Pocket Sized Frida Kahlo

I have now graduated! Which is terrifying so for a little bit of feminist inspiration I have made myself I tiny Frida Kahlo, enjoy! In total she is about 12cm tall.

'Feet, what do I need them for. If I have wings to fly' - Frida Kahlo

Knitting Abbreviations

K Knit

P Purl

K2tog Knit two together

M1 Make one stitch

Sts Stitches

Stocking Stitch Knit a row, purl a row

Notes

Because the work is so small I recommend using a cable cast on.

The first row of each piece is a knit row.

You will need

3mm/UK size 11 knitting needles

Toy stuffing

Needle for sewing

Scraps of acrylic DK yarn in the following colours:

Black

Skin tone

White

Dark purple

Bright pink

Light Blue

Body and Head

First Leg

In black cast on 6 stitches

Stocking stitch 2 rows

Row 3: (K1, M1) to last st, K1 [11sts]

Row 4: Purl

Row 5: (k1, K2tog) to last 2 sts, K2 [8sts]

Switch to skin tone yarn

Beginning with a purl row, stocking stitch 10 rows

Switch to white

Stocking stitch 2 rows *

Cut yarn and place knitting on a stitch holder.

Second Leg

Repeat first leg until *

Purl 1 row

Purl across first leg from holder (ensure both legs face the same way) [16sts]

Body

Stocking stitch 12 rows

Head

Switch to skin tone

Stocking stitch 8 rows

Cut yarn leaving a long end, on a sewing needle gather up all the stitches and pull tight.

Arms (make 2)

In white cast on 6 stitches

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: P1, M1, P4, M1, P1 [8sts]

Row 3: Knit

Row 4: Purl

Row 5: Purl

Switch to skin tone

Row 6: Purl

Stocking stitch 6 rows

Cut yarn, gather up all the stitches and pull tight

Skirt

In dark purple cast on 30 stitches

Stocking stitch 12 rows

Row 13: (K4, K2tog) to end [25sts]

Row 14: Purl

Row 15: (K3, K2tog) to end [20sts]

Row 16: Purl

Row 17: (K2, K2tog) to end [15sts]

Row 18: Purl

Row 19: Knit

Cast off purlwise

Shawl

In light blue cast on 24 stitches

Stocking stitch 2 rows

Row 3: K1, K2tog, K18, K2tog, K1 [22sts]

Row 4: Purl

Row 5: K1, K2tog, K1, K2tog, K10, K2tog, K1, K2tog, K1 [18sts]

Row 6: Purl

Row 7: K1, K2tog, K1, K2tog, K6, K2tog, K1, K2tog, K1 [14sts]

Row 8: Purl

Row 9: K1, K2tog, K1, K2tog, K2, K2tog, K1, K2tog, K1 [10sts]

Row 10: Purl

Row 11: K1, K2tog, K4, K2tog, K1 [8sts]

Row 12: Purl

Cast off

Flowers (make 3)

In bright pink cast on 8 stitches, cut yarn and gather up all stitches. Twist the stitches as you pull the yarn tight helping it to form a roll.

Crown Braid

Using 4 strands of black (30cm) and 1 of pink (15cm). Fold the black in half and knot with the end of the pink strand so you have 9 strands. Divide into three parts and plait and knot at the end.

To make up

Sew down back of head and body. Stuff body and sew closed at crotch. Sew down each leg until the feet, stuff (you will only need a tiny bit) and then sew the feet ensuring that they keep their shape. For the neck, with skin toned yarn wrap around neck and pull tightly.

Sew arms to end, stuff with a tiny bit off stuffing. Attach arms to body.

Wrap skirt around body and sew seam. If you wish you can also sew a few stitches around the waist to keep it secure.

Embroider hair, eyes and (of course) eyebrows as shown in picture. I used a French knot for the eyes but you could also use beads.

Sew crown braid onto head, tuck in all ends.

Sew the 3 flowers onto the crown braid.

