For all the veterans

As we in the U.S. take time to honor and remember our veterans on Memorial Day, I thought this would be an appropriate time to post my knitted garrison cap design:

front:

back:

A couple of people asked me to knit a garrison cap for them. They chose the colors for their caps. I had no idea how to do it and scoured the web for knitting instructions, but all I could find was a pattern for how to sew one. So I decided to make up a pattern from what I knew of loom knitting, and the customers were both satisfied. You will need to tweak my pattern a bit depending on the size head you are knitting for; mine is for a 23" head.

You will need: measuring tape (to measure the person's head), yarn needle, yarn (I used Homespun black and tudor), straight yellow loom, straight blue loom, yarn hook.

Knitted using 1 over 2 e-wrap stitches.

For the inner cap: on the yellow loom, cast on 38 pegs and knit off 47 rows. Remove yarn from one anchor peg corner peg and place the loops on the adjacent peg (it doesn't matter which one); knit off so that there are only two loops on that peg. Remove the anchor corner peg. Repeat for other side of loom. Knit off 4 rows on 36 pegs and loosely bind off. Set aside.

For outer flap: Place the inner cap that you just knit against the left or right corner of the blue loom. Place a peg into that anchor peg corner peg hole where your inner cap is resting. Place a peg into the opposite anchor peg corner peg hole. With the loom facing you, on the peg row that is directly in front of you, count 10 pegs down from the anchor peg corner peg where your inner cap is resting. Remove what would be peg #11. Now go backwards, counting the pegs you just counted, and count off 54 pegs in the opposite direction. Remove what would be peg #55. You will begin by using the black yarn and casting on the original 10 pegs you counted, all the way around the loom to peg 54. Knit off 4 rows, then decrease by 1 peg at both ends to knit off 2 rows on 52 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg at both ends to knit off 2 rows on 50 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg on both ends to knit off 2 rows on 48 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg on both ends to knit off 2 rows on 46 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg on both ends to knit off 2 rows on 44 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg on both ends to knit off 2 rows on 42 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg on both ends to knit off 5 rows on 40 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg on both ends to knit off 5 rows on 36 pegs.

Add tudor yarn for the trim and knit off 3 rows.

Loosely bind off.

Now, wrap the outer flap around the bottom edge of the inner cap to create the overlap look as in photo #1 above. Carefully sew the bottoms of the outer flap and the inner cap together. Then, using tudor yarn and starting with the inside part of the outer flap (the part that has been overlapped), sew the top edge of the outer flap onto the outside of the inner cap all the way around the cap. This will secure the outer flap to the inner cap to prevent it from curling up, and will create the trim edge for the decreased edges of the outer flap knitting. If you make one, I'd love to see it!

New website coming!!

Watch for the June unveiling of my website redesigns: www.CreativeHelps.com, www.ArtmanGreg.com, and the world premiere of my new loom knitting website!!

Fruit slices

When I was growing up, fruit slices were one of my most favorite candies in the whole world! It was special to me because to get fruit slices meant that we were going to take a family trip to a local mall, and a certain department store had a candy counter which sold fruit slices, Swedish fish, and Maple Nut Goodies, all my favorites!!! I can still taste the sugar-coated jelly candy in my mouth right now...

I had different ways of eating them too: one way was to nibble the rind off first, then eat the rest of the slice. Another way was to eat the inside of the slice and then nibble the rind. Another way was to stuff the whole slice in my mouth and melt the sugar off before chewing the entire thing up. Such sweet memories!

Well, here's my hand at knitting a few fruit slices. I think I will keep trying to accomplish these, and one day I will, but for now I think I'm off to ao pretty good start:

The first ones I made were the watermelon slices. I made them both using athe blue round loom, but the first one I made is more elongated than the second one. I also knit the seeds into the watermelon. The second one that looks more like an actual slice had a fewer number of rows, and that made all the difference. The seeds I knit apart from the watermelon and then sewed them on, so they are shaped more like seeds (to my eye).

The yarns I used were Homespun Candy Apple, Red Heart Soft White and Paddy Green. The seeds are bits of dark blue leftover yarn I had.

