Boo! - Little Ghosts by Yarn Birdy

 

Three ghosts, and a pumpkin, ready for Halloween.

Went prowling recently for Halloween-themed knitting projects. Found this too cute pattern on Alexis Hamann-Nazaroff's Ravelry page: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/yarn-birdy/patterns

Ms. Hamman-Nazaroff offers lots of sweet small knitted toys and decorative items.

 

Little Ghosts

The little ghost is knit in the round, in one piece, from bottom to top.

 

Materials

Worsted weight yarn in white, scrap lengths

    I used Plymouth "Galway", color #8

Four US size 3 double-pointed needles (3.25 mm)

Embroidery thread, black

    I used DMC floss, color #310

Tapestry needle

 

Abbreviations

CO =  cast on

    I found the long-tail cast-on gave a slightly nicer edge for this project.

DPN = double-pointed needles

k = knit

k2tog = knit 2 stitches together into 1 stitch

ssk = slip, slip, knit: slip the next 2 stitches onto the right-hand needle knitwise, stick the tip of your left-hand needle into them from above, and knit them together into 1 stitch.

    I found this tutorial very helpful: https://newstitchaday.com/ssk-slip-slip-knit-decrease-knitting/

yo = yarn over. Wrap the yarn around the needle to create an extra stitch. 

 

Pattern

Cast on 33 stitches and divide evenly over 3 DPNs (11 stitches per needle)

 

Round 1 (and all odd rounds through round 9): k

Round 2: [k2tog, k3, yo, k4, ssk] 3 times (30 stitches)

Round 4: [k2tog, k3, yo, k3, ssk] 3 times (27 stitches)

Round 6: [k2tog, k2, yo, k3, ssk] 3 times (24 stitches)

Round 8: [k2tog, k2, yo, k2, ssk] 3 times (21 stitches)

Round 10: [k2tog, k1, yo, k2, ssk] 3 times  (18 stitches) 

Round 11 - 18: k

Round 19: [k2tog, k1] 6 times (12 stitches)

Round 20: [k2tog] 6 times (6 stitches)

Round 21: Cut the yarn, leaving a tail about 8 inches long, and thread this through the remaining stitches. Tie a knot and pull the thread inside the ghost out of sight.

    I tied a knot and also wove the end in a bit before cutting the yarn. 

 

Finishing

Add the eyes by threading all six strands of black embroidery floss onto a tapestry needle and wrapping around a knit stitch 3 or 4 times; carry floss inside to other eye and repeat. I knotted the floss and also used a bit of fabric glue on the knot for extra security, but this is probably optional.

All ready for ghostly fun.

 

Note about gauge:

Gauge really doesn't matter for this project, so you can use any needles and scrap yarn you might have. Just make sure the yarn knits up into a tight, firm fabric so that the final toy holds its shape.

So, this probably means you should select needles one or two sizes smaller than the recommended size for your yarn.

Not too scary, but fun.

Simple Shawl in Hu Made Singles yarn

Long-suffering DH models knitwear.

So, I bailed from a Mystery Knit Along project when realizing after knitting the first section that the end result would require weaving in about 254 ends.  BUT I had four skeins, in four different colors, of absolutely lovely superwash merino fingering weight yarn from Hu Made.  Owner/artist Amanda Hu hand-dyes wonderful tonal shades and is a whiz with color.  The shade of my shawl is Voyager, and the yarn features a soft halo while still crisp enough to define an eyelet pattern.

Roaming around Ravelry I found a pattern for a one-skein shawl which another knitter had made up with the Hu Made Singles yarn. She kindly answered my query concerning needle size, and I was set. 

The pattern is Simple Shawl by Jane Hunter and - the icing on the cake - it's a free pattern! So I can repeat it here for you, in case you don't have a Ravelry account. Also, I'll add some notes, and measurements for American knitters, since, sadly, we still don't use the metric sytem.

Materials

Size 5 or 6 circular needle - or a needle size to give a loose, drapey body for the shawl. I used a Size 5. You can use 16" or 24" to begin with, but  eventually you will have almost 300 stitches and you'll require a 32" needle.

In addition, for the optional picot cast-off, using a one size down needle (any length) will make a neater edge. I used a size 4 for the picot cast-off.

Finished size

The triangular shawl is about 12.5" at the widest point, and about 58" long.

Abbreviations

K - Knit

KFB - knit into the front of the stitch and then the back of the same stitch

YO - yarn over

K2TOG - knit 2 stitches together

Set up 

Cast on 3 stitches.

Row 1 - KNB, K1 (this will become your 'center stitch'), KFB = 5 stitches.

Mark the center stitch now, using a removable stitch marker or by placing a stitch marker either side of the stitch and slipping the markers across on every row.

Pattern

Row 2 - KFB, knit the  center stitch, YO, K1 (the center stitch), YO, knit to the last stitch, KFB.

Row 3 - KFB, knit to the last stitch, KFB.

Row 4 - KFB, knit to the last stitch, KFB.

Now, the original pattern stated to continue knitting until 305 stitches on the needle, but my yarn was running low and I didn't feel like playing chicken with the pattern.  So, I completed the pattern when I had 293 stitches on the needles. (146 stitches on either side of the center stitch.)

Ball of Hu Made Singles, in Moonly.

For comparison, you can see in the image above, an unused ball of the Hu Made Singles next to the tiny amount of  Voyager I had left after knitting the shawl.

IMPORTANT

Because the Eyelet Section needs an even number of stitches on either side of the center stitch, end the pattern after Row 4.

Eyelet Section Pattern

Row 1 - KFB,  K1, *YO K2TOG*, repeat *-* until center stitch. YO, K1 (center stitch), *YO K2TOG* repeat *-* until last 2 stitches K1, KFB.

Rows 2 & 3 - KFB, knit all stitches until the last stitch, KFB.

Row 4 - KFB, knit to center stitch, YO, K1 (center stitch), YO knit to last stitch, KFB.

Rows 5 & 6 KFB, knit all stitches until the last stitch, KFB.

Row 7 - Repeat Row1 of the Eyelet pattern.

Rows 8 & 9 - Repeat rows 2 & 3.

Row 10 - KFB, knit to last stitch, KFB.

Picot bind-off

Of course this is optional.  Feel free to do a regular cast -off.  A Youtube video I consulted noted that the picot bind-off can be a bit "ruffly" and can flare, so I sized down one size needle for this - from the size 5 I used for the body of the shawl to a size 4.

Step 1 - Cast off 3 stitches. Slip the remaining stitch back onto the left hand needle.

Step 2 - Cast on 2 stitches. Cast off 5 stitches (pattern designer Jane noted that she always purls the first stitch of the 5 stitch cast off, so I did too.)  Slip the remaining stitch back onto the left hand needle.

Continue to repeat Step 2 until the last stitch.

Fasten off, and block (I never bother) and weave in ends.

I found this Youtube video helpful for the Picot bind-off: https://newstitchaday.com/how-to-knit-the-picot-bind-off/

Wouldn't it be fun to add beads to the picot edging?!