18 inch Doll Knitted Sweater and Hat Patterns

My daughter has had the American Girl doll Samantha for quite a number of years now, along with some of her accessories and clothing. I even made a few little dresses for Samantha to match the dresses I made for Elizabeth. Very cute! But here's something she never had, up until now...


...a hand knit sweater and hat! Are those the cutest little things you ever saw? And guess what size needle these were knitted on...size 1! Yes, that's right, O N E, one! Oh my! And every stitch is perfect. Of course I would expect nothing less from my husband's Aunt M who knits every day of her life and has made some of the most beautiful knitted and quilted items you can imagine. This is an original pattern, and Aunt M gave it to me to offer right here on Hooked On Needles. Not only is she talented, she's generous as well!


She also sent me two sets for my girls to use for Samantha. This one is made with Bernat baby yarn in blue jacquard so it produces the striped pattern as you knit. Aunt M said that the sweater on the doll in the picture above which she sent me was made without considering the stripes on the left and right fronts of the sweater. But for this sweater that she mailed to me, she paid attention to where in the color pattern of the yarn each section started so that they would match up across the front. And she did the same with the sleeves. I think that makes such a difference when attention is paid to little details like that.


I love close-up pictures of anything. Here you can see the detail of the stitches and the patterns that the yarn creates on its own.


And here's the little pink set she sent me. Isn't that darling? So girlie!


On this close-up, you can see the seed stitch edge down the middle and the Knit 1 Purl 1 ribbing around the neckline, and all the perfect stockinette stitches on the body of the sweater.

If you would like the pattern for this hat and sweater, just send me an email and I'll forward the pattern. Please don't request the pattern in a comment. I just run into too many people who have their accounts set to no-reply. If you send an email, I will be able to simply reply and attach the pattern files. You can find my email address towards the top of my sidebar.

Thanks to Aunt M for sharing such a beautiful little doll clothes set!

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

Tunisian Short Row Flower

My first cone of cotton yarn is finally exhausted! When I started seeing the cone through the yarn, I knew I would not have enough left to make a whole dishcloth, but I had to make something. I couldn't just leave those last layers of yarn untouched! Would you like to see what I made with the last little bit of yarn?


It turned out to be a flower of all things! When I started this little project, I fully intended it to be a little drawstring bag similar to my Itty Bitty Anything Bag, only with a Tunisian Short Row bottom on it. Sometimes I have found that a project will become what it wants though, and not necessarily what I had in mind!

Using a size I regular crochet hook and the exact same method as the Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth, except with a beginning chain of only 7 stitches, I began what was supposed to be the bottom of the drawstring bag. After I finished the 6 wedges, I joined the beginning row with the ending row and was not entirely pleased with how the joining looked, so I pulled out the joining row and decided to just keep adding wedges until I ran out of yarn. I had no idea it would turn out to be something interesting and maybe even useful! What a great surprise!


When I had only a few yards of yarn left, I stopped making wedges and worked a simple little decorative border on the outside edge like this...(ch 3, sk 1, sl st in next stitch) all the way back to the beginning of the spiral.

Then I arranged the layers in a pleasing manner and stitched a few times right through the middle catching all the layers, using the tail of the yarn and a darning needle. This serves to hold the layers in place and keeps then from unwinding.


This is what the underside of the flower looks like...just a very small version of the underside of the Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth!

This was a fun little project to do and it could be used for lots of fun things. Since it is all cotton and so soft, you could use it in the shower with your favorite liquid soap in place of your little netty scrubbie thingy. Or you could attach a pin to the back and pin it to your favorite crocheted bag or hat. Can you think of other things to do with a cheerful crocheted flower?

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

Free Pattern -- Knitted Apple Dishcloth

Have you ever had an idea that seemed so simple at first, but then when you tried to execute it, you discovered that it was much more involved than you thought? That's exactly what happened when I decided the Tunisian Crochet Apple Dishcloth pattern was going to be the one I would convert to a knitting pattern.

