FaveCrafts

1000s of free craft projects, home decor ideas and DIY tips

AllFreeKnitting Giveaway: Free Yarn!

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AllFreeKnitting is giving away two skeins of Blue Face Worsted Yarn in Pumpkin King to one lucky winner.  Enter to win here.

This gorgeous artisan yarn retails for $24 a hank, but it is so worth the money!  Each 4 oz. hank features 200 yards of hand painted yarn spun for its strength and durability.  I’m making a nice autumn cowl out of my stash, but this yarn could easily be used for a fall sweater, mittens or a hat.

 

Want to call this yarn your own?  Enter to win now!  Contest ends February 16, 2012.

Meet and Make: Heather Tucker

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This week’s Meet and Make designer is Heather Tucker. Heather is as much of a knitter as she is a mathematician.  Because she thinks mathematically, all of her designs have elements of shape, angle, texture and symmetry; everything, in other words, that should appeal to a logical mind. She has always l0ved experimenting and creating, but has only recently developed an interest in writing her patterns down. You can find more of her knitting patterns on her blog, Mama’s Stitchery Projects.

 

Let’s meet Heather!

10 Fun Facts about Heather:

1.  I have an amateur radio license and emergency tags for my car.
2.  I was an actuary for 17 years before retiring to be a stay-at-home mom.
3.  As a child I liked to make my own toys.
4.  I have been knitting and crocheting since I was four years old.
5.  The only trophy I have ever won was for math.
6.  I ran a computer bulletin board for several years.
7.  I have 12 computers and devices in my house named after M*A*S*H characters.
8.  In my high school I held the record for solving a Rubik’s cube in 30 seconds.
9.  I’m known for my salad making skills.
10.  I got married after being engaged for eight days.

Here’s Heather’s Project:

Faceted Lace and Cables Baby Hat

 

This is a very textured and ornate baby hat. The example is in toddler size.

Sizes:
Small preemie – 8″ circumference, 3.5″ high
Preemie – 10″ circumference, 5″ high
Newborn – 12″ circumference, 5.5″ high
6 month – 14″ circumference, 6.5″ high
12 month – 16″ circumference, 7″ high
Toddler – 18″ circumference, 7.5″ high

Abbreviations:

k = knit
p = purl
c4f = cable 4 forward – Slip the next 2 stitches onto cable needle and hold in front of work. Knit the next 2 stitches from left-hand needle, knit the 2 stitches from the cable needle.
k2tog = knit two together
sk2p = slip 1, knit 2 together, pass slip stitch over the knit 2 together; 2 stitches have been decreased
p3tog = purl three together

Gauge: 22 stitches and 30 rows = 4 inches in stockinette

Materials:

  • 0.5 to 1.5 oz (40 to 120 yards) of DK weight baby yarn
  • U.S. Size 6 (4 mm) 40″ circular needle (for magic loop) or set of size 6 (4 mm) double pointed needles
  • Yarn needle
  • Cable needle

Instructions:

Small preemie – Cast on 44
Preemie – Cast on 55
Newborn – Cast on 66
6 month – Cast on 77
12 month – Cast on 88
Toddler – Cast on 99

Join to knit in the round. Divide stitches between double pointed needles or needles for a magic loop. Divide with multiples of 11 on each needle.

Repeat each instruction across the round:

Rnd 1: k
Rnd 2: p
Rnd 3: k4, yo, k7, yo (this will increase your stitches for the remainder of the body of the hat to a multiple of 13)
Rnd 4: k4, p1, k7, p1
Rnd 5: c4f, p1, yo, k2, sk2p, k2, yo, p1
Rnd 6: k4, p2, k5, p2
Rnd 7: k4, p2, yo, k1, sk2p, k1, yo, p2
Rnd 8: k4, p3, k3, p3
Rnd 9: c4f, p3, yo, sk2p, yo, p3
Rnd 10: k4, p4, k1, p4
Rnd 11: k4, yo, k3, sk2p, k3, yo

Repeat rounds 4 to 11 (end with a round 4) until the hat measures the desired height for size:

Small preemie – 2.25″ high
Preemie – 3.5″ high
Newborn – 4″ high
6 month – 5″ high
12 month – 5.5″ high
Toddler – 6″ high

