Hello dear readers, how is March treating you? I was hoping for a change in the weather and although it feels slightly warmer, it's still very wet and windy here in the North West of the UK.
The daffodils are springing up and I'm slowly catching up with myself. I haven't been able to find a huge amount of time for personal crafting lately, so my 'Find it, Finish it or Frog it' campaign (#fffalong2020) for 2020 has been slow during February.
But I did frog a couple of projects; firstly an unfinished first sock because I know I will never, ever knit the second sock for because it was a really large size and taking me forever. Now I will use my special edition 'Marie Curie' yarn for smaller socks that I at least have the chance of finishing!!
I also frogged a granny square baby blanket that I wasn't feeling the love for and maybe I can use up the yarn in a pair of scrappy socks.
Looking on the positive side, I've managed to finish off my Winterhaven socks. I joined a fab sock-along by Winwick Mum (Christine) for January (link is below) and knitted up her 'Boxy Rib Socks' that were featured in Knit Now Magazine in January. I used up my 'Seascape' West Yorkshire Spinners yarn, along with a contrast heel and toe in Blueberry Bonbon. My feet will be toasty and warm in these and I love them.
Also, I have knitted up a little string of bunting, which I hope to use outside in the garden, just as soon as the weather picks up enough for us to start sitting outside.
Everyone loves a bit of bunting, don't they. Colourful strips of evenly-spaced colourful triangles are practically compulsory at a street parties, weddings or public events and
are often seen as a symbol of celebrations.
It doesn’t matter if your sewing skills are minimal because a few sheets of coloured paper combined with string and glue can create a line of bright and cheery bunting. And if you can knit or crochet, you can use up those scraps of yarn and create some for any occasion – Birthdays, Weddings, Baby Showers, School Fetes or Christmas.
If you’re a regular visitor to the annual Yarndale craft event, you will have seen the spectacular bunting display, created from hundreds and hundreds of lovingly made triangles from all around the world - 6,000 triangles in total, which is quite incredible. Craffting is the perfect way to bring people together.
And so 'without further ado' here is my free pattern for the knitted bunting. I was sent the yarn as part of the King Cole Ambassador Programme as so in return I'm passing on the free pattern and the review below is entirely my own thoughts. I've knitted up the flags and put together this blog post and free pattern in my own time, which took around 7 hours. You can find your nearest King Cole stockist here.It doesn’t matter if your sewing skills are minimal because a few sheets of coloured paper combined with string and glue can create a line of bright and cheery bunting. And if you can knit or crochet, you can use up those scraps of yarn and create some for any occasion – Birthdays, Weddings, Baby Showers, School Fetes or Christmas.
If you’re a regular visitor to the annual Yarndale craft event, you will have seen the spectacular bunting display, created from hundreds and hundreds of lovingly made triangles from all around the world - 6,000 triangles in total, which is quite incredible. Craffting is the perfect way to bring people together.
I have used King Cole Cotton Top DK, which is a standard double knitting (light worsted) weight yarn with 22 stitches and 28 rows to 10 x 10cm.You can wash it at 30 degrees maximum and it has 22% cotton content, mixed with acrylic, so the stitch definition is lovely and crisp. There is a little fleck of white running through each ball so it knits up with a pretty and mottled effect.
The shade range covers white and cream, pinks, lilac, greens and greys and my favourites are Rose (a lovely pink) and Mist (the dark grey). There is a lot of meterage (260m) per 100g ball so you could make a small baby cardigan from just one ball, which is great.
Bunting Instructions:
Yarn:
King Cole Cotton Top DK (100g/260m; 78% Premium Acrylic/22% Cotton)
1 x Mist Shade 4223
1 x Lilac Shade 4225
1 x Teal Shade 4224
(approximately 15g is used for each flag including pompom)
Other Materials:
4mm (US 6) needles
Approximately 1.5-2m of 10mm wide ribbon
Wool needle
Finished size:
Each flag is approximately 16cm long and 14cm wide (at the widest point), including pompoms.
Tension:
Isn’t critical for this project.
Abbreviations:
k, knit; p, purl; st(s), stitch(es); m1, make 1 stitch as follows: insert left needle from the front into the horizontal strand of yarn sitting between the two needles then knit into the back of the loop to create a twist in the stitch that avoids making a hole; garter stitch, every row knit; stocking stitch, knit 1 row, purl 1 row, repeated; yfwd, yarn forward to make 1 stitch (bring yarn forward between needles and over right needle) ready to knit the next stitch; k2tog, knit 2 sts together to decrease 1 stitch. Instructions:
Using 4mm needles cast on 3 sts (starting at the bottom).
Row 1: Knit all stitches.
Row 2: Knit all stitches.
Row 3: K1, m1, k1, m1, k1. (5 sts)
Rows 4-6: Knit 3 rows (garter stitch).
Row 7: K1, m1, knit to the last st, m1, k1. (7 sts)
Rows 8-10: Knit 3 rows (garter stitch).
Rows 11-54: Repeat Rows 7-10, eleven times more. (29 sts)
Rows 55-56: Knit 2 rows (garter stitch).
Picot Edge:
Rows 57-62: Starting with a knit row, stocking stitch 6 rows.
Row 63: K2, [yfwd, k2tog] to the last st, k1.
Rows 64-68: Starting with a purl row, stocking stitch 5 rows.
To Finish:
Cast off loosely knitwise, leaving a long tail end of yarn. Fold picot edge in half and slip stitch in place with long yarn end. Do not close the side seams of the picot edge as this will create a channel for your ribbon. Tie off and trim all loose yarn ends. Make three flags in each colour in total. Make a small pompom to match each flag and attach to the tip.
Thread the ribbon through the channel at the top of each flag, alternating the colours of the flags as desired.
I hope you enjoy making your own pompom bunting.
Happy crafting,
Lynne xx
Links:
King Cole Stockists
Winwick Mum for sock tutorials
West Yorkshire Spinners sock yarn (affiliate)
King Cole Cotton Top (affiliate)
Clover Pompom maker (Amazon)
Yarndale