It's Getting to Be That Time of Year: Free Knitting Patterns for Christmas Ornaments

It's time again for my knitting group's annual ornament exchange.  The rules are always the same:  everyone who wants to participate brings a handmade ornament to exchange.  The ornament does not need to be knit, but it does need to be made by the person bringing it.

We haven't had our exchange yet, so I can't show you the ornament that I made.  But I thought I'd share some fun FREE knitting patterns I found for some cute ornaments.

First, the Little Christmas Tree Wreath by Magdalena Roslaniec - I made the ornament above following Magdalena's pattern.  The only changes I made were to use some ribbon for the bow instead of knitting my own, and gluing on some small beads as decoration.  I really enjoyed this pattern.  It's a quick knit, great for using leftover yarn, and makes a beautiful ornament.

I love Magdalena's pattern so much that I made a smaller version as a brooch or pin.  To make this smaller wreath, I cast on 12 sts on a #4 needle.  I knit my 3 cords for the braid as i-cords, and made each one about 6 1/2 inches long (40 i-cord repeats).  The resulting wreath is just under 3 inches in diameter.  Again, I added some ribbon as a bow and some beads for decoration.  I sewed a pin back in place on the back, but I think you could also use a stick pin to attach it to your clothing.

And a few shameless plugs for my own free ornament patterns:  These Cozy Little Snowmen are knit in the round from the head up through the hat.  These guys are a quick knit and great for using scrap yarn.  Once knit, you can add whatever facial features and accessories that you wish.

And this Yarn Ball Christmas Tree Ornament is a variation on my Yarn Ball Bookmark.  You can find the directions for the tree ornament at the bottom of my free pattern for the bookmark on my Hubpages.

Hope these free patterns give you some ideas for knitting your own Christmas Tree ornaments.  I also shared some patterns for Christmas ornaments last year that you might want to check out.  Best wishes for the upcoming holiday season!

Another Knitted Christmas Tree Ornament Tutorial (sort of)

A while back, I felted a Fair Isle sweater to make a sweater pumpkin decoration.  I loved the pattern on this sweater and had a lot of material left.  So I couldn't wait to use the same felted sweater to make some Christmas tree decorations.

The process for felting a sweater is quite easy and the materials to make these Christmas ornaments are quite basic.  All you need is an old ( or new) wool sweater, some coordinating fabric for backing your ornament, and some embellishments.  I have all the directions on my Hubpages!

I really love this little Christmas tree ornament!  The knitted Fair Isle pattern looks great on my little tree.  Check out the full tutorial!

Free Knitting Pattern: Tree Skirt (or Doily) for Table-Top Christmas Tree

My latest free knitting pattern is a round doily designed as a tree skirt for miniature or table-top Christmas Tree.  This skirt or doily features bands of different stitch patterns and can be adjusted in size depending on your needs.

Although designed as a Christmas tree skirt, you could also use this pattern to knit a round doily to put under a plant, decorative bowl, or lamp.  I chose not make my tree skirt very Christmas-y because I wanted to use it under other things during the rest of the year. However, if you'd like to add more holiday cheer to your doily or skirt, there are a few ways to accomplish this by using novelty yarn with shiny tinsel woven in it, or yarn doted with sequin.  Or you can knit each band of the pattern in a different color of yarn, alternating between white, green, and red.

You can find this free pattern on my Hubpages!

Upcoming Knitting ~ To Keep Myself Inspired and Organized

October 1st will soon be upon us and this time of the year always makes me a little anxious.  For knitters, this begins the final stretch for any and all projects we want to get done before the end of the year.  For me, this is a self-imposed deadline.  I'm not knitting any holiday gifts this year (well, maybe - see Christmas stockings below), but I still have knitting projects I'd like to finish by the end of the year.

So, I'm posting my knitting list here to keep myself engaged, inspired, and on schedule :)

1.  First up - My Sport Weight Lace Scarf:  I blogged about my search for a lace scarf pattern months ago.  In the end, I didn't choose any that I mentioned and instead I'm knitting the Three Sisters Scarves #2 by Monica Steinbauer.  I love the mix of chevron with lace, particularly in this teal yarn (see above - not finished and unblocked).  This should look great with my fall jacket, thus creating project #2 on my list:

2.  I'm going to try to create some matching fingerless mitts to go with this scarf.  Stay tuned for the pattern in the coming months (but probably not before December).

3.  I need/want to make a doily to go under my ceramic Christmas tree that I put out during the holidays.  I'm going to use Madeline Nelson's Pi Washcloth pattern as a starting point for my knit doily.  This should be a quick knit (I hope).  I don't need anything fancy for my doily and I'm just going to use some leftover white acrylic yarn to knit it.  I might add some beads or buttons around the edge when I'm done.

