Marisol the Knitted Mouse

October 3, 2012

(DPN) double pointed needles, baby toys, cute amigurumi toys, easy knitting patterns, face embroidery, free knitting patterns, kid toys, knitted toys, learn how to knit tutorials, mouse stuffed toys, small stuffed toy

Difficulty Level:

Skills Required:
CO: Cast On
DPN: Double pointed needles
K: Knit
P: Purl
Sl1, K2tog, Psso: Slip 1 stitch, Knit 2 stitches together as 1, Pass slipped stitch over
Kfb: Knit front and then back
K2tog: Knit 2 stitches as 1 together
i-Cord: Knitting i-Cord with DPN

Finished Size: approx. 9cm tall (sitting down) x 6cm depth x 5.5cm wide (or 10cm wide with arms stretch out) (Please note that this size is made with the needles & yarn specified below, different yarns and needles size will produce different results)

Needles: US 3 – 3.25 mm

Yarn:
Body — Cleckheaton Perfect Day 8 ply in 1003 (dye lot #775486)
Ears, Nose & Tail — Patons Australia Zest 8 Ply in 3707 (dye lot #33674)

Facial Features:
pastel yellow thread for whiskers & 6mm black safety eyes (*important* embroidery eyes instead if you are making this for a child under 3yo)

Marisol the Knitted Mouse is a cute free knitting pattern designed by Rachel Borello. You can find the free pattern here.

The mouse is super adorable and also easy to make. For my mouse, I’ve added yellow whiskers embroidery using fine sewing thread. I’ve also knitted his arms slightly longer as I have a big plan coming up for him in the upcoming Halloween! sshhhh… I can’t tell you what it is yet as I want it to be a suprise!

As for the trickiest knitting techniques in the pattern, I have covered below two video tutorials on (Sl1, K2tog, Psso) & knitting i-Cord. If you don’t know what Kfb is, you can check out the video on my tiny chicken post.

Tutorials: How to Knit Sl1, K2tog, Psso

Tutorials: How to Knit i-Cord

That’s it! I hope these video will help you in knitting your own mouse. Until next time.. ♥

Feeling generous today? You can support FREE Cute Knit … any amount will be thoroughly appreciated:

Tiny Chickens

September 18, 2012

AmareeLis

Chicken, How to Knit Video Tutorials, Toys

2 Comments

(DPN) double pointed needles, chicken stuffed toys, cute amigurumi toys, face embroidery, free knitting patterns, intermediate knitting patterns, kid toys, knitted toys, tiny stuffed toys

Difficulty Level:

Skills Required:
CO: Cast On
DPN: Double pointed needles
Kfb: Knit front and back
K: Knit
P: Purl
K2tog: Knit 2 stitches as 1 together
BO: Bind Off
Picking up stitches
Knitting I-Cord

Finished Size: approx 4.5cm tall x 3.5cm wide x 3cm depth (Please note that this size is made with the needles & yarn specified below, different yarns and needles size will produce different results)
**Note that due to the tiny size this is NOT a toy, and unsuitable to be given to under 3yo toddlers due to potential chocking hazards**

Needles: US 3 – 3.25 mm

Yarn:
Body & Wings — Patons Australia Zhivago Home in 5 (dye lot #762275)
Comb — Panda Cotton Blend 8ply in 18 (dye lot #11621)
Legs — Panda Cotton Blend 8ply in 6 Yellow (dye lot #120501)

Facial Features:
scraps of black yarn for the eyes & the same yellow yarn for the beak

So yesterday I was having the urge to suddenly knit something. I haven’t knit for a few days since I was crazily busy getting this blog up and running, but now I thought it’s a good time to get back to knitting again.

I always research what I wanted to knit and usually it takes forever (searching for patterns online and comparing them from one another, searching for actual images for colour inspiration, yarn selection process, all takes ages to do!). So after deciding I want to knit a Panda hat, I just found out that I don’t have suitable black yarn at home. Since it was just after midnight, I had no choice but to choose something else to knit. That’s where this extra tiny chickens came in. This tiny chickens pattern is designed by Anna Hrachovec, and you can find it HERE.

This tiny chickens were quite challenging to make, aside from knowing how to use DPN I also needed to learn some new skills. The first is Kfb (Knitting in the front and back). Kfb, just like M1 is another technique of adding an extra stitch to your needle. The way is slightly different and I personally find it a little easier as you don’t need to second guess where the in between stitches are like in M1.

Tutorials: How to Knit increases: Kfb

The next one is learning how to pick up stitches. This technique is used in creating the comb and wings for the chicken. It’s a nifty way of joining the knitting together which takes less time than creating the parts separately and then joining it together at the end. What you have to do is essentially locate the “V” shape of your stitches and insert your needle to begin knitting again. I had trouble picking up the stitches as my yarn kept slipping off, so I used a crochet needle to pick them up (it was much easier!). When you get up to knitting the wings, you will notice that the pattern has a mistake in it. Anna has corrected the mistake in her blog HERE

Tutorials: How to pick up stitches in Knitting

Last but not least is learning how to knit an I-Cord. This was my favourite tutorials, she explains I-Cord and make it sounds so simple. Also in this video she teaches you how to do CO (Cast on) using your hand instead of needles. This technique is a big time saver as you can cast on much faster with hand therefore it’s much easier to count your stitches as you cast. To knit I-Cord, the main point is that you should never turn around your needles and instead slide off your work to the other side, then you knit again.

