Knitting Through the Year - September (Free Pattern!)

September is the logical beginning of the year. Summer heat is nearly past, the weather begins to brisken up, schools open their doors to siphon our beloved young out of the house for longer or shorter periods, adult activity begins to stir, and Mother forms good resolutions and makes lists. 
Top your list with a resolution to initiate all children, M and F, into the mysteries and fascinations of knitting - Elizabeth Zimmermann, Knitter's Almanac 

EZ gives very good suggestions for your child's first knitting project (a garter-stitch potholder) and then suggests that while your young knitter is working away that you knit him or her a pair of "longies" as a reward. These can be fitted to be as tight as leggings, or they can be looser, like lounge pants. Either way, they will be deliciously warm. They are knit in the round, which EZ considers a crucial point for both comfort and durability. Seams "pop inconveniently, especially in a garment which has to have feet constantly thrust into it."

That face!

These leggings were designed to fit my daughter, who is 43" tall and wears a size 5. Her waist measurement is 21.5" and it is 25" from the floor to her belly button. She is long-waisted and slender. If those descriptors don't match the child you wish to knit leggings for, get out your calculator and and measuring tape and figure out the size difference between my child's measurements and yours, and then add or subtract stitches or rows from my pattern to get a custom fit. Or, of course, you could buy Knitter's Almanac, where EZ gives a full explanation of how to knit "longies" for any size, infant to adult. My pattern is informed by hers but not exactly the same.

(This has not been test-knit and may contain errors.)

Cozy Cozy

US 8 DPN (for the waist you will either need a 5th DPN, or a US 8 circular needle)

Worsted weight yarn, less than 660 yards. I bought 3 skeins of yarn because I wanted to do stripes and I have a good bit left from each color. I probably used around 500 yards. 

CO 44 st

Knit 14 rounds in 2x2 ribbing.

Knit 48 rounds in stockinette.

*K2 inc1, knit to end of the round, inc1.

Knit 5 rounds in stockinette. Repeat from * 10 times, increasing by 22 st.

Knit 4 rounds in stockinette.

Repeat for the other leg.

Sew together 18 stitches from each leg using Kitchener stitch.

Knit 1 round, picking up and knitting 4 stitches over each end of the crotch. (104 st)

*K26 past the middle of the back, wrap and turn.

Slip first st, P51, wrap and turn.

Slip first st, K49, wrap and turn.

Slip first st, P47, wrap and turn.

Slip first st, knit 1 round, knitting the wrapped stitches like this. (See note)

Knit 2 rounds.

K23 past the middle of the back, wrap and turn.

Slip first st, purl 45 st, wrap and turn.

Slip first st, knit 43 st, wrap and turn.

Slip first st, purl 41 st, wrap and turn.

Slip first st, knit 1 round, knitting wrapped st as before.

Knit 2 rounds. *

Repeat from * to *.

Knit 43 rounds in stockinette. 

Knit 16 rounds in 2x2 ribbing.

Cast off loosely in pattern. Weave in all ends.

If desired, use a sewing machine to sew elastic to the inside of the waistband. 

Note: This is not a vital element, but the final result is smoother than if you simply knit the wrapped stitches. 

Name: Cozy Cozy 

Design: mine-ish, with the helpful advice of Elizabeth Zimmermann

Materials: Berroco Vintage Storm, Berroco Vintage Cast Iron and what is probably Cascade 220 Christmas Red

Finished: Sept 12, 2017

Fancy that! Finished with September before the month is even half over! These were a fairly quick knit; less knitting than a sweater. I think I may collect my worsted scraps for a while and make a pair of crazy striped pants for Munchkin or Twinkle.

Ring-around-the-rosie. I obviously spent a great deal of time coordinating their outfits.
P.S. Twinkle is wearing two pairs of pajama pants, per his favorite things.

Warm as Toast

I believe that cowls are naturally superior to scarves when attempting to keep a young child warm in cold weather.

Being a tube of soft knitting that fits over the head and sits around the neck, there are no long ends that can get caught or trampled on or yanked by a sibling. A mother is guaranteed, having put a cowl on a child, that their neck will stay covered as long as the cowl remains, which cannot be guaranteed with a scarf, which easily becomes untied or twisted or tightened, exposing skin to the elements. And lastly, a cowl requires less than a third of the knitting necessary to produce a scarf, making it a thrifty choice in both time and materials.

(There are very large cowls, of course, designed to be doubled or tripled around the neck, or very wide ones that produce a fashionable bunched effect that would be actually larger than a traditional scarf, but this cowl is a simple one, designed to be only one layer, imminently suitable for keeping a young child who lives in the not too arctic state of Tennessee, warm in winter.)

Mei-Mei may have a future as a knitwear model.

I designed this cowl to be very simple, suitable for beginners. It uses a type of waffle stitch, which is one of my favorite knit/purl stitches. I knit it using the back-and-forth method because I knit faster using straight needles, but the pattern is actually simpler if knit in the round, as the pattern uses an odd number of rows. I have put both here so that you can use your favorite method. This pattern uses approximately 100 yards of DK weight yarn. I recommend that you use a yarn that does not contain more than 50% acrylic or plant-based fibers. The more acrylic or plant-based fibers in a yarn, the less stretchy and less warm it will be

Warm as Toast

approx 100 yards DK weight yarn

US 5 knitting needles, either straight or circular as you prefer

a darning needle 

Back-and-forth directions

Using straights, cast on 102 st, loosely.

Rows 1-4: K

Row 5: P

Pattern:

Row 1: (Right Side) K2, (P2 K2) to the end of the row.

Row 2: P

Row 3: K2, (P2 K2) to the end of the row.

Row 4: P

Row 5: K

Row 6: P2, (K2 P2) to the end of the row.