This is how my final sample turned out, still not quite what I wanted, but certainly better than the first sample I made which is shown further on.

For the knitted design of this apple pattern, I included a garter stitch border knitted right into the pattern so I would not have to crochet a border on the cloth after the knitting was complete. To accomplish the garter stitch border, I simply knitted the first two rows to begin, then knitted two stitches at the beginning and end of every row. At the end I knitted the last two rows before binding off.

The apple part of this pattern was not quite so straight forward! Here's what my first attempt looked like, worked directly from the chart for the crocheted version:


It was clear pretty early on in the knitting process that the proportions would not be right using the crochet chart for the knitted cloth, but I had to finish the whole pattern anyway so I could see just how far off the measurements were and know how much adjustment was necessary. You can see here that the cloth only measures about 5 inches from top to bottom, not nearly enough for a nice cloth even with a generous border added. Besides the 'apple' looks more like a squished tomato! That would never do!

So after some measurements and figuring, it was determined that for every 3 rows of the crochet pattern, I had to add 2 more rows for the knitted pattern. I went back to my chart and reworked it, adding the appropriate number of new rows and filling in the design where necessary. I also added the garter stitch border to the final version after realizing on the 'tomato' version that it would be a nicer finish to the cloth. The apple dishcloth you see in the first picture is the result of those adjustments.

Now that it is finished and I can get a good look at it, I have decided that the sides of the apple are too straight and the bottom half of the apple is too square. I did not have any more red cotton to knit yet another cloth, and I'm such a slow knitter that this would have had to wait another week for posting, so I have made what I think will be just the right adjustments to the chart below to produce a more rounded and properly shaped apple.


If you click on this chart, you will see a larger version of it which you can then print from your browser toolbar. You can see that I have included instructions at the bottom of the chart for the number of stitches to cast on and how to read the chart. This is the type of project where I find my magnetic board invaluable in keeping track of which row I am working at any given time. I have also marked the right side of the chart with the odd row numbers and the left side with the even row numbers. You will work each row from the side where its number is as indicated at the bottom of the chart.

If you decide to make a dishcloth from this chart, I would truly appreciate receiving a picture of it and your feedback about how you liked working the pattern from this chart. If I make this pattern with the updated chart, I will be sure to share it with you too.

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

Free Pattern -- Tunisian Crochet Apple Dishcloth

The luscious, red, juicy apple seems to have a reputation for causing trouble from way back. My own red apple is no different! Of course I'm talking about my latest design for a crocheted dishcloth. Actually the crocheted version was no trouble at all. It was converting the pattern so that it would work for knitting that was the problem. But we'll cover that story in another post. Today I'll just focus on the lovely dishcloth with the beautiful red apple on it.


Doesn't that almost look good enough to eat? Apples come in all shapes, sizes and colors and are available here in New England fresh off the trees in the fall. In fact, Johnny Appleseed was born right here in my own little city, so we have apples in every form imaginable. Now we even have an apple dishcloth!


Depending on the variety of apple you are used to seeing, this one might not look like it has the proper proportions. I assure you that there are apple varieties that look just like this, but of course they taste a whole lot better!

Here's the pattern for the apple dishcloth for use with Tunisian Crochet. Just click on the chart and then print it.


If you need a refresher on how to work Tunisian Crochet, just click on 'Crocheting' at the top of the sidebar under Hooked On Needles Links and you'll find links to videos showing how to do many Tunisian Crochet stitches.

In the next post, I'll share with you my adventure of taking this crochet chart and making it work with knitting. It was fun, frustrating and educational all at the same time and I'm glad I finally did it. I hope you will be too!

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

I Love a Bargain! Do you?

It's shaping up to be another busy week here, but I wanted to pop in quickly to let you all know that I am working very hard on revamping my Tunisian Crochet dishcloth patterns so they will work out with regular knitting. It's not quite as easy as it sounds, and when my final sample is complete, I'll tell you about the entire process!