Sew middle of shawl together and adjust over body. The cast on edge forms the top of the shawl.

Congratulations! You now have your very own tiny Frida Kahlo!

Let me know if you have any comments or questions regarding the pattern.

Helm's Deep Inspired Jumper

So anyone who's seen Lord of the Rings will know what this refers to. Helms Deep is nearly lost, the Uruk-Hai are breaking into the keep and Aragorn convinces King Theoden to make one last charge. Then to the background of a powerful wailing soundtrack Theoden says "The Horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep... one last time!" Just typing that gave me goosebumps, I am such a nerd :).
Anyway, who wouldn't want a jumper to celebrate this moment?

Here I am in the finished jumper. It's not my most flattering colour but I made it for my twin sister so it doesn't matter what it looks like on me :). That is a joke, kinda, but we're not identical and she does actually look a lot better in green than me.

I used the same basic jumper pattern that I make most of my jumpers with, details can be found here. And just in case anyone wants to make a Helm Hammerhand jumper here is the chart I used, designed by my own fair hand. The bulk of the jumper was knitted in Aran but I didn't want to buy new wool just for one tiny dwarf beard so all the other colours were knitted with doubled over DK yarn. It makes those sections slightly thicker but I don't think it really notices/matters.

Colours needed: Black, Grey, Orange, and Pink

Forget boring things like graphs and spreadsheets, knitting patterns is what excel is truly designed for.
As always let me know if you have any questions.

Forth Eorlingas!

 Note: I know it's summer and not really the time of year for jumpers but firstly, I made this some time ago and have only just got round to writing about it and secondly, I live in England so you're only ever a day or two away from jumper wearing weather.

Knitted Birds

Happy Easter! I'm back home now, managed to make a tit of myself, fall over and take the skin off my fingers on the way home. I was also the person who everyone hates on the tube with my massive rucksack, lots of tutting but I made it and it is amazing to look into a fridge with actual food in it again.

This project started off just as a chick for Easter but then it grew and I received increasingly weird requests from all my friends. They only take an evening to make so they are great as last minute presents.

Obviously green hair or huge scary eyes is a personal choice.

Knitted with 3mm needles and DK wool.


Body (garter stitch-all knit rows):

Cast on 24sts

Knit 2 rows

Shaping the Tail: Increase at each end of next three rows (30sts)

Knit 1 row

Dec at beginning of next 6 rows (24sts)

Body and head: Knit 22 rows

(Knit 2 together) until end of row (12sts)

Knit 1 row

(Knit 2 together) until end of row (6sts)

Break off yarn and thread through stitches.

Sew down the bird’s back, stuff and then sew along the bottom.

Loop yarn bellow head and pull tight to make a neck. You may also want to add a few stiches above the tail to make it stand out more.

Beak (make 2):

Cast on 6sts

K 1 row

P2tog, P2, P2tog

K1 row

P2tog, p2tog

Break of yarn and thread though stitches. Sew onto head slightly curved.

Feet (make 2):

Cast on 6sts

Beginning with a knit row stocking stitch (knit 1 row, purl 1 row) 3 rows

Purl 2 together, take yarn once around right hand needle (RHN), purl 2 together, take yarn once around RHN, purl 2 together (5sts)

SS 4 row

Cast off

Fold in half and sew together. The holes from row 4 will make the gaps between the claws.

This is all you need for the basic bird. Sew on the beak and feet and then embroider on some eyes.

My personal favourite was the grey and yellow penguin. For this you will also need a chest and some wings. 

Chest:

Cast on 10sts

Knit 14 rows

K1, K2tog, K4, K2tog, K1 (8sts)

K1 row

K1, K2tog, K2, K2tog, K1

K1 row

Cast off.

Wings (make 2):

Cast on 6sts

Knit 14 rows

K2tog, K2, K2tog

K2tog, K2tog

Cast off

Fold in half length ways and sew up.

