Sack O’ is a safe,
versatile sleep sack for a precious bundle o’ baby. It is safe because it is a
blanket that your infant can wear, with no risk of suffocation. Made from a
breathable cotton blend, it is great to layer for warmth when it’s chilly out and
to bundle up baby just enough in the warmer months. It is completely seamless,
knit from the bottom up, and is colorful without complex colorwork or countless
ends to weave. It knits up quickly in worsted-weight yarn and is soft and easy
to care for when made with a washable and dryable cotton blend.
All Seasons Sleep Sack O' Baby uses some fun techniques that are handy to have in your knitting bag of tricks. Here are some linkies:
Magic Loop
I am pretty biased when it comes to knitting in the round. It is all about magic loop for this knitter. And for Sack O', I'm not even sure you could find double pointed needles big enough. Even if you could, I recommend using magic loop (or two circular needles). Because, unlike a sock or a sleeve that is perfectly cylindrical, the Sack O' “tube” is flat, with a front and a back, with half the stitches in front and half in back. It is very challenging to try to divide those cast-on stitches by 3 or 4 – it is almost physically impossible! Don’t do it!
For both the written and video links that follow, you want to ignore the instructions for casting on and dividing up stitches and the like. You won’t be casting on to knit an open “tube”. Instead, you will be casting on using Judy’s Magic Cast-On (see below) which starts you off with a “seam” at the “toe”. Your “tube” will be sealed at the bottom!
Truth be told, I hardly ever use video tutorials. When it comes to Judy’s Magic Cast-On, however, I was about to give up on toe-up socks for good after several attempts to use a written tutorial, when I was miraculously rescued by Cat Bordhi and her video tutorial. (I’ve included the link to Judy Becker’s article in Knitty.com in case you are smarter than I.)
This is just like single crochet, just in the wrong direction. It's not too hard, I promise. I know, some knitters run scared of the hook. If you really, really can't imagine picking up a crochet hook, you can pick up and knit one round and then cast it off. (Personally, that seems like a big hassle.)
Carrying Yarn Along the Edge While Knitting Stripes
I hate weaving in ends. This is a nifty trick to have vibrant color work without all the ends. It is a perfect technique for this project because you will be picking up stitches along the edges, hiding any mess left from twisting your colors.
Anything else I should include? Leave me a comment and let me know!
I am pleased to report that have gotten my knitting mojo back! I signed up for an exciting lace-weight shawl test knit, and I am knitting with beads for the first time. SO MUCH FUN! And so much easier than making nupps. And so sparkly.
And educational. Did you know that the Czech people are known for glass production, including glass beads? I am not only knitting again, but I am knitting with the materials of my husband's people. It's like it was meant to be.
I am less pleased to report that I have definitely gotten my knitting ADD back along with my mojo. As soon as I finished my Sack O', I responsibly picked up the UFO I left hanging a year ago when I fell victim to my freak hand accident. It was a test knit for the fabulous Vera Sanon: Ricky for All Seasons. It is a summer top and would be incredibly reasonable for me to finish it at this time. And I started down that path. Until I was distracted by the shiny post on the Free Pattern Testers board. And the rest is, sadly, history.
But back to the happy: check it out! I'm cooking with glass!
Drum roll please! Dum ta da dum! All Season Sleep Sack o' Baby is done, done, DONE! Done and done. Hecho. Cooked. Stick a fork in this baby. This Mama has a post-freakish-hand-injury FINISHED OBJECT. The real article. An FO of my very own.
Oh, what a relief! I have been feeling terribly guilty - this is the first knitted goody for Baby Isaac, who just turned 6 months. Hopefully I can make up for lost time!
In more exciting news, I wrote up the pattern and am now trying to recruit testers. Onward!
The popular Kindle cover is now available for
the iPad Family! Cozy Fire is knit like a toe-up sock on a magic loop, so
you can try it on as you go. (It is the sister to Cozy Fire: Kindle Cover.) It has a simple flame lace pattern and a
one-button closure. It is a quick knit and a perfect companion to your iPad (1st,
2nd, 3rd, or 4th generation), iPad Mini, and even your iPad in its OtterBox!
