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!