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I am in the process of switching over to a new website.....it will be www.mamainastitch.com.  It will be completely up and running shortly! All patterns will be found in this new location....Weeee!

Fingerless Mittens

Easy "Coal Miner's Fingerless" Mittens



These are easy, worked in the round, and great if you are a
beginner wanting to practice with DPNs.

So I'm loving my other straw colored fingerless mittens so much that I wanted to make another pair that are slightly different. I am liking the fit of these even better.  My last pair were knit flat, so I wanted to do some in the round. This was only my second time using DPN's, so it had to be easy.  I really like how they turned out.  The dark color is great for gloves since my hands can get dirty playing with a toddler all day! I named them "Coal Miner's" because of the color, and the fact you can get some hard work done with these since your little fingers are free.











You will need:

Less than 1 Skein of Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick ( I used the color "Blackstone")
(Optional) Super Bulky Accent color - I used Lion Brand Hometown USA in Dallas Grey for the strip
Scissors
Size 13 DPNs - 4 total
Tapestry needle


Pattern:

Top of Mitt:
Cast on 16 onto three DPN's
Use 4th DPN to Knit
Begin to use place marker at start of Round 1
Row 1 through Row 6 - Knit -
You will knit, creating the stockinette stitch for 6 rounds

Thumb:
You will now work back and forth (to avoid joining in order to make a thumb hole). It will be as if you are knitting flat
Row 7: Purl
Row 8: Knit
Row 9: Purl
Row 10: Knit
Row 11: Purl
Row 12: Knit the row and then join, (you will continue to knit around for Row 13)

Bottom and Ribbing:
You are now working in the round again
Row 13: Knit
Row 14: Change to accent color, and knit
Row 15: Begin Ribbing at Stitch Marker, Knitting 2, Purling 2 Across the Row
Row 16: *Knit 2, Purl 2 across the row*
Continue this pattern until you have reached the length you prefer for your mitt. I knit about two inches of ribbing.
Let me know if I can improve the pattern in any way since I am new to this!

These also make a great stash buster from your bulky winter scarves

You can also check out my pattern for fingerless gloves, knit flat. Perfect for beginners, here: http://www.mamainastitch.blogspot.com/p/beginner-knitting-patterns.html

Easy Knit Organic Spring or Summer Newborn Hat

Knit Cotton Newborn Hat

It has been somewhat difficult to find nice cotton yarn for me, so when I came across this soft, organic cotton I was so excited.  It is Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton (you can see it here Lion Brand Nature's Choice Cotton Link ), and it is so, so, so soft!!  I've got some friends having summer babies, so I didn't want to use wool. I prefer cotton for babies anyway, so I came up with this little hat. It is knit flat (great beginner hat), but could be done in the round on three DPN needles with a fourth to knit.  It is knit on larger needles so it is very squishy and the stitches get an "earthy" kind of look - not stick straight, if you can see what I mean.

You will need:

Less than one skein Lion Brand Natures Choice Organic Cotton (I used the color Almond)
Size 13 needles (straight or DPN)
Scissors
Tapestry needle to weave in ends, and sew up the seam

Pattern:

Cast on 34 stitches
Rows 1-4 Knit each row (Garter Stitch)
*Row 5 Purl
Row 6 Knit*
Repeat from * to * through Row 11 (In other words, Stockinette (Knit, Purl)  through row 11)
Row 12 Knit 2 Together across row (this is your first decrease row)
Row 13 Purl
Row 14 Knit 2 Together across row (this is your last row of decreases)
Row 15 Purl
Cut and knot yarn, leaving a long tail to carefully pull through all stitches, and knot to secure (this creates the top of your hat)
Sew up your seam using the mattress stitch, so you can not see the seam ( there are great youtube tutorials on this stitch-it's very easy)
Knot and weave in ends

You could add a detail to the top as well, such as a pom. Enjoy!

Easy Knit Scarves for Beginners

Scarf Practice 

Many times a knitters first project is a scarf.  Mine certainly was, but I never finished it because of how terrible it looked.  It took a lot of "practice" scarves to make one that actually looked wearable. There are several great free patterns on the Internet for knit scarves. 

Over the next several months, I will list some easy beginner scarf patterns here.




I prefer to use my dogs and child as models, rather than myself. Here's Ruby in
one of my first Infinity Scarves. I like big yarn and needles.


My favorite cowl for my daughter that was an easy quick knit is this Chunky Charcoal Cowl. You can see the pattern through the link below:

 http://mamainastitch.blogspot.com/p/free-beginner-knit-cowl-and-scarf.html

One scarf that uses big yarn and needles, that I really enjoyed was this pattern, the Audrey Hepburn Cowl, from Gina Michelle. It does use increases, so you would want to know how to do that by watching a tutorial. Or be like me and improvise by casting on a few more stitches and just work it without increases.  I would think it would turn out pretty this way as well.  The pattern can be found on her lovely blog here:

 

Gina Michelle's Chunky Cowl Knitting Pattern

Here is the easy cowl by Gina Michelle Gina Michelle Blog-Pattern Chunky Cowl Photo from Gina Michelle

 

 

Easy Crochet Hearts Mobile / Decor

Easy Crochet Puffy Hearts Wall Hanging

Isn't it the perfect, easy little Valentines decoration?

