Today I interviewed with Pat Sloan of FaveCrafts Radio. She had five guests on and I was number three. Pat’s FaveCrafts Radio is a once a month Live online radio broadcast and then an archived podcast online. Pat Sloan has amazing craft designers, teachers, celebrities and fun people on the show as well as being a super fun & talented Quilter herself! It was a pleasure and privilege to be on the show and I had a blast! I sure hope Pat has me on again, she is so fun to talk to and I’m sure we could gab on and on. Listen to the podcast interview above by pushing the icon to play (the right arrow classic “play” button). You can click and drag the minute over to 22:00 minutes and hear the end of Michael Sellick, of The Crochet Crowd & The Crafting Crowd, right before. He gives a shout out to me and updates everyone on some exciting news I found out TODAY!...or if you wanna get right to it go to minute 23:50. Have fun! Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and Facebook site to keep up on new videos coming up and a place to share your own crafts with the GoodKnit Kisses Krowd! Happy Crafting & Looming!! -Kristen
Hey ya'll! I made a page on my site just for the radio interview so you can find it again, LOL! http://www.goodknitkisses.com/GoodKnit_Kisses/Podcast/Entries/2011/7/6_My_first_radio_interview_-_FaveCrafts_with_Pat_Sloan.html
1.Using both strands of yarn E-wrap Cast on 14 stitches to round 41 peg Knifty Knitter loom (or new 40 peg loom). Counter-clockwise to the starter peg, work as a flat panel in ew 30 rows making sure your working yarn is back to the starter peg for the next row.
Building Base bag –
2.Leaving the panel on the loom, stretch the panel across the loom to the opposite side and place on pegs across. Now take the side stitches and place 2 stitch loops at a time on adjacent pegs to stretch flat panel to fit on all pegs of the loom. Make sure to pick up ALL side stitches so your bag will not have an open hole. This is the bottom base of the bag. Wrap all pegs ew in a full circle and knit over leaving only 1 set of two strands (the two color choices). For example the side stitches had 3 sets of two before knitting over.
Main body of the Bag –
3.P 1 row.
4.EW 1 row.
5.P 1 row.
6.EW 8 rows.
7.P 1 row.
8.EW 5 rows.
9.P 1 row.
10.EW 5 rows.
11.P 1 row.
12.EW 5 rows.
13.P 1 row.
14.EW 2 rows.
15.Basic bind off loosely as to not over tighten opening of bag.
Handle for mesh Bag –
Spool loom. 2 strands 1.5 times diameter of yellow loom or 52.5-54.5" long depending on material.
Weave the icord into the top of the bag between the knit stitch columns. Row to start the weaving. Look at the top of the bag. Weave between the two top purl rows. I started mine just above the bottom purl row (it's the 2nd to last purl row you completed). Connect the ends by tying together and weaving in the rest. Feed access handle material equally on opposite sides to pull outward, making it look like two handles. See picture. Pull both handles to drawstring close and look like a purse or pull all of one handle to make as a shoulder strap! Weave in all loose strands.
Well I finally sat down and wrote my own pattern! It is now published on my website and Ravelry. I will post it here as well. I have also made a video of it and will be releasing it in parts (UPDATE 5/31 added videos at bottom of post!). I hope you all like it. I started with the basic beanie. I added the brim for finishing. Adding a few horizontal bands for fun I think it looks nice. But the biggest thing is the decrease top or "crown" of the hat. Usually the basic loom knit beanies are very bulky but this one is nice and clean.
Here is the pattern. Keep watching for the videos, Happy Looming!!''
Banded Beanie with Decreased Crown
by Kristen at GoodKnit Kisses
Skill Level: Beginner, level up
You will need:
*2 balls of main color (white) worsted weight
*1 ball of 2nd color (pink) worsted weight
*loom knitting hook
*crochet hook (J or K)
*round 24 peg loom (I used the Knifty Knitter or KK in blue)
Note: You can adjust the pattern for a larger hat by adding more rows of color or bands till you get the size you desire. Note to adjust for the rows at the top for decreasing.
We will use the E-wrap or Twisted Knit Stitch (also called TBL through the back loop) for all stitches. Feel free to change the stitches and make it your own. I’m keeping it basic but adding the banding for fun.
