Knitted Santa Hat and Candy Cane Scarf

Along with being an “obsessed” quilter, I am also an avid knitter! I always take my knitting with me, which is what I did when I visited with my family in the Midwest (Northern Illinois) over the Thanksgiving holiday.

While I was there, I knitted 2 Santa Hats and a Candy Cane Scarf along with a Seahawks color cowl. I had a LOT of knitting time, which was wonderful!!!

I posted photos of the Santa Hat and the Candy Cane scarf to a knitting Facebook group (Addicted to Knitting – I highly recommend joining this group if you are a knitter) and people were requesting the pattern for them.

When I made the hat and scarf, I “winged it” and made up the pattern as I went along. I have written up the instructions and they are below. I also have a PDF of the instructions which you can download by Clicking Here

I hope you enjoy these instructions and if you make a Santa Hat or two or the Candy Cane Scarf, send photos and I will post them here.

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For PDF instructions Santa Hat and Scarf

Click on any photo for a larger view. For more photos go to the end of this post

The following directions are somewhat generic and almost a recipe for creating these items. These instructions have not been tested or tech edited. If you see any mistakes or problem, please let me know. My email is at the end of the instructions.

Note – the shape of the scarf in the photo is a little (???) wonky. I was working with several different increases / decreases until I got the shape I wanted. I am working on a new sample and will add a new photo when it is finished.

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The red and the white yarn is— I Love This Yarn, from Hobby Lobby. It is acrylic and a worsted weight.

The fuzzy yarn (at the top of the ribbing on the hat and is the white yarn in the center of the red section of the scarf) is also from Hobby Lobby and it is called Yarn Bee, Snuggle Up. This yarn is optional.

Here is a link to the Snuggle Up yarn

https://www.hobbylobby.com/Yarn-Needle-Art/Yarn/White-Yarn-Bee-Snuggle-Up-Yarn/p/80843875

Size 8 needles. If you want the hat ribbing to be a bit tighter, use size 7 or 6 needles. The hat is knit in the round, you will need circular needles and / or double pointed needles for the crown. The scarf is knit flat on size 8 needles.

Stitch markers, purchased pom pom or yarn pom pom.

Santa Hat

I don’t know the exact gauge or size – I gifted the hat before I decided to write up the instructions. The hat I knit fit an adults head. My gauge was about 5 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch. Again, I don’t know for sure.

If you want a hat calculator which has a lot of different sizes and yarn gauges, I would recommend visiting –

http://www.earthguild.com/products/knitcroc/marypat/hatcalc.htm

Here are the instructions I used –

With the white yarn using circular needles, cast on 80 stitches, join stitches and work in K2, P2 ribbing for 2 – 3 inches.
Note: I used size 7 needles for the ribbing.

If you are using the Snuggle Up yarn, knit 4 rounds. If you are not using the Snuggle Up yarn change to the red yarn.

Change to the red yarn and work in stocking stitch (knit each row) for about 3 inches.

Begin decreases. Knit 20 stitches, place a marker. Repeat 3 more times. Use a different marker to note the beginning of the round.

Next round – K2 together, knit to marker. Repeat 3 more times. Four stitches decreased.

Knit 5 rounds.

Continue to decrease 4 stitches every sixth round until there are 8 stitches left.

Leave a yarn tail and cut yarn. Thread yarn onto a tapestry needle and put stitches onto the yarn tail and pull tight and secure.

Attach a purchased pom pom (which is what I did. I got my pom pom at Hobby Lobby) or make a pom pom with white yarn and attach.

Weave in all end and wear proudly!

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Candy Cane Scarf

Size 8 needles, white and red worsted weight yarn. Optional white Snuggle Up yarn. The scarf is knit flat in Garter Stitch (knit each row)

Gauge is not important. Scarf length is about 50 – 60 inches or desired length.

Stitches

K – knit
S1P – slip 1 stitch as if to purl. Doing this at the start of each row makes a neat and flexible edge.
SKPO – slip 1 stitch, knit the next stitch, pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch. One stitch deceased.
YO – yarn over
TBL – knit through the back loop of the stitch. This is done over the yarn over stitch in the previous row to “close” it up. I feel that this makes a more “flexible” increase.