I didn't make feet for the penguin because it would be hard to fit them on with the chest.

Feel free of course to be as wacky as you want and leave a comment if you have any questions.

Avatar Mittens

(The benders, *childish snort*, not the blue people)

Inspired by Aang's orange and yellow outfit and of course his blue arrow.

I made them using 3mm needles and DK wool.
Pattern (make two, but with the arrow on different sides):
Cast on 40sts
In yellow knit 20 rows of K2 P2 rib.
Beginning with a single row of yellow follow chart below for next 22 rows in stocking stitch (starting with a knit row).
Knit 2 rows of K2 P2 rib.
Cast off.
In mattress stitch sew down the sides leaving a hole for the thumb.

Arrow chart

They should now look something like this:

Given the option I probably would have picked a slightly darker orange but the only wool shop within walking distance doesn't have much of a range and the friend's birthday I was making them for was approaching quickly. Let me know if you have any questions or comments :).




In other news I've also learnt how to play the didgeridoo (very badly) and I tried microwaving cake for the first time, best decision I've ever made in my life.

Mini Knitted Moose Sam

 It has been a while I think since I posted something that made me seem like a Supernatural nut. Which is remiss of me. And so, say hello to my little moose!

It was quite a complicated knit, and a lot of it was trial and error as I went along but I'm going to try to make a pattern as best as I can in case you want to make a mini moose Sam too, and lets face it, who wouldn't?

Knitted with 3mm needles using DK wool.

Firstly for the body and the head (moose colour):
Cast on 20 stitches
Beginning with a knit row stocking stitch (SS) 20 rows.
Cut the yarn leaving a long tail and thread this through the 20 sts and pull tight.
Using mattress stitch sew down to the bottom of the body, stuff it and then sew up the bottom. Wrap a bit of  yarn tightly around the middle to make a neck.

The Nose (snout?):
Cast on 8 stitches
SS 4 rows.
Cut the yarn and thread it through the 8 stitches, put a little bit of stuffing inside before pulling the stitches to form a cup shape. Sew this onto the head.

You should now have something that looks a bit like this.

Legs (moose colour) make two:
Cast on 10 sts
SS 16 rows
Cast off
Sew with mattress stitch to the end of the leg, stuff and sew up.

Trousers (denimy blue):
Cast on 12 sts
SS 12 rows
Cut yarn and on the same needle CO 12 sts
SS 12 rows
SS 4 rows across both legs
Cast off.
Wrap the trouser legs round the moose legs and sew up. Then sew the trousers onto the moose.

Shirt (I used red, green and white, but it's up to you):
The shirt was complicated because obviously it has to be plaid. After some research I decided the best method was to knit a stripey shirt in a wide rib and then using a crochet hook add the vertical stripes after. A video that was really good at explaining this can be found here.
Cast on 19 sts (green)
Using K3 P1 rib, rib 2 rows green, 1 row red, 1 row green, 1 row red, 2 rows green, 1 row red, 1 row green, 1 row red, 2 rows green, cast off.

Add 4 lines of crochet stitching in the purl sections. In the image above I've done one of these. I then embroidered on some white stitching.

You can then cry a little bit about how many loose ends you've got to sew in but you're done.

Sew the shirt onto the body leaving the chest bare.

Arms (moose colour) make two:
Cast on 6 sts
SS 8 rows
Cast off
Sew with mattress stitch to the end of the arm, stuff and sew up.

Sleeves (whatever you used for the shirt) make two:
Just to make things awkward I used a number of stitches that didn't make it symmetrical so keep an eye on whether you're supposed to be knitting or purling.
Cast on 10 sts
First row (green) rib is K3 P1 K3 P1 K2, following this rib another row in green, 1 red, 2 green and cast off.
Add the 2 lines of crochet in red and the white embroidery.

Sew the arms into the sleeves and then sew onto the moose.

Now to the fun bit.

