Do you know a stuffed animal or American Girl Doll in need of some accessories? Well, good thing you decided to read our blog today!  Our free pattern for a ribbed cap and garter stitch scarf is just what you need. Both use worsted weight yarn, and can be coordinated or contrasting according to your tastes.

Making these little items is a great way to use up some odds and ends sitting in your stash… I know I have plenty of little balls of yarn too small to knit a full-size project but too substantial and lovely to just get rid of.

The hat will fit dolls or stuffed animal heads with a circumference of 11.5″ or smaller, and it’s ribbed so the fit is flexible.

If you’ve never made a hat, this would be a great introduction without the yarn and time commitment of a full-size hat. All you need to know is Knit, Purl, and Knit 2 together on double pointed needles (or magic loop if preferred).

We are also offering a class based on these projects if you want some personal attention and assistance learning these useful skills!

The scarf is my favorite kind of super-easy, fantastic scarf: garter stitch knit the long way. It looks so much more finished and elegant with those long stripes and smooth edges. This kind of scarf is great for full-sized humans too, although the cast-on amount would of course be increased to accommodate larger creatures.

The yarn used for the hat is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted Multi, and the scarf is one of our absolute favorites, Koigu Kersti Solid, but it would also look fantastic in Kersti Multi.

Enjoy!

Leah

I have loved knitting in luxury fibers forever. I love alpaca-especially baby alpaca.  Alpaca fiber, considered a luxury fiber, usually rivals the popularity of such fine fibers as cashmere and pashmina due to its natural properties. It is a smooth, velvety, very lightweight, soft, and durable fiber. If 100% pure, alpaca wool is absolutely thermal due to its hollow fiber and microscopic air pockets, so you will never lose your body heat and will be able to breath in warm weather. Also, alpaca fibers do not let water or dust settle.

Misti Alpaca makes some of the most beautiful alpaca on the market. Their alpaca comes in many weights and blends but our personal favorite is their Hand Paint Chunky line.

As soon as we received our first shipment of this luscious beautifully hand painted yarn and piled it onto the table to stock customers began to gravitate toward the table to touch and hold the skeins of yarn. We sold out our first order that day.

I was a bit sad I have to admit because I was very excited to run home and knit up Misti’s one skein Ribs and Ruffles scarf. That afternoon I called our rep Juanita and placed a new order for whatever we could get.

As I was cleaning up that evening, I saw a soft fluffy skein on it’s side under the table. One skein of Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Chunky in Mavelous….sigh. I ran home and knit the Ribs and Ruffles scarf you see here. Enjoy your free pattern from Misti below and check out our online stock of Misti HP Chunky here.

Misti Chunky Ribs & Ruffles Scarf

Needle Size: 13
Finished scarf: 48” X5”
Material: 1 skein Misty Chunky Baby Alpaca
Instructions:

1. Cast on sixty stitches.
2. Ruffle Row one: knit two together across the row (you will have 30 stitches)
3. Ruffle Row two: knit two together across the row (you will have 15 stitches)
4. Begin Eve’s rib pattern
5. Row one rib pattern:
   *knit three, bring yarn forward, slip stitch as if to purl, bring yarn back, repeat pattern from *,
   end with knit three.
6. Row two rib pattern:
   knit one, bring yarn forward, slip stitch as if to purl, bring yarn back, *knit three, bring yarn
   forward, slip stitch as if to purl, bring yarn back, repeat pattern from *, end with knit one.
7. With approximately 8 yards left on skein. Begin ruffle pattern as follows:
8. Row one: knit into front and back of each stitch in row. (you will have 30 stitches)
9. Row two: knit into front and back of each stitch in row. (you will have 60 stitches.Bind off with similar tension to cast on row. Sew in ends. Shape ruffles.

(c) Misti International Inc

Lately I’ve had hats on the brain (ha! sorry).