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you a sale I found at Mary Maxim, which is one of my favorite yarn sources. Caron Simply Soft Baby yarn is on sale right now for only 97 cents for a 2 ounce skein. It comes in 6 soft, luscious colors perfect for your next baby project. This is a worsted weight yarn in baby colors, not a lightweight fingering weight yarn as the name might imply.

If you need some ideas for patterns to use with this yarn, you can check out the Caron website where they share a few patterns specifically for their Simply Soft Baby yarn. Two are blankets, one knitted and one crocheted, and one is a crocheted sweater. All are just darling! Or you can use any pattern that calls for a medium worsted weight yarn.

If I can knit fast enough, I am hoping to have my knitted dishcloth complete and photographed by tomorrow evening. Wish me luck!


Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

Sunny New Crocheted Dishcloth Pattern

The sun is shining and it is a beautiful Easter Monday here. As you may know, I've been having lots of fun with worsted weight crochet cotton yarn lately, making lots of dishcloths in various patterns. I recently found an alternative to buying the cotton in small 2 or 2.5 ounce balls and I wanted to share that with you, along with a new design I made on a sunny Easter Sunday.


Our local Walmart carries Peaches & Creme brand cotton in the smaller balls, but select colors in a larger 14 ounce cone as well. I knew I would be making quite a few cloths for various fundraisers and gift occasions, so I went ahead and purchased one of the cones. You see it pictured above in the very cheerful Daisy Ombre variegated. I would guess that I have used up not quite half of the cone making the three cloths you see in the picture. I like this alternative to the small balls because I don't have to worry about running out of yarn before finishing a design, and I don't end up with lots of leftovers.

The price is right too. For a 2 ounce ball, I paid about $1.50. For the 14 ounce cone, I paid about $7.00. If you do the math, the cone is a much better deal. It's like getting 2 balls free. That's my kind of deal!


Here's my latest design for a Tunisian Crochet dishcloth -- a bright warm Sun pattern! I love how the variegated yarn works out its own design with the left side of the sun being mostly white and the right side being the two shades of yellow. However, I do think that a solid yarn is more conducive to showing off the design stitched into the cloth. I just had to try it, though, in this very happy color combination. It just seemed the appropriate thing to do!

After I finished following the chart using Tunisian Crochet, I switched to my regular crochet hook in the same size (I use size K for mine) and worked 4 rounds of single crochet around the cloth to finish it off. You can work any kind of border you like around your cloth. Lots of border patterns can be found on the Crochet Page.

This cloth pictured above turned out a little too rectangular for my liking, so in the pattern below, I added 3 rows on the top and 3 rows on the bottom and adjusted the little sunbursts in the corners accordingly. According to my measurements of the finished cloth, this should allow my next cloth (or yours!) to come out more square.


For more Tunisian Crochet cloth charts, check the Crochet page under Crochet Patterns where you will find a chart for a Duck cloth, a Shamrock cloth and a pattern for a Mystery cloth. I have a few more charts finished that I will be sharing with you soon. And I am still working on adjusting these charts to use for knitting too, since a few of my faithful readers have expressed an interest in knitting these cloths with the designs in them.

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

Crocheted Cotton Pot Holder, Trivet or Hot Pad

Just the other day I mentioned that I was trying to figure out just how big I could make the Tunisian Short Row dishcloth so that I could use up most of one ball of cotton, but not run short at the end. Now I don't think I need to worry about that! I have found a super fun, and practical, use for the leftovers!

One of the many websites I follow, and one that I thoroughly enjoy browsing often, is Purple and Paisley. I love the name of Terri's website and all the different and creative things that she does and shares. Today she shared a link to a pattern for a crocheted cotton hot pad and she showed some pictures of the one she had made. I was intrigued by it, so of course I had to click on the link and read the pattern. You can find the link to the pattern by visiting Purple and Paisley. I discovered that my leftovers from all the different dishcloths I had already made would be perfect to use for this little project. So I gathered them up and got to work. This is what I made...


