Cute Knit for a Deer One

Who can resist a little person in a cute knit? Not me!  I am a tiny bit addicted to reindeers this year, you may have seen one or two pop up in some of my designs.  I was looking for a way to add a touch of festive to a simple sweater and it hit me….. REINDEER.

This cute sweater is a classic drop shoulder construction, worked from the bottom up.  The pockets are worked separately, you can either work them using the intarsia method. Or if you fancy giving swiss darning (or duplicate stitch as it sometimes known) a try, then this is the perfect project for you.

The pattern is written to fit chest sizes 53 – 73.5cm, which is approx. 12 months to 11 years.

To knit this you will need:

• King Cole Merino Blend DK (100% wool, 50g/112m) in Copper
• 3.25mm needles
• 4mm needles
• Darning needle
• Locking stitch markers

You can find the pattern inside issue 141 of Simply Knitting magazine.

As always I would love to see your finished projects.

Happy Knitting,

Festive Flower Pots

I am always looking for new things and new ways to yarn bomb the everyday objects around the house.  The silly season is the perfect opportunity to take things to a new level of daft, all in the name of Christmas!

Dressed up in their festive finery they’ll look just fabulous on a windowsill or table, planted with a small conifer or poinsettia (what a great gift!)

I designed these festively themed flower pot covers for Simply Knitting magazine and you can find the pattern inside issue 139.

For the Santa pot you will need:

• James C Brett, Twinkle DK (97% acrylic, 3% polyester, 100g/300m) Red
• Stylecraft , Special DK (100% acrylic, 100g/295m) Black
• Oddment of Gold DK

For the Snowman pot you will need:

• Patons, Merino extrafine DK (100% wool, 50g/120m) White and Black
• Oddment of orange DK
• Stuffing
• Buttons

For both:

• 3.25mm DPN’s
• Black 13cm  flowerpots

As always I would love to see your finished projects,

Happy Knitting,

Boucle Babe Boho Gilet

Knitted in a mix of smooth wool and soft alpaca boucle yarn, this gilet will not only keep your body warm over the winter, but the cosy texture mixed with the basic shape makes it the perfect garment for layering.  The asymmetrical stripes reflect this season’s bohemian runway trends that you can knit yourself and coordinating colours will add a touch of chic to any plain outfit.

 

There is very little shaping involved so this pattern is great for beginner garment knitters.

The pattern is written in five UK dress sizes, 8-10, 12-14, 16-18, 20, 22.  The yarn used is Drops Alpaca Boucle and Drops Alaska.

You can find this pattern inside issue 99 of Let’s Knit Magazine. As always I would love to see your finished projects on my Facebook Page.

Happy Knitting, Jane x

 

Does Miffy Wear Pants?

I may have mentioned once or twice that I love my job.  I love the random nature of the projects I am asked to design.  Recently I was asked by
the lovely editor of Let’s Knit Magazine if I would like to design a licensed Miffy soft toy.  Well that was a silly question, the answer was always going to be yes!  I adore Miffy, my children were force-fed a diet of Miffy stories, but yet when it came down to getting every detail correct, there was one question I did not know the answer to…… Does Miffy wear pants?  As you can imagine this resulted in a few humorous emails between me and my editor, the answer was this….

You can find my Miffy pattern inside issue 99 of Let’s Knit magazine.

I would love to see your finished projects on my Facebook page.

Happy Knitting,  Jane x

 

 

 

 

 

Run, run as fast as you can… Gingerbread Hat Man

If you are still looking for that last-minute special gift, I might just have very design for you.  Little Ginger is a super quick knit which is designed to fit 3 years to teens.  The hat is worked from the ribbing up with simple decreases.   This version is knitted using Rico Soft Merino Aran which really was butter soft and a delight to work with.

Why not swap the pink for blue?

 

 

As always I would love to see your finished projects on my Facebook page

You can download Issue 87 of Let’s Knit Magazine here.

 

Happy Knitting…………………    Jane x

 

 

 

 

Pretty in Pink Christmas Tree Jumper

Pretty in Pink Christmas Tree Sweater

Image courtesy of Simply Knitting Magazine

With its twinkling Christmas tree motif this is guaranteed to delight the little Princess in your life.

The pattern is written for chest sizes 55, 58.5 and 63.5cm which is approximately 3-5 years.

Matching collar and cuff detail

This is a traditional style drop shoulder sweater, worked from the bottom up.  It is a very straight forward knit and would suit a keen beginner.  The sparkly tree is worked using the Intarsia method and King Cole Galaxy DK yarn.  If you prefer to knit this in a plain yarn, you can easily substitute another DK yarn.  Why not knit one for a little Prince?

You can find the pattern inside the Hand Knit Christmas supplement which is free with issue 125 of Simply Knitting Magazine.  You can download your copy here.

 

As always I would love to see your finished projects on my Facebook page and on Ravelry.

Mr Not So Frosty – Knitted Doorstop

With his jaunty top hat and cosy scarf this festive chap will hold the door open for your guest. Classic cables add some interest to your knitting, while his simple features and accessories give him such a distinct personality he will soon be part of the family.

Mr Not So Frosty is worked in the round in chunky yarn, making him a super quick knit.  He would make a perfect gift (never say I don’t help you out with your Christmas planning).

