After finishing up this Amish Shadows Baby Quilt for my friend’s new baby, I finally put together this basic pattern to cut out and make the squares used in this pattern.

Amish Shadows Quilt Pattern

Here’s a tutorial on how to make a basic chain bracelet, for your very own DIY bracelet arm party. I like the look of colors of the crazy circus arm, with friendship bracelets, chain bracelets, rhinestones and bangles, but sometimes it’s nice to have just a simple, basic bracelet to throw on. The good thing is, this chain bracelet stands alone well, or can serve as a foundation to a crazy arm circus. And, the technique is simple, and you can apply it to any chain you find, so you can make all kinds of different styles.


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DIY Chain Bracelet Tutorial

Materials

Step 1: Attach a Jumpring

Step 2: Attach the Clasp

this is the finished rag bath mat for my new black and white bathroom, which is made from one half of a duvet cover, and 2 contrasting pillow cases. i created the ‘yarn’ from the duvet/cases using the rag bath mat tutorial then knit up the mat using the pattern below. you could just as easily use sheets or old tshirts for this project as well. in the end, the mat is super plush, and a great way to recycle your old linens. and, you get a fresh new look for your bathroom floor!




to make this, I only needed 1 side of a king size duvet cover and 2 pillow cases (and still had leftovers). when making them into ‘yarn’ i kept the pillowcases separate to easily make the fair-isle stripes, and 1 continuous ball for the main color.



to knit, i started with my main color, used 1 pillowcase for the first stripe, carried over my main color for the middle stitches, joined in my second pillowcase for the 2nd stripe, then again carried over my main color for the last set of white. since there is a fair amount of carrying over, i made sure to keep my yarn loose, and always carry over on the wrong side. the knitting on this is pretty simple — just stockinette stitch with garter stitch borders (on all edges).

Striped Rag Bath Mat Pattern

Bottom Edge

Middle

Top Edge

a few months ago, i started and finished my very first quilt. it was a present for my best friend’s second baby, so i didn’t want to ruin the surprise by posting it on the internet before giving it to her. i wanted an easy pattern for my first quilt, and baby-sized seemed appropriate too. i love geometric shapes and found an amish shadows design in a book. it looked pretty easy to make without the pattern in hand, so i drafted up my own pattern. i used 10” squares with 3 colors evenly spaced diagonally on half of the square, and muslin on the other half.



at the time, we didn’t know if it was a boy or girl so i went with some minty green colors, which now actually look more blue. it was a girl - oops. i actually wanted to do red, pink, orange and yellow with beige but the fabric store in savannah was really lacking colors (they kept pushing me to buy these horrible “marbled” fabrics to hide the mistakes that they thought would automatically happen on my first quilt…I told them I’d rather not make the quilt at all).

in the end, I think it turned out pretty well! I definitely learned a lot and my quilting stitches dramatically improved from the start to finish of this one. the quilted hearts are a bit cutesy, but it is for a baby so I thought it was appropriate.



to make the quilt, i bought 2 books, and asked a few questions to my boyfriend’s mom, who is a wonderful and very experienced quilter herself. the books, especially the Complete Guide To Quilting by Better Homes and Gardens was AMAZING.



it explains every step, in detail with reasons why on everything, with pictures and text. EVERYTHING related to quilting is covered - picking out materials, fabrics, thread, techniques on cutting, piecing, how to use the rotary cutter and ruler to make perfect strips, templates, appliques, machine piecing, hand piecing, machine and hand quilting, needles, batting choices, basting, binding techniques, etc. it’s pretty much the bible of quilting, in my opinion. it even explained the difference between ironing and pressing - who knew??

the other book (It’s OK if you sit on my quilt, book), I admit, I bought almost because of it’s title…and it’s cover. and it was $2.50. it also had great reviews. it’s not nearly as comprehensive as the other book, but it is an EXCELLENT supplement. it covers in detail a ‘new’ approach to piecing together your squares. it takes a more holistic approach and it explains how you can save sooo much time by chunking your piecing rather than stitching together individual shapes. some of this technique is covered in the Complete Guide, but Mary Ellen goes into more detail. she also covers how to visually think about a quilt to come up with some pretty interesting designs. AND she includes hundreds and hundreds of square patterns for you to mix and match into your own quilt design, which is worth the $2.50 alone. together, the complete guide covers all of the basics and serves as an excellent reference book. and once you read through that, mary ellen’s book is an excellent way of rethinking quilt designs by focusing on the piecing part of the process.

right now i’m working out the designs for another quilt…more to come on that soon…

another completely useful knit project that took me waaaay to long to finish, although the actual knitting time was really quite short. they just sat, unworked on for over a year or more - yikes! also, i went a little crazy with photos.