You can see that I had just the tiniest bit of each yarn left when I finished this pattern. Isn't it pretty in three variegated yarns? Terri did hers in one variegated for the square and a solid for the two ovals.


Making this project took me just shy of an hour and a half, just sitting at the kitchen table and working through the pattern while my children played and had a snack and my big kindergarten boy read to me from his little Letter People booklets. What a fun project this was to make! The pattern, which is copyrighted by Kimberly Langlois and available as a free PDF download, was very well written and easy to follow, even for a beginner. She even provides pictures showing how to assemble the parts once they are crocheted.

I love anything that resembles a Celtic knot, having done my fair share of embroidered Celtic designs, and that is just what this pattern reminded me of. You can see here how thick and solid this hot pad is when finished.

This design would look great in one color to coordinate with your table or kitchen. As you can see from Terri's finished project, it also looks great with one variegated and one solid. Mine is done using three variegated yarns as a project to use up my leftovers. So there are many options for working this pattern, only limited by what you have available and your imagination and creativity. Why don't you give it a try?

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

A Little Something for St. Patrick's Day

With a name like mine, I cannot allow the great feast of St. Patrick on March 17th to come and go without offering a little something green to the crocheting world. Here is another chart pattern for a Tunisian Crochet dishcloth or washcloth in the shape of ...

a shamrock, of course!

This cloth pictured here was crocheted by my daughter Elizabeth just the other day and it is her very first Tunisian Crochet project. Considering her only lesson was about 20 seconds in length, I would say she did a pretty good job. I neglected to inform her that there is a special way to finish a block of Tunisian Crochet by binding off the stitches, so you can see at the top before the border rows where the stitches were not finished off properly. Still, I think the cloth turned out nicely and the 4 rounds of single crochet into the back loops is a fitting border for a pattern like this. The ridge that it makes mimics the vertical bars of the Tunisian Crochet in the body of the cloth.


I love how the Tunisian Purl Stitches rise up above the background to form the design.


These charts could also be used to make blocks in worsted or sport weight yarn. The blocks could then be crocheted or sewn together to form a blanket or afghan. Any type of design chart could be used for this as long as the block size is consistent.

Now you have about a week to stock up on green cotton and stitch up a few of these lucky Irish cloths for all your favorite leprechauns so you can trade them for a pot of gold on St. Patrick's Day!

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

Tunisian Crochet Duck Pattern

Who doesn't love a bright yellow rubber duckie? My cousin's upstairs bathroom inspired this next project, and it's a great way to practice your Tunisian crochet skills. Supplies needed are only two: a ball of yellow crochet cotton such as Peaches 'n Cream or Sugar 'n Cream available at such stores as Walmart, Michael's, AC Moore and the like, and a size K-10 1/2 afghan hook available online at Herrschner's or Mary Maxim, or perhaps at your local yarn shop.


Here's my dapper little yellow duckie all ready to give your face, or even your child, a nice scrubbie with all that fabulous texture created by the Tunisian Purl stitches which make up the duck design. Of course, the back of the cloth is all bumpy too because that's just the way the back of Tunisian crochet is! Perfect for a face cloth or a dish cloth, don't you think?



This finished cloth measures 9 1/2 inches wide by 10 inches long, which includes the border. When I finished the Tunisian crochet body of the cloth, I switched to a regular size K crochet hook and worked a single crochet border all around the cloth, then a simple decorative border of (skip a stitch, 3 single crochets in next stitch, skip a stitch, one single crochet in next stitch) all the way around.

If you would like to make one for yourself, here is the chart which you can click on, then print.


At the bottom of the chart, I have included the information for working the project. The beginning chain for this is 33. For each blank square of the chart, you work a Basic Tunisian Knit Stitch and for each X square on the chart, you work a Tunisian Purl Stitch. Remember that each row of Tunisian crochet is made up of the forward half of the row when you pick up all your stitches onto the hook, and the return half of the row where you work the stitches off the hook.