Antlers (white/cream) make two:
Cast on 2 sts
SS 10 rows
Cast off
Thread a small paperclip through the moose's head in a 'u' shape. Sew the horns on to this and onto the head at the bottom.
I also knitted to little bits (Cast on 2 sts, SS 4 rows, cast off and sew down) to sew onto the sides of the horns

Ears (moose colour) make two:
Cast on 4 sts
K 1 rows
P2 tog, P2 tog
K1 row
Cut yarn and  thread through both sts. Sew the base of the ear together so that it curves round. Attach to head.

I then embroidered on some nostrils, eyes and the tattoo, you can't really do anything too detailed with such thick yarn so I wouldn't recommend trying to do the actual tattoo just go for a rough approximation. And then he just needs some moosey hair.

And there you have it, please leave a comment if you have any questions or improvements.

The finished article with a traditional banana for scale.

Want to make a really cool Winchester journal necklace?  Check out my other Supernatural posts :)

Doctor Who Scarf Mittens

I finished my Doctor Who scarf before Christmas, sadly it didn't get to quite full length but wool was running low and it was becoming a trip hazard. It is still more than twice my height. Anyway, it has wormed its way into my heart and now holds the title of 'favourite scarf' so I thought it was about time I made some mittens to match.

The mittens are inspired by my scarf which in turn was inspired by this pattern. All the details about my scarf can be found here. So that they matched I did the main part of the mittens in garter stitch (all knit rows) and used the same (incorrect) colours as I did for the scarf.

Instructioney bit in case you want to make some (without the colour changes):
Using 3mm needles cast on 40 stitches
K2 P2 rib for 20 rows
K 44 rows
K2 P2 rib for 3 rows
Cast off.
Sew down the sides using mattress stitch and remembering to leave a hole for the thumb.

If you want to make some exactly like mine then the left one is, beige for 20 rows in rib and 4 rows in garter stitch, red for 10 rows, orange for 4, navy for 20 rows and green for 6 rows of garter stitch and 3 in rib. The right one is grey for 20 rows in rib and 2 in garter stitch, red for 20 rows, navy for 8, beige for 12 and orange for 2 rows of garter stitch and 3 in rib.

In other news, because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, I've finally started watching Firefly and it is pretty good. Also Crowley's in it which is going to make any show great. Of course I should be doing my work instead but that's what student life is all about :).

Happy knitting :D

Lord of the Rings Book Necklace

So I am a terrible person. I should be revising negation and articles and why you don't make the verb agree if it takes avoir in the passé composé unless the object pronoun comes before the auxiliary *groans*. But instead I've watched the whole of season 1 of Teen Wolf (deceptively terrible title, it was actually quite good) and made this...

Just to clarify, I made the book not the Evenstar, that "was a gift". It was very simple, just thick drawing paper, a little bit of cardboard, a biro and some coloured pencils. Of course if you're not artistically inclined you could always print of a mini book cover instead but I think doing it yourself is nicer (and they charge a lot for coloured printing in the library, plus I'd have to walk there).

For the pages I used nine rectangles of cartridge paper, folded in half and glued together, definitely do any drawing or writing you want on them first. For the cover you will need a bigger rectangle of paper folded in three (not equal bits, it should be; almost half the rectangle, fold line, little bit, fold line, almost half the rectangle) with a thin strip of cardboard glued down the middle section. I selotaped the eyepin to the cardboard and then superglued the book pages on top. I also glued the back page to the cover for extra security.

Red Biro over coloured pencil was surprisingly effective.

I filled the pages with a variety of things, the One Ring poem, a slightly awful tiny drawing of Gandalf, a bit of tengwar, normal stuff :) and unlike the Winchester journal, this isn't a mini prop replica so you can write or draw whatever you want inside it. Favourite quotes, a homage to Orlando Bloom's wig, the options are endless.

So you can compare it to the genuine article.

The final thing to do was to attach  a jump ring and put it on the necklace.
And there you have it. Have fun :)
Namaarie.