UPDATE: This Knit-Along is now finished. Click here to get all the patterns for this blanket for free.
Hi everyone! It’s time for another knit-along baby blanket square! This time we are doing this sweet little Intarsia Duck.
This duck will go on the second row from the top of our blanket, along with the cloud square we did last week. The next two blanket squares I’m going to share will be the two textured blocks for this row. For this duck, you’ll be using colour 1 (cream) as your background colour along with colour 4 (medium brown) for the main colour.
I hope you enjoy the challenge of this Intarsia blanket block. Remember I have a few Intarsia tips on my first knit-along post and video.
The Pattern
Download the PDF pattern for this duck blanket square here: Knit-along Duck Square
Don’t forget to make a Ravelry project for this square if you’re joining in on this knit-along!
Peace,
Kat
Easy Baby Blanket – Knit-along – Square 5 – Intarsia Cloud + BIG announcement
UPDATE: This Knit-Along is now finished. Click here to get all the patterns for this blanket for free.
Hi everyone! Wow, has it been a long time since I last posted a knit-along tutorial! Watch the video linked above to hear about why that is, or keep reading. But, I’m very pleased to say that I am now able to post another free knit-along pattern for our baby blanket!
But I guess you’re wondering what the big announcement is, aren’t you? I HAD MY BABY!!! He arrived 12 days early on the 12th of August and my husband, daughter and I are so in love with him. He is perfectly healthy and we are both doing well – well enough that I think I can take on posting more patterns. Yay!
Before my little boy was born, I did, unfortunately find that I could no longer keep up with video tutorials of the baby blanket squares. I was working until a week before his early arrival and I found life was too busy trying to work, get everything ready for the new baby, and make sure my daughter was getting the attention she needed in the short time she had left as an only child. For those reasons, and now with the added busyness of a newborn baby, I’ve decided to no longer post video tutorials of the knit-along patterns, BUT I will still be posting the free patterns for the blanket blocks here on my blog.
The Pattern
Without further ado, here is the PDF pattern for our fifth blanket square: Knit-along Cloud Square
ERRATA August 31, 2019: In the original PDF of this pattern, I wrote that a dark brown (colour 5) is used. However, this was meant to say medium brown (colour 4). The PDF above is correct.
Check out my post on the Intarsia heart (square 1) for some useful tips on knitting Intarsia.
Here’s a graphic of what the blanket will look like all finished so you can see where the cloud will go. As you can see, it is in the second row of squares, so you’ll be using colour 1 (cream) and colour 4 (medium brown).
Easy Baby Blanket – Knit-along – Square 4 – Little Rabbits Stitch
UPDATE: This Knit-Along is now finished. Click here to get all the patterns for this blanket for free.
I hope you enjoyed my last knit-along posts. I’ve done three blanket squares so far and today I’m sharing the fourth.
If you haven’t seen them yet, jump over to my other knit-along blanket block posts. So far I’ve done a heart, a cat, and a Bamboo Stitch blanket square. In the heart video I went over in more detail about the blanket generally, yarn, needles, and the techniques that will be used.
This week we’re doing a different style of pattern. It’s this two tone tweed stitch rectangle. The stitch pattern I based this square off called the stitch diamond tweed, but the lighter parts to me look like little rabbits, so I’ve called this square the little rabbit stitch square.
As you can see in this diagram of the finished blanket, the top row is made of squares which feature the darkest brown colour, which I’ve called colour 5. The square we’re working on today is going to be the rightmost square on the top row. You’ll be using colour five as colour A and colour 3, the middle shade, as your contrast colour, or colour B.
Get the pattern
Download the pattern for this Bamboo Stitch square here: Knit-Along Little Rabbits Stitch Square
Thanks so much for reading and following along with this project! I’ll be trying to post videos and patterns for this knit-along project as close to weekly as I can. If you don’t want to miss a new rectangle to knit, remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel and tap the bell icon so you get notified when a new video is up. You can also add me as a friend on Ravelry.
Easy Baby Blanket – Knit-along – square 3 – Bamboo Stitch
UPDATE: This Knit-Along is now finished. Click here to get all the patterns for this blanket for free.
Hi everyone and welcome back to my knit-along series for this neutral-tone baby blanket. Scroll down to get the free written pattern.
