Red Heart Super Saver yarn in yellow - I had only used it for little details here and there on toys over the years and it was in my Ravelry stash as 0.98 skeins left - but I had one heck of a time actually locating the skein. I found it amongst some skeins I had decided to donate years ago and then apparently never did. Good thing I didn't! I made this 50 stitches wide and just knit the yellow until it ran out, which didn't give me quite as long as I wanted it to be. Personally, I like my scarves to be long enough to easily double wrap around my neck and still show the end details, and my nephew is very big for his age, so I wanted this to be 72 inches. When the yellow ran out, I just color blocked in some black. This lead me down the very weird Mandela effect rabbit hole of whether Pikachu's tail has a zig zag of black at the end, which I always thought it did. Turns out that regardless of our personal thoughts on if it was changed at some point, the current games all have his tail as being all yellow and since that was what my nephew would know I just went with a straight transition to black instead of zig zagging it like I thought I would initially. he black is also Red Heart Super Saver, so the transition went well. I knitted about 15 inches more in black and then bound off.

I used kitchener stitch at the ends and mattress stitch along the sides - and man do these take a long time to seam together when they are so long. I took a photo of the kitchener end just to show how it looks. It does have a bit more bulk, but I just steamed the daylights out of it to lay as flat as possible.

The final touch was my home stitched Pikachu patch. I searched through the available Pikachu embroidery files and settled on this one because he looks so happy. This stitched out beautifully if I do say so myself. I used my same black linen scraps for the base and stabilized it well and he looks very professional. I just love him. He definitely makes the whole scarf.

Next up came the hat. I had seen a hat online that looked like a Pokeball and decided that would be my nephew's favorite. The inspiration hat has the button done with intarsia, which I could technically do on my machine, but I didn't know how yet and it would have taken me too long to learn and plot out and probably make this hat a few times to get right, so I decided to just knit the base colors into the hat and then figure out a way to add the circles after. Doesn't this beanie look so late 90s without the circles? How trendy am I? lol This is a picture of the mattress stitched back, which turned out great.

And here is the inside because I think it just looks to cool, lol. It came out very clean and I'm always shocked by how precision the knitting machine makes things look inside. 

Once the hat was made, I had to figure out how to add the button. I had thought of just crocheting one, but that would have been really bulky, as would knitting one. Then I thought about finding an embroidery file and making a patch of just the button, but that would have been hard in the size I needed it. Then it hit me that I could just use a white base fabric and embroider circles of different thicknesses in black. This didn't require any files to do - I just used circles on the machine - and I think it turned out fantastic. The base fabric is a white denim my mom had on hand. Because this was just fabric, it was much easier to sew on than the thicker patches. 

This was the final item I was hurrying to finish so I could pop it in the mail, so my finished hat photos were all taken late at night, thus the lighting in the photos. I think the hat turned out great. If I was to make it again, I would do about 2 rows less of the white, but other than that I am so happy with this one.

And I had to get a photo making the same face as Pikachu, lol. This set is definitely my favorite of the bunch and I was really proud of it. I think the design idea was good as well as the execution, which is just always a nice boost. My nephew loved it on Christmas, which is also the icing on the cake. He now has a custom made but professional looking accessory set for the chilly weather and I hope he loves it for a long time.

Summary:

Yarn: 1 skein of Red Heart Super Saver in Yellow - $ 0.25, 0.23 skeins in Black - $ 0.25

Pattern: None

Notions: Pikachu embroidery file - $ 3.00

Time: 4 hours

FO: Spiderman Hat & Scarf Set

 Are you noticing the trend yet?

Once I worked out the sizing and kinks of making the Ravenclaw hat and scarf set, it was time to churn out a few other variations. My 5 year old nephew is very into Spiderman lately, so I decided to make him a set to feel super cool. I was inspired by a red and blue striped hat and scarf I saw online that I knew I could recreate and I dove in.

The hat came first on this one because I was making all the hats back to back. This set worked out to be a bit of a stash bust. I had various partial skeins of red and blue acrylic yarn that was given to me or leftover from other projects, so this was the perfect opportunity to use those up. The blue yarn is Red Heart Super Saver in the Delft Blue colorway, which I used up entirely, and the red in an unknown acrylic from a friend (I suspect it's I Love This Yarn) and I only have a small ball of that leftover. The hat was made with the same YouTube Video as the first hat and it worked great for this one too. The only difference is that I had to change the yarns myself since this wasn't self striping. I did 6 rows of each color for the striping and I think that was the perfect amount. The back is mattress stitched together and it's almost seamless, which I'm happy with.