You can find the pattern inside the Hand Knit Christmas supplement which is free with issue 125 of Simply Knitting Magazine.  You can download your copy here.

 

As always I would love to see your finished projects on my Facebook page and on Ravelry.

 

 

 

Elf Yourself Knitted Christmas Jumper

 

Of course I have designed a silly Christmas Jumper for the man in your life.  Introducing my Elf Yourself Sweater.

 

 

Elf Yourself

Image courtesy of Simply Knitting Magazine

 

This charming sweater is a traditional drop shoulder sweater with an Intarsia Elf motif.  To make this a little easier on yourself I highly recommend swiss darning the belt buckle and black outlining on rather than using Intarsia.

The pattern is written for chest sizes 55, 58.5 and 63.5cm which is approximately 3-5 years.

You can find the pattern inside the Hand Knit Christmas supplement which is free with issue 125 of Simply Knitting Magazine.  You can download your copy here.

 

As always I would love to see your finished projects on my Facebook page and on Ravelry.

 

Santa Baby Hat & Sweater

I know how you all secretly love a good Christmas jumper!  I have been a busy girl creating three such delights for your little people.

Today I would like to introduce you to…… drum roll please…

Santa Baby

Images courtesy of Simply Knitting

This is a traditional style drop shoulder sweater, worked from the bottom up.  It is a very straight forward knit and would suit a keen beginner.  If you would like to make life even easier for yourself,  I recommend that you swiss darn the buckle details on, rather than intarsia.

The pattern is written for chest sizes 43, 45.5, 48, 53 and 55cm.  Which is approximately ages six months to 3 years.

This little chap looks super cute in his matching Santa hat.  The hat is worked in the round from the bottom up with simple shaping.  The pattern is written for three sizes (35.5, 40.5 & 45.5cm circumference)

You can find the pattern inside the Hand Knit Christmas supplement which is free with issue 125 of Simply Knitting Magazine.  You can download your copy here.

 

As always I would love to see your finished projects on my Facebook page and on Ravelry.

Happy Knitting X

Halloween Knits, Monsters, Eyeball Cushions, Bats….

I love designing for Halloween,  I love the colours, I love the fun, I love getting to be as silly as my imagination will allow.  This is the third year running I have been asked by Simply Knitting Magazine to design a collection of projects for the Scary Season.  I have had the same model for each shoot and it has been lovely seeing her grow into a young lady.

 

Kitty Ears Hair Clips

Crochet Black Cats and Pumpkins

I Scream

 

This year I have four Halloween projects featured in issue 125 of Simply Knitting Magazine.

Eye See you Cushion

Images courtesy of Simply Knitting Magazine

This comedy cushion will get a giggle or two as you hide from the Fright Night Movie.  Knit in the round from the centre out in chunky yarn, this project works up super fast.

Monster Mash

With their furry yarn and big green eyes, Simply Knitting said these were possibly the best slippers they had ever seen! I was thrilled to read that *blushes*.

These cute critters are worked by holding a strand of aran yarn together with the furry yarn to give the slippers a nice sturdy feel and ensure you get plenty of monster miles out of them!

Go Batty

Go Batty for these charming knitted bats, with their Velcro fastenings these would look great just about anywhere!  I am looking forward to getting them back and putting them on Little Misses bike!

Finally,

I scream

Can’t have your hands getting cold whilst you indulge in your favourite treat.  Worked in chunky yarn in the round you can easily make this in an evening.  It would make an excellent gift ;)

I hope you have enjoyed these as much as I did designing and making them.

You can get your hands on a copy of the magazine here

As always I would love to see your finished projects on my Facebook page and on Ravelry.

Happy Knitting X

 

 

 

Hello from the Little Monster in my Pocket Pal Sweater

It has been both busy and exciting times here at Knitting Image headquarters (okay, in my studio).  There have been lots of exciting commissions, and new companies to work with. I find it such a challenge to keep quiet about my projects as I am working on them.  I cast off and immediately want to write a blog ‘show & tell’.

A while back the folks at Simply Knitting Magazine asked me to apply my quirky style to some children’s garments.  This is the first in a series of designs, allow me to introduce you to ‘Pocket Pal’

A special thank you to this very handsome model

This adorable (even if I do say so myself) sweater has it’s very own baby monster which fits snuggly into the Mummy (or Daddy) monsters pouch.  Knit in Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK, it is beautifully soft against delicate skin.  The pattern is written for ages 0-6 months to 5 years and would look equally cute worked in a more feminine palette.

The sweater uses the Elizabeth Zimmermann sewn bind off for the neck.  This particular casting off method produces a very stretchy neckband, great for children’s garments.  This method developed by EZ of sewing the tail of yarn through the stitches creates a finished edge that perfectly mirrors the long tail cast on.

This is how you do it….

Leave a tail of yarn approx. three times the circumference of the neckband, thread this through a tapestry needle

1. Insert tapestry needle into first two stitches on left hand needle as if to p2tog, draw yarn through (do not slip off the needle)
2. Reinsert the tapestry needle into the first stitch on the left-hand needle as if to knit, draw yarn through and slip stitch off the needle

Repeat steps 1 & 2 until all stitches are cast off.  You can find a great video demonstration here

Issue 122 of Simply Knitting is available now, or you can download it from the App store and get knitting straight away.

As always I would love to see your finished projects on my Facebook page.