 

 

 The hen is laying hearts! Not really. I liked it hanging here, but it has ended up on my daughter's bedroom door knob.  It's cute there too, I suppose!

This is a super easy heart wall hanging. Easy enough for a second or third project, heart wall hanging. I found the pattern for the hearts (that you will eventually "stuff) on the "Repeat Crafter Me" blog by Sarah. It is by far the easiest and most versatile heart that I have found.  The pattern can be found on the link below:

 

http://www.repeatcrafterme.com/2014/01/easy-crochet-heart-pattern.html

 

The wall hanging can be tailored to what you like. Use different size yarn or needles and get different sized hearts.  Use any color you like.  String them onto a line to make a garland!

You will need:

• Crochet Hook - Size H (I did three different sized hearts so I used F, G, and H)
• Scissors
• Yarn (Here I used Worsted Weight Lily Sugar N Cream)
• Tapestry Needle to weave in threads and string to hang
• Polyester Fill or cotton balls (you could still have a cute mobile by leaving the fill out)

 

Directions:

 

For One Heart

• Follow the pattern above and create two hearts of the same size, leaving an extra long tail to stitch. (Note: the pattern says to single crochet around the entire heart when complete.  You can choose to skip this step.  If you do it, just make sure to do it to both hearts)
• Hold the two hearts back to back and whip stitch (just stich around the outside to attach the two hearts) with your darning needle to make a kind of heart "pillow case".  Leave just enough space to push in the stuffing with your finger.  Once filled, stitch the remaining hole closed. 
• Pull your ends through with the needle and cut to hide the tails.
• Once you have as many hearts as you like you can put bakers twine or yarn on your needle to hang the hearts upon. There are many ways you could do this, but the easiest for me was to simply thread them from the top middle, through the bottom. You don't even need to tie them on. They will just stay on the yarn and hang centered.

Whip stitch the two hearts almost closed and then stuff

Finish by stitching it closed, weave in the yarn and cut

 

I did three sizes of hearts on my mobile, using a size H for the largest, G for the medium sized, F for the smallest. For each I used the same worsted weight yarn in different colors.

Use bakers twine or yarn to hang your hearts. Enjoy!

Beginner Crochet Pattern Flowers

Beginner Crochet Pattern Flowers

Black Eyed Susan, Roses, and Pink Flower

I've been looking at different flowers all over the web because I want to add some to my daughter's ballet bag.  After seeing several I liked, I wanted to come up with some easy patterns for what I pictured on her bag.

For the center of the Black Eyed Susan, I used safety eyes (often used on children's toys) from the craft store.

 

 



The Roses are about 2 inches wide, the other flowers
between 1 and 2 inches wide.

You could add green yarn for stems!

 



Black Eyed Susan:

 

You need:

Less than one skein yellow Lily Sugar and Cream Yarn (any worsted weight is fine)

Safety Eyes from the craft store

Size H crochet hook

Scissors

 

 

Pattern:

Chain 3, Slip Stitch to join

*Chain 5, bring hook through center hole, grab yarn, and slip stitch*

Repeat from * to * four more times, for a total of five petals

Tie off - You can use the tails to tie the flower onto whatever you'd like

Take Safety Eye and place in center of the flower, securing with the provided backer

There you have your flower!

 

 

I will post the other patterns in the next couple of days!

 

Chunky Knit Charcoal Cowl

Chunky Knit Charcoal Cowl (Child or Toddler)

Free Knitting Pattern

I knit a scarf as a Christmas gift and had a little over half of a skein left of Bernat Mega Bulky Yarn (love this big, fat yarn!). I thought it would be perfect to make my daughter another cowl.  I knit it flat, but it would be lovely knit in the round as well.

 

You will need:

1 Skein Bernat Mega Bulky Yarn, Dark Grey Heather

(Any Color you would like is fine!)

Size 35 knitting needles ( I used straight needles), but  you could use 16 inch circular as well if you can find them

Scissors

Tapestry Needle

Any grey yarn to make a pom-pom

Pattern:

Cast on 28, leaving a tail to sew up the seam

Row 1-3 Knit (Garter Stitch) for 3 Rows

*Row 4 Purl

Row 5 Knit*

Repeat from * to * (working in knit, purl stockinette) until you reach the height that you like.  This one was about 6 inches.  Knit cast off.  The top does curl a bit, so if you don't like it to curl, do a few more rows of garter stitch. I liked it to roll down a bit.

Gently sew up the seam with a mattress stitch ( a simple stitch that will keep you from seeing the seam.  Great tutorials online on how to do the mattress stitch)

The Pom Pom is optional, but they are very easy to make.  I haven't done a tutorial on making one, but there are plenty on www.youtube.com   Attach your pom wherever you like it!

There you have it! A perfect stash buster and cute as can be.

 

Bernat Mega Bulky Yarn can be seen here:  Bernat Mega Bulky

 

*Images and content belong to Mama In A Stitch-please enjoy the pattern, and refer back to the blog if you use this for anything other than personal use *