The spiderman emblem was also made by me! Well, by a machine that I directed, which counts, right? I swear as more machinery is involved, I don't really know how to refer to things anymore, you know? Anyway, I searched online for Spiderman files for my mom's embroidery machine (I have an older machine that does embroidery, but my mom's is fancier and she has all the threads on hand to make whatever AND I was too lazy to set mine up, lol). The file only took about 15 minutes to stitch out, which wasn't bad. I used some black linen scraps as the base fabric and then we used several stabilizers to get this crisp look. I think the patches turned out really great. Once the file was stitched out, I just cut very close around it like a patch and hand stitched it to the center front.

Next came the scarf. I made this 50 stitches wide (same as the Ravenclaw one) and I just kept knitting until I ran out of yarn. Since my nephew is 5, he didn't need an adult sized scarf. The red yarn in this scarf is Premier Yarns Everyday Soft Worsted in the Really Red colorway, which I only have a small ball of left now. The blue is the same Red Heart and I ran out mid stripe, which was a bit of a bummer. I wanted the stripes to at least be the same width throughout, so I added a bit of black just to finish out that 6 row stripe. I think it still goes fine and no one has asked why it has a stripe of black. Design feature! 

I cast off when I ran out of yarn and tried it on my kids (who are one year older) and the length seamed just fine. I used a mattress stitch to close up the sides and a kitchener stitch at the ends and then steamed the daylights out of the edges just like before. 

And then I sewed my home-stitched patch at the bottom on the side with the black - I think this makes the black seem a bit more deliberate, don't you?

So that's the Spiderman set :) My nephew was very excited when he opened it - much more so than I thought a 5 year old getting clothing of any kind would be - so that was really nice. It's always nice to feel like the gift recipient appreciates what you gave them, which is so hit and miss with kids. I'm glad I could make something cool enough to make him that happy.

Summary:

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Delft Blue - Free, Premier Yarns Everyday Soft Worsted in Really Red - $2.00, Unknown Acrylic in Red - Free

Pattern: None

Notions: Spiderman embroidery file - $3.00

Time: 3 hours

FO: Ravenclaw Scarf & Hat

 

In deciding to knit hat and scarf sets for all the kids, I first started off with a pokemon one for my nephew. I used the Sentro 48 pin machine and cranked out a yellow and black version, which was mostly fine except the machine had tucked stitches no matter what I tried to avoid it. I had a heavily tucked section in the most visible area when worn and I really wasn't thrilled with it. I decided to try the second scarf on my flat bed knitting machine to compare the two - if I couldn't get the flat bed machine to do better then I would just use the pokemon one as it was. Anyway, this was what started my adventures in finally making things on my flat bed machine, lol. 

The scarf was my first project even though I finished it last. Since I was trying to make the same size as the Sentro machine, I made this 50 stitches wide - 48 stitches and then 2 stitches as seam allowance for sewing it into a tube. I like a scarf that is long enough to really wrap you up, so I made this 72 inches long. 

The yarn was a very fortuitous situation. I was planning on buying some navy blue yarn and striping this scarf myself with some gray I already had, but one day on a visit to the local library one of the lovely ladies asked me if I would like some yarn. She knows I'm an avid knitter and brought me into their classroom where they stored yarn for knitting classes and pulled out 5 trash bags and a few tubs filled with yarn and told me to take whatever I wanted. They had too much on hand and people tend to bring their own to the classes, so this was all going to go. It was mostly all acrylic, but I found 3 skeins of Red Heart Team Spirit yarn in Navy and Gray stripe. This is a self striping acrylic yarn and I immediately knew it would be perfect for my Ravenclaw project. My boyfriend's son discovered Harry Potter this past year and he saw he is a Ravenclaw, so I knew I had to facilitate this. Sometimes the universe just makes certain projects a possibility, you know?

So I made this using my 1988 Babylock knitting machine. I watched the series called Know Your Bond by Cheryl Brunette on YouTube and just knitted until it was 72 inches long. Since I didn't have to change colors, it went extremely smoothly. I think I made this in about an hour on the knitting machine. I'll admit it probably took me another 30 - 45 minutes to seam it up and then another 30 minutes to sew the patch on, but still for a plain stockinette scarf that's 72" long, I'm fine with that time frame, lol. I originally wanted to add tassels, but in the end I didn't think they were needed. I ordered 2 of these patches from Joann because they were on sale for $3.25 each and that's cheaper than I would have been able to buy the embroidery file let alone spend the hour to stitch them out myself. Work smarter, not harder, right? For the scarf, I just used a mattress stitch along the sides to sew it into a tube and I used a kitchener stitch to close up the end, then I steamed it heavily on the seams to get them to sit flatter.

