Every year, we knit a little project together, so we can keep it forever, to remember our party. :)
For our 2012 KAL, I've designed a little folding pocket to hold our knitting tools. It has TWO pockets, folded together, with plenty of room for a small pair of scissors, a tape measure, some stitch markers, point protectors, a yarn needle, etc. When folded, it is about the size of a deck of cards.
As usual, I am trying to keep the project simple, so knitters of all levels can participate. Feel free to jazz up the design with your own ideas.
Front:
Back:
Inside:
It is knitted all in one piece, then folded, and seamed on the sides with whipstitch.
Here is how it will look when you finish all the knitting:
And here is how you get started:
2012 New Year KAL Project - KH Forum
Folded Pocket for Knitting Tools
Materials:
4 small skeins of worsted weight yarn in contrasting colors (2 dark, 2 light)
The model was made with KH logo colors - Purple, Red, White, Yellow
Size 7 or 8 knitting needles
Yarn needle for duplicate stitch embroidery
2 locking stitch markers
Gauge is not necessary for this project.
Skills learned:
Garter Stitch, Stockinette Stitch, Changing Colors, Simple Seaming (whipstitch), and Duplicate Stitch Embroidery
Color Key:
A - Yellow
B - Red
C - Purple
D - White
Instructions:
Using Color A, Cast on 14 stitches.
Knit 3 rows (Garter Stitch)
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: Knit
(Rows 4 and 5 repeated make Stockinette Stitch)
Continue in Stockinette Stitch (repeating Rows 4 & 5), until you have a square in Color A.
As you knit in Stockinette Stitch, you will be knitting all stitches on the "right side" of the fabric, and purling all stitches on the "wrong side" of the fabric.
Right Side (Knit):
Wrong Side (Purl):
If you need an easy way to check if your work is square, just fold the bottom edge up at an angle, and make a triangle. If the bottom edge is too long, you need to knit more rows.
Not Square Yet:
It's Square!
When the piece is a good square shape, make sure you worked the last row on the "wrong side" (all purl stitches).
Now, you are ready for your first color change.
First, cut the yarn you were using, leaving a 6 inch tail of yarn on the project. Now, get Color B, and tie it loosely to the tail from Color A. (you can untie the knot when you finish the project)
Now, start knitting with Color B. (Your first row will be all KNIT stitches, because you ended Color A with all PURL stitches.)
Here is how your first row will look after knitting with Color B:
Now, knit 3 more rows in Garter Stitch. This will create 2 ridges in your fabric.
Next, starting with a Purl row, knit in Stockinette Stitch until this next section is a couple rows longer than the first square.
Just fold your work along the garter stitch rows to compare the two sections:
It should look like this when you finish the Color B section:
Folded
Unfolded
You should end that section with a PURL row, then cut the yarn leaving a 6 inch tail.
Now, you are ready to tie on Color C.
With Color C, Knit 6 rows Garter Stitch. This will create 3 ridges in your fabric.
Now, beginning with a Purl row, work in Stockinette Stitch until this section is the same length as the Color B section.
End this section with 4 rows of Garter Stitch, creating 2 ridges in the fabric. You should end your last row of knit stitches on the WRONG SIDE of the work.
Now, cut Color C, and tie on Color D.
Beginning with a Knit row on the RIGHT SIDE, knit in Stockinette Stitch until the last section is square - matching the first section that was knit in Color A. End with 4 rows of Garter Stitch, creating two ridges on your fabric.
You can check to make sure all the sections were knit correctly, by folding your project in half like this:
Bind Off loosely.
Now, your knitting is complete, and should look like this:
At this point, you can fold the project, to make sure it will work correctly.
Pockets Folded In:
Folded Completely:
As you can see, the pockets will be folded to the inside, and seamed on the sides. But, before seaming, you will want to do your duplicate stitch embroidery.
First, you need to decide where you want your embroidery to be placed. You might want to finish up the project without ANY embroidery. You might decide to embroider the design on the inside pockets of the item. I decided that I want the embroidery on the outside of my project.
Now, you need to place two stitch markers, marking where you want the TOP of your embroidery to be placed:
Now, embroider the designs on your project.
I'm not going to do an explanation of duplicate stitch embroidery, because Bella Knitting has already done a great job of that HERE.
So, here are my wonky charts. I know....I should have asked my computer guru son to make them, but he's too busy being a programmer. :P
If you want to embroider different letters or numbers, you can use my free charts here:
Letters: http://www.flickr.com/photos/59646927@N00/6604369855/
Numbers: http://www.flickr.com/photos/59646927@N00/6604342367/
The "KH" chart:
The "2012" chart:
Here is how my embroidery looks on the red section:
And this shows my Purple Section in progress:
And here is my completed embroidery! My "2012" section is a little off center, but I can live with it.
After completing your embroidery, you can weave in all the loose ends of your project.
Now, you are ready to seam together the sides of the pockets. I just did a simple whipstitch seam, which gives my project a "rustic" look, which I like. Some of you may prefer to seam yours a different way.
To do a whipstitch seam, just run your needle through both thicknesses of yarn, and gently pull your needle and yarn through the stitch. Keep your stitches close to the edge, looking closely at your fabric, to keep the stitches even. Just look at the edge of the fabric, and you'll start to see identifying marks in the yarn to help you place your stitches.
Here is how one side of a pocket looked, after I whipstitch seamed it:
When you finish seaming both sides of each pocket, your project will look like this:
Now, you can weave in those ends, and you'll be finished!
Here is how the inside of your project will look:
Now, it's ready to use! I hope you like your little folding pocket. Just place some knitting tools inside the two pockets, and you'll have them ready to take with you.
Enjoy!
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