Fair Isle Cushions

I have been working on some Fair Isle cushion covers and here they are, in progress, with my rather ” fuller figured”-Garfield like – adorable cat Bugsy. To get him to pose quite a lot of  “honey roast salmon” pieces were consumed and in this picture he is expecting more – however unfortunately there isn’t anymore – so he is not very happy!

Soon after this and due to the lack of  “delicate salmon” he stomped off and retired to his dressing room!

Anyway, I love knitting in Fair Isle and these 2 cushion covers still in progress, in the picture above, are knitted with Rowan 4ply Soft 100% wool on 3.25mm (3US) knitting needles. As you can see from the picture above, I have now knitted the 2 front pieces and on the right hand one at the top you can see I am half way through knitting a blue back for it.

I will knit this blue back section until it is equal to three quarters of the front and then I will finish it off with some moss stitch (1st row:1 knit and 1 purl, 2nd row 1 knit and1 purl). These 2 rows form the moss stitch pattern and are repeated. In this case I will knit them for 4 cm. I will then cast off in moss stitch.

I will then pick up my stitches from the other end of the piece (which I have previously left on a large stitch holder) and will knit in the same blue to meet and slightly overlap with the moss stitch on the other flap. I will then again complete the 2nd end with moss stitch however also put 4 button holes in it.

I will then join the sides and sew on the button to match up with the button holes.

I have added another picture above, where you can see the actual rows of knitting more clearly. I have always kept to either one or two stitches of one yarn colour and then one or two stitches of another. This means you don’t have to worry about doing any sort of work on the yarn at the back of the piece. There are only ever two different colour yarns in a row at any time.

I hope if you have never knitted something like this you have a go at knitting in different colours because you can create some beautiful and very satisfying effects. I will show you the finished cushions once I have completed them!

Until next time

Best wishes and happy knitting

Louise

Technorati Tags: baby cushions, baby knitting, baby knitting project ideas, Fair Isle

My mother taught me to knit when I was 8 years old and the type of knitting patterns she introduced me to first were baby knitting patterns. I loved the fact that they were so small!  The first piece of knitting I completed was a pair of mittens. They were in a beautiful soft white knitting wool and they were lovely. I was so proud of them even though I had a few holes in them that weren’t quite in the right places!

In hindsight the mittens were an adventurous first piece for a complete novice knitter like me as there was quite a lot of decreasing and holding stitches etc to be done however from that day onwards I was smitten (sorry about the slight pun)!

I then started to knit for any family and friends who had a new baby and so many of my  parents friends were given hats and bootees and mittens for their new borns!

I also knitted matinee jackets and little knitted leggings which were very popular and I often used lots of different colored yarns and made them stripy and fun.  Over the years I have knitted many garments for babies and I still love using baby knitting patterns and have a very large collection of them now.

If you are teaching your child to knit for the first time I think it is a great idea to look at baby knitting patterns as they are a perfect initial knitting project for a child.  This is because baby knitting patterns are small and easy to handle and quickly completed, which is great for a child as it gives them a very quick result.  Also if mistakes are made, it is possible to knit that part of the garment again quite quickly thus maintaining their motivation and so I would always recommend using baby knitting patterns as a starting point.

The advent of good quality cotton yarn has meant that a whole new range of baby knitting  patterns are now available using cotton which can be so soft and cooler for a baby to wear  in the summer. Also the huge array of colors that companies now make in both knitting wool and cotton are so lovely that they are inspiring people who have not considered knitting before to take it up.

There are very good baby knitting patterns for baby blankets and one that is easy to start with is a patchwork blanket. This is a knitted blanket made of small knitted squares of different colors. The squares are about 4 x 4 inches (10 x 10 cms). These squares are then stitched together in various patterns and you can really let yourself go on this and get creative. You can even design it first on graph paper and put in some longer strips of knitting as well as some smaller colorful squares. Either use cotton or wool however I wouldn’t suggest that you mix them as they behave a little differently when washed so as a starting project it is best to stick to either wool or cotton throughout.

There are some terrific places to look online if you are on the hunt for great knitting  patterns, and if you are looking for baby knitting patterns in particular, there are many excellent sites which will have patterns for you to choose from.

Until next time happy knitting

All the best

Louise

Technorati Tags: baby knitting, Baby Knitting Patterns, baby patterns, knitting patterns