Next up - the hat! I actually made this hat twice. At first, I used my own numbers for how many stitches it should be and it turned out way too big even for my head. It was good practice though and I was able to make the next one according to the numbers I got from this YouTube video. I was grateful to find this video made on the machine I was using. It was a nice walk through. When making this hat on the flat bed machine, at least 75% of the time is making the brim. You cast on every other stitch, knit a few rows, then add in all the rows and knit some more, then you go in with a latch hook tool and drop down every other row and re-knit them by hand to be knit stitches on the wrong side, giving you a ribbed brim that is already cast off when you're done. It's very much worth the time and effort, but it just feels like it takes forever in comparison to the time of the entire hat.

Once the knitting is done, you draw up the crown to cinch in and seam the back. I try to be very accurate when seaming anything striped and I think it turned out really well for this one.

I used a mattress stitch for the seam, which leaves a very small seam in the center back. It actually looks very clean inside thanks to this being machine made.

Once again I added the patch from Joann - I did sew these on even though they are iron on. The iron on always fails eventually and I want this to be easy to wash and wear for an 8 year old.

And there you have my first scarf and hat set of this Christmas :) I love how this turned out and the recipient seems to like it as well (even if the scarf was a bit large, lol). Even though I knit these first, they weren't "finished" until after everything else because I was waiting for the patches in the mail. C'est la vie, eh? They didn't arrive until 2 days after Christmas, but they were done and in the mail before the mailing cut off, so I still count that as a success.

Summary:

Yarn: 3 skeins of Red Heart Team Spirit in Navy and Gray = Free

Pattern: Scarf - None, Hat: Here - Free

Notions: 2 Ravenclaw patches - $6.50

Time: 4 hours

A Year In Yarn: 2023

Knitting and crochet have always been my go-to crafts over the years, even when sewing went by the wayside. This year felt a bit more productive than the past several, so I think I'm really back in the swing. These are all the pieces I made with yarn in 2023 and each project is linked if you want to find out more about it.

1. Baby's First Toilet
2. Florist Bolero
3. Haruni Shawl
4. Hungry Snake

5. Baby's First Planet
6. Honeybee Cardigan
7. Stonecrop Tote
8. Gus Gus

9. Gingham Baby Blanket
10. Liesl Cardigan
11. Sock Week Socks
12. Playin' My Song Shawl

13. Minion Rattle
14. Pusheen
15. Susan Shaw Cardigan
16. Chuck Sweater

17. Pink Bear Hat
18. Ravenclaw Scarf
19. Ravenclaw Hat
20. Pikachu Scarf

21. Blue Bear Hat
22. Spiderman Scarf
23. Spiderman Hat

24. Pokeball Hat

25. Pan Handle Cover

26. Fuzzy Neon Beanies

27. Finger Knit Blanket

28. Belladonna Cardigan

I managed to squeak in the Belladonna cardigan just under the wire on the 28th. It's currently blocking, but since the knitting was done in 2023, it totally counts! This means I managed to make 6 sweaters this year, 2 of which were fingering weight, one of those was knit almost 2 full times by the time it was done. Seventeen of the 28 items I made with yarn were gifts, which is pretty impressive. Mostly I just knit myself sweaters and a few shawls, but I highly enjoyed all the things I made. The last 12 items were all made for Christmas and I will be posting about those in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for details on those if you're interested.

I do still have some standing UFOs to account for:

1. Irish Crochet Top - this one still upsets me, lol. I 100% plan to make this into a shirt yoke, but I have to either sew or find the right shirt first. This project was a lot of fun and I have now amassed a lot of colors of crochet thread to make lots of things, but this one has to be finished first. Hopefully I can decide on a shirt and it work out unlike the last one.

2. Hockey Socks - I started these the last few days of 2022 at a Solar Bears hockey game and I have hardly touched them since, lol. And what I did knit seems to have been done wrong at the decrease point, so I have to take it out anyway. I will eventually finish these - I just haven't really needed a sock project this year.

3. Cathedral Rose Window Afghan - I have completely lost steam on this project, sadly. I love the idea, but to be honest I didn't like the colors I had on hand to make it up and the whole reason I started this was to try and stash bust. I have the first several rows done, so maybe I can make this into a circular pillow?

