Posts tagged pattern
omeone on Ravelry saw this square pillow friend that I made for my niece and asked for the directions. Originally this pattern was made by Jess Hutchinson and was found on Ravelry here. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem that a written pattern exists anymore, so I just did my best to make it up as I went, and it turned out great! I thought I’d attempt writing a pattern for it. WARNING: I wrote this from memory and have not tested it. If you have any problems or concerns write me on Ravelry, username peaceloveveggies. Have fun!
Squarey Knitting Pattern
(originally by Jess Hutchinson, written by Kristen Althoff)
Supplies:
3 skeins of worsted weight yarn in 3 different colors
1 pair #8 straight or circular needles
1 set #8 double pointed needles
2 15mm black safety eyes
12-inch pillow form
polyester fiberfill for stuffing arms and legs
yarn needle
Gauge:
This is the part you’ll have to take some time to figure out. Since we need this guy to fit over a 12-inch pillow form we need to make 2 12-inch squares. I figured out how many stitches across I would need by figuring out how many stitches it took to get me one inch of knitting in stockinette stitch (make sure to do a few rows to get an accurate measurement). I like to stretch the fabric just a little bit when measuring so that the final product will be snug on the pillow form. Once you have 1 inch of knitting take that number of stitches and multiply it by 12. This is your final cast-on number.
Directions:
FRONT & BACK (make 2)
Cast on the number of stitches you determined from your gauge in the main color.
Knit in stockinette for about 3 inches.
Switch to your second color and knit in stockinette for 3 inches.
Switch to your third color and knit in stockinette for 3 inches.
Switch to your second color again and knit in stockinette for 3 inches.
Switch back to your main color and knit in stockinette until the entire piece measures 12 inches. Bind off loosely.
ARMS (make 2)
Using third color, cast on 9 stitches evenly across 3 double pointed needles (3 stitches on each needle). Join for knitting in the round.
Knit in the round until you have a tube that measures 4 inches.
Decrease next round: *Knit 2 together, knit 1* repeat from * to * 2 more times (6 stitches)
Decrease next round: *Knit 2 together* repeat from * to * 2 more times (3 stitches)
Break yarn and draw through remaining 3 stitches. Cinch and sew in loose end.
LEGS (make 2)
Using main color, cast on 9 stitches evenly across 3 double pointed needles (3 stitches on each needle). Join for knitting in the round.
Knit in the round until you have a tube that measures 5 inches.
Decrease next round: *Knit 2 together, knit 1* repeat from * to * 2 more times (6 stitches)
Decrease next round: *Knit 2 together* repeat from * to * 2 more times (3 stitches)
Break yarn and draw through remaining 3 stitches. Cinch and sew in loose end.
FACE
Using a yarn needle and the second or third color (your choice) embroider a smile into the fabric just above the stripes. I made one embroidery stitch for every 1 knit.
Place the safety eyes about 2 inches from each side and about an inch above the stripes.
STUFFING
Stuff the arms and legs with fiberfill and sew the ends of each shut
FINISHING
Starting at the top of the 2 squares begin sewing the pieces together. When you reach the stripes you may want to switch thread color so it matches. Before sewing the stripe with the third color, place the flat end of an arm in between the 2 layers of fabric and sew it in as you go. Do this for both sides but leave the bottom open.
Put the pillow form inside and start sewing up the bottom, making sure to put the legs in the same way you did the arms as you go.
Sew in any loose ends. Hug and enjoy!
e’re participating in Chicago Zine Fest in March and in addition to making some how-to zines with some friends I’m also working on these bookmarks made from security envelopes. These are made from a bunch of different envelopes pieced together and sewn with red thread.
By the way, I also started reading this book about pigeons that Bill and I got as a wedding gift. We had read a few pages of it together on our honeymoon and then got busy and put it down. It is fascinating, but also kind of hard to read from a vegan perspective: there’s a lot of talk of killing, eating, using, and abusing pigeons. But in the end I’m trying to focus on the fascinating story of human’s relationship with this beautiful animal. I have 2 pigeons beaking (the beginning part of their mating process) tattooed on my chest, and have long been fascinated with the beautiful aspects of these “rats of the sky” as they are often referred to in large cities like Chicago. I’m only a couple chapters in but so far it is an extremely interesting read.
art of what I’ve been working on during my vacation from work is filing a gazillion papers that we’ve had laying around in a pile for years. I keep putting it off because its a lot of work and super tedious. But THEN I had the brilliant idea to set aside the security envelopes for a project and suddenly going through papers became fun! I was excited to find the next envelope with the next pattern and anxious to know whether it would be different than the last. Unfortunately now that the excitement of the envelopes is over I still have to actually file the papers…