There are three sections to this scarf – the increase section, the work even section and the decrease section.

Stitching sequence for the Candy Cane Stripes are on the next page.

With white yarn, Cast on 5 stitches –

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Set up rows

Set up Row 1 – S1P, K1, YO, K to end.
Set up Row 2 – S1P, SKPO, K to end.
Begin Increase Section

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Increase Section instructions

Row 1 – S1P, K1, YO, K to end.
Row 2 – S1P, SKPO, YO, K to end. (1 stitch increased)
Row 3 – S1P, K1, YO, K to last 3 stiches, TBL (of the YO in the previous row) K2.
Row 4 – S1P, SKPO, K to end.

Notes: You will be increasing 1 stitch every 4 rows. I recommend putting a marker to indicate the right side of your work and to indicate the YO edge.

Repeat the 4 rows above until you have 45 stitches on your needle.

If desired, measure your scarf along the YO edge. It should be about 28 (+/-) inches long.

Note: This measurement will be about the same for the Decrease Section.

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Work Even Section

Row 1 – S1P, K1, YO, K to end.
Row 2 – S1P, SKPO, K to end.

Repeat these two rows until your scarf measures about 30 – 32 inches (+/-) or desired length, from cast on edge. Begin working the Decrease Section

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Decrease Section

Row 1 – S1P, K1, YO, K to end.
Row 2 – S1P, SKPO, SKPO, K to end. (1 stitch decreased)
Row 3 – S1P, K1, YO, K to last 3 stiches, TBL (of the YO in the previous row) K2.
Row 4 – S1P, SKPO, K to end.

Notes: You will be decreasing 1 stitch every 4 rows.

Repeat the 4 rows above until you have 5 stitches on your needle.

K 2 rows then bind off and weave in ends. Block lightly if needed.

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Color strips for the Candy Cane Stripes

Note: I began this sequence after the set up rows.

Work 28 rows (14 ridges) in white yarn
Work 6 rows (3 ridges) in red yarn
Work 2 rows (1 ridge) in white yarn or the Snuggle Up yarn
Work 6 rows (3 ridges) in red yarn

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I hope you enjoy these patterns.

If you have any questions about them or need more information, please contact me
at longarmu@aol.com

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As promised, here are some photos – Click on any photo for a larger view

I gifted the hat and scarf to my Daughter-in-Law, Reesia Roth and here she is modeling them.

And she wore them when she put the kids on the school bus this morning.

While I was in Northern Illinois, I made two Santa Hats. Before I left, I got photos of both my Mom and Dad wearing the hats! They look so festive!

Here is my Mom, 88 years young!

And here is my Dad, 92 years young!

And here they are together! In October they celebrated their 69th Anniversary!!!

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A Shawl and a Heart Quilt

I have a dear friend who recently had shoulder surgery. I wanted to do something special for her and my first thought was to make a quilt for her. But, she is a professional quilter and another quilt is probably the last thing she would want. So I began thinking and I came up a knitted shawl!

With her shoulder surgery, she couldn’t get her arm into a jacket easily, so I thought having a shawl to throw over her shoulders would work well for her.

I found a simple shawlette pattern at my local yarn shop and began working on it. The pattern is from the book “Free Spirit Shawls, by Lisa Shroyer. For details on this book Click Here (The pattern I used is on Page 55.) I did change the lace pattern on the bottom of the shawl, but everything else was by the pattern.

My daughter, Katie, reluctant agreed to be a model, but I had to promise not to show her face. And being a good mother, I didn’t!

Click on any photo for a larger view.

Here is a back view. The main yarn was a hand painted sock type yarn, knitted up “speckled” and it has bits of turquoise and aqua.

The shawlette is not very wide, but it is LONG!  I blocked the shawlette on a 6 x 4 foot piece of Styrofoam insulation and it went from edge to edge.

And here is a view from the front.

I have already sent this to my friend and she LOVES it. I hope it keeps her shoulders warm and cozy for a long, long time!

I just finished another quilt which is WAY, WAY TOO CUTE! It was made for a girl, Bryanna, who is having a 16th birthday  real soon.