The lemon slice was made on the blue loom also. I used Red Heart Yellow and some thin yellow yarn I had. If I could figure out how to keep the ends from curling up, then you would be able to see that there is a row of thin yellow yarn around the outer edge, followed by the deep yellow yarn for the rind. But I felt that this would have been a mammoth-sized lemon in real life, so I decided to try making the lemon slice on the flower loom instead.

This lemon slice turned out more like a flower rather than a lemon slice, but what might you expect using the flower loom? Maybe I will use a different stitch next time instead of e-wrapping. Now you know Loom Dude is going to figure out and perfect a way to make scrumptious fruit slices using the loom, so stay loomed - oops, I mean stay tuned!

Sunflower Power 2!

A little while back I posted an entry entitled "Sunflower Power," which showed a sunflower that I had loom knit. But I had not finished the project because I wanted to find the perfect pot to put it in. Well, it just so happens that the local craft store had just the pot I wanted, and they were on sale. And I got to use my 40% off coupon too! So here's how it turned out:

The view from the back:

The instructions for making the sunflower are in the previous post. And here is what I did to complete the sunflower project:

At the craft store I purchased a 6" round plastic canvas (made by Quick Count) for .79.

I placed the round over the mouth of the pot and cut off the number of rows from the round that overlapped the edge. In my case, I cut off 4 rows from the outer edge of the round. Then I placed the dowel in the center of the round and cut a larger hole for the dowel to fit through. I cut three rows from the center of the round, which will just enough for the yarn-covered dowel to snugly fit through when I cover the round with yarn.

Next, on the red round loom, I used Red Heart Paddy Green yarn to create a drawstring cast on 1 over 1 stitch, then I e-wrapped and knit off 19 rows with a 1 over 2 stitch. On the 10th row I cinched the drawstring, but not entirely shut, just so it was about the same size as the hole I made in the round. After knitting off the rows I sewed the knitting off the loom, placed the round inside what I had just knit, and cinched the working yarn to the size of the hole in the round. Next I sewed the 2 sides of the knitting together around the inside edge of the center of the round. The yarn needle is too big to fit through the holes of the round, so you don't have to worry about it getting stuck in there.

Next, I inserted the bottom of the empty sunflower stem through the center hole in the round. Then I inserted the dowel inside the stem. I sewed the stem to the yarn on the round.

I added batting inside the pot, stuffing it in a circular way so that there would be a hole in the center for the dowel. Then I put craft glue on the bottom of the dowel and around the outside edge of the round. I carefully inserted the dowel and round into the pot, and positioned it so the stem was straight up. The glue will slide down the inside mouth of the pot when you push the round in there of course, so to prevent that you may want to just put glue around the insed edge of the pot where the round will fit into it. I left it to dry.

In the future I hope to take more scenic shots of my knitting projects; they look even better that way.

I'm baaack!

Hello all! I just took a break so me and the fam could visit with other fam for a bit. I still did some knitting, and I have a few new projects to post, so here they are!

Sweet Little Teddy Bear!

I will be seeing a friend of the family soon and wanted to make something special for their 1 year old little girl. At first I thought, maybe a knitted bottle cover for baby bottles. But it didn't seem like just the right idea. Then I thought about a baby hat and blanket. But again, that didn't seem to fit the bill. The little girl was already over a year old and surely would have blankets and hats by now. So I thought, "Well, how about a stuffed toy?" That seemed like just the thing!

I have not made stuffed toys in a long time. The last time was when I was a child in grammar school and I got into my mom's fabric and cut out some little bear shapes on some brown fabric, and sewed them together. I stuffed them with yarn (they were tiny bears that could fit in the palm of my hand). Then I drew little faces on them. Back then, my sister had made one already so that's what gave me the idea to make some of my own. They were fun to play with, and special to me, since I had made them. Don't ask me if I still have them. If I do, they are buried deep within a box somewhere.

Anyhow, I decided to look through my copy of the book, Loom Crafts with Knifty Knitter, designs by Shannon Erling, published in 2007 by Provo Craft and Novelty. I had bought this book from Walmart when I first bought the looms a few years back, but hadn't really made any projects using it. So on page 31-32 there are instructions on how to loom knit a bear. I decided to give it a try.

