My late budgie, Zeke, was the inspiration for these cute stranded mittens.
If you found your way here from Pinterest or Instagram, welcome to my tiny cupboard under the stairs of the Big Wide Web. Subscribe to my newsletter for the occasional email if ya want, and follow me here and herefor knitting and some other stuff.
These mittens are knit in the round from the bottom up, and include a shaped thumb gusset. Adjusting the gauge and using the appropriate charts provides an opportunity to choose from a few different sizes. Sizes Small and Medium are worked with a gauge of 9 stitches/inch. The Large and Extra Large mittens are worked with a gauge of 8 stitches/inch. Sizes Small and Large share the same hand and cuff charts, and sizes Medium and Extra Large share other hand and cuff charts. The mittens can be worked using Magic Loop or double-pointed needles.
Materials Required for Budgie Mittens
For these mittens, you’ll need 110 – 140 yards of a main color and 85 – 100 yards of a contrasting color in a fingering weight wool or wool blend. I used KnitPicks Palette in colors Cream and Opal Heather. Palette is 100% wool and works well in stranded knitting and is soft and comfortable. It’s also very affordable.
Recommended needle sizes are US1.5 or US2, depending on your size and gauge.
If you found your way here from Pinterest or Instagram, welcome to my tiny cupboard under the stairs of the Big Wide Web. Subscribe to my newsletter for the occasional email if ya want, and follow me here and herefor knitting and some other stuff.
Have a Joyous Christmas this year with your favorite soap bar and this cheery washcloth. Joy is a simple, garter stitch, mosaic knit washcloth that is created by working one color at a time and slipping stitches to create the design.
For this pattern, you’ll need two contrasting colors of worsted weight cotton. I used KnitPicks Dishie. You’ll also need needles in the size recommended for your yarn, and a tapestry needle for weaving in ends.
Check out my other mosaic knit washcloths here and here.
Brumous (adj.) – Of grey skies and winter days; filled with heavy clouds or fog: relating to winter or cold, sunless weather.
If you found your way here from Pinterest or Instagram, welcome to my tiny cupboard under the stairs of the Big Wide Web. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and follow me here and here.
LOL. Hard pass, thanks. I may already be over 2021.
Instead, I’ve been (at least trying to be) in the Zen Zone, knitting away.
Anyway, onward, to my next sweater recipe.
I never knew there was a word that describes my perfect weather day until I came across brumous. Good thing I like it, as it’s this way most of the year here in the Pacific Northwest. And I thought this sweater conjured up sentiments of clouds, rain, and all my favorite meteorological events.
This isn’t really a pattern…
It’s a tutorial. Make this sucker any size you want. I provide estimates on the amount of wool you’ll need, but you may have to wing it if you’re making a smaller or larger size , or using a different gauge.
Brumous is a sideways sweater that is constructed in a way so that you can try it on (or try it on your recipient) as you go. The front is worked in two rectangles that are grafted together in the center. The back is worked the same way. Once the shoulders are seamed, you can determine how deep you want the armholes. Finally, stitches are picked up for the neck, sleeves, and bottom band. Easy-peasy.
My sample was made with Dream in Color City (Ravelry link) at a gauge of 4 stitches/inch and a finished bust circumference of 37 inches. I kind of cropped it as well. You can make it in any gauge or size you want; again, wool amounts will need to be adjusted. Just take a couple of measurements and knit a swatch, and you’re ready to go.
When everything else in the world seems complicated, knitting a sweater should be easy and bring joy, amirite?
Post may contain affiliate links. Please see Affiliate Policy here.
Hey readers. How are you doing? I know it’s a weird and crazy and anxious time, but remember, it WILL get better. What’s the saying? This too shall pass. It may pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass. 🙂
If you found your way here from Pinterest or Instagram, welcome to my tiny cupboard under the stairs of the Big Wide Web. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and follow me here and here.
What have you been doing to pass the self-isolation time? Here at the megaptera household, there’s a lot of knitting going on. I want to share my latest project with you and the tool I used to create it.
I’ve been calling it my pandemic sweater, since it’s the thing that’s been keeping me somewhat grounded and sane during this crazy time.
The wool I used is Tenderfoot by Baby Euro. It’s a nice rustic mixture of merino wool and nylon and would be perfect for socks also. In fact, I bought this wool because I had socks in mind, but the yarn wanted to be a sweater instead. Oh well, you gotta let the wool do what it wants sometimes.
I didn’t follow a pattern, but rather found a chart online that I modified. I then constructed a circular yoke using the instructions in this book:
The Art of Circular Yokes: A Timeless Technique for 15 Modern Sweaters
You don’t need to be a designer to create your own custom circular yoke sweater that fits you perfectly. The Art of Circular Yokes: A Timeless Technique for 15 Modern Sweaters , by Interweave, provides step-by-step mathematical calculations (because let’s face it, knitting is mostly math anyways, right?) for all the measurements you’ll need. Incorporate a color-work chart or your favorite stitch pattern. Or not.