Click on any photo for a larger view.

The quilt was made by Bryanna’s Aunt and she did a great job with the piecing. There was a lot of “open” spaces and I had WAY too much fun quilting it!

Here is a close up of the top half of the quilt. Notice the name quilted below the point of the heart! Also the hearts in the borders.

And here is the bottom of the quilt. It is a bright sunny day outside and the bright sunshine is doing strange things with the colors – especially the white background fabric.

There were a few extra blocks left over, so they were pieced into the backing fabric. I couldn’t control where the quilting would be on them, but it did turn out very well.

One more view of the back of the quilt, near the top. I love the texture that is showing from the quilting in the pinwheel star block.

It is a bright sunny warm spring day and now I am going outside to work in the garden!

 

 

 

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First Quilt of the Year and More Socks

Happy 2016!!

I have been working on a few personal projects and here are some photos.

Before I had my hip replacement surgeries (almost 4 years ago!!) I told my family that if anyone needed a joint replacement, I would make them a quilt when they had their surgery.  Last year I made my Mother a quilt when she had her knee replaced. (You can read about that by Clicking Here).

Last September my Aunt Esther (my Mother’s younger sister) fell and broke her hip and had to have pins put in to hold it together. Then, a few months after that, she had her second knee replaced! (Yes, I made her a quilt for her first knee replacement. Read about that quilt by Clicking Here)

Aunt Esther is on the road to recovery and doing very well. When I heard she had broken her hip, I started piecing a quilt top for her – and got it quilted only a week or so ago!

Here is the photo of her new quilt (click on any photo for a larger view)

The fabrics are a collection of Aunt Gracie fabrics from MANY years ago that a friend had given me – which is a perfect choice for my Aunt. Then I surfed the internet looking at scrap quilts and found a photo of this pattern.

To view the original blog post, along with the details on the pattern, Click Here The original photo is about half way down the page.

I kept the corners and the centers in the same fabric and added the 4 Patch border.

Here is a closer view of the quilt

I quilted it using all over, free hand Feathers & Swirls using white cotton thread and Soft & Bright batting.

And here is the back of the quilt. The back is a light lavender print that looks vintage.

You can really see the quilting!

Remember when I wrote about the socks I knit for my Grandkids for Christmas? (Click Here)  I had one pair left to knit for my youngest (14 month old) Grand daughter, which I started on Christmas morning and then finished both socks the next day. I was still in “sock mode” and knit another pair for the daughter of a family friend.

The smaller socks are for Madeline and the larger socks are for Marley. I used the same yarn for both pairs and they turned out great!

Now I have to get back to quilting. I can’t wait to show you the photos of what I am working on now!

 

 

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Socks for Christmas

In October, I decided that I was going to knit socks for all my (10) Grand-kids for Christmas. (My Grand-kids range in age from 20 years old to 14 months!)

As you can see in the photo below I got 9 pairs finished! The first sock of the last pair are on the needles, ready to have the heel flap knit. These socks are for my 14 month old Grand Daughter.

9 + pairs of Christmas Socks

I have the rest of today and all day tomorrow to finish up the last pair of socks!

The socks were a lot of fun to knit and I hope they keep the feet warm for a long time!

Merry Christmas everyone!

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A New Addition

On October 7, I welcomed a new Granddaughter to the family. Her name is Madelynn and she is a super cutie!!! She was 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 20 inches long and she is doing well.

Here she is shortly after she was born.
Click on any photo for a larger view.

 

Isn’t she a cutie!! And here is her big brother, Nathan, after he got off the school bus and before I told him he has a new sister!

Nathan has been a great big brother and is super excited to have a sister.

Of course, Grandma Cindy has been busy making all sorts of things for Miss Madelynn. First, she had to have a new quilt!

I made this quilt from my Blocks in a Box pattern and online class. (For details Click Here)

Here is the back of the quilt, before trimming and binding. I LOVE the texture of the quilting.