To follow this chart, you would begin at the lower right corner and work 5 rows of Basic Tunisian Knit Stitch. Then you would start the next row by counting how many Knit Stitches you need to work before starting the Purl Stitches. In this case it would be 11 Knit Stitches. Then count the number of X squares, which is 8, and work 8 Purl Stitches, then finish the row with Knit stitches, and work the return half of the row as usual. Continue following the chart upwards and from right to left until you have completed the entire chart. Work your border however you like, and you are finished.

I have designed some other patterns as well, and will be sharing them with you in the coming days and weeks. If you make something from this pattern, please send me a picture. I would love to see it, and maybe share it with my readers!

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

Diagonal Seed Stitch in Knitting

Recently I had the pleasure of being the last knitter on one of the Northeast Region Oddball Preemie Blankets called Tutti Frutti. The stitch I used was Diagonal Seed Stitch on a Stockinette background.

This is what the last section looked like when it was finished and the pattern is included below.


On these oddball blankets, each knitter gets to choose whatever design they want to stitch. The only requirement is the type of yarn for the specific blanket and that the beginning and ending 3 stitches of each row must be knit. This provides a uniform garter stitch border around the blanket for the crocheted border to be worked into.

Tutti Frutti is a preemie blanket so it is worked in sport or DK weight yarn. The yarn I used is Bernat Softee Baby and the color name is Pink Marls.

The Diagonal Seed Stitch is a very simple stitch to work, being basically stockinette stitch with purl stitches spaced evenly on the right side, offset by one on each subsequent row. This is how I worked the diagonal pattern:

Row 1 (right side): K3, K0 (this is simply a placeholder to which the Row 3 instruction will refer), P1, (K10, P1) until there are 13 or fewer stitches left on the needle, K remaining stitches.

Row 2 (wrong side) and all even number rows: K3, Purl across until only 3 stitches remain, K3.

Rows 3 - 21: K3, K one more than on previous right side row (for instance: for row 3 K1, for row 5 K2, for row 7 K3, etc) , P1, (K10, P1) across, K remaining stitches.

Row 23: Begin again with Row 1.

This design could very easily be incorporated into a plain stockinette stitch pattern to add a little texture and interest to the knitted fabric. It would look nice worked into a sweater, hat, scarf or blanket. The distance between the diagonal lines could easily be changed to whatever you like, either closer together or further apart. Experiment a little with scrap yarn to come up with something you like, or an even easier way to work out your own design is to use graph paper to mark where you want your purl stitches. Then knit a sample to see if you like it before working it into a larger piece. Use worsted weight cotton like Peaches 'N Cream for your sample and make up a dishcloth with your design. That way, even if you don't like your design, you will still have something usable.

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

Fun New Year's Quilting Projects

There are so many creative and generous people out here on the internet sharing their ideas and patterns and imagination with anyone who wants to click or bookmark or subscribe. I have found a couple of long-term projects being shared by designers I have been following for quite a while now, and I thought you might find them exciting as well.

The first one I want to share with you today comes to us from Sandi Andersen in Minnesota and her website A Legacy of Stitches.

This is the Block of the Month for January, a handsome snowman with a smart hat and scarf to keep him warm and cozy. I can't resist a cozy snowman so this one really caught my eye. Sandi offers her pattern for this right on her website or you can request an email of the PDF file. Sandi will be sharing a block a month for 2009. These blocks will feature something special about each month and she suggests making them into one quilt or finishing each separately to be used as seasonal wallhangings. I am sure each one will be more creative than the last!

The other project I want to share with you today is found on Helen's website Hugs from Helen. You might remember that Helen was the brains behind the Stitcher's Angel Swap that provided me and so many others with great opportunities to make friends from all around the world.



Helen's project is a 65 inch square Mystery Quilt which she will be presenting during Australia's summer holidays which coincide with our very cold and icy winter up north here. She calls it The Great Summer Holiday Mystery Quilt. The fabric requirements are posted this week, and next week she will begin with the instructions. If you just can't stand a mystery and you must know what you are getting yourself into before starting, Helen even provides a link that will reveal the mystery and show you what the finished quilt looks like. But that would be spoiling the fun, don't you think?