Tutorials: How to knit I-Cord & How to do Hand (CO) Cast On

While I was knitting my tiny chicken, I notice that the wings were a little short. If I knit another one I would knit extra rows to make them slightly longer. The hardest part I found were actually inserting the legs inside the body. I love to stuffed my toys really tight (which explains why my chicken looks plump ), and it was really difficult to pull through the i-cord along the fiberfill. But finally after I push and push.. it went in successfully. One side of the i-cord looks really strained after the force-pulling (Ooops), but luckily I found the legs looks too long anyway so I just undo some of the stitches to make them look cute and even.

Now that it’s all done, my tiny chicken somewhat looks a little lonely by itself. Maybe if you can knit one too, be sure to post / tag it to the Facebook page and share it with us!

Cubic Cat

September 17, 2012

admin

Cat, Toys

2 Comments

baby toys, cat stuffed toys, cute amigurumi toys, face embroidery, kid toys, knitted toys, small stuffed toy, straight needles, very easy knitting patterns

Difficulty Level:

Skills Required:
CO: Cast On
K: Knit
P: Purl
St st: Stockinette stitch
K2tog: Knit 2 stitches as 1 together
BO: Bind Off

Finished Size: approx 5.5cm cube. 7cm tall. 9cm tail long (Please note that this size is made with the needles & yarn specified below, different yarns and needles size will produce different results)

Needles: US 6 – 4.0 mm

Yarn:
Body main colour — Lincraft Entice in White (dye lot #104313)
Body secondary colour — Panda Cotton Blend 8ply in 3 Cream (dye lot #120602)

Facial Features:
scraps of black yarn for the eyes, pink yarn for the nose and brown thread for face embroidery.

You can purchase this Cubic Cat pattern designed by Carmen Perez D. in her blog. This pattern is super cute and very easy to make, the skills required are pretty basic. As long as you know how to knit and purl, then you will have no problem in making it. Don’t get freaked out just yet with the term St st (Stockinette stitch) as it simply means you knit one row to the end, then you purl another row to the end. At the time when I was making it, I made a mistake in choosing my yarn (the cat body is slightly bloated since the Panda yarn weight is much lighter than Lincraft Entice). Future note: select a similar weight yarn when attempting to join bodies together.

With the face, I had trouble finding cat eyes / nose in shops. Lincraft had limited range and the only way for me to get them is to purchase from online shops in the USA — which means 5 weeks wait in the post! Hence I thought this will be a good chance to attempt my own face embroidery.

I was looking at photos of Persian cat and wanting to make my cubic cat looks similar. Lincraft Entice is the yarn I choose to produce the fur-like effect, it is a pretty interesting yarn to use though due to the hairy nature it can get really tiring on the eyes when you knit. When done, I used an old tooth brush to brush all the hair, this brings out all the hairy thread that got stuck in between and creates a really nice feel to your finished cat.

If you like this cat, please support Carmen by purchasing the pattern. Happy Knitting! ♥

Owlies

September 16, 2012

AmareeLis

Owl, Toys

5 Comments

baby toys, cute amigurumi toys, free knitting patterns, kid toys, knitted toys, owl stuffed toys, small stuffed toy, very easy knitting patterns

Difficulty Level:

Skills Required:
CO: Cast On
K: Knit
P: Purl
K2tog: Knit 2 stitches together
Garter stitch: Knit all rows
BO: Bind Off

Finished Size: approx 6.5cm wide x 6.5cm tall x 6cm depth

Needles: US 8 – 5.0 mm (body) & US 6 – 4.0 mm (everything else)

Yarn:
Body & Tail — Katia Sherpa Plus in 3307 (dye lot #85470)
Head Piece — Cleckheaton Country 8 Ply in 0019 Cream
Eye Patch — Panda Cotton blend in 3 Cream (dye lot #120602)

Facial Features:
12mm black eyes (for baby safe, use embroidery instead) & yellow scrap of yarn for beak

Finally a super easy and free knitting pattern designed by Raynor! I stumbled across this owl from Knitted Toy Box, you can find it HERE. Knitting this little toy was a joy, it was really easy to make that I decided to add extra eye patch, beak and tails. I started knitting the body with 5mm needles then used smaller needles for the rest of the details. If you want to give it a go, I have attached the pattern modifications below:

Eye Patch: (make 2)
CO 16 sts
BO
use a yarn needle, sew eye patch around 12mm black eyes.

Beak:
with yarn needle, wrap around to create nose. Secure yarn.