(Watch http://www.youtube.com/goodknitkisses for video tutorials on this hat)
*Color & Alternates: Please note that you can skip the brim for a rolled look and leave out rows 2-5 (4 rows total) The E-wrap is a stockinette and the stitches will roll if a brim is not created on the hat or a use a Garter Stitch Pattern for the brim. This pattern can also be done in a solid or variegated yarn without changing color. Use 2-3 strands of yarn and knit till desired length, then skip to the DECREASED CROWN section.
Abbreviations: KO = Knit offEW = E-wrap
CAST ON: (Click for VIDEO of PART 1)
1.Cast on to KK with 1 strand of each color (1 white & 1 pink) in the E-wrap method. Place your slipknot on peg 1 and let the tail fall inside the loom. This will get wrapped up inside the brim or you can wrap it on your cast on pegs. Cast on wraps all pegs one time all the way around the loom and then wrap around again. Knit off (KO) which is lifting the bottom 2 loops over the top two loops (the pink & white). Your cast on row is round 1 or row 1.
MAKING THE BRIM:
2. Rows 2-9: EW
3.Take the first row the loose stitches and place them back on the pegs. Be sure you are following the line of the stitches back up and not twisting them to the left or right. KO
MAIN HAT BODY: (Click for VIDEO of PART 2)
4.Rows 10-12: EW
5.CHANGE COLORS: tie on your second ball of white yarn to the pink strand and cut the pink. Now you have 2 strands of white.
6.Rows 13-16: EW – makes 1st white “band”
7.ADD COLOR: Either tie on the pink to one of the white strands or make a slip knot and add the pink on peg 1. You will have 3 strands on your loom. *ALTERNATE I did this for a small fade from white into two color or you can go ahead and cut off one ball of white.
8.Row 17: EW
9.TAKE OUT COLOR: Cut off one of the white strands leaving 1 pink and one white on the loom. Wrap the tail end on the loom.
10.Rows 18-20: EW
11.CHANGE COLOR: Tie on white and cut off pink, wrapping in tail
12.Rows 21-23: EW – makes smaller 2nd white “band”
13.ADD Color: Tie on Pink strand and leave all 3 strands on for the rest of the hat. This masks holes in the top when decreasing.
14.Rows 24-26: EW (Note my hat is now about 5 ½” long before decreasing the crown. Add rows here if you want longer length.)
DECREASE & CAST OFF: (Click for VIDEO of PART 3)
15.We are going to divide our loom visually into 4 sections (6 pegs in each section for a 24 peg loom). In round 1 of this section we will move the 2nd peg loop over to the 1st peg. Do not KO at this time. Move to the next section and do this again. Repeat 2 more times. Now KO. Wrap all remaining pegs again & KO. This completes hat Row 27. (You should have 20 pegs remaining).
16.Now take peg 4 over to peg 3 and wait to KO. Repeat for all 4 sections. KO all four pegs. Wrap all remaining pegs & KO. This complete Row 28. (You should have 16 pegs remaining).
17.Now take peg 6 over to peg 5 and wait to KO. Repeat for all 4 sections. KO all four pegs. Wrap all remaining pegs & KO. This complete Row 29. (You should have 12 pegs remaining).
18. CAST OFF with draw string method. I don’t use a tapestry needle here but you can. Leave the balls of yarn attached & wrap the loom 2 times all the way around. Cut off the strands from the balls of yarn.
19.Start to the left of the peg where the working yarn is coming out of; Leaving the yarn attached take your working yarn under the loop on the peg & with your loom tool reach under the loop & scoop out the working yarns (like a purl) continue pulling all the extra yarn through the loop. LEAVE the loop on the peg. WEAVING IN THE LOOSE YARNS TO MAKE A DRAWSTRING.
20.Move to the next loop to the left and pull the working yarns through again and leave loop on the peg. Continue until ALL pegs have the working strands woven through, including the beginning loom the strands came out of.
21.Take all loops off of the loom & pull the drawstring. Feed the extra through the top & turn your hat inside out. Using a crochet hook loop the extra through a few spots tying off to secure. Cut off the access.
22.Weave in all loose strands from changing colors with hook & turn inside out.
Want to a fun project to make and eat with kids?! Try a Bunny Cake!
I actually learned this in a Home Economics class in Jr High. Today I was asked to give instructions on how to make one. Have fun!
What you'll need:
2 - 9"round cakes (for instructions use 9" or change sizes to fit your cake size) I like Strawberry, white or yellow. Pre-make these in advance to be cooled, especially if for a class setting. They could even be frozen.