I decided I would use Bernat Baby Coordinates White and Pink yarn, and Red Heart soft pink. The directions were easy to follow, but I decided to modify them. Instead of using buttons for the eyes (surely a choling hazard for a one year old), I just sewed the eyes and mouth on. Instead of adding a snout and shaping ears, I decided to leave the bear without a snout. I just thought about it and I could have used the Bernat white to make a snout, but I didn't.

For the ears, I just made them separately and sewed them on. Using the flower loom, I cast on 8 pegs, then e-wrapped and knitted off 4 rows.

For the tail, I made a drawstring cast on, on the 8 peg end of the spool loom and knit off a few rows. Then, after stuffing the tail, I cinched it shut and sewed it onto the bear's backside. Then I completed steps 8-10.

As for the ribbon, I just picked it up from the local craft store where it was on sale. Aww, isn't that bear so CUTE?

Naturally, once I had sewed on the face and gotten to step 7 of the instructions, I noticed that I wasn't paying attention and had accidentally put one leg on the front of the bear and one on the back! I had to snip and carefully take off each leg and reposition it back onto the teddy bear.

Baby Sunflower

Don't have enough time to make a huge sunflower like the one I posted earlier? Here's one that may be a little more manageable for you, 11 inches high:

Made with 1 over 1 stitches, unless noted. Here's the back:

You will need: green, yellow, and brown yarn (I used Red Heart Paddy Green, yellow, and Homespun Wild Fire), spool loom, pink loom, a dowel or a sturdy drinking straw (like from Wendy's or McDonalds), batting.

For the flower head: On the flower loom I did a drawstring cast on with the Homespun wildfire yarn and knit off 7 rows. Cinch the drawstring closed, then knit off 5 more rows and sew off. Pull the working yarn tail to cinch the opening closed. Pull working yarn through center hole to the other side and knot. Repeat for the tail on the other side. Then poke your yarn needle (threaded with the working yarn tail) inside the flower head and out through the edge of the flower head. With your scissors, snip the tail close to the edge of the flower head. Repeat this for the tail on the other side.

Sunflower petals: On the pink loom using the yellow yarn, I created 3 peg I-cords with a 1 over 2 stitch. I used the standard I-cord cast on, then I e-wrapped and knit off 16 rows. After row 16 the pulled one loop of yarn from peg 1 and put it onto peg 2 and knit off. Then I pulled one loop of yarn from peg 3 and put it onto peg 2 and knit off. I continued until all the loops from pegs 1 and 3 were on peg 2 and knitted off. Then I sewed off the yarn from peg 2 leaving a 5 inch tail, knotted it and wove it back down through the petal to the base of the petal. Repeat 14 more times. Use the petal tails to attach the petals to the edge of the flower head. Use more yellow yarn to attach the petals to each other, side by side, about halfway up the side of the petal. I purposefully did not make the petals all exactly the same.

For the stem cup (the part that attaches the flower head to the stem): With the green yarn I did a drawstring cast on, using the 8 peg end of the spool loom. Cast on 1 over 1, then knit off 18 rows using 1 over 2 stitch. Cinch the drawstring but not tightly, leaving a 1 inch opening.Stuff the stem cup with a little batting. Let the batting "puff out" of the top of the stem cup a little bit; when you attach it to the back of the flower head it will puff the flower head out nicely. Line up the edge of the top of the stem cup to the back of the top of the flower head (you decide what the top of the flower and stem cup should be) and sew it on with green yarn. Take care that you don't accidentally sew through the flower petals and the green yarn is seen on the front of the flower!

For the stem: Using the 5 peg end of the spool loom, I cast on with green yarn (1 over 2 stitch)and knit off 30 rows. Insert your straw or dowel through the center of the stem. Knit off 25 more rows or to the length desired and bind off. If needed, clip the top of the straw with your scissors so it is level with the top of your stem. Next insert the stem just inside the stem cup and sew the stem cup to the stem, allowing it to "flop over" slightly, like a real sunflower would. But take care not to let it flop too much or it won't stand up. Once your stem cup is attached to your stem, you should be able to position your sunflower head up or down, depending on how much of the straw you push through the stem into the stem cup.