I hope you enjoyed my last knit-along baby blanket blocks, the stocking stitch heart and the stocking stitch cat. In the heart post and video I went over in more detail about the blanket generally, yarn, needles, and the techniques that will be used. This week we’re doing a different style of pattern. It’s this bamboo stitch rectangle.
As you can see in this diagram of the finished blanket, the heart square and the cat square both belong in the top row, and are knit in the darkest brown shade which I’ve called colour 5, along with the lightest cream shade which I’ve called colour 1. The square we’re working on today is going to be the second square from the left on the top row.
A note on tension
The tension for this blanket block is different to the tension for the stocking stitch squares we’ve done so far. I’d recommend you do a tension swatch in Bamboo Stitch before committing to doing the whole block!
Some useful links for beginners
If you’re a newer knitter and need some info on some of the terms I’m using, here are some links that might be helpful:
☼How to do the knit stitch: https://bit.ly/2VDFI03
☼How to do the purl stitch: https://bit.ly/2Fi4xuw
☼How to cast off/bind off: https://bit.ly/2Wl5vhQ
☼How to cast on (easy): https://bit.ly/2VTl0yk
☼How to cast on (SUPER easy): https://bit.ly/30Bl30f
☼How to do stocking/stockinette stitch: https://bit.ly/2JxQWl2
☼UK vs. US knitting terms: https://bit.ly/2VP2ozk
☼How to do a tension/gauge swatch: https://bit.ly/2HGNvp6
☼Yarn weight explained: https://bit.ly/2YHgLCR
☼How to weave in ends: https://bit.ly/2WUi5BO
☼How to steam block (note: this example actually puts the iron in
contact with the piece – I instead held the iron slightly above the
piece): https://bit.ly/2HNCoui
Get the pattern
Download the pattern for this Bamboo Stitch square here: Knit-Along Bamboo Stitch Square
Thanks so much for reading and following along with this project! I’ll be trying to post videos and patterns for this knit-along project as close to weekly as I can. If you don’t want to miss a new rectangle to knit, remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel and tap the bell icon so you get notified when a new video is up. You can also add me as a friend on Ravelry.
Easy Baby Blanket – Knit-along – Square 2 – Intarsia Cat
UPDATE: This Knit-Along is now finished. Click here to get all the patterns for this blanket for free.
I hope you enjoyed my last knit-along baby blanket block, which was a stocking stitch heart. If you haven’t seen it yet, jump over to that post. In that post/video, I went over in more detail about the blanket generally, yarn, needles, and the techniques that will be used.
This week we’re doing another stocking stitch intarsia pattern; this cat.
I had been hoping to post this pattern last week but unfortunately a heap of late pregnancy symptoms and post-vaccination weakness decided to all pile into a bulldozer and run me over for about five days. I’m feeling waaaay better now though so I’m back to blogging!
As you can see in my little graphic of the blanket, this is the other picture square for the top row of rectangles.
Like the heart square, we’ll be using the Value Ball Gradients brand yarn in the darkest and lightest shades, which I’ve called colour 1 and colour 5. You’ll be using 4mm needles and your tension is 19sts by 26 rows to 10cm ² in stocking stitch.
Get the pattern
Download the pattern for this cat square here (including chart): Knit-along Cat Square
Thanks so much for reading and following along with this project! I’ll be trying to post videos and patterns for this knit-along project every week, pregnancy symptoms permitting. If you don’t want to miss a new rectangle to knit, remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel and tap the bell icon so you get notified when a new video is up. You can also add me as a friend on Ravelry.
Easy Baby Blanket – Knit-along – square-1 – Intarsia Heart
UPDATE: This Knit-Along is now finished. Click here to get all the patterns for this blanket for free.
Who’s ready for a knit-along?
As I announced in my last video, I’m pregnant with my second child. I’m going to be making my baby a blanket and I thought it’d be fun to share my pattern with you week by week.
And today, I’m going to share the first square with you. It’s not really a square, as you can see, but it’s this simple intarsia heart.
A few notes
The picture squares are all knit in intarsia, which is a type of colour knitting. It is also sometimes called picture knitting.
The solid colour squares are going to be different stitch patterns which will add some texture and a bit of a challenge for newer knitters.
Yarn
The yarn I am using is called Gradients by Value Ball (100% acrylic). It comes in tubes of five 50g balls, and I bought 4 tubes, or 1kg in total.
Tension
Your tension or gauge for this project is 19sts and 26 rows to 10cm ² in stocking stitch using 4mm needles.