If you are looking for a new project for the new year, there are two fun ideas that could keep you busy and creative for quite some time. I have admired Helen's and Sandi's work since I first started following each of them and I just know they will not disappoint.

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

Crocheted Border - Simple But Pretty!

A crocheted border on a knitted or crocheted afghan can give it such a nice finishing touch. Depending on who will be receiving the afghan or baby blanket, either a simple border of single crochet or a foofy frilly ruffle border might be appropriate. Of course there is always a Something In Between type of border that could be just the thing too.

The most recent Oddball baby blanket I completed was Forest Greens on which I knitted the last section in a basket weave design. On that blanket, I was also on Border Patrol so I came up with a simple but pretty -- and easy -- border for this one. Here is a close-up of a finished corner...


Working a round or two of single crochet around a knitted piece is a good way to get a border going. It stabilizes the edges and provides crochet stitches into which you can work the decorative border for the last round.


This is the whole blanket all finished and ready to be delivered. The colors in this picture are much closer to real life than the colors in the corner picture above.

Would you like to use this border pattern on your own knitted or crocheted blanket? Here's the pattern:

Work 2 or more rounds of single crochet (sc) around the entire piece, making sure to work 3 sc in each corner so the piece will lie flat.

For final decorative round, * sc in each of next 3 stitches. Chain 3. Sc into same stitch as last sc was worked.* This will create a little loop of chain stitches coming from the same sc stitch.

Continue working from * to * around the piece. Join with slip stitch. Cut yarn leaving a tail of about 10 inches to weave in. Draw tail through last loop to secure. Weave in ends.

Borders are fun to experiment with. Use your imagination and creativity to come up with variations of other borders you have tried from patterns. You can crochet a different border on every afghan you make, creating a truly one-of-a-kind work of art!

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

My Version of Martha's Self Tying Knitted Neck Scarf

George the mailman delivered my copy of the January 2009 Martha Stewart Living magazine while we were in the midst of our recent 3 day power outage here. As I was scanning the table of contents, I noticed a picture of a knitted mitten so I quickly moved the flashlight to the description of what was covered on page 58 and was happy to find an article called "In the Skein of Things" which included patterns for fingerless mittens, regular mittens and a neck scarf.

I had seen this neck scarf before. In fact I had MADE this neck scarf before! Was Martha sneaking around in my pattern binder recently? Hmmmm...


Here is the page in her recent magazine with pattern and instructions for making this great little self tying neck scarf. It really is a wonderful accessory that keeps your neck warm without adding bulk under your coat. On this page, she even gives instructions and illustrations for how to increase and decrease and how to divide stitches onto two needles. Very thorough.


Many many years ago there was a yarn shop here in town that was going out of business so I went in to check out the sales and I discovered this sample on one of the shelves. I was intrigued by the design of it, having never seen this kind of self tying scarf before, so I asked the shop owner if she had the pattern available for me to purchase. She did not, and in fact she couldn't even remember where she found the pattern or how long ago she had made the sample. Hmmm, what was I to do? I didn't have to wonder long, because she offered it to me to take home and examine as long as I returned it before she closed her shop for good. I was thrilled! I brought it home and took this picture with the tape measure then went to work trying to decipher the pattern for myself. This was only a year or two after I had learned how to knit, and this is what I came up with:


These are my original notes on this scarf. You can see all my corrections and my little tick marks from counting rows as I knitted my own sample. It turned out just like the sample from the shop, but I didn't take any pictures of it and now I have no idea where it is or if I even still have it. I probably gave it away to someone.


This is the other side of that same page where I scribbled notes for making the scarf with a garter stitch border and stockinette stitch middle. Back then I had a real aversion to garter stitch for some reason. It's still not my favorite, but for something like this it really is the perfect thing...quick, easy, thick and cozy.