For the flowerpot:

Simply purchase a small flowerpot from your local craft store. To jazz it up a bit, I added a few stripes made of fuzzy green contact paper. This particlular flowerpot has moss and styrofoam underneath the moss. I measured the circumference of the stem and dug a hole into the flowerpot styrofoam to the desired dwpth. Put glue into the hole and gently squeeze our sunflower stem through the hole. Set it aside to dry. And you're done!

Apples for the Teacher

Last week it was Teacher Appreciation Week, and I was trying to think of something unique to give to my daughter's teachers. I thought, maybe I could make a shawl, or some flowers, but that didn't seem quite right. One of the craft projects they asked parents to help children make and bring to school was a flower. After a couple of days the thought just popped into my head: an apple for the teacher! Great idea! So I set to work on them straight away, since I had to make 3 of them. I decided to just wing it without doing much research on how other people had knit apples. I figured it wouldn't be too hard to do on the round loom, but how to make it look like an apple and not a red pumpkin or tomato? The challenge was on.

After a little trial and error, here's the pattern I came up with:

I blurred the names of the teachers except for part of one name so you could see how the letters looked.

The apple: Using the round blue loom, do a one over one drawstring cast on with red yarn (I used Red Heart red). After casting on, e-wrap all pegs 1 over 2 and knit off 20 rows. Cinch the drawstring but not completely closed. Then knit off another 8-10 rows and bind off.

Stuff the apple with batting. I used a little bit at a time, filling out the bottom of the apple and shaping it as I filled it. I also filled it in a circular pattern, leaving a small circle about the width of my finger in the center of the apple, so I could pull the drawstring tail up through the apple and out the top. This helps to create the indentation at the bottom of the apple.

After stuffing the apple to the top, I cinched the top, leaving space to pull the bottom drawstring tail through the top hole. Once I pulled the bottom tail through the top hole, I pulled the top tail through the bottom hole, so that both top and bottom of the apple would have the indentation. Then I sewed the holes shut and set aside the apple.

Detail of top of apples.

The leaf: Using Red Heart Paddy Green yarn on one side of the pink loom I cast on 2 pegs using a 1 over 1 stitch and knit off 2 rows. Then I increased by one peg on both sides of the 2 pegs, so that I knit off 3 rows on 4 pegs. Then I increased by one peg on both sides of the 4 pegs, so that I knit off 15 rows on 6 pegs. Then I decreased by one peg on both sides of the 6 pegs, so that I knit off 2 rows on 4 pegs. Then I decreased by one peg on both sides of the 4 pegs, so that I knit off 2 rows on 2 pegs. Bind off, leaving a 4 inch tail. Shape and knot the top of the leaf, weaving the tail down through the leaf or snipping it off.

Using the tail on the stem part of the leaf, sew it onto the top of the apple in the center. If desired, curl the leaf a bit and then sew the leaf onto the apple on the curl.

The stem: Using Homespun Wild Fire yarn on the pink loom, I created an I-cord using a 1 over 1 stitch, knitting off 40 rows. I tied the two tails together and sewed them on top of the apple.

The names: Originally I was going to write each teacher's name in glitter on the apple's leaf, but that didn't work out as you can see:

So I decided instead to get some sticky letters fro the local craft store and stick them onto the apple. That worked fine. And they were done!

The apples were a big hit, and I was told that the other teachers were jealous! Of course, that wasn't my intention; I'm just glad they liked the apples, and that they actually looked like apples when I was done working on them.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, ONE AND ALL!

For my wife, instead of cut flowers, veggies to grow in our garden.I got her that last year for Mom's Day, and she really enjoyed the crop of green and red peppers, romaine lettuce, and green beans throughout the summer.

And for my Mom, I made a 27 x 39 shawl on the long blue loom and the flower loom, using Homespun Colonial, Deco, and Tudor:

Here is a photo of me wearing it:

I knew I wanted to create a row of "flowers" to separate the two shawl flat panels, but I needed to experiment with different styles:

Here's what the back of the flowers looks like:

Finally I picked this one:

Each flower is unique and individual. They are not all the same size; some are even a little 3 dimensional.