pattern: pleated ballet flats
yarn: lion brand cotton ease in red
needle: size US 7
my ravelry project: ballet slippers





i wear these things all of the time around the house, and next time think i will choose a yarn that would look better with use over time. this one i used because i had it on hand, and it’s machine-washable.

overall the pattern though was great. so many techniques for a new knitter in this one. knitting in the round with 2 circulars; pleating; short rows; picking up stitches. but it’s all explained pretty well (except how to knit with 2 circulars) and so quick!!

this is my free knit sweater pattern “Striped Breathless Sweater” which is an oversized, slouchy knit sweater, knit in the round from the bottom up, then worked flat across the shoulders. the best part…no seaming and no sewing at all! super quick to knit and the finished product is so adorable! i can see myself wearing this all summer long, and in the fall. sleeveless and made of cotton, it’s made for warmer weather. also, see my other free knitting patterns and tutorials

Striped Sweater Pattern

Size

• 18.5” measured flat across the widest part of the shoulders
• 17.75” measured flat across the hips 

Materials

• Size 9 needles - 32” circular
• Knit Picks Simply Cotton Worsted yarn in Camel Heather - 2.5 skeins (color A)
• Knit Picks Simply Cotton Worsted yarn in Prussian Heather - 1 skein (color B)
• 2 stitch markers
• scrap yarn or stitch holder

Gauge

• Blocked Gauge: 4” = 13.67 sts, 22.5 rows
• Unblocked Gauge: 4” = 15.67 sts, 20.83 rows

Stockinette Stitch

• In the round:

               Knit all stitches

• Flat:

               RS - knit row
               WS - purl row

Notes

The sweater is knit from the bottom up in the round, until the bottom of the arm opening. Then the front and back are split, with the back stitches put on a stitch holder (or scrap yarn) while the front is worked flat. Then the back is worked flat. Then the shoulder seams are bound off together with a 3 needle bind off, leaving the center stitches bound off separately. No seaming necessary!

Stripes In general there are 12 rows of color A (tan) and 3 rows of color B (blue). However, at the top and bottom of the sweater, a set of blue stripes are skipped to give a wider chunk of color A (tan). So, when you cast on, you’ll actually knit 24 rows of color A before switching to color B. Then, continue in 12 color A to 3 color B pattern until you start nearing the top of the shoulder, where you’ll skip the last color B stripe.

Modifications This sweater can easily be modified to make it larger or smaller. All you need to do is change the number of stitches you cast on in the beginning, then follow the rest of the pattern as is. To determine how many stitches to cast on, you’ll need to know how many total inches all the way around you want your sweater to be (i.e. 40 inches) and your gauge (i.e. 4” = 16sts). (Note: Your gauge can differ from mine if you’re determining your own number of cast on stitches).

First, calculate your gauge per 1”, by dividing your Number of Sts by Number of Inches. (i.e. 16/4 = 4 sts per 1”)
Next, multiply your gauge per 1” (the number you just calculated) x your target sweater size (i.e. 4 x 40 = 160sts).
Last, If your number is an odd number, round to the nearest even number. (You want an even number of stitches so your back and front of the sweater are identical). That’s it!

Techniques Used

• increases - make 1 (left and right slanting). see knittinghelp.com for great instruction on increases
• 3 needle bind off. see knitty for instructions
• jogless stripes - stationary method of joining colors for jogless stripes. a great overview is at techknitting

Pattern

BOTTOM
CO 138 sts in color A, join to knit in the round, being careful not to twist stitches.
Place marker between first/last st (PM1) and between sts 69/70 (PM2)
Round 1-4 - *K1, P1, repeat from * across row
Round 5-76 - knit in stockinette st (add or decrease # of rounds here if you want to make it longer or shorter)
At the same time, switch colors for the stripes. The first 24 rows are worked in color A, then 3 rows of color B. Afterwards, work 12 rows in color A then 3 of color B.

Round 77 (round 5 of color A) - increase row: slip M, k1, m1R, knit to 1 st before next marker, m1L, k1, SM, k1, m1R, knit to 1 st before M, m1L, k1 (142 sts)
round 78 (round 6 of color A) - knit

Split front and back
Next row - (row 7 of color A) - knit from first to 2nd marker (this will be your front - 71 sts); place all sts from 2nd M to end of round on a stitch holder (this will be your sweater back - 71 sts).