Crown:
Repeat across the round

Rnd 1: c4f, p1, k2, sk2p, k2, p1
Rnd 2: k4, p1, k5, p1
Rnd 3: k4, p1, k1, sk2p, k1, p1
Rnd 4: k4, p1, k3, p1
Rnd 5: c4f, p1, sk2p, p1
Rnd 6: k4, p1, k1, p1
Rnd 7: k4, p3tog
Rnd 8: k4, p1
Rnd 9: k1, sk2p, p1
Rnd 10: k2, p1
Rnd 11: k2tog, p1

Cut the yarn with several inches to work with. With a yarn needle, pull the yarn through all the remaining loops, secure and weave in end.

AllFreeKnitting Book + DVD Giveaway: Knitting 101

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Do you want to learn how to knit?   Then this is the contest for you!   We are giving away one copy of Knitting 101: Master Basic Skills and Techniques Easily through Step-by-Step Instruction to one lucky winner. Learn everything you need to know about knitting with this instructional book that includes a bonus DVD. By the end, you’ll be knitting with double pointed needles, hand felting flower embellishments onto knit scarves, and reading color charts like they’re nothing more than an article from the morning newspaper. There are also plenty of simple, and more challenging, knit projects along the way to keep readers motivated and wanting more.

Want to win some your own copy? Enter here now!

 

Enter now!  Contest ends February 9, 2012.

Martha Stewart Crafts Knit & Weave Loom Kit Giveaway!

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 AllFreeKnitting  is giving away a Martha Stewart Crafts Knit & Weave Loom Kit!   What I love most about this kit, aside from the clean and attractive packaging, is that it comes with interchangeable pieces.  Together, these 18 pieces result in more than 30 possible combinations.  This means you’ll be able to make everything from small rosette flowers to 37-inch-wide afghans.  Make cozy hats using the round loom, knit flat pieces using the rake loom or craft a gorgeous woven square using the weaving loom.

 

Hurry up and enter to win today!  Contest ends January 19, 2012.

 

 

Top 10 Most Popular Knitting Patterns from December

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During the month of December we have been bringing you the top 10 projects as voted on by you, the readers. Each week we updated this special collection page with the hottest patterns of the moment.  Because this list has been updated every week this past month, you can be sure it features the most amazing, gorgeous and breath-taking patterns!  And now – drum roll please – let us present you with the final list of top 10 knitting patterns from December.

  1. Goddess Lace Ladder Scarf
  2. Checkerboard Lace Scarf
  3. Chunky Knit Snowball Cowl
  4. Lacy Zig Zag Scarf
  5. Gap-tastic Cowl
  6. Grace Jones Cowl
  7. Simple Sara Cowl
  8. 9 Two Hours or Less Knitting Patterns
  9. Blue Slouchy Cowl
  10. 1840 Night Cap

Find all ten of these awesome and inspiring patterns in our Top 10 of December collection.

AllFreeKnitting Giveaway: Knitting in No Time!

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AllFreeKnitting is giving away one copy of the book Knitting in No Time: 50 Easy-knit Bags, Shawls, Jackets, And More for Fast, Fun Style to one lucky winner.  Inside you’ll find 50 simple projects with detailed step-by-step instructions.  Each takes only mere hours to complete and most patterns include handy tips and techniques that will help speed up your knitting.

 

Want to win your own copy?  Enter now for your chance to win!  Contest ends January 12, 2012 at 12:00:00 p.m. ET.

Project Winter Warmth – Prize Basket Winner!

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Earlier this month, I announced that AllFreeKnitting would be collecting knit and crochet hats, scarves and gloves on behalf of Project Winter Warmth.  For everyone who sent us in items, we would enter you into a contest for a special prize basket.  At the end of the month, we’d randomly choose a winner to receive this special prize.  Today, that basket is revealed – and the winner is announced!

 

The $50+ prize basket includes:

  • 1 copy of the book, Entrelac: The Essential Guide to Interlace Knitting by Rosemary Drysdale
  • 1 copy of the book Love to Knit Socks by Bronwyn Lowenthal
  • 1 skein of Red Heart with Love Premium Worsted Acrylic yarn in Bluebell
  • Kreinik Thread Legacy Sampler with 29 Spools of Metallic, Silk and Iron-On Threads (great for embellishing knit projects)

 

First, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who sent in donations.  Thanks to your generosity, more people and children in need will be warm this winter.