Standing Stones Cowl by Andee Fagan

4. I have 2 1/2 skeins of Berroco Vintage leftover from knitting my Vale cardigan.  As I mentioned before, I'm considering making the Standing Stones Cowl by Andee Fagan to wear as more of a poncho.  But honestly, I'm not sure how much use I'd get out of a poncho, so I like the flexibility to wear this as a cowl too.  I really love the lace pattern in this design.

Tis The Season Stocking by Katie Weston

5.  Last year when we were at my parents for Christmas, my mother mentioned wanting some knit stockings to display during the holidays.  I'm hoping she's forgotten about this, or changed her mind, but I've also searched out some free stocking patterns on Ravelry.  I love the Tis The Season Stocking by Katie Weston and I can use some stash dk to knit it.  I'd make two stockings for my parents (each different) and I think Katie Weston's pattern will look great matched with this Drops Design stocking.

6.  Lastly, I never finished this striped short-sleeve top I started last spring (ugh).  I still don't love it, so I either need to to finish it in a way I like, or take it apart and knit something else.  Right now, I'm waiting for some inspiration and direction to hit.

I plan to post about some of these projects, so you can watch my progress!

Sweet Snowman Knitting Pattern: Holiday Knitting

As promised, I wanted to tell you what pattern Jennifer used to make my cute little snowgirl ornament.

My ornament from Jennifer

Jennifer said she used the "Parson Brown" pattern by Emily Ivey (it's a FREE pattern!), but changed the hat and added a scarf.

"Parson Brown" by Emily Ivey

This pattern is adorable and there's still time before the holidays to knit one for your tree or for a friend!

Knitting Group Ornament Exchange

Last night was my knitting group's third annual ornament exchange.  Each member makes an ornament to exchange within the group.  The ornament does not need to be knitted, but it does have to be handmade.

The purple and red button ornaments below were my contribution to the ornament exchange.  (You can find the directions to make all four of these ornaments on my Hubpages!)

In exchange, I received this sweet and cozy snowgirl ornament from Jennifer.  I don't know if Jennifer used a particular pattern to knit her, but I'll ask and let you know.

She's adorable, and right now I've got her on display with Rambo, my stuffed lamb, in the center of our wreath:

Update on the Perfect Cardigan

I've finally had a chance to put in some serious knitting and get the body of my Cotton Candy Cardigan done - but I still have the sleeves to go (sad face).  The sweater is based on the Alice Blue Cardigan, a free pattern from Red Heart and I've made many modifications to create what I hope will be the perfect cardigan.

These photos show the body unblocked, but so far I'm really happy with how this cardigan is coming along.  I have notes all over the place on my modifications.  I'll try to pull them together and post them along with photos of my finished sweater.  I hope to have this whole thing done and blocked in time for Christmas.  I just need to finish two sleeves and lay off the ice cream so this cardigan will fit when I'm done.  Wish me luck!

Having a Ball: Christmas Ornaments Made with Yarn

Yes, it's getting to be that time of year - when most knitters turn their creative minds to holiday knitting.  For me, the first project to tackle is my decoration for my knitting group's annual ornament exchange.

This year, I started playing around with yarn - layering it inside Christmas balls, wrapping it around Christmas balls, and turning Christmas balls into yarn balls.  I came up with four different designs, and I'm not sure which one to use for my ornament exchange:

Want to make your own yarn ornaments?  Check out my Hubpages for the directions for all four designs!

Christmas Knitting: Tiny Sweater Ornaments

It's time for my knitting group's annual ornament exchange, and since I'm not getting anywhere with my current knitting project, I've become intrigued by little knitted sweater patterns.

This time of the year, lots of yarn companies release FREE patterns for little sweater ornaments.  I've already have plans for my submission for this year's ornament exchange (more later), but I wanted to share some of these little patterns for little sweaters:

First up, these little cuties from Berroco, available for download here.  I love the little fair isle sweater and hat.  These would be great for dressing up stocking stuffers like little toys or candy canes.

Vogue Knitting also has a free pattern for this sweater garland (available here).  This would be a fun way to use up some scrap yarn while making a colorful garland for your tree or mantle.  These sweaters could also be knit as separate items to use as ornaments.

Red Heart has this charming cardigan pattern, which would also be great for doll attire.  You can find it on their website.

And a lot of sweet knitters have shared their patterns for little sweaters for free on Ravelry or on their blogs.  Ravelry has a lot of patterns to choose from.  Here are just a few:

Emily of Greens and Jeans has a tiny raglan design that can be modified in a number of ways.