Tail: (make 3)
CO 4 sts
BO
with yarn needle, join tail side by side and attach to the back

Have fun knitting! ♥

Oink

September 15, 2012

admin

How to Knit Video Tutorials, Pig, Toys

4 Comments

(DPN) double pointed needles, baby toys, cute amigurumi toys, face embroidery, free knitting patterns, intermediate knitting patterns, kid toys, knitted toys, pig stuffed toys, small stuffed toy

Difficulty Level:

Skills Required:

CO: Cast On
K: Knit
DPN: Double Pointed Needles (the ability to knit in the round)
M1: Make 1 stitch
K2tog: Knit 2 stitches as 1 together
SSK: Slip Slip Knit
P2tog: Purl 2 stitches as 1 together
BO: Bind Off

Finished Size: approx 8cm wide x 9cm tall x 7cm depth (Please note that this size is made with the needles & yarn specified below, different yarns and needles size will produce different results)

Needles: US 3 – 3.25 mm

Yarn:
Body — Panda Cotton Blend 8ply in 15 Pink (dye lot #120609)
Inner ear / Tip of nose — Patons Australia Zest 8 Ply in 3707 (dye lot #33674)
Wing — Panda Cotton Blend 8ply in 3 Cream (dye lot #120602)

Facial Features:
little scrap of black yarn for face embroidery

Oink, the flying pig is a free pattern designed by Susan B. Anderson, you can download it for free HERE. This cute piglet has wings attached to its body. It’s optional whether you decide to make it or not, but the clever Hi Bounce Pinky Ball adds a really nice touch! Susan has designed Oink to fit a bouncing ball within the body, so that he bounces when you drop him (yeap he flies!). Of course the ball is also optional — I couldn’t find a bouncing ball when I make mine so I have just stuffed him with the usual fiberfill.

This pattern requires some more skills compared to the Bunny Nugget one, however don’t get discouraged as I will go through them as much as I can. Aside from the ability to knit with DPN in the round, you will need to know how to make one stitch (m1), slip slip knit (ssk), whipstitch and do face embroidery. Out of all these, the trickiest stitch I found is m1. You encountered m1 as early as row 2 when you are starting to knit the body. I seriously spent hours (I think it was 3) getting stuck at this row and not knowing how to spot the yarn that is meant to be in between the two stitches. The best way to counter this is to practice the m1 in a separate needles & yarn by knitting a few rows first before you are attempting the m1 as it is easier to see the in between stitches when your knitting is longer. This YouTube video in particular helped me when learning m1

Tutorials: How to do M1

With ssk, you slip the first two stitches from the left needle to the right, then knitting the two yarn that you slipped together. The video below shows how this is done

Tutorials: How to do SSK

Finding how to do whipstitch in YouTube was a little difficult, but with persistence anything is possible The video below consists of four short clips on joining two materials together, whipstitch is featured on the third one.

Tutorials: How to do Whipstitch

Face embroidery in this particular project is a little bit tricky since the pig body has been sealed. Here is a helpful video teaching you how to secure your yarn properly so that the thread is invisible to the naked eye.

Tutorials: How to secure your yarn in Face Embroidery

That is it! Hopefully this blog has helped cleared some of your questions with knitting this pattern.

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Knitting! ♥

Bunny Nugget

September 14, 2012

admin

How to Knit Video Tutorials, Rabbit, Toys

8 Comments

(DPN) double pointed needles, baby toys, cute amigurumi toys, easter gift, easy knitting patterns, free knitting patterns, kid toys, knitted toys, rabbit stuffed toys, small stuffed toy

Difficulty Level:

Skills Required:
CO: Cast On
K: Knit
DPN: Double Pointed Needles (the ability to knit in the round)
K2tog: Knit 2 stitches as 1 together
BO: Bind Off

Finished Size: approx 7cm wide x 17cm tall x 8cm depth (Please note that this size is made with the needles & yarn specified below, different yarns and needles size will produce different results)

Needles: US 8 – 5.0 mm

Yarn:
Body — Lincraft Entice in Dark Purple (dye lot #104314)
Tail — Lincraft Entice in White (dye lot #104313)

Facial Features:
12mm black eyes & little scrap of yellow yarn for mouth

Bunny Nugget is my first ever knitted toy project. This lovely pattern is made by Rebecca Danger and you can download it for free from her blog HERE.

Knitting toys are so much fun as you don’t need to worry about gauge at all. The most challenging feat for this particular pattern is knitting in the round for the ears since they are so small and my metal DPN kept slipping off the stitches non stop. If you don’t know how to knit in the round, I have attached a Youtube video that helped me before. Hopefully this video will help you too!

Tutorials: How to knit with DPN in the round

When learning to knit with the DPN, the hardest stitch is when you try to join by knitting the first stitch. Before you join, always make sure your stitches are not twisted, then to join, you will need to knit on the first stitch you cast on.

Happy Knitting! ♥