And don't forget to check out the Useful Goodies page for some, well, useful goodies like tutorials and tips. Click it! Download Cozy Pad Happy Knitting!
Cozy Fire and Cozy Pad are knit like toe-up socks and
use several techniques familiar to sock knitters. Three of my favorite
techniques are commonplace toe-up and cozy-knitting treats: Magic Loop, Judy’s Magic Cast-On, and Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy
Bind-Off.
Magic Loop
I am pretty biased when it comes to knitting in the round.
It is all about magic loop for this knitter. But putting my disdain for
double-pointed needles aside for a moment, to knit the Cozy Fire or Cozy Pad I
strongly recommend using the magic loop (or two circular needles). Because,
unlike a sock or a sleeve that is perfectly cylindrical, our “tube” is flat,
with a front and a back, with half the stitches in front and half in back. It
is very challenging to try to divide
those cast-on stitches by 3 or 4 – it is almost physically impossible! Don’t do
it!
For both the written and video links that follow, you want to ignore the instructions for casting on and dividing up stitches and the
like. You won’t be casting on to knit an open “tube”. Instead, you will be
casting on using Judy’s Magic Cast-On (see below) which starts you off with a “seam”
at the “toe”. Your “tube” will be sealed at the bottom!
Truth be told, I hardly ever use video tutorials. When it
comes to Judy’s Magic Cast-On, however, I was about to give up on toe-up socks
for good after several attempts to use a written tutorial, when I was
miraculously rescued by Cat Bordhi and her video tutorial. (I’ve included the
link to Judy Becker’s article in Knitty.com in case you are smarter than I.)
I find Jeny’s written tutorial of her inspired technique to
be easy to follow. If you prefer video tutorials, I’ve included Cat Bordhi’s on
the assumption that it is as helpful as her cast-on video was to me.
I have compiled a short list of possible answers to the
$64,000 question.
Add a crab stitch or
single crochet edge to the flap. This works pretty well, though not
perfectly. Most of the tutorials show crocheting the edge to a crocheted piece,
but this tutorial shows adding the edging to a knit piece.
Knit into the back of
the first and last stitch of every knit (right side) row.This is what I
did and I’m pretty happy with it!
Knit the flap in
garter or seed stitch.As the designer, I just don’t love the way either of
those options look, but it will take care of your curling problem!
Did I leave anything out? Did you try any tricks on your Cozy Fire or Cozy Pad that you want me to share?
Leave me a comment here and let
me know. Thanks and Happy Knitting!
Well, most. Or even several. As I am getting back in the saddle, I was nudged unknowingly by a few Ravelry sisters to write my Cozy Fire: Kindle Cover to fit more tablets. I am currently hosting a test knit for 2 more kindle sizes and I'm about to have a pattern draft for a Cozy Fire to fit an iPad. Look out Tablet World, Cozy Fire is coming to cover and protect you! Stay tuned...
Indeed, I am dusting off the old blog. And knitting needles.
A whole lot has happened since the first layer of dust settled!
I stabbed my hand and severed my digital nerve, then had it
surgically reconnected. My injury certainly put the brakes on my knitting and
designing momentum. I still don’t have full feeling in my pointer finger – more
of a tingle.
We moved. Hopefully, fingers crossed, for the last time.
Plenty of yard to eventually bury me in. My unsolicited advice: don’t move in
your third trimester.
I had a baby. Isaac joined our family September 20, 2012. He’s
an easy, delightful little guy.
So I am cautiously starting to knit again. I am
so unbelievably behind on what I wanted to get done in my knitting life that
returning to my needles makes me anxious. (I mean, I don’t have a single FO for
my baby that’s not a hand-me-down from his older brother or cousins!) Which is
not how I want to feel about knitting. I am trying to design a simple baby
blanket for Isaac as my re-entrance to the knitting and designing race. And
hopefully soon it will be more fun than stressful.