Row 7: K

Row 8: P2, (K2 P2) to the end of the row.

Row 9: K

Row 10: P

Repeat this pattern 3 times. (40 rows)

Repeat the first 5 rows.

Knit 3 rows.

Cast off loosely, knitwise. Break the yarn, leaving a tail, and pull through.

Sew the selvage edges together using mattress stitch. 

Weave in ends. Block gently.

It can do double duty as a hat/earwarmer in a pinch.

In the round directions

Using circular knitting needles, cast on 100 st in the round.

Round 1: P

Round 2: K

Round 3: P

Rounds 4-5: K

Pattern

Round 1: K2, (P2, K2) to the end of the round.

Round 2: K

Round 3: K2 (P2, K2) to the end of the round.

Rounds 4-5: K

Repeat this pattern 8 times. (45 rounds)

Round 1: P

Round 2: K

Round 3: P

Round 4: Cast off loosely knitwise. Break the yarn, leaving a tail, and pull through.

Weave in all ends. Block gently. 

K= knit

P= purl 

This perfectly fits my daughter, who is four. However, it is a naturally stretchy stitch and the cowl fits over an adult's head also. If knitting for an adult, I would add an additional 10-20 rows of the waffle pattern, as adults' necks are longer.

Title: Warm as Toast

Design: Mine!

Materials: A lovely lavender yarn that I know includes alpaca but for which I have long lost the labels. It might be 100% alpaca or it might be a blend.

Finished: August  28, 2017

We can't wait for winter, how about you? 

The Wee Gaffer

For Munchkin's Christmas, I have knit him a new sweater. I have been blessed with boys who are excited about wearing things I've made for them (although whether this is due to nature or nurture I couldn't say), so the gift of the dreaded "clothes" for Christmas should actually meet with favor from the young judge. This sweater is inspired by a sweater that the venerable knitter Elizabeth Zimmermann made for her husband, whom she often called the Gaffer. So I've called mine "The Wee Gaffer." 

This sweater is a fairly accurate gansey, which is a traditional style of sweater worn by English fishermen. It has ribbing at the bottom, a pattern of purl and knit stitches across the chest, and gussets under the sleeves to enhance the range of movement.

This particular gansey has a unique shoulder construction that I had never seen before. After knitting the chest and back from the bottom up, you then turn everything sideways and knit back and forth between the two sides to form the shoulders. 

Note: This sweater has not been test knit, and so may include errors!  

The Wee Gaffer 

Size: 

4T (I think) 

Materials: 

approximately 550 yards of worsted weight yarn

size 8 US needles

Body

Cast on 140 st in the round.

Knit 1x1 rib for 8 rounds.

Knit in stockinette for 57 rounds.

Chest

Table 1:

						Row 6
						Row 5
						Row 4
						Row 3
						Row 2
						Row 1

Table 2:

Row 7

Row 6

Row 5

Row 4

Row 3

Row 2

Row

Table 3

						Row 6
						Row 5
						Row 4
						Row 3
						Row 2
						Row 1

 = knit
 = purl

Purl 1 round.

Knit 1 round

Purl 1 round.

*Knit 1, inc 1, pm, knit 2, pm, knit 6, pm, knit 13, pm, knit 6, pm, knit 13, pm, knit 6, pm, knit 13, pm, knit 6, pm, knit 2, pm, inc 1, repeat from *.

*Knit to marker, inc 1, knit 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit 2, inc 1, repeat from *, knit to end of round.

Repeat this row 9 times.

Note: tables 1 and 3 are 6 rows high, table 2 is 7 rows high, so the tables will not be in sync after the first repeat. You will need to keep track of where you are in each table separately.

Cast off 7, knit 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit 2, cast off 13, knit 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit 2, cast off 6. Break yarn and pull through.

You are now knitting the front.

Knit 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit 2.

Knit back and forth, staying in pattern, until you have completed 6 total repeats of table 2

Purl 1 row.

Cast off, purlwise. Break yarn and pull through.

Repeat for the back.

Shoulders

Cast on 12.

Knit back and forth in garter stitch, knitting the first stitch of each row together with a stitch from the chest. 

Insert your left needle through both loops of a bound-off stitch.

Wrap your yarn around the needle.

Pull the yarn through.

Pull this newly made stitch through the last stitch on the needle. 

Knit 30 rows in this way.

*Knit 6, turn.  Slip first stitch, knit 4, knit stitch together with stitch from chest.

Repeat from * 37 times.

Repeat for the other side of the neck.

Knit 15 rows, knitting straight across all 12 st, knitting the first stitch of each row together with a stitch from the chest.

Cast off. Break yarn and pull through last stitch.

Sleeves

Cast on 48.

Knit back and forth in 1x1 rib for 8 rows.

Knit 1, inc 1, knit to 1 stitch before the end of the row. Inc 1, knit 1.

Knit in stockinette for 5 rows.

Repeat 5 times.

Knit in stockinette for 26 rows.

Knit in garter stitch for 3 rows.

Knit in stockinette for 9 rows.

Purl 1, pm, purl to 2 st before the end of the row, pm, purl 2.

*Knit to marker, inc 1, knit to marker, inc 1, knit to end.

Purl 1 row.

Repeat from * 4 times.

Sew sleeve together using mattress stitch.

Use the 3-needle bind-off to sew the sleeve to the armscye. When sewing the gussets together, sew the stitches 1:1. When sewing the sleeve to the chest piece, sew the stitches 2:3. (Sew two stitches together, skip one of the chest piece stitches.) (Stitches may not perfectly match up. About 2 inches before the end of the seam, count your stitches on the chest piece and the sleeve and adjust your ratio if necessary.)

Repeat for second sleeve.

Weave in all ends.