And now – who is the winner of this lovely prize basket?  

The winner is – Karen Z. from Illinios!  Congrats, Karen!  You can expect your prize in the mail shortly. 🙂

 

 

 

Project Winter Warmth: Hats, Mittens and Scarves – Oh My! – ENDED

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At the beginning of this month, I made a call out to all knitters and crocheters to donate to Project Winter Warmth.  Started by high school student Breanna, Project Winter Warmth is charity effort that’s collecting hats, mittens and scarves for those in need in the Kenosha area.  Find out more about how to participate on the blog.  There’s a prize package involved. 🙂

And now on with the updates!  I know we’ve all been busy knitting for charity, but I wanted to make sure that I showed you how many generous donations we’ve received so far.  Thank you so much to everyone who has participated so far!  We have so many kind, generous and talented readers!

It was difficult to find the space to show off all of the stuff, but here are a few pictures:

Seriously how cute is that bear scarf set!  There’s a hat in there too. 🙂  And look at this cute cupcake hat! Adorable!

 

 

Thank you again to everyone who has sent us donations so far!  Remember, we’ll be collecting items on behalf of Project Winter Warmth until Nov. 28.  After that we’ll choose one lucky winner to receive a $50 prize basket from AllFreeKnitting just for participating!  All donations will be delivered to Breanna after Nov. 28 and will be distributed to various charities, mainly the Meals on Wheels program, The INNs Homeless Program, and any local schools where children are in need of these winter items.  There are no yarn or pattern requirements for these donations – use whatever you have on hand!

Need a pattern?  We have tons of great charity patterns on AllFreeKnitting and AllFreeCrochet.

 

Meet and Make: Megan Goodacre

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This week’s Meet and Make designer is Megan Goodacre. You’ve seen her knitting designs in Knit Magazine, Creative Knitting, Interweave Knit.wear and Twist Collective. You can find more of her knitting patterns and knitting help at www.tricksyknitter.com. Megan is also a freelance graphic artist, and lives with her husband and two sons on Vancouver Island, Canada.

 

Let’s meet Megan!

10 Fun Facts about Megan Goodacre:

  1. I learned to knit when I was six years old.
  2. My first word was “cheese”.
  3. Was born and raised on Vancouver Island.
  4. I am outnumbered by males in my house.
  5. I have a degree in Communications and a diploma in art, but I’d rather be knitting!
  6. I have a stationery fetish, especially for notebooks.
  7. My favorite color is chartreuse.
  8. My favorite fiber is silk. And merino. And alpaca. And linen. And bamboo.
  9. I usually work in my pajamas.
  10. I drink a lot of espresso.

Here’s Megan’s Project:

Today Megan introduces a new free knitting pattern for knitted bookmarks. Lace knitting is a lovely way to add texture to your knitting, but can be daunting in a large project. If you’re new to lace, these little bookmarks are a nice way to try out some common lace knitting techniques. They make lovely gifts for book lovers, and are a great use for leftover yarn. These two bookmarks use some simple, traditional lace motifs that are simple to work and easy to memorize.

Materials

  • Fingering weight yarn, about 40 yards
  • Size 2 U.S. knitting needles/3.0mm knitting needles
  • Tapestry needle (for weaving in ends)
  • Pins (for blocking)

Gauge
Gauge is not essential for this project. The gauge after blocking, is about 26 sts and 35 rows to 4 inches/10cm in the lace pattern. Your finished bookmarks, after blocking, measure 2 by 8 inches/5 x 20cm.

Skills you’ll need

  • The basics (casting on, binding off, knit, purl).
  • Some increases and decreases (see the abbreviation section for a full list).
  • A little finishing: weaving in your ends and blocking.

Abbreviations used
dec – decrease
k – knit
k2tog – knit two stitches together
p – purl
rep – repeat
RS – right side
sl1-k2tog-psso – (leaning double dec) slip 1 st, k2tog, pass slipped st over
sl2-k1-p2sso – (central double dec) slip 2 as if to knit together, k1, pass slipped sts over
ssk – (slip-slip-knit) slip 2 sts knitwise, put left needle through front of slipped sts and knit them together
st – stitch
WS – wrong side
yo – yarn over

Shetland Bookmark

Shown in Knit Picks Palette color Calypso Heather.