Or, knit some of the sweater patterns from top designers, that are provided in the book. There is so much variety, you’ll be sure to find something that appeals to you.
I had so much fun making this using the calculations in this book. But I also had time. You do too.
Take some time out from worrying and watching the news and social media to create your own sweater. I loved it so much, I’ve started my next one. Stay tuned..
Take care everyone. Stay home, stay well, and keep on knitting. Love to you all.
Christmas came with a blanket of snow in the Seattle area for the first time in almost a decade. It didn’t last long. Soon after, the familiar rains returned, melting it all away. But during it’s stay, the beautiful snow-covered trees in the forest behind our house inspired me to create Winter Woods Hat.
Winter Woods is knit in the round. It is a mosaic or slipped stitch pattern, with only one color worked each round. I used the same stitch pattern that I used in Joy Comes In the Morning, making it potentially reversible if color changes and weaving ends are done carefully. The stitch pattern includes yarn-over’s that are dropped on subsequent rounds to allow for more vertical stretch. Blocking is a must to open up those squares.
Gauge and Sizing
4.5 stitches = 1 inch
Sizes:
Small (19.5 inches)
Medium (21 inches)
Larger (23 inches)
Materials
Yarn: Aran or Worsted weight wool blend in following amounts.
Main color – 80 (95, 110) yards
Contrasting color – 40 (55, 70) yards
I used Louisa Harding Esquel, which is a combination of wool, llama and silk. Colors are Natural and Moss.
Needles:
Size US6 16″ length or Double Pointed Needles
Size US8 in 16″ or Double Pointed Needles
Size US8 Double pointed needles or long one for Magic Loop
Tapestry Needle for weaving ends
Abbreviations
CO: Cast on
MC: Main Color
CC: Contrasting Color
P: Purl
K: Knit
Sl1 wyif: Slip 1 with yarn in front
Sl1 wyib: Slip 1 with yarn in back
YO: Yarn over
rnd(s): round(s)
Winter Woods Pattern
With smaller needles and MC, CO 88 (96, 104) stitches. Join for working in the round. Work 1×1 ribbing for an inch.
Switch to CC and Knit one round.
Switch back to MC and P one round, then K one round. Repeat these two rounds.
Switch to larger needles.
[Stitch Pattern]
Setup Round: CC: P1, *YO, P4. Repeat from * to last 3 sts. YO, P3.
Round 1: MC: K1, Drop YO, Sl1 wyib. *K3, Drop YO, Sl1. Repeat from * to last 2 sts, K2.
Round 2: MC: K1, Sl1. *K1, YO, K2, Sl1. Repeat from * until last 2 sts, K1, YO, K1.
Round 3: CC: *P3, Drop YO, Sl1 wyif. Repeat from * to end.
Round 4: CC: *P1, YO, P2, Sl1. Repeat from * to end.
Repeat Rnds 1-4. Then work Rnds 1-2, EXCEPT don’t work the YO’s in Round 2. Next, P one rnd in CC.
Switch to MC. P one rnd, K one rnd. Repeat these two rnds.
Switch to CC, and work Stitch Pattern Rounds as follows:
Work Setup Rnd, and Rnds 1-4 in appropriate colors. Work Rnds 1-2 again, but without the YO’s in Rnd 2. Next, P one rnd in CC.
Switch to MC. P one rnd, K one rnd. Repeat these two rnds.
Switch to CC, and work Stitch Pattern as follows.
Work Setup Rnd. Work Rnds 1-2, Except skip the YO’s in Rnd 2. Next, P one rnd in CC.
Decrease Section (Switch to double pointed needles or Magic Loop as needed.)
Switch to MC.
P one round.
For Large and Small Sizes (For Small size, begin with Round 5):
K11, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round.
K10, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round in CC. Switch to MC.
K9, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round.
K8, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round in CC. Switch to MC.
K7, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round.
K6, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round in CC. Switch to MC.
K5, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round.
K4, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round in CC. Switch to MC.
K3, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round.
K2, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round in CC. Switch to MC.
K1 K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round.
K2tog to end.
For Medium Size:
K10, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round.
K9, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round in CC. Switch to MC.
K8, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round.
K7, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round in CC. Switch to MC.
K6, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round.
K5, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round in CC. Switch to MC.
K4, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round.
K3, K2 tog. Repeat to end.
P one round in CC. Switch to MC.
K2, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P one round.
K1, K2tog. Repeat to end.
P2tog to end. (7 sts).
Cut yarn and thread through live sts and pull to close top of hat. Weave in ends carefully.
You’re going to want to block the heck out of this puppy. Soak hat in cool water with a bit of wool wash for half an hour. Gently squeeze out excess water and block, being sure to gently pull hat vertically to open up the squares in the stitch pattern.