After I finished the quilt, I got the itch to knit – baby socks! Here is the first pair that I knitted

The photo makes the socks look large, but they are only about 2 inches long from the heel to the toe! For the FREE pattern for these way to cute baby socks Click Here. These socks took only about an hour or two to knit for each sock. And, they are addictive! Because ….

 

I knit another pair. This yarn was left over from a pair of socks I knit for Nathan a few years ago. (I do plan to get a photo of both kids with their matching socks!) Both of the pairs of socks above were knit with wool sock yarn. And then I was at the yarn shop and saw some pretty pink striped sock yarn, and … I knit another pair!

 

This yarn is 100% acrylic sock yarn but it feels and looks like rayon. It is fun to work with and has a real nice “feel” to it.

And it looks great on the baby!

There is a lot more sock than there is baby, but that won’t last long!

I also knit a couple of hats – here is one that is simple garter stitch. I made a lacy one but I forgot to take a photo. I’ll try to remember to take a photo the next time I visit.

When I wasn’t knitting baby socks and hats, I was making Burp Cloths! These were way too much fun to make!

I got some terry cloth and flannel fabric at JoAnn’s,  put them on the quilt machine and quilted them together.  I used my free hand feathers and swirls pattern. (The terry cloth was on the bottom, flannel on the top, no batting.) I quilted about two yards, then cut them into this burp cloth shape. (There are a TON of free burp cloth patterns on the internet.) I bound them like a quilt – because of the curved edges, I made and used bias binding.

I now have about three yards of terry cloth/flannel on the quilting machine and will make them into receiving blankets that, because of the terry cloth,  can be used as bath towels.

I now have to get away from the baby things and get back to work!

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Charity Quilts for Fall

I know things are getting hectic and Christmas is coming up FAST, but I thought I would take a few minutes and post a few photos of my recent charity quilts and things.

I’m a little late for Thanksgiving, but, I do want to say that in the last few years I have recognized and acknowledged that I am truly blessed. My life isn’t perfect but it is good and getting better. So in the spirit of “giving back” I have made a few quilts – and other things – that I have recently donated to charity. I know that the charities will use these quilts as they see fit, but I do hope that, if possible, they use the quilts to raise funds for their cause.

The two quilts I am showing I donated to the MultiCare Financial Aid department. When I had my hip replacement surgeries last year, the Financial Aid Department worked with me so that I could receive the (literally life changing) surgeries I needed.

The first quilt I pieced using a variation of the Disappearing 4 Patch design. (Click on any photo for a larger view)

The fabrics were a pansy print, yellow marble and light lavender marbled fabrics. In the photo, the light lavender looks blue.

I used the pantograph, Woodcut Camelia, by Kim Darwin. Here is a close up of the fabrics and the quilting on the front.

I used Pastels varigated thread from Signature and Soft & Bright batting. Here is the quilting from the back of the quilt.

I LOVE the texture of this pattern on this quilt!

The other quilt I donated is a kids quilt made from 9 Patches. This quilt has been done for a while – I was working with some new template patterns – and it was just sitting around here. I looked at it one day and thought that it would make some child – probably a boy – very happy.  So it was donated also.

I used several of my circle templates to quilt it and again used Soft & Bright batting. Here is a close up of the front of the quilt.

I hope you can see the texture of the quilting.  Here is the back of the quilt.

In addition to being a quilter, I am also a knitter. I was looking on a knitting blog and saw a plea for knitted (or crocheted) scarfs for the Red Scarf Project. This project donates scarfs and other items to Foster Kids who are now in college or in higher education. As a Grandmother of five children, hopefully soon six children, who were adopted from Foster Care, how could I NOT help out.

So I raided my stash of yarn (yes, I have a yarn stash, although the fabric stash is MUCH larger!) and found some red, and shades of red, yarn and began knitting.

Here are four scarfs I knit during November. They are simple patterns but they worked well in the scarfs. The yarn in the red and white striped scarf was dyed that way and the stripes were somewhat random sized. All the scarfs are acrylic yarn and will wear VERY well.

If I have some time later on, I’ll post the knitting directions for the bias striped scarfs. They are fun to make, and if you use a varigated or striped yard, it is fun to see the pattern develop.

Now, on to Christmas quilts and other Christmas projects!

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