Itty-Bitty mittens

When my second grandson was born, my daughter asked me to come up with some mitts to keep on his cold little hands.  I tried a number of patterns and yarns and none were just right, so I ventured out into designing my own pattern.  I chose a lightweight cotton yarn since the little guy constantly had his fists in his mouth.  Well, my daughter loved them and I've knitted a number of pairs for her.  Here's the pattern:

Karen's Baby Mittens
(Click to go to the printable pattern in a Google Doc.)

And more on Dishcloths

My sister has perfected the Simple Discloth pattern and matching Scrubbie.  This may be the most common dishcloth out there, but it's also the most functional.  It's easy and quick to knit.  Here is her version of th dishcloth and scrubbie:

Materials:
1 ball of cotton worsted weight yarn such as:
      Lily “Sugar-n-Cream” or Bernat “Handicrafter
Size 10½ Knitting needles


Hint:  YO backwards: yarn goes over the top of your right needle, under and back.


Instructions:
Cast on 4 stitches
Row 1: Knit across
Row 2: (increase row) Knit 2, YO backwards, Knit to end
Repeat Row 2 until you have 48 stitches on your needle
Next Row: (decrease row) Knit 2, knit 2tog, knit to end.
Repeat this row until you have 4 stitches left on your needle.
Bind off, and weave yarn ends in.

 


This is a soft scrubbie – not as effective as stainless steel, but nice for the not-so-caked-on stuff! It is worked in a classic pebble stitch




Materials:
Cotton worsted weight yarn such as:
     Lily “Sugar-n-Cream” or Bernat “Handicrafter
Phentex Craft Yarn (Not easy to find so Google it! It is made of 100% Olefin and is just tough and scratchy enough to do the job.)
Size 10½ Knitting needles


Instructions:
Entire scrubbie is worked with one strand of cotton and one strand of Phentex held together.
Cast on 24 stitches
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: Knit 1, *Knit 2tog; repeat from * across to last stitch, Knit 1
Row 4: Knit 1, *Knit 1 in bar between last stitch and next, knit next stitch; repeat from * across to last stitch, Knit 1.
Repeat these 4 rows 6-8 times to desired size.
Bind off.

Thanks, sis!

Dishcloths are for more than washing

Whenever I see a stitch pattern that interests me, I grab my cotton Handicrafter  yarn and try it out on a dishcloth.  It gives me a good size example of the pattern and it's useful.  Here are two that made particularly nice-looking and very functional dishcloths:

Half-Linen Stitch Dishcloth

Materials:
2 colours of cotton worsted weight yarn such as: Lily “Sugar-n-Cream” or Bernat “Handicrafter
Size 9 Knitting needles
Gauge not critical to this project



 With A cast on 40 stitches
Border:
Row 1-4: with A, knit across.
Body:
Row 1: with B, K4, *sl1 wyif, K1 – repeat from * to last 4 sts, K4
Row 2: K4, purl to last 4 sts, K4
Row 3: with A, K4, *K1, sl1 wyif – repeat from * to last 4 sts, K4
Row 4: K4, purl to last 4 sts, K4
Repeat these 4 rows until cloth measures at least 7½” long or to desired length, ending with Row 2.
Border:
Row 1-4: with A, knit across.
Bind off.

Bee Stitch Dishcloth

Materials:
Cotton worsted weight yarn such as: Lily “Sugar-n-Cream” or Bernat “Handicrafter
Size 9 Knitting needles
Gauge not critical to this project




Cast on 33 stitches.
Border:
Row 1-2: Knit across.
Body:
Row 1: Knit across
Row 2: K1, *K1 in stitch below, K1 – repeat from * to end of row
Row 3: Knit across
Row 4: K2, *K1 in stitch below, K1 – repeat from * to end of row
Repeat these 4 rows until cloth measures at least 7½” long or to desired length, ending with Row 2.
Border:
Row 1-2: with A, knit across.
Bind off.

Let's get this party started

This is my inaugural posting. I have contemplated a knitting blog for a while. Not sure where this will go, but game to give it a try.