Blanket Specs
The blanket itself as you can see is rectangular and is going to be about cm 74cm by 102cm.
The background colour for all the picture rectangles is the lightest shade which I’ve called colour 1, and the contrast colour for each of the rows starts with the darkest shade in the top row, going down to the lightest shade in the bottom, and the textures squares in between are going to primarily be in the same contrast colour, although some of them will be two colour stitch patterns just to add some interest.
If you’re a newer knitter and need some info on some of the terms I’m using, here are some links that might be helpful:
☼How to do the knit stitch: https://bit.ly/2VDFI03
☼How to do the purl stitch: https://bit.ly/2Fi4xuw
☼How to cast off/bind off: https://bit.ly/2Wl5vhQ
☼How to cast on (easy): https://bit.ly/2VTl0yk
☼How to cast on (SUPER easy): https://bit.ly/30Bl30f
☼How to do stocking/stockinette stitch: https://bit.ly/2JxQWl2
☼UK vs. US knitting terms: https://bit.ly/2VP2ozk
☼How to do a tension/gauge swatch: https://bit.ly/2HGNvp6
☼Yarn weight explained: https://bit.ly/2YHgLCR
☼How to weave in ends: https://bit.ly/2WUi5BO
☼How to steam block (note: this example actually puts the iron in contact with the piece – I instead held the iron slightly above the piece): https://bit.ly/2HNCoui
Some notes on intarsia
In true intarsia, every time you change colours, you switch to a new ball of yarn. This is different to other colour work like stranded knitting where you carry the previous colours behind the work to use again further along the row.
The balls of yarn can of course travel with you upwards (from one row to the next).
Knitting colour work like this can mean you end up with a lot of balls of yarn on the go! It can get hard to manage, but there are a few things you can do to help make it easier. Here are some options:
-Instead of using a whole ball of yarn, just use a long strand. This is only practical when you have a pretty small section in one colour.
-Make yourself some small centre-pull balls for each colour change.
-Make some butterflies (see pics above). These are basically really loose centre-pull balls. Here’s how you make one: Grab a length of yarn and wrap it around 3 fingers. Once you’ve rolled most of the yarn you’ll be needing in this way, take it off your fingers then wrap the yarn around the centre of the loop you have created a few times. Then cut the yarn and tuck this tail under the last wrap around that you just did. You knit from the tail which is coming out of the middle of the butterfly so it unwinds nicely as you knit, from the inside of the butterfly out.
When you change yarns, it’s really important that you lay the working yarn from the old colour over the top of the new colour, so that the two strands are entwined. This means you won’t have big gaps where the colours change.
Get the pattern
Download the pattern for this heart square here (including chart): Knit-along Heart Square
Thanks so much for reading and following along with this project! I’ll be trying to post videos and patterns for this knit-along project every week at least. If you don’t want to miss a new rectangle to knit, remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel and tap the bell icon so you get notified when a new video is up. You can also add me as a friend on Ravelry.
Life and channel update + a huge thank you!
Hi everyone! I’ve uploaded this new video to update you all on this channel and my life. As you’ll see, there are quite a few exciting things going on for myself and my little family! If you can’t watch the video right now, keep reading to see what I talked about. Scroll down to the bottom to add your name to the list to be updated on my new book!
A big thank you!
First of all, I wanted to sincerely thank all of you who have subscribe to my YouTube channel so far. Now, I know in YouTube land, 100 subscribers is nothing, but for me, this is amazing.
To be able to reach 100 people is a big deal to me, because of how special knitting has been in my life. Knitting has brought me so much joy. To be able to bring some joy to you all is a great blessing. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your support. I genuinely hope you gain something valuable from watching my videos.
If you read my blog, you’ll know that I trained and worked as a psychologist before I had my daughter, and I currently work part time in a closely related field.
I know that mental illness is a very common issue for too many people. Mental health professionals for some years now have recognised the importance of us reconnecting with our lives and our world in maintaining good mental health. That’s why mindfulness and acceptance and commitment therapy have been so emphasised lately. It’s why zen tangles, gardening, and adult colouring in have become so popular. They connect us back to our world.
Knitting, I believe, is an ideal way to stay connected to our experiences.