I had a lot of fun working on this shawl and it was relatively easy to do. It took 4 skeins of Colonial to make. What I like about it is that is stretches easily, and is warm, yet will allow for plenty of air flow so you don't get too warm wearing it. I had been practicing and learning a lot of different kinds of stitches before I embarked on creating this shawl, so I used what I learned to make it.

Delightful rose bouquet

Here is a wonderful bouquet of roses that makes a great gift! You may discover other ways to make this, but this is how I did it:

You will need: a small clay pot and paints (or an already painted pot), the pink loom, the spool loom, red yarn, green yarn, glue, green permanent marker, a sturdy straw (like the kind from Wendy's or McDonald's) or a wooden dowel about .5 inches in diameter, a loom clip, a round plastic mesh grid (sold at Michaels as a Quick Count plastic canvas) that will fit inside the pot, scissors, yarn needle.

You may decide you want to paint the pot first; do that and set it aside. I simply made up a stencil-like design on paper, painted the clay pot white and set it aside to dry on wax paper, which is important because the pot may stick to other drying surfaces. Whatever you do, don't use newspaper! Once it was dry I drew the stencil design onto the pot (I didn't trace it or make a stencil out of it to do that; I just did it by eye). Then I painted it with the colors I wanted. Set it aside to dry on wax paper.

For the roses: Per the diagram below, do a drawstring cast on the pink loom on 13 pegs, using the anchor corner peg.

I'm left-handed, so casting on this way was easier for me. It may be easier for you to cast on the other side if you are right-handed. Knit off 20 rows 1 over 1 and loosely bind off. Then roll up the rose with the drawstring side on the bottom. Once you have rolled it up, gently pinch the bottom of the rose and slowly pull the drawstring, unrolling the rose a little if the yarn doesn't completely cinch. The tighter you pull the drawstring, the tighter the inner "petals" of the rose will be. The top of the rose will naturally curl; if it doesn't you can help it along. Shape the rose until it looks nice to you. Use the yarn needle to sew the drawstring tail through the very bottom of the rose to hold it in place, then knot it off. I then made two outer petals to attach to the rose. On one side of the pink loom I did a drawstring cast on and knit off 20 rows on 6 pegs for the left hand outer petal, and for the right hand outer petal I knit of 20 rows on 8 pegs. (You may decide that you want to increase the number of pegs or decrease the number of rows you knit, depending on the way you want your rose to look. Experiment.) After binding off each, I cinched the drawstrings and positioned them onto the side of the inner rose petals until it looked nice to me, then I sewed the drawstrings through the bottom of the inner rose petals. And your rose is complete! Do this 5 more times for a total of 6 roses.

For the stem: I used the green yarn on the pink loom to do a create a 5 inch I-cord on 3 pegs. Repeat 5 more times.

For the stem cup: (a stem cup is what I made to cover the bottom of the rose and attach it to the stem. It looks like a thimble made out of yarn. There is probably another technical name for it) Use your loom clip and a peg for the corner anchor peg hole on the pink loom to create an 8 peg "circle." Do a drawstring cast on and knit off 6 rows. Cinch the drawstring and bind off loosely, leaving a 5 inch tail. Then place the bottom of the rose inside the stem cup and sew it to the rose, using the 5 inch tail at the bind off end. Then sew the stem cup onto the top of a stem using the drawstring tail. Repeat 5 more times.

For the inner support stem: You may choose to use the large end of the spool loom, knit off an 8 inch stem and insert a dowel (painted green) inside the stem; I chose to create an inner support using a straw inside the stem so I could poke a miniature balloon on a stick through the hole. I didn't find a balloon I liked, so I wound up not using it that way, but I told my Mom she could add a balloon later if she wanted to.

If you choose to make yours with a straw in the middle, here's how I did mine: On the 5 peg end of the spool loom knit off an 8 inch tube and insert a straw inside the stem to create stem #1. Cut the straw as needed. Then, use your loom clip and a peg for the corner anchor peg hole on the pink loom to create a 6 peg "circle." Knit off an 8 inch tube and carefully insert stem #1 inside. You may want to insert stem #1 early on so that it will be less trouble getting it inside there.

Now carefully sew each rose stem onto the outside of the double stem you just created. As you sew them on, position the roses in a way that looks pleasing to you.