Lori of Bird's Eye View also has a sweet little pattern that would look great in variegated yarn or using an array of scraps.

And Linda at Natural Suburbia has this adorable Christmas Tree Sweater.  Such a great idea!

Hope you find something here to use to decorate your own holidays with!

Wonderful or Whack-a-doodle (or Wonderfully Whack-a-doodle)?

So here's my latest knitting project and attempt at using up some of my leftover yarn:  The Cadeau Cowl by Wei S. Leong (free pattern).  I've called it a cowl, but I'm not really sure what it is.  A ruff?  Small capelet, maybe?  Whatever it is, I'm not sure it's really me.

Honestly, I think it's a beautiful pattern.  The way the cables intertwine is really interesting and makes this item very unique.  I could see possibly wearing this cowl/capelet over a strapless dress for a special occasion if you were uncomfortable showing so much skin or wanted to keep your shoulders warm.  With the right outfit, I think it could look really sweet.

But for me - I'm not sure.  One, I made the larger size and I think it may be too big for my shoulders.  And two, this color, though pretty, might be a little too bright for me and this item.  Maybe if I knit it again in a neutral, like a gray color?  Then maybe it wouldn't look so out of place?  Still not sure.

I'll think about it over the Christmas holidays.  Wishing you a exciting holiday, too!

Knitted Christmas Ornaments

Last night was our knitting group's second annual ornament exchange.  The rules of our exchange are that each person must craft an ornament.  The decoration does not need to be knitted, but it does have to be handmade.  Last year, I tried my hand at needle felting and made this little reindeer. 

I didn't really have any ideas for this year until I saw a little stuffed sheep pattern in the Spring/Summer 2013 issue of Noro Knitting Magazine.  Once I saw this pattern, I knew that I could turn it into my ornament :)

I made two sheep, one for the ornament exchange and one for me :)  In the process, I made a number of modifications to this pattern:

1.  The smallest needles I have are #4's, so that's what I had to work with.  I found that using my #4's with sock yarn created a knitted material that was too loose and showed the fiber fill through the loose weave.  So instead, I used some stash Caron Simply Soft for the body of my sheep (natural for the white one and sticks and stones for the brownish one) and my #4's.

2.  For the belly, the head, and the legs I used some leftover sock yarn.  This yarn isn't very pretty, but added some fun, funky color to my sheep.  I followed the directions as written for the belly, then switched to the Caron Simply Soft for the body.

3.  I was afraid that the sheep was going to be too boxy, so after the last cluster round of the body repeats, I did a decrease row - I did a k2tog every 7th st (knitting the 7th and 8th sts together).  This decreased 8 sts from the body.  This gave me 2 less sts for the head (which I think actually looks better).

4.  I graphed the back together with the sts I had, then switched back to my sock yarn for the head.  I followed the directions for the head, but changed the ears.  Instead of knitting separate ears, I made a set of three looped sts on each side of the head, echoing the cluster stitch in the body.  I like how these purple "ears" look.

5.  Lastly, I couldn't seem to pick up sts on the belly with my larger needles to start the legs.  So instead, I cast on 6 sts and knit my i-cord legs separately.  I left about an 8 inch tail when I cast on and made each leg (i-cord) about an 1 1/2 inches long, then I bound off.  I cut my yarn leaving about a 30 inch tail.  I used a tapestry needle and the 8 inch cast on tail to stitch the legs to the body.  Then I used the 30 inch tail at the end of the legs to wrap around each one.

6.  I didn't bother with the face details because they would have gotten lost in my striped sock yarn head.  Instead, I added a little yarn detail and bell around the neck :)

The overall size is a little larger than the pattern, about 5 1/2" in length, but I think they're pretty cute!  And in exchange, I got this beautiful embroidered snowflake ornament by expert knitter AND quilter Dagmar.

I love it!  I'm thrilled to have a sample of her handiwork!!  All and all, we had a great time (again) with our ornament exchange :)

Holiday Knitting Ideas

Yes, it's that time of year again, when most knitters turn their attention (and their needles) to holiday gifts.  And what makes holiday knitting much more fun?  FREE knitting patterns!

DROPS, those wonderful suppliers of so many free patterns, have pulled together their best holiday projects in their Christmas Workshop 2013.  This (free) pattern collection is just jam packed with great ideas for knitted and crocheted gifts.  I love all the sock and mitt patterns!

And if your looking for more free knitting patterns, check out my Hubpages (apologies for the shameless plug).  I've recently added some fun craft projects for the holiday season!!