It started with the need for a good, simple hat for a friend to wear in the cold. I wanted something ribbed, with stripes, nice and simple. I had some Zara Plus ready, so I went ahead and crunched a few numbers and came up with a simple hat pattern.

I liked it so much I had to knit one for myself in reverse colors. Then I knit one for the store in Mission Falls Wool and came up with a  free pattern so that anyone could make one. It can be made out of numerous yarns, in addition to Zara Plus and Mission Falls it can be made out of: Classic Elite Lush, Sublime Cashmere Silk Aran, Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran, Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed and Trendsetter’s Tonalita.

It could have stopped there. I might have moved on to something more innocent like socks, but then someone came in and told us about the Fish Hat from the latest Knitty. I was in love.

I knit one in a week, and the next one in two days. At the suggestion of my boyfriend I altered the second one by making it longer. I used two colors of Malabrigo for each, a yarn that I will never grow tired of feeling slide through my fingers.

If you are interested in making this hat but at all intimidated by the pattern, we are offering a class to make sure that anyone who wants their own fish hat can make one.

I’m not the only one with Hat Fever however. No sooner had the Blue Sky Alpaca’s Kitty Hat pattern arrived when Liz had cast on The Kitty hat from Blue Sky Alpacas in their luscious Suri Merino for her nieces and a friends baby.

Now maybe the hat obsession has run it’s course — we’ll see. There are a lot of hats out there.

Sara

I cast on these socks with fall in mind. When I first saw color 108 of Ella Rae Lace Merino I envisioned beautiful brown and orange leaves on the ground. I cast on Knitty.com’s Interlocking Leaves pattern with that in mind.

The reality of the Southern California fall hit me a few weeks later. Hot and humid. The leaves on the ground were dirty pale eucalyptus. It was hard to stay inspired, but I kept going.

As luck would have it I finished these socks over Thanksgiving weekend. I was up the coast on a vinyard and all I could see in either direction was bare grape vines. By the house was some large tree that was shedding beautiful golden leaves with every gust of wind. From the moment I arrived at the house I was antsy. The finished socks in my backpack, waiting.

“I’m going to take a picture of my socks,” I blurted to my company. No one really said anything. I went outside and it was only me and fall out there in the quiet afternoon.

Sara

The moment I saw and touched Debbie Bliss’ Luxury Tweed I was in love. Having had a grandmother who was a true Anglophile (think gilt frames adorning her room with pics of Princess Di and the royals), I have also had a secret passion for tweed anything. There is something about those little flecks of color colour running throughout the fiber that just makes me think of my Nanny and hand knit cardis. So, as soon as I held a ball of Debbie’s Tweed, I knew-this yarn was for  knitculture.com. It is a classic Tweed but it has just the right amount of lovely soft angora to give it loft and heavenly softness. It also comes in beautiful and fun colours- such as Orange, Mustard, Dark Lime and classics like Denim, Charcoal and Scarlet.

Next, I needed to find a wonderful and worthy pattern to knit up some skeins. Blessed with endless crafting creativity, Debbie managed to come up with a wonderful collection of patterns in her pamphlet book, Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed Collection.  I chose “Daisy” because I loved the detail and challenge of the design. This piece is knit up in 11 individual pieces. I really enjoyed the range of technique from cables to bobbles and double point knitting-I was never bored so it was knit up in a flash. This was not going to be a UFO! Another suggestion: the Daisy pattern squares can be worked up into a very unique afghan!

We think you will find that whatever you make with Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed you will enjoy the knitting experience and make something that will be treasured for years to come-even if you don’t have a family crest.

Yarn is like candy to me. Actually, it’s really like chocolate. I can’t live without it…Really, truly. Sometimes just the thought of a chocolate, or worse, a yarn diet is just too much for me. A perfect example is when I look at the beautiful yarn made by Alchemy Yarns. I feel woozy and almost get a head rush like when I bite into an amazing piece of say, Teuscher chocolate (thanks to my friend Ani for introducing me to that devil’s treat).