Knitting over the grid: You may decide you want to sew your yarn directly onto the grid; I didn't. Using the loom clip and a peg for the corner anchor peg hole on the pink loom to create an 8 peg "circle." Do a drawstring cast on and knit off 30 rows. Bind off loosely. Now stand the large "stem" you created onto the center of the plastic grid. Using your green permanent marker trace around the outer edge of the stem and cut out a circle inside the center of the plastic grid. (You may need to trim the outer edge of the grid as well if it doesn't fit into the mouth of the pot). See if your stem will fit through the hole. If it is too snug, cut off another row from the inside of the hole. You want it not to be too snug so that it can compensate for the yarn you are about to cover the grid with. Fit your grid inside the "circle" you just knitted and cinch the drawstring at both ends (one at a time.) Do not cinch tight, just enough to coverup to the inside hole on the grid. Then sew the yarn together around the inside edge of the center grid hole.

Check to see if your stem will fit comfortably through the hole before you sew it completely. If not, adjust as needed. Slide the gride up the stem so it is level at the mouth of the pot. You may then glue the stem to the bottom of the pot and then rise or lower the grid as needed, so it will fit inside the pot. And you're done!

I will post my Mom's Mother's Day gift tomorrow...

A small delay

in getting my next project posted, but Saturday will bring several posts on one day, including me "modeling" the gift that I made for my Mom this Mother's Day.

I'll also be posting something that I made for the teachers in my daughter's class for Teacher's Appreciation Week. They said it made all the other teachers jealous!

I'm currently working on a "baby" version of the sunflower and hope to have that posted next week.

SUNFLOWER POWER!

This beauty stands nearly 18 inches tall and the flower head is 9 inches across, as if it were the real thing! Requires more work sewing the petals on individually, but the results are great. I used one over one e-wrap stitches throughout (except for the stem, which uses 1 over 2). You will need the blue loom, spool loom, yarn needle, stuffing, green yarn, yellow yarn, brown yarn (I used some leftover Homespun Wildfire for the head), and a wooden dowel half an inch in diameter (or slightly larger).

The stem: I used the large end of the spool loom to knit a tube 11 inches long. After binding off I gently pushed the dowel up inside the stem.

The stem cup which supports the flower head: Using the blue loom, I did a drawstring cast on d then knit off 23 rows. After binding off I put the bottom end of the stem cup onto the top end of the stem and pulled the drawstrign closed. Then sew the stem cup onto the stem. Stuff the inside with batting.

For the flower head: Using the blue loom I did a drawstring cast on and knit off 16 rows. I pulled the drawstring and sewed it shut with the tail on the inside.

For the petals: Using one side of the pink loom, I cast on 6 pegs 1 over 1 and knit off 1 over 2 for 15 rows. I then decreased the two outer pegs to knit off 2 rows on 4 pegs and bind off. I made 20 petals. I then arranged them in a circle and knit the lower portion of each petal together. I slightly overlapped each petal. Next I sewed the petal to the back of the flower head. I made petals different lengths.

Next after I was sure I had stuffed the stem cup with as much batting as I wanted, I positioned the flower head with the petals over the stem cup to ensure that the flower looked centered. I then sewed the flower head and petals onto the stem cup. Carefully assemble all parts by sewing them together, and that's that!

Tulips!

Just a little word about my flowers before I continue... when I first decided I wanted to create flowers on the loom , I thought to myself, "I'll go online and look up what other people are doing." But then I decided not to; perhaps instead this would be an opportunity for me to challenge myself by just looking at pictures of actual flowers and trying to recreate them. So that's just what I did.

Tulips! I made two colors: one red and one yellow.

You will need the pink loom and the spool loom, yarn, yarn needle, scissors. Also a sturdy drinking straw like the ones from Wendy's or McDonalds. I made my tulips with one row of outer petals and one row of inner petals that I sewed to the inside of the outer petals. I experimented with the number of stamen; one flower has two, the other has three. I believe the yarn at the top of the stamen is Vanna White navy. The other yarns used are red heart yellow, paddy green, and red. Each petal is a flat panel. I e-wrapped the pegs knitting one over two, though you could probably flat knit them and get similar results. The tops of my petals always curled up, which I didn't mind. It still looked like a tulip.