Coconut (white)
Coconut (pink or dye some with food coloring)
White frosting (enough to cover most of two cakes)
Pink Frosting (small amount)
A small tube of black piping for mouth
Gumdrops or round colored candy for eyes and nose
black shoestring licorice
ALTERNATE: If allergic to Coconut use white sugar beads or other to create fur
Cut the ears and bow:
See the diagram below and picture for the bunny image. Use one 9" round cake for the bunny face. The other gets two arc cuts to make the ears and the middle part makes a bow. *Try to match the same curve as the outside of the circle. imagine you are cutting a baseball image.* I suggest cutting it on parchment or wax paper to make moving the bow easier. Use a spatula or the paper to move the ears into place.
Decoration instructions:
Poke with a toothpick, fork or slightly cut or mark the inside area of the ears to outline where the pink of the ears will go. The ears will be white on the sides and edges. The inside will be pink, like the inside of a real bunny's ears. Ice them in the appropriate colors and sprinkle the same coconut color on top to make it look furry. Ice the face in white and place the candies on the face. Blue or green gumdrops for the eyes, a red, black or pink gumdrop for the nose and licorice for the whiskers. Use your small tube of black icing for the mouth or use more licorice. Sprinkle the white coconut on the face. Place the bow below the face and use the pink icing on top. (Alternate you could make a boy bunny in blue or use any other color, you'll just need more icing or add food coloring to your left over white icing if finished with the bunny part.)
Show us your cakes!! I'd love to see your own creations! Send your pictures to goodknitkisses@gmail.com and I'll post them on this blog. Happy Easter everyone! -Kristen
I created these to show off some of my work for an artist fair, just for display purposes. Its not a craft fair but I'll be setting out business cards and these. What do you all thing? PLEASE PLEASE comment below or message me.
Yes, it is the Garter Stitch. The tried and true. The classic knit sequence stitch pattern of running a row of knit stitches and then a row of purl and back to knit. Start your project & finish in this stitch on your panel, scarf, or hat won't curl on you like a stockinette. Below is the video for the Garter Stitch. If you need to slow down for a tutorial on the knit & the purl stitches I've placed them in this blog as well. As always please subscribe to my channel and 2nd click on it to email you when I upload so you'll get the latest. Stay tuned for the Seed and moss stitches.
Getting started on the loom? START HERE for your first cast on and stitch technique.
First Loom Stitch: E wrap or Single Stitch
When you first pick up a loom, the instruction book usually teaches you ONE stitch. It is called the Ewrap or in regular knitting also called the single stitch. These stitches are abbreviated as ew or ss respectively. The Ewrap makes a stockinette type stitch. This type usually curls on you. Lets say you make a hat. If you don't make a brim from the instructions (or pattern) then the end of the hat will curl. You can solve this by learning new stitches to start a project in and then continue in the ewrap for the remainder. Many times I will start with a garter stitch as my brim and then ewrap. BTW a hat is the quickest beginner project. It works up fast and tells you you're doing well. Be sure to pick up a Bulky #5 yarn for your first project or 2 skeins of worsted yarn in a #3 or #4 to use together at the same time.
The ewrap simply wraps the peg in a lower case "e" fashion where it crosses on the inside of the loom. Check out this beginners tutorial below to see it and hear some tips along the way. As always..I'm a goof.
(Stay tuned fairly quickly for I will show you both the knit (k) and purl (p) stitches to make the garter stitch pattern.)
Have fun! Be sure to come back and tell me what you've made and your progress! Happy Looming!!
I am also happy to announce I have purchased my website but until I can get enough funding, through partnering with YouTube it will be delayed getting up and running. WILL YOU HELP ME??? Please subscribe to my channel at goodknitkisses and pass the word to your friends. You can opt to get an email every time I make a video or leave the box blank. MY GOAL IS 800 SUBSCRIBERS! Please help me get there :-) For my videos to remain free, this will really go a long way. Thanks inadvance for your help.
My Publisher has approved of the following videos. These are the first in the line and I have decided to start at the basics for beginners or traditional knitters who want to try their hand at learning. Check out Part 1 for an introduction on looms and Part 2 for yarn selections and project ideas. Again, loom knitting is fun even for grade-schoolers. SO grab a loom and get started today! Happy Looming!
DID THIS HELP YOU? Please comment below. I'd love to hear from YOU!