What better way to be in the present moment, to be mindful, than to use your hands to make functional and beautiful objects? And knitting lends itself so well to gift-giving that it promotes compassion and consideration for others. So if I can use this channel to help just a few people to feel joy, to feel connected, and to feel for other people, then it’s worth it.
Big news!
As you might know, I have a two year old daughter, but I’m very pleased to announce that my husband and I are expecting another little one in August!
We are so excited and we are all doing really well. As you may have noticed, I don’t share many personal details like the names of my family or show them on my channel but I will let you know when the baby has arrived.
New knit-along blanket
In honour of my baby, I’m planning to do a knit-along series on the knitkatpaddywhack YouTube channel. I’m going to knit this baby a patchwork quilt so I thought I would post a tutorial on here and a free pattern for a new square every week. I’m not sure exactly when this will start as I haven’t designed the quilt yet. If you have any ideas for squares, please let me know in the comments below. I was thinking neutral colours, with some squares of textured stitch patterns, and some squares of intarsia or picture knitting.
New book in the works!
I’m really enjoying posting quick YouTube knitting tutorials like baby hats, and especially I want to continue sharing patterns that are easy enough for beginners to do.
For this reason, I’ve decided to write a book of baby accessories for newborn photo shoots! It’s a pretty exciting project and I’ve already started designing patterns for it.
I’m hoping the book will come out in the first half of next year, but we will see with the new bub how realistic that is. In the meantime, I’m still planning on posting easy tutorials for knitting projects.
If you’d like to stay updated via email on when the book is coming out, fill in your details in the form below.
Thanks so much again guys! If you’re new and would like to follow along in my knitting tutorials including my knit along baby blanket, please remember to subscribe to my channel.
DIY Knitting Needles – Make your own chunky double-pointed needles for $3
Let’s learn how to DIY your own chunky double-pointed knitting needles!
If you love knitting, you love making. If you’re like me, you like making all kinds of stuff, not just knitting. So here’s how to truly knit from scratch, all the way to making your own needles.
Recently I had an idea for a new pattern for a chunky hat, and I wanted to knit it in the round, but I didn’t have any double-pointed needles (DPNs) large enough for the yarn I was planning to use, which was 9.5mm.
What are double pointed needles?
If you’re pretty new to knitting, you might not know what double-pointed needles are. Simply put, they’re needles with a point on both ends. They are used in sets of four and occasionally sets of five, to do circular knitting. That’s where, instead of knitting a flat piece of fabric, you knit a tube. This is really useful for socks, hats, and many other garments. I even used circular knitting to make my wedding dress.
Chunky DPNs are expensive – unless you make your own
I needed these chunky needles, but when I looked online for some, I found out that not only are really chunky DPNs hard to find, but they are expensive! You’re looking in the region of $12 (Australian) for a set. So I decided to make my own, and I made mine for about $3. Create your own DIY knitting needles by following along with my video!
I totally invented a hack – internet win!
I’m not a woodworking pro by any stretch of the imagination, and I didn’t have any fancy tools, but I figured out a really neat hack to make the sharp tips – you use a pencil sharpener!
I don’t know if anyone else has figured this out already, but I’m pretty chuffed to have thought of it myself. It’s the little things, you know?
Let me show you how to make your own cheap and chunky DPNs using a pencil sharpener.
Let’s make some needles
The things you’ll need are:
-A 1.2m length of wooden dowel. I bought a 9.5mm diameter length of dowel from my local Bunnings for $2.74 Australian.
-A pencil sharpener of course. If you’re making chunkier needles, you’ll need a pencil sharpener with a hole large enough to fit your dowel. DO NOT use your best sharpener for this project as it’s hard on the blades. You may even want to buy a new sharpener for this project if you don’t want to risk blunting your regular pencil sharpener.
-A saw to cut your dowel. Or, you can ask your hardware store to cut your dowel for you, into 30cm/1’ lengths. My hardware store does this for free.
-Some sandpaper. I used what we already had at home, which was P180. This is a very fine macro grit apparently (thanks, Google). I know nothing about sandpaper though. The piece I used was already partly worn so less abrasive than what it would have been fresh, and I think that worked well for this project. You want a fairly fine grain to make sure your finished needle is nice and smooth.
-Some varnish or gloss to paint your needles. I used Cabot’s CFP Floor, a polyurethane floor coating. We already had this in our garden shed, and it did the trick.
-A paint brush (for varnishing)
-A ruler
-A pencil
How to make your needles
Cut your wood into 30cm/1’ lengths. I did this myself but as I mentioned above, hardware stores are often happy to do this for you for free.