For the outer petals: cast on the two center pegs on one side of the pink loom. Knit off two rows, then increase by one peg on both sides of the 2 pegs so that you will now knit off 4 rows on 4 pegs. Then increase by one peg on both sides of the 4 pegs, so that you will now knit off 23 rows on 6 pegs. Then decrease by one peg on both sides of the 6 pegs so that you will now knit off 3 rows on 4 pegs. Bind off, leaving a 4 inch tail and gently pulling to bring the two outer stitches toward the middle. Knot the top of the tulip petal and weave the tail down through the outer edge of the petal. If the tail is long enough, weave it all the way down to the bottom tail and knot the two tails together. Repeat this 2 more times to get three outer petals. Then, starting at the bottom of the petals, sew the sides of each of the petals to each other. Sew them about halfway up; you want the inner petals to show through the space between the top part of the outer petals. Do not sew the bottom of the tulip shut.

For the inner petals: cast on the two center pegs on one side of the pink loom. Knit off 2 rows, then increase by one peg on both sides of the 2 pegs so that you will now knit off 4 rows on 4 pegs. Then increase by one peg on both sides of the 4 pegs so that you will now knit off 18 rows on 6 pegs. Then decrease by one peg on both sides of the 6 pegs so that you will now knit off 4 rows on 4 pegs. Bind off. Knot the top of the tulip petal and weave the tail halfway down through the outer edge of the petal. Repeat this 2 more times to get three inner petals. Place one inner petal inside the tulip, so that it shows in between the space between two petals. Make sure the top of the inner petal is level with the top of the outer petal. Thread your yarn needle with the same color yarn you have made your flower petals. Poke your yarn needle through both inner and outer petal to hold them in place. Turn the outer petals inside out. Now carefully remove the yarn needle and sew the inner petal to the inside of the outer petal. Repeat for each inner petal.

For stamen: I used paddy green for the stem of the stamen, a simple 2.25 inch 2 peg 1 over 1 I-cord. For the top of the stamen I braided 3 two inch strands of the Vanna White navy and then tied the two ends together. Then I sewed the tied end on top of the stamen stem. Repeat this process two or three times, depending on how many stamens you want. Then tie them together at the bottom and sew the tail to the bottom of the tulip. Now use the remaining petal tail yarn to sew the bottom of the tulip closed.

For the flower stem: Use the 5 peg end of the spool loom to create a 1 over 2 e-wrap stitch 8 to 9 inch long stem. Gently push the straw down through the inside of the stem and bind off. Sew the bottom end of the stem together, then sew the top of the stem onto the bottom of the tulip.

For two leaves: Use 4 pegs on one side of the pink loom with a 1 over 2 e-wrap stitch to create a flat panel by knitting off 47 rows, or to the desired length. Bind off and carefully sew to the side of the stem. Sew the leaves onto the stem about halfway up, so that the top half of the leaves can flare out. And you're done!

Tomorrow and Thursday: these next two flowers will take a little longer to make, but they are worth it! You will like the results you get!

Mother's Day floral projects

What follows swill be a series of posts regarding making loom knit flowers for Mother's Day (or for springtime in general). I had a lot of fun making these flowers, and even sold one before I was finished with it! Best of all, you won't develop any allergies to these beauties!

The first one is a daffodil. I made 3 different ones. The first one is the standard yellow:

Here is the back:

I took a little liberty with how I made the flower versus how the flower actually looks in nature. In nature, the daffodil has 6 petals; I made mine with 4 because it looked right and was less crowded that way.

You will need: the Knifty Knitter spool loom, the flower loom, the pink loom, scissors, yarn needle, yellow yarn, (I used red heart yellow for the flower and another brand of thinner weight yellow for the stamen), and green yarn (I used red heart paddy green). You will also need a drinking straw to insert inside the stem to make it stand up. I used ones from McDonalds and Wendys fast food restaurants because their straws are wider. You may also want to use an exacto knife, a small flower pot with styrofoam in it, glue, and I also used some fuzzy green contact paper to cover the pot, though you could just as well paint it green or some other color.

