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.

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!