(Do you like to work from a chart? You can follow a chart here.)

 Instructions:

Cast on 13 sts.
Row 1 (WS) (and all WS rows): K2, p9, k2.
Row 2: K2, ssk, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, k2tog, k2.
Rows 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14: Rep Row 2.
Row 16: Knit across.
Rows 18 & 20: K3, yo, k2, sl2-k1-p2sso, k2, yo, k3.
Row 22: Knit across.
Rows 24 & 26: Rep Row 2.
Rows 27-62: Repeat Rows 15-26.
Rows 63-65: Repeat Rows 15-17.
Bind off loosely.

Demi Chevron Bookmark

Shown in Elann Peruvian Baby Cashmere color Pewter.

(Do you like to work from a chart? You can follow a chart here.)

Instructions:
Cast on 13
Row 1 WS (and all WS rows) K2, p9, k2.
Row 2: K2, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo, k2.
Row 4: K3, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k3.
Row 6: K4, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k4.
Row 8: K5, yo, sl1-k2tog-psso, yo, k5.
Row 10: K2, ssk, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, k2tog, k2.
Row 12: Repeat Row 10.
Repeat rows 1-12 five times.
Work one WS row.
Bind off loosely.

Finishing
Wet the bookmark thoroughly in cool water. Stretch it and pin it along all edges to straighten out the edges and open up the lace. Let it dry. Weave in your ends.

Want to try knitting more bookmarks? You can download a free pattern for bookmarks (and more!) on Megan’s site.

 

How to Knit Your Favorite Twilight Patterns

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With Breaking Dawn, the latest installment of the Twilight Saga, due to come out November 18 of this year, I can barely contain myself!  If you are a fan of the books or the movies then you can understand my excitement.  I have already made plans to see it opening night with a few of my friends who also happen to love the Twilight series.

If you have not yet seen any of the last three Twilight films this doesn’t mean that you can’t still convert and become a die-hard Twilight fan like the rest of us!  The basic plot of the books/movies shows the main character, Bella, and her intense relationships with her boyfriend Edward and close friend Jacob.  Of course, thrown into the mix with this love triangle, is the fact that Edward happens to be a vegetarian vampire and Jacob eventually becomes a werewolf.  So while the movies are centered on these themes of attraction, love, and friendship there is also the element of supernatural action that makes things even more interesting.

Trust me, the movies are worth seeing and the books are worth reading.  I can hardly wait to see the next film.  Just the other day I caught myself doing a mental countdown of how many days until the movie comes out!  So in preparation for the films release I have decided to compile my own little collection called How to Knit Your Favorite Twilight Patterns.

Each of the free knitting patterns I plan to do are also perfect for the cold weather.  Two of my favorites are the Rosalie Hale hat and the Twilight Rosalie scarf. These cute and comfy knitted pieces match each other perfectly and make whoever wears them look super chic.

Another one of the knitting patterns that I added is a project for a bear skin rug.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but this knitted rug reminds me of Jacob, everyone’s favorite werewolf.  This pattern is definitely something that I can picture being in Jacob’s house.

After Bella, I think that Alice is probably my favorite character.  She always looks so cute and friendly.  So, in my attempt to channel my inner Alice, I have decided to knit myself an Alice’s Twilight scarf as well as pair of Alice Cullen’s gloves.  If you follow the free glove knitting pattern you can make a pair for yourself as well!

The last knit that I plan to make is the cool scarf that the character Carlisle wears in the movies.  The Carlisle Twilight scarf pattern is simple and when you are done you can either keep it for yourself or give it to a fellow Twilight lover.  So follow the knitting instructions if you are a fan of Carlisle’s style like I am!  I found this knitting pattern, and all of the others, on our AllFreeKnitting site.

Well I definitely need to get to work if I want to get at least half of these done before Breaking Dawn comes out!  Are you a big Twilight fan?  If so, have you ever made any Twilight inspired projects?  Have you ever done any Twilight knitting patterns?  What kinds?

Crochet

Jewelry

Knitting

Paper

Sewing

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