These are great fast gifts as well as a good way to use up left-overs of feltable and novelty yarns. Enjoy!

Quick Felted Gifts PDF

This is a truly lovely stitch pattern. It’s one of the few stitch patterns that looks good with variegated yarns and in both moderately “fluffy” fibers like mohair and smooth yarns. Although it initially looks complicated, you will quickly get into the rhythm. I’ll try to get a swatch picture up as soon as possible. The shop samples made from this pattern were all quickly snapped up in the shop closing sale!

Materials

You need 100 or more yards of a either a bulky, worsted or mohair yarn. For an interesting warm scarf, choose a varigated bulky such as Artful Yarns Shakespeare, Rowan Chunky Print or Manos del Uruguay Multiprint. For a lacier look, select a lighter, softer yarn such as Rowan Kid Classic, Jaeger Mohair Art or Crystal Palace Merino Frappé.

Scarf Pattern

Loosely cast on 26 stitches.

Knit 2 rows garter stitch for border.

Repeat the lacy knot pattern stitch until you have just enough yarn to complete 2 final rows of garter stitch and bind off or scarf is the length desired.

Lacy Knot Stitch Pattern

Row 1: (WS) Slip 1 purlwise, purl to end of row.
Row 2: (RS) Slip 1 purlwise, k2, *yo, k3, pass 3rd stitch on the right-hand needle over the first 2 stitches; repeat from * to the last 2 stitches, then k2.
Row 3: (Same as Row 1) Slip 1 purlwise, purl to end of row.
Row 4: (RS) Slip 1 purlwise, k1, *k3, pass 3rd stitch on the right-hand needle over the first 2 stitches, yo; repeat from * to last 3 stitches, then k3.
Repeat these 4 rows.

And sock knitters can use this pattern to get very clear instructions on adding beads to a cuff.

The pattern calls for a total of 150 yards of fingering-weight yarn (so one skein of sock yarn if plenty. What a wonderful excuse to pick up that gorgeous solo skein in the sale bin!). You’ll also need US 2-3 [2.75-3.25 mm] double-pointed (or 2 circular) needles and recommends a Big Eye Needle for stringing the beads onto your yarn. (I can’t recommend Big Eye Needles enough. If you can’t find a source elsewhere, let me know and I’ll see if I can get you a package.)

This 1-sheet pattern with color photo:
KA-ifg: $6.00

Often with a worsted-weight yarn I find I can make a pair of fingerless gloves and a matching hat. But the advantage of the Top-Down Hat is that if I find myself a little short of yarn and can simply add some striping or a different finishing technique (which can also be added to the fingerless gloves if desired).

Karen Alfke provides instructions for several finishing techniques including one of my favorites: the i-chord bind off. This makes a beautiful finished edge and is a wonderful way of using really spectacular yarns. You know, those single skeins you pick up because they’re so beautiful but that are too expensive to get enough for a large project. Or the really lovely yarn you loved but only have a small amount left-over from another project.

This multi-page pattern including multiple edging stitches for finishing is
KA-02: $6.00

Wrestling with assorted wrenches, pliers and what-not (as the joke goes, in a woman’s hands anything can become a hammer…) until finally replacing the missing crescent wrench, I was once again reminded how much easier a task is completed when you have the right tools for the job. By the time my husband finished the last keystroke on his emergency coding project, I was standing there with the pipelines flushed, the faucets replaced, the washing machine connected and plugged in and heading out the door to turn the water back on. There’s nothing like successfully completing a challenge to give you an increased sense of confidence and satisfaction.

In the throes of self-confidence from the Great Washing Machine Installation success, I’ve begun preparing for a fiber art project. Look for some of wonderful new environmentally friendly dyes to be reviewed shortly. Assuming it will ever stop raining long enough for the roving, yarn and felt to dry!

I’ve been creating fingerless mitts (gloves) for assorted friends and family. They are terrific quick projects (a 2-4 movie project on my personal scale, i.e., it takes me between 2-4 movies to complete a pair depending upon the complexity of the stitch pattern and whether I add partial thumb and finger covers.). So the first new Karen Alfke pattern I added was her CableBack Fingerless Gloves. I’ve also adding her Unpattern Hat pattern because I’ve been using it (and the Unpattern Top-Down Hat which I’m putting up later tonight.) I’ll post photos of the mitts I still have to ship this week (the model needs her nails shaped).

The project requires only 150 – 175 yards, depending upon glove size, of worsted weight yarn, so it’s also a wonderful one skein project.

I confess I’ve been doing a ton of fingerless gloves (aka mitts) as gifts for friends and family this year. They are a change from scarves, offer a chance to get comfortable with double-pointed needles or the two-circular needle method of knitting small tubes.

Multi-page pattern including 3 cable stitch patterns
KA-cfg: $6.00

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