Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Baby Julia Sweetie Pie


For baby Julia I decided to make the Sweetie Pie Kit (minus leggings) from the Pickles website. I used Rowan pure cotton in three colors. The thing is, something is very amiss with this pattern that I never could really figure out.

The little dress and hat is so very cute, but be warned if you attempt this pattern! I tore it out 3-4 times before I remembered I could use a "life-line" to hold my spot just before I got to the problem area of casting-off for the sleeve holes.

In order to use a life-line, simply take a sewing needle and some contrasting yarn (preferably thin) and carefully thread it through every stitch you are working. Continue knitting as normal and hopefully you don't need to use it. If you do, just take the work off the knitting needles and pull out all of the stitches until you get to the contrast yarn. It will not allow you to pull out those stitches, so you just pick up all the stitches with your knitting needles again. As you continue to work on a project, you may want to add a new life-line every few inches so you don't have to pull out so much of the piece if you mess up later.


Here is the link if you want to give it a go:
http://www.pickles.no/sweetie-pie-kit/

Good luck!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Baby Billy Kamanaolana


This cute little set just went out in the mail today, destined for beautiful O'ahu and undoubtedly a beautiful new baby boy! Hope the mom-to-be enjoys her knit kit.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

How to Sew a Button on Knits

This seems simple, but sewing a button onto something made of yarn can be much trickier than just a regular piece of fabric. Here is a step-by-step guide...

Start with threading decent size needle and doubling up the thread. Tie an overhand knot at the end of both threads together. Now you have a double-thick piece of thread through the needle you will be sewing with.

1
Decide where you need to have the button align and then on which stitch you want to attach the thread.

2
Bring the needle under the knit stitch, but only pull it through halfway. Then take the needle through the loop sticking out at the end, where your knot is from tying the thread together. This attaches the thread to the yarn before you add the button.



3
Thread the button hole and align the button where it needs to be. Sew the button on as normal, around and around through the holes.


4
When you've done this 10 times or so and it feels secure, bring the needle down through one button hole, but NOT through the knit. Your needle will pop out in the space between the button and the knit item.



5
Wrap thread around and around the base of the button 4-6 times (depending on how much thread you have left) and thread needle through all of the rounds you made into the knit item.


6
Knot the thread as usual on the back side of the knit (similar to how you attached the yarn in step 1) 2-3 times.

Done!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011