Next, mark an inch from both ends of each length of dowel. This will give you an idea of when to stop sharpening.
Then, grab your pencil sharpener and start sharpening!
The secret I found for this technique is to go slowly, and be prepared to stop and sand it down if your wood gets snagged. Don’t wait until the wood is really jammed in the sharpener before you stop, or the wood will get rough and the shape of the point will be uneven. We’re aiming for as smooth a point as possible, so your yarn doesn’t get stuck to the wood while you knit.
Keep sharpening until you get to the line you marked an inch from the end. Now, use your sandpaper to get the wood as smooth and snag-proof as you can.
This won’t make an absolutely factory-quality needle, mind you. Your ends won’t be completely uniform with one another, but they will be pretty close and do the job nicely.
Give the whole needle a quick sand. Then finish your needle with a couple of coats of varnish or other finish. As well as preventing the wood from splintering, this gives the wood a nice sheen.
Once you’ve made your set of needles using this method, all that’s left is to start knitting!
I made mine so I could design a chunky baby beanie. Tell me in the comments what you’re planning to make with yours!
I’m no woodworking expert, like, AT ALL, but I enjoy having a crack at it from time to time. If you had fun with this project, you might be interested in reading my tutorial for how to make a 45° Lazy Kate (a tool used for handspinning). I hope this tutorial helped you turn some yarn into fun today! At the very least, I hope you had fun making your DIY knitting needles. If you enjoyed watching the video too, please give the video a thumbs up and consider subscribing to my channel.
Denise – Video and free baby hat knitting pattern
Denise is a beginner-friendly baby hat knitting pattern. I’ve made it for you, and the pattern is free!
Check out the video above and get your free copy of the pattern at the end of this post.
Go from knowing your basic stitches to turning those new skills into something beautiful.
I designed this pattern to be very simple; good for new knitters, but also a fun relaxing project for a more experienced knitter – and something that’s practical for a new baby.
The little picot/scalloped edging is really simple yet looks fancy. All you need is to know how to do a yarn over and a knit-two-together!
This cute little rose is the same one I shared with you in my last YouTube video.
Why knit it flat?
If you’re a more experienced knitter you may be wondering why I didn’t design this pattern to be knit in the round. My simple reason for designing a flat pattern is so that it is accessible to knitters of all levels. If you are a more experienced knitter, you an absolutely knit this hat in the round.
Download your free copy of the pattern using the form below. If you don’t get your email right away, check your promotions, social, or spam folder.
Video Tutorial – Stocking/Stockinette Stitch Knitted Flower
This knitted flower pattern is a great little shape you can use on all kinds of projects. I hope you enjoy this VERY easy project. Check out the video then download the free PDF below!
I call this knitted flower a rose in the video. But it would work just as well as a peony, a ranunculus, or even a camellia. It uses a simple, single rolled knitted piece to make its classic flower shape and can be used for all kinds of projects. Here is one I attached, along with some knitted leaves, to a pin to make a brooch.
And being only 6 rows long, the flower will knit up in about 20 minutes!
Knitted Flower – The Pattern
Download the PDF here: Knitted Flower Pattern
Yarn: Small amount 8ply acrylic yarn (I used TRS Knit & Purl in the video)
Needles: 4mm straight needles
Tension: 22 sts x 30 rows = 10cm2
Notions: Craft scissors, tapestry needle.
Pattern
Cast on 10 sts, leaving a 30cm tail.
Row 1: Increase into every stitch. 20 sts.
Rows 2 and 4: P all sts.
Row 3: Increase into every stitch. 40 sts.
Row 5: Increase into every stitch. 80 sts.
Row 6: P all sts.
Cast off all sts, leaving a 30cm tail.
Roll the piece into the shape of a rose, with the tail from the cast off edge at the back of the rose.
Thread the cast on tail onto a tapestry needle. Work a whip stitch up the row edge, finishing at the cast off edge. Pass this tail through the centre of the rose from the front to the back. Weave in this end, but if you are planning to attach this rose to something else, do not cut the tail, as the tail can be used to attach the rose to the other object.
Thread the cast off tail onto a tapestry needle. Work a whip stitch down the row edges on the back of the rose to secure the shape of the rose, and weave in end. Again, this tail can be used to attach the rose to something else.