(Topic: Knitting, Weighted bear clothing)
Hi Friends!
A few weeks ago we had a cold snap and a lot of snow. On the spur of the moment, I decided Pookie needed some cold weather accessories! He didn’t have a scarf yet, and though he did have mittens and hats already, I figured a matching set would be fun!
I started by rummaging in my yarn stash to see if I had something that grabbed my eye. You may recognize this yarn: I used it before on a color-pooled crocheted scarf! For this project, though, I’m just using it as a variegated yarn without worrying about trying to pool the colors into a pattern.
I started by casting on to what looked like a good width, and created a 2×2 rib for about an inch and a half as a border. I then just knitted every row (which creates a garter stitch), until the scarf looked like it was the right length!
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| The result! I’m quite happy with this. It wraps well but is just long enough that if I want to put a knot in, I can. |
Well! One piece down, mittens and hat to go! I decided to work the mittens next, fitting them as I went. Because Pookie’s paws are pretty small, even using magic loop didn’t feel like a great idea, so I worked the mittens flat. I then drew the top together, and seamed the side.
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| Cuff is on the left. See on the right, where the top of the mitten is, that I have a light blue bit of yarn drawn through the last row of stitches? That’s what I pulled to cinch the top of the mitten. |
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| Cinched and seamed! This is the inside of the mitten. |
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| It looks like a muffin!!! If I ever need to knit toy muffins, I’ll do it like this! Well, maybe not, since it wouldn’t have a bottom. |
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| I added a string, because I really don’t want to loose them by accident (I’ve lost Pookie’s rain hat already, which I consider to be a tragedy of the highest magnitude. I’m not going to loose a hand-knit mitten because I didn’t take the time to tie it on!). The string is 6 strands of yarn, braided. |
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| Snug in his snowsuit, and modeling the new scarf and mittens!! |
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| Still chilly. Pookie borrowed my couch snuggle blanket. |
Well, if Pookie is still cold, I’d better throw together a hat! I decided to do this in the round, using the magic loop technique so I would have flexibility to try it on him easily, and also so I wouldn’t have to change techniques as I decrease toward the top.
I started with a 2×2 rib again, so that it would match the edging on the other pieces. Since I was shaping as I went, rather than following a prewritten pattern, I decreased when I got high enough for it to get over his ears. With the rib pulling it tight below, and since I didn’t change needle size to a larger one or decrease the stitch count, the brim pulls inward and then it bulges out – and the goes pretty flat on top to match his head shape. This means that it looks a bit funny when it’s not on him, but looks great on his head!
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| I also decided to add a pompom, just for fun! The annoying thing about doing a garter in the round is the same as doing stockinette flat: you have to alternate purl rows with knit rows, so you have to be sure to know where your round starts and ends. |
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| “Yes? Oh – yep, I love the hat!” |
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| Modelling the hat. If you look closely, you can see the braided tie, tied under his chin, to help prevent accidental hat loss! |
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| We found out that, due to the interesting shaping, that it works as a tam too! |
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| I’m really glad I added the mitten string, because he has no wrists to help keep the mittens on! They have a tendency to slide off, but they stay on pretty well if the cuff of the sweater or snowsuit is over the mitten. |
Yours,
Sarah
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