Ta Da! Knitted Pull-Through Scarf

Hooray! It's a 'Ta-Da' post...finally!

Just before Christmas last year, I attended a Pompom making class led by Hollie (Flora Fairweather) and put on by The Mamahood.* I was so inspired by Hollie's use of colours and pompoms on everything I wanted to get making something myself.

This little pull-through scarf is easy to make and it knits up quickly (especially if you use a chunky yarn.) The design is perfect for little ones as it's less bulky around the neck than a traditional scarf, and the fun pom-poms also stop it from coming undone.

I sort of just winged it when it came to a pattern but I knitted up another scarf so I could check what I had done and write it down. If you want to make a pull-through scarf yourself then you can follow this pattern, but please feel free to adjust it where necessary. I have given the tension and needle size I used but obviously, this can be knitted with any yarn and needle size. This scarf is perfect for my little Miss who is 18 months old, but you will probably want to make the scarf longer for older children.

Yarn: I used Wool & the Gang cotton yarn for the bright yellow scarf, and the blue scarf is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino.

Tension: 10cm x 10cm 28 stitches x 44 rows

Needles: 4mm

Cast on 1 stitch (1)
Inc 1 (2)
Inc 1 on both stitches (4)
*Inc 1 first stitch, knit to the end of the row, leaving last stitch, Inc 1 on last stitch*
Repeat ** until you have 28 stitches
Knit 28 rows (or more if you want a longer bit to pull through)

Now you will start to make the holes to poke the scarf through. You will need some stitch holders (they look like giant safety pins).

*K2, P2, K2, P2* (8 stitches of rib)
Put rest of stitches onto a stitch holder (16)
Repeat ** for 15 rows
Put 8 stitches onto another stitch holder

Take the middle 8 stitches onto your needle, leaving 8 stitches behind on the holder.
Knit for 15 rows
Add these 8 stitches to the 8 ribbed stitches on the holder

Take the last 8 stitches onto your needle
*K2, P2, K2, P2* (8 stitches of rib)
Repeat for 15 rows

Now you want all your stitches on your needle but add them from the first ribbed section you knitted so that you have your yarn thread at the point of your needle, ready to start the next row.

Knit for 104 rows (or however long you want your scarf. Take a measurement around the neck as it should be close-fitting)

*K2, P2* Repeat until the end of the row (28 stitches)
Repeat ribbing for 34 rows

Knit 28 rows (or however many you knitted at the other end)

*K2tog, K until you have 2 stitches left, K2tog*
Repeat ** until you have 1 stitch left
Cast off and leave a long tail.

Make 2 pompoms using a pompom maker and whatever bright colours you fancy and attach to the two pointed ends of the scarf using the long tails for extra security. (These need to be fastened tightly as they will get pulled quite a bit.)

And there you have it! If you are able to follow this 'pattern' and make your own pull-through scarf then please share a photo with me - I would love to see it! I am This is Wiss on all social media, or leave a picture in the comments below.

Happy knitting!

*I urge you to check out The Mamahood - such a wonderful supportive community run by Diana. She runs inspiring, creative and collaborative local events for mamas. Currently only in SE London but the Mamahood will be expanding so keep an eye out for events in your area.

Also, check out Flora Fairweather's IG feed for bright and beautiful images, and lots of pompoms!

Ta Da! A Knitting Special

Regular readers will know that I keep complaining about not having enough time to sew/craft/blog recently (new baby, too busy, blah, blah!) But, although it is true*, I have been able to squeeze a tiny bit of knitting in here and there. Knitting is such a wonderful hobby as you don't need lots of equipment and you can do it sitting on the sofa in front of the telly. Brill!

I'd be the first to admit that I'm not the best, nor a particularly fast knitter but I do enjoy it and love watching the lines grow into a finished garment.

Way back last year when I was pregnant I treated myself (& the new baby) to a kit from Wool and the Gang, a über stylish knitting company based right here in London. Check out their beautiful website and gorgeous knits. You can buy them ready made (hand knitted by one of their team) or purchase a kit to do it yourself. The kits aren't cheap, I'll admit, but the quality is amazing. You get plenty of yarn to work with so no worries about making mistakes and there are lots of cute extras too such as a sticker, a kilt pin, personalised packaging...

I chose to make an Aloha Hoodie in golden yellow, although it was a hard decision as there are over 20 colours to choose from. I also bought the needles to go with the pattern; they are bamboo and a joy to work with. Everything I needed came in the kit, including a wool needle for sewing up the garment when it was finished.

Skip forward in time a few (maybe 6!) months and I had finished knitting all the pieces. It wasn't a hard pattern to follow though and I love the cool little details like the rectangle on one side of the hoodie. Unfortunately, I have realised that I really need to learn how to finish a knitted garment properly. My sewing up often leaves the seams very bumpy, and the arm holes a bit restricted which is a real shame given the amount of time spent knitting. I actually unpicked the seams and tried again and it's still not perfect but good enough to be worn.

The Shiny Happy cotton yarn is quite heavy so the hoodie does have a tendency to stretch and drape, and it slips off the shoulders. The design is for a slouchy cardigan but I'm thinking of attaching a popper or button fastening to make it a bit more baby-friendly.