4. Raffia Beach Hat - This one is annoying. I got the whole hat part done before the brim and it is just too big. One swift breeze and this baby would be gonzo. The paper yarn tends to not like being pulled back and the more stitches I make with each sections, the more prone to breaking it is. I do still want a beach hat, but I just didn't have the heart to start over this year. Maybe when it warms up again I'll go for it.

I also have several garments that I swatched for but then never got around to making, which now means I will have to swatch again if I pick them up. First up on the list to make is the Rose Street Cardigan from Squid's School of Vintage Knitting. I swatched this back in April when the pattern was released and I just wouldn't let myself cast on until I finished the Susan Shaw Cardigan, so this will be started very soon. I also swatched the Mudblood Cardigan and I've had the yarn purchased for this project since 2015 (oh my gosh, lol), but the idea of knitting all that stockinette ... it just feels so boring. I like the finished sweater and I feel like it would get a good amount of wear, but the idea of making it is less than thrilling. I also don't love the fit I've seen on others who made it with the too wide looking shoulders. Maybe I will just recreate this myself on the knitting machine? I also swatched the Solstice Top when I was majorly jazzed about knitting a linen shirt, but again I wouldn't let myself start until Susan Shaw was done. Now I probably won't start this until after the winter at least, but I still love the idea of this.

So that's 2023 in yarn! I'm excited to see what this round up is for 2024!

WIP Wednesday: Finishing Touches on Gift Making

I've been working pretty diligently to finish up all my gift knits in time to pop them in the mail before Christmas. I managed to finish all the machine knitting on Sunday and then do some machine embroidery. Here is a sneaky peek of my makes...

I have a machine that will embroider, but my mom has a Brother Stellaire, so very much fancier than mine, lol. I opted to make the patches on her machine Sunday night and after a practice run on Spiderman, these all turned out great. Shopping for embroidery files is interesting because a lot of the result seems to depend on your machine, so I'm glad I used my moms new one instead of mine for this part.

I'm now working on sewing everything together and getting it officially done while I wait for 2 patches I ordered from Joann. I made an order specifically for these patches but I added on some fray check and a few random notions just because I was making an order. Well the other things have all arrived but the patches haven't even shipped yet. Of course. So if they don't get here soon then I will have to just machine embroider them as well if I want to make the Christmas deadline with shipping them to North Carolina. Everyone think good thoughts for me!

Are your gift makes going to be done on time? Let me know what you're making too!

WIP Wednesday: Knitting Machine Go Brrrr.......

Guys, my knitting machine has been going and going this week. I've managed to churn out 2 full length scarves and technically 2 hats (I made it once but it was too big so I had to do it again, lol). I've been working on my Baby Lock knitting machine (which is a Bond Knitter) and while there has been a learning curve, YouTube videos have been the true heroes of this endeavor. It seems like everytime I start a new project, I forget something and I can't start without watching this video. Cheryl Brunette made a mail in video class on using a Bond Knitter back in the late 80s and she very nicely has the entire series up on her YouTube page. It's a lifesaver, guys. If you have one of these machines - Bond Classic, Baby Lock (rebranded), The Ultimate Sweater Machine, etc - then you absolutely should watch this class. 

I started with the scarves because they are just a really long rectangle and I made each one in an evening even with the random snags I created by doing something wrong. Then for the hats, I found this video by Diana Sullivan that outlined a fancy hat from start to finish. I didn't make the cabling detail she shows, but I followed her tutorial other than that and it turned out great. So even with learning something new, I have no problems getting all the projects made that I wanted to before Christmas and that's a nice feeling.

The first scarf went so well that I pulled out this scarf I made on my Sentro machine and re-knit it on my Baby Lock. SO much nicer. The Sentro left a section of these weird tucked stitches and I really wasn't happy with it. The Baby Lock gave me completely smooth and even stitches with no issues. When they come off the machine they are extremely rollie, but steaming it gets them nice and flat. I haven't steamed this one yet, so it looks pretty tubular, lol. 

In hand knitting, I finished my first baby hat and started the second one. It's amazing how quick these are when you're used to making sweaters and shawls. I made this in just a few hours over the course of a week and then popped it in the mail. I'm hoping it fits - I'm always worried about making baby hats fit because I made several too small when I hadn't made so much stuff.

No sewing this week - I can't get to my machine because I have the knitting machine set up right in front of it, lol. I need to churn out these gifts before I start doing anything for myself anyway, so it's all fine. My New England dress is still sitting there all cut out and ready to go. Hopefully next week I can start putting it together.