FRONT
row 2 - purl row (keeping in stockinette st worked flat)
row 3 (row 9 of color A) - increase row - k1, m1R, knit to 1 st before last st, m1L, k1 (73 sts)
row 4 - purl
row 5 - knit
row 6 - purl
row 7 - (row 1 of color B) - increase row - k1, m1R, knit to 1 st before last st, m1L, k1 (75 sts)
row 8-46 - work in stockinette stitch flat
(This will be about 9 inches from the split in the underarm seam.)
This covers 2 more blue stripes, but skip the last set of blue stripes.
Put sts on holder
(Note - after the split, when switching colors, when switching back to color A, if you’re on a circular needle, slide your sts over to the other side of the needle so you don’t have to break your color A yarn…you can just carry it up…but just make sure you continue working in stockinette st). if this confuses you - just skip this trick and switch colors like normal :)

BACK
add sts of back from holder to needles, positioning needles to start with the KNIT row. setup row 1- knit this row.
follow instructions for FRONT.

SHOULDER & BIND OFF
Use 3 needle bind off for the first 19 sts to create a should seam. Bind off middle 38 sts in opposite of stockinette st. Bind off remaining 19 sts in 3 needle bind off for other shoulder seam.

Weave in loose ends and block sweater.

Abbreviations

• CO = cast on
• K = knit
• P = purl
• PM = place marker
• M = marker
• SM (or slip M) = slip marker (from your left needle to your right)
• M1L = make 1 left-slanting (a type of increase)
• M1R = make 1 right-slanting (a type of increase)

i’ve been working non-stop for the past week, but taking breaks for knitting. i needed a simple, quick and mindless knit. and just came across this pattern on the purl bee blog. usually, i’m hesitant to knit things like washcloths and dishtowels…just because you can buy these things for pennies. and knitting is expensive and time consuming. on the other hand, i love knitting things that are functional and useful. seeing as how i had some leftover cotton yarn in the perfect colors, i couldn’t resist. sooo quick and gratifying. i love the way they look. i’ve been holding out on using them til i snapped these photos…so now i’m interested to actually use these and see how they work out!



pattern: soft cotton knit dishtowels from the purl bee
needles: size 8 US
yarn: multi-stripe - peaches & cream (natural) & knit picks telemark (some red color)
twin stripe - knit picks simply cotton worsted & knit picks telemark
my ravelry project: striped dishtowels


i made the multi-stripe and the twin stripe versions from the pattern.

modifications - for each, i added a few extra rows before i started my stripes, resulting in a larger towel. as is, i think the pattern is a bit small. for the multi-stripe, i only used 1 red color, instead of 2, and instead of breaking my beige yarn each time, i just slid my needles across my circular needle. i forgot to adjust back to garter stitch, so they aren’t exactly perfect garter rows….but i like how it turned out with an embroidered sort of look.

i finally finished the honey cowl and snapped some photos. i’m really loving this yarn and the beautiful color. it’s a bit fuzzy so i hope it doesn’t start to weardown soon, but hopefully it will hang in there. it’s super soft and squishy (because of the combination of the cashmere blend yarn + the slipped stitches in the pattern).




pattern: honey by madeline tosh
yarn: knit picks capra yarn - merino wool and cashmere in honey color
my ravelry project: honey in honey cowl

i’m soooo sticking to my goal of finishing up an old project before moving on to a new one. this is a scarf i started (and actually finished) so long ago…but never blocked it and never photographed it. with my new blocking wires, i was antsy to use them and brought them out to finally finish this one.




pattern: old shale scarf
yarn: knit picks gloss, 2 skeins
needles: US 6
my ravelry project: feather and fan scarf


and…..also, i finished seaming up my wool booties, and i’m currently finishing up my rainy day socks. so you can expect to see some progress on those soon!

i’ve been so excited that i’m actually being a good knitter and following through on my projects. i buy yarn. i start a project with it immediately. i finish the project within a week, and don’t start 10 other projects in between. i think this is how projects are supposed to go.

my latest creation is the guernsey wrap. LOVE, love this…and am using it as a big, thick scarf. it was fun to knit — made no mods at all. and the best part was the blocking, which i bought blocking wires specifically for this project. it completely transformed this little rag ball of knit into a drapey, wonderful piece.



pattern: guernsey by brooklyn tweed
yarn: cascade 220 wool in charcoal, used about 3.05 skeins
needle: size 8 US (5mm)
my project page: guernsey wrap/scarf





i think this scarf would be an excellent pattern for beginner knitters. i get frustrated with the amount of garter stitch scarves i see out there (i say this knowing full well that my last scarf was garter stitch — but it used 2 colors….so it doesn’t count ;). this pattern only uses your basic knit and purl stitches. nothing hard, nothing tricky…but it looks amazing. just as simple as garter stitch — and it will teach you to read from a pattern (chart, actually), practice using your knit/purl sts, and looks soooo much better than garter.