Wednesday, September 28, 2011

First ever knitting pattern!


Funyuns and Mt Dew
By Nikki Haas




This little many-eyed monster was created using 3 sport weight yarns and 1 worsted-weight yarn that contrasts nicely to the Body color. I used light yellow for the Body, cream for the whites of the eyes, black for the pupils, and a dark gold for the tentacles and lips. This is mostly knitted in the round, so use double pointed needles. I used 3.75mm needles for the bulk of the project, and 2.25mm needles for the smaller eyes. If you use different weights or needles, please post a picture on Ravelry so I can see!




Please acquaint yourself with the following knitting methods before working on this project. YouTube has many helpful tutorials:
  • Knitting in the Round
  • Cable Cast-on (this is a good one)
  • Provisional Cast-on
  • I-Cord
  • Kitchener stitch grafting.
  • Picot Bind-off.


For the Body:
Using sport weight yarn, cast on 4 sts, join into round. Continue in round:
Row 1: kfb around. (8 sts)
Row 2: knit
Row 3: kfb around. (16 sts)
Row 4: knit.
Row 5: (kfb, k1) Repeat to end of row. (24 sts)
Row 6: knit.
Row 7: (kfb, k2) Repeat to the end of row. (32 sts)
Row 8: knit.
Row 9: (kfb, k3) Repeat to the end of row. (40 sts)
Row 10: knit.
Row 11: (kfb, k4) Repeat to the end of row. (48 sts)
Rows 12-20: knit
Row 21: (k2tog, k4) Repeat to the end of row (40 sts)
Row 22: knit.
Row 23: (k2tog, k3) Repeat to the end of row. (32 sts)
Row 24: knit.
Row 25: (k2tog, k2) Repeat to the end of row. (24 sts)
Row 26: knit.
****fill with fiberfill and shape to be a sphere; continue:
Row 27: (k2tog, k1) Repeat to the end of row. (16 sts)
Row 28: knit.
Row 29: k2tog around. (8 sts)
Row 30: k2tog around (4 sts)
Break yarn; pull through remaining stitches to close.


Main Eye:
Using light-colored sport weight yarn, cast on 4 sts, join into round. Continue in round:
Row 1: kfb around. (8 sts)
Row 2: knit
Row 3: kfb around. (16 sts)
Row 4: knit.
Row 5: (kfb, k1) Repeat to end of row. (24 sts)
Row 6: knit.
Row 7: (kfb, k2) Repeat to the end of row. (32 sts)
Rows 8-10: knit.
Bind off tightly, leaving a long tail. Fill loosely with fiber fill and using tapestry needle, attach towards the top of Body.

Main Pupil:
Using dark-colored sport weight yarn, cast on 1 st.
Row 1: kfb (2 sts)
Row 2: purl
Row 3: kfb kfb (4 sts)
Row 4: purl
Row 5: kfb, k2, kfb (6 sts)
Row 6: purl.
Row 7: knit.
Row 8: purl.
Row 9: ssk, k2, k2tog (4 sts)
Row 10: purl.
Row 11: ssk, k2tog (2 sts)
Row 12: purl.
Row 13: ssk (1sts)
Bind off, leaving a long tail. Using tapestry needle, sew pupil onto the center of eye.

Mouth:
Lips:
Cast on 4 sts using the provisional cast-on method. Continue in worsted-weight contrasting color.
Knit I-cord that is about 6 and a quarter inches (you want the inside diameter to be 2 inches). When the I-cord is to desired length, pick up cast on sts and graft the two ends using the kitchener stitch, making a ring.

Teeth:
Using light-colored sport weight yarn, cast on 24 sts using the cable cast on method.
Make a picot edge as follows:
K2, (inc by 2, b.o. 5, slip st back onto active needle) 3 times. Repeat.
You should now have chain with a jagged edge a little less than six inches long. Join ends to form a chain. Sew the flat side of the chain onto the inner edge of the lips, making sure the seam is at the corner of one side of the lips.

Using a tapestry needle, attach the moth to the Body, directly under the Eye. Make sure the jagged edge of the chain is protruding to resemble teeth.



Tentaclesmake as many as you want, I went with five
Using the contrasting color in worsted weight, cast on 4 sts, Knit as an I-cord as follows:
Rows 1-8: knit
Row 9: k2tog, k2 (3sts)
Rows 10-16: knit
Row 17: k2tog, k1 (2sts)
Rows 19-22: knit

Follow on using light-colored sport weight yarn and using smaller needles to make the mini-eyes
Row 23: kfb around (4 sts)
Row 24: kfb around (8 sts)
Rows 25-26: knit
switch to dark-color sport weight yarn and continue:
Row 27: k2tog around (4 sts)
Row 28: knit
Row 29: k2tog around (2 sts)
Break yarn and pull through sts.

If desired, stick pipe cleaners in the tentacles to make them adjustable.

Attach tentacles to the top of Body above and to either side of main Eye. You can do this any way you want, but I did a star-shape pattern to add depth. Weave in all loose yarn securely.