So I compared Martha's pattern to mine and discovered that overall, they are basically the same. She ends each row by slipping the last stitch purlwise. She also divides the stitches for the little loop onto double pointed needles before rib knitting them. And her row counts are just a little different than mine. Her scarf also has a loop on each end and mine only has one. But the overall result would be pretty much the same using both patterns. I thought that was very interesting.

If you would like to give my pattern a try, here it is:

Using baby yarn and appropriately sized needles, cast on 3 stitches.

Knit 3.

Increase one stitch at the beginning of each row until there are 37 stitches on the needle.

Knit even for 4 rows.

To make loop, (Knit 1, slip 1 to stitch holder) across.

Rib knit (knit 1, purl 1) off needle for 18 rows. Break yarn leaving a tail long enough to weave in later.

Using another needle, rib knit stitches off of stitch holder for 18 rows.

Knit both sides of loop together by alternating one stitch from each needle until all stitches are back onto one needle. This completes the loop.

Knit even to desired length, 13 to 14 inches.

Knit 2 together across.

Rib knit 18 rows.

(Knit 1, make 1) across.

Knit even for 4 rows.

Decrease 1 stitch at beginning of each row until 3 stitches remain.

Cast off. Weave in ends.

Put scarf around neck and pass end without loop through loop on other end.

These are fairly quick to knit and can be made using any type or size of yarn that you like. You may want to adjust the stitch count down to accommodate thicker yarn and larger needles.

If you make one of these neck scarves using my pattern, please send me a picture and let me know how the pattern turned out for you. I love to see other people's handiwork!

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com

Dr. Seuss Knitted Scarf for Special Olympics

The deadline for sending in the knitted or crocheted scarves for the Special Olympics is fast approaching, so I've been working on this fourth scarf whenever I go somewhere knowing I'll have to sit and wait. I may have to put the wedding gift afghan (which I'll show you soon) on hold and just get this scarf done though.

Anyway, I came across a stitch in a book of needlework (which I'll also show you soon) that I thought would make a fun scarf and I gave it a try with the Red Heart Delft Blue and White yarns of the Special Olympics Scarf project. It is coming out very much like something you would find in a Dr. Seuss book! This is not the look I anticipated, but I really like it and I think someone will enjoy wearing it just because it is so different.


I think I'm about not quite half way finished with it at this point. I don't like scarves to be too short.


Don't you just love the blue and white? Those little rings are a hoot, don't you think?


Here's a close up of one of the blue sections. You can see that the parts between the rings are knit in stockinette stitch. The rings are not actually rings since this is knit flat, but the edges curl up on their own which gives the illusion of rings.


Here's where the white joins the blue. The ring sections are actually knit in reverse stockinette. I'll share the pattern below if you would like to try it.


I've gradually lengthened the stockinette sections as I work towards the middle of the scarf. Once I decide I'm half way finished, I'll start shortening them to match the first half and also alternate the colors to match on each side as well.

So here's the pattern:

Cast on 21 stitches.

Work in stockinette stitch for about an inch ending with a knit row.

*Beginning the reverse stockinette ring section, knit into the front and back of each stitch on next row. Now you have 42 stitches.

Continue in reverse stockinette stitch for about an inch ending with a knit row.

Returning to stockinette stitch, knit 2 together all the way across next row. Now you have 21 stitches again.

Continue in stockinette stitch for as many rows as you like, ending with a knit row. *

Repeating from * to *, alternate between stockinette stitch with 21 stitches and reverse stockinette stitch with 42 stitches until scarf is desired length. Bind off and weave in loose ends.

NOTE:
Stockinette Stitch is made by working the right side row in knit and the wrong side row in purl.

Reverse Stockinette Stitch is made by working the right side row in purl and the wrong side row in knit.

Here are links to videos you may find useful for this pattern:

• Cast on
• Knit
• Purl
• Increase by knitting into front and back of each stitch
  
• Knit 2 together decrease
  
• Bind off

These links and others with useful videos and information can be found on my sidebar under Hooked On Needles Links.

Happy Stitching!

Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com