So Ferne got a new mama-made cardigan, but what about Wiss? Well, I was honoured to be asked by Shireen from the fabulous handmade knitting company Picaloulou to trial one of her new knitting kits for children's scarves. (These kits aren't even on sale yet!) There are lots of animals to choose from but I went for the fantastic Fox Scarf. The pattern was easy to follow even though there were quite a few techniques I hadn't done before, so I had to google these (slip stitches, make one etc). I love the design of these scarves, they are slim enough to be worn easily with coats and the fact that they don't need to be tied makes them perfect for little kids. I think Wiss looks so cool with his new scarf, don't you? These animal scarves are available ready-made from the Picaloulou shop (as well as loads of other gorgeous, British-made hand knits.)

Yes, I know that we are heading into the summer months soon but we do live in the UK. The temperature is unpredictable at the best of times, and actually cotton knits can be great for sunny days. I am so slow at knitting though that maybe I should start knitting for this winter now!


*and I hereby promise to stop going on about it and making excuses!


Disclaimer: This post is not a sponsored review but as I have enjoyed making both I wanted to share them with you. I bought the Wool and the Gang kit myself, and I was provided with the Picaloulou kit for testing purposes but not required to write a post.

Ta Da! Some Waffle & a Customised Bobby Horse

Things have been a little slow on the production front recently. Don't get me wrong, I feel like I've been as busy as ever but when I looked around there doesn't seem to be much that I've actually finished.

What have I been up to??! Well, I had my last craft fairs & markets this month before I packed up for 'maternity leave'. My website is now down too while I have a complete revamp. I got some of the initial photos back from the photographer and they look amazing! I'm really excited and can't wait to relaunch the online shop soon.

I've also been busy with my day job - three teaching days and private views of the Royal Academy Summer Show and the brilliant National Saturday Art Club Summer Show. I enjoyed working with the Coleg Sir Gar club from Wales so much and am looking forward to next years masterclass already. (I'll be writing more about these classes in next weeks post.)

And then there was BritMums Live! I attended this huge blogging conference this weekend for the second year running. With 700 bloggers, guest speakers, informative sessions on all things to do with blogging, top brands wanting to connect and an awards ceremony it's a busy two days. But good fun too! Last year I was a bit overwhelmed and felt like the new kid at big school. It was exciting but hard to take everything in. This year I knew a bit more about what to expect, and I was braver with talking to people. It was really lovely to meet people I know online in real life, and to find new friends too. I've come away with tons of ideas and things to put into action (that To Do list just keeps on growing!)

But what about the 'Ta Da!' moment this month? There is something I have finished, I promise! A lovely customer placed an order for a Bobby Horse to match the felt crown she bought. I am more than happy to customise my products in particular colours and this lady chose everything herself, right down to the green gingham ribbon. Doesn't it look great?

Ta Da! The Chevron Quilt

It seems to be that my 'Work in Progress' posts are actually helping me to finish projects. Yay! After writing about my Chevron Quilt last month, I steamed on with the quilting and the binding and Ta Da! One finished chevron quilt :) I really enjoy how quickly quilts seem to come together after all the planning and cutting, and the hand binding (done in front of the telly) is one of my favourite bits.

 



The general consensus was to use the denim flannel for the solid binding and I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's a very simple design which is just perfect for our sofa and front room (which incidentally isn't where I took this photo! This was taken 'on location' at Holly Frindle, a gorgeous weekend house we visit.)

Although I photographed this on the one sunny day last weekend, the weather in the south of the UK has turned decidedly wintery this week so we have been keeping warm under this quilt already!

I'd love to see any projects that you've finished this month - leave me a link below, or tweet me a picture @thisiswiss

Bye for now! angela

Ta Da! Matchbox Mice

If you're anything like me you'll have a huge and ongoing 'To Do' list. Mine is so big I have to split it up into 'To Do This Day/Week/Month' and hopefully 'To Do One Day...at some point'! Things get added at a much faster rate than they get ticked off, unfortunately.

Rather than dwell on these never-ending lists I thought it would be good to show off some of the things that do get finished: to celebrate the completion and who knows, perhaps this will spur on more projects to the finishing line?
 

*****

Wiss' friend had her 4th birthday recently and although I love making presents for children myself there are also so many gorgeous things to buy, especially original items from craft fairs or markets that I can't resist either!

During a recent visit to Richmond Duckpond Market I bought two very sweet mice from the Lazy Lizards stall. All the items for sale have been hand crafted in Sri Lanka and as well as the mice in various outfits and costumes there are parrots, caterpillars even anteaters all made in bold bright fabric.

I wanted to add my own personal touch and the mice needed somewhere to sleep so I made a giant matchbox from 3mm mdf (but you could equally use corrugated card.) I googled 'vintage matchboxes' and printed out an image to go on the top of the box. I stencilled a pattern on the sides of the matchbox and then varnished everything to make it really hard wearing (& kid proof!)

Obviously, any self-respecting mice will need a mattress and some cozy bedding to really feel at home. The mattress and pillows are made from my stash of brushed cotton fabric and the blanket was quickly knitted up in garter stitch from left over wool.

The birthday card is from illustrator Stacie Swift and with the little mouse couldn't have been a better match for the present. I am really pleased with how it all turned out and love that it's a combination of handmade crafts by different people; it always feels good to support others too.

 

So there we are, the Matchbox Mice. Ta Da!