Really Red Rocket!!

Here is a rocket firecracker for you to knit up for your Independence Day celebration! It only took me 3-4 hours:

You will need:

Knifty Knitter blue round loom, hook tool, yarn needle

Red Heart Cherry Red and Bright Yellow Yarn, Lion Brand Hometown USA Houston Cream yarn Wooden dowel (mine was .5" x 12", you may want a longer one)

Tape (duct tape would be best, or strong glue), and scotch tape

Empty container (I used a grits container)

Several sheets Red card stock (as close as you can match the Cherry Red color)

Scissors

Pen or pencil

To begin:

Remove the lid from your container. Wrap the container with the red card stock and scotch tape it together. Cut off the excess overlap of paper around the rim of the container and set aside.

Cast on with the Cherry Red yarn on the blue loom using the drawstring method (wrap the outside of the loom with your yarn twice. Then, using your hook tool, pull the bottom row over the odd pegs and the top row over the even pegs.) After casting on, knit 1 over 2 stockinette stitches for 55 rows and bind off with your yarn needle. At this point your project should look like this:

Now you have a decision to make. If you like the stockinette look for your rocket, leave the knitted rocket sleeve as it is and stretch it over the container:

If you prefer a flat knit look to your rocket (which I did), turn your knitted rocket sleeve inside out and stretch it over the container:

Now put the dowel next to the edge of the bottom of the container and trace around it:

Use your scissors to puncture through the container to make the hole. Do not cut your hole too big. You want the dowel to be a snug fit, but don't put the dowel in just yet.

Cinch the bottom of the rocket shut and sew across the hole.

Poke the dowel through the yarn into the hole you made at the bottom of the container, and push it 4" up inside the container. Using your duct tape or strong glue, secure the dowel to the inside of the container. Once the dowel is secure, place the lid on top of the container and set the rocket aside.

For the cone top of the rocket, find a large round lid and trace around it on . I used one that measured 6.75" around. I discovered later that this wasn't a large overlap for the cone of the rocket. You may decide you want a larger circle.

Then using a ruler and your pen, draw a line from the center edge of the circle to the middle of the circle. I didn't measure exact, I just eyeballed it

Cut out the circle, and then cut the line in the circle. Then overlap the line edges you just cut, to create the cone shape:

Once the cone is the desired shape you want, tape it shut using your scotch tape and set aside.

Knit the Cone Top: With the Cherry Red yarn, cast on the round blue loom using the drawstring method, then knit 1 over 2 stockinette stitches for 10 rows. Using the tail (not the working yarn), cinch and sew the yarn shut. Continue to knit off 20 more rows, then bind off using your yarn needle, reserving an 8" tail. (If you have made a bigger circle than 6.75" then you will need to knit off more rows to compensate for the larger size cone head.) Turn the knit cone top inside out (if you prefer the flat knit look) and stretch over the top of the card stock cone until it overlaps. Gently cinch and set aside:

For the fuse and the spark: - the fuse is simply a 6" piece of the Houston Cream yarn. The spark is a simple pom pom made with the Bright Yellow yarn. Knot the pom pom onto one end of the fuse. At the top of the fuse, separate two strands from two strands in the yarn:

Using your hook tool, or your nimble fingers, poke two of the fuse strands through the yarn at the bottom of the rocket right next to the dowel:

Knot the fuse onto the bottom of the rocket and poke the ends through the inside of the red yarn so it doesn't show:

Cinch the top the the rocket yarn over the top of the container. Using your yarn needle, sew the rocket cone top to the top of the rocket:

And you're done!

If you choose to use your rockets as outside decorations, direct sunlight will REALLY make them blaze red! They will practically be glowing:

What a sizzling display you will have! And if you would like to mix it up with thin and large rockets, use the flower loom and the cardboard tube from a paper towel roll to make long, thin rockets! Get creative and add some white and blue stripes to the rockets if you wish!