For the daffodil cup: On the flower loom I used the yellow yarn to make a drawstring cast on. After I knit off the cast on row, I e-wrapped the pegs and knit 1 over 1 for 15 rows. After binding off (don't pull the drawstring closed yet) you will find that the bind off side will curl up on it's own; though you may need to help it a little if you bind off too tight. Set it aside.

For the petals: Using the pink loom I cast on the two center pegs to start a flat panel. I knit 1 over 1 for 2 rows. Then I increased by one peg on both sides of the two center pegs to knit off 5 rows on 4 pegs. Then I increased by one peg on both sides of the 4 pegs to knit off 7 rows on 6 pegs. After binding off I pulled the bottom tail until the outer edges of the bottom of the petal pulled together. I reinforced that by sewing the edges close together in the center. Then I pulled the tail at the top of the petal so that it would come to a point, knotted the tail, then wove the tail down through the petal until I reached the bottom tail on the petal and tied the two tails together. Repeat this process 3 more times to make 4 petals total.

For the stamen: I made three 2 peg I-cords 2 inches in length and then tied the three I-cords together at one end.

Assembling the flower: First I put the stamen inside the daffodil cup until the stamen tails hung out the bottom. Then I pulled the drawstring tail on the daffodil cup tight and knotted the daffodil cup tail with the stamen tails. Next I positioned the petals around the daffodil cup in a way that looked good to me and, using the individual petal tails, I sewed each one onto the bottom of the cup. I had a little bit from each petal tail left, so I sewed the edges of the petals to each other. You may find that the petals tend to curl up at the tips once you have assembled the flower. If you wish you may want to use a little fabric stiffener to correct this problem; I did not.

For the stem: I used the 5 peg end of the spool loom and the green yarn, casting on 1 over 1. I knit off 20 rows. Then I carefully inserted the straw down through the center of the stem, with the straw sticking up through the top of the spool loom and the bottom of the straw meeting the edge of the bottom of the stem. I knit off 8 more rows, adjusted the straw inside the stem and then bind off. After binding off I adjusted the straw inside the stem again and cut the straw so that it was just under the top of the stem. (For my first daffodil (the one in the picture above) I cut the straw way too short because I wanted the daffodil to flop over like a real daffodil. It just wound up flopping over too much and looking wilted.) Then sew the top of the stem onto the bottom of the flower. Next, pull the tail on the bottom of the stem to close it up and sew it closed. And you're done!

I just repeated the process for the pink and white daffodil below:

I only made 2 stamen for the pink and white daffodil because I felt that three looked a little crowded in the yellow daffodil.

For the "leaves" I used the pink loom and cast on 4 pegs 1 over 1 to create a flat panel. I knit off until the leaves were 3.5 to 4 inches long. FOr the tip of the leaves I decreased the outer 2 pegs to the center two pegs and knit off 1 to 2 rows and bind off. Pull the tail to create the pointy look, knot it and, using the yarn needle, weave the tail back down through the leaf to hide it. I used the bottom leaf tail to sew the leaf onto the stem, but only after I had inserted the stem into the styrofoam in the flower pot to see where the leaves should be attached.

The pot I used already had moss and styrofoam in it; I just used the fuzzy green contact paper to resurface it. I used the exacto knife to cut a circular hole into the styrofoam, enlarging and deepening the hole as needed. You may want to glue the flower into the styrofoam so it will stay put, especially if you made the hole a bit too wide. I didn't, and I didn't glue it yet.

My last daffodil: a baby daff:

For the daffodil cup: I used the larger end of the spool loom, casting on 1 over 1 and knitting off 7 rows.

For the petals: I used the pink loom to create a flat panel, casting on 1 over 1 on 2 pegs and knitting off 2 rows. Then I increased on both sides of the pegs by one peg to knit off 7 rows on 4 pegs. Bind off.

For the stamen: I just tightly braided the thin yellow yarn to the desired length. I made two stamen and tied them together as I described above with the first daffodil, but as I think about it now you may want to braid just one long stamen and then you can tie a piece of yellow yarn around the center of the stamen to pull through the bottom of the daffodil cup. It will look like you braided 2 separate stamens. (Or is the plural of stamen stamii? I don't know.) Assemble the baby daff as above.

If you make the daffodils, let me know! I'd love to see what yours look like!