You can apply this technique to any design of course. This tutorial will be useful to you if you’ve had trouble getting fabric pens or paint to apply neatly and without the t-shirt fabric moving around on you! I’ve included some step-by-step pictures to help.

Materials needed

• A design you wish to apply to the T-shirt printed onto copy paper (Design used in this project is a free colouring page here)
• Large piece of card (Large cereal box will do)
• Repositional spray adhesive
• Fabric Pens (I used Dylon Broad Nib in Black)
• Fabric Paint/Dye ink (I used decolourant plus)
• Iron
• Hairdryer (if you don’t want to wait for it to dry)
• T-shirt (I used plain white but use any colour suitable for your paint and pens)
• Circle foam sponge

Step 1

Spray repositional adhesive to both sides of card and design paper. Position both of these in between the layers of your t-shirt so you can see the design clearly. This may be more difficult with darker fabrics. Smooth out as pictured on both sides of the shirt. Take time to make sure all parts of your design are stuck to the shirt. As this is key to getting a neat finish.

Step 2

Use your fabric pens to complete the design.

Step 3

Once you’ve finished tracing your design. Double check you haven’t missed any areas.

Step 4

To fix the design follow the steps given to you on your chosen pen. For mine I simply had to iron to fix the design. Leave the cardboard in place to stop bleed-through of the paint

Sponge shape cut out from leftover foam from a chair seat project.

Step 5

To achieve this particular design, use a round ended sponge. You can cut one out of dense foam. Dab the sponge shape into the paint a few times to get an even coverage. Don’t over load as this with cause the bleeding of the shape. As this is a circle I was able to a give slight twist to the application and it gave me a nice smooth finish to the edge. You may want to practice this on some spare, similar type fabric first.
Apply one colour at a time front and back, using the hairdryer to dry out each set of spots before turning your t-shirt over. You’ll know when Decolourant is dry as it goes slightly rough like paint texture. (Note: once washed, the texture will be washed out and will be left with a non textured, dyed finish, unlike a typical fabric paint)

Step 6

Decolourant plus requires ironing to fix the dye/paint. Wash your clothing according to guidelines on the clothing and for the paint used.

WahLaa! Your finished, it really didn’t take that long huh?!

Use these t-shirts to help raise money for Children in need.

I hope you found this useful, Thanks for checking out my blog.

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You can go HERE for the crochet part. The rest of the dress I did wing. The skirt part measures 10.5″ incase that’s helpful in sizing. Chest/Waist is 19-20″. This is to fit a 9-12 Month baby. (They also provide instructions for 18 months and 2 years.) However, I just used a length of fabric that I had already. This worked out to just enough to create a few pleats to give the fullness to the skirt. Basically you just have to hem and sew on a panel to the bottom of the crocheted bodice. This could be large pleats like mine or small pin tucks. Depending on what look you wanted. Just measure them as you go around and pin them into place. I recommend a deep hem on the skirt as these press better to create a nice pleated finish when ironed.

I finished it with coordinating ribbon and buttons. The little heart pocket on the skirt is also part of the free crochet pattern. I just threaded a bit of ribbon through the holes and secured it with sewing thread. Always remember to seal off the ends of your ribbon when using it like this tho. You don’t want it ruined with one wash. I used poppers on the back as a fastening, but you could probably utilize the natural holes in the crochet to use small buttons. Just test the buttons first by pushing them through.

You will need 4mm crochet hook and Lightweight cotton DK yarn. Also, at least 150% of the width of the bodice in fabric length to make the skirt. Preferably 200%. Matching sewing thread of course, and at least 3 snaps or buttons for fastening. Everything else is really optional. Just use your imagination! =D

I’ve been getting my groove on with polymer clay lately. I’ve only made a couple of little charms and such but I’m really liking it. I did buy myself polymer clay some time ago now, but I never got around to making anything with it. Whether I was scared to use up the cool colours, or just plain outta inspiration, I don’t know. I have a tendency to hoard favourite craft items for ‘something amazing’ and never end up using them. So I was determined to actually use the stuff, rather having it rot inside a box!

I was really surprised that my Fimo had not actually dried up. So I thought I’d share with you a charm I made for my son’s school rucksack. I used two different blues to get the right tone and mixed it 1:1 with transparent clay. I think I should have used a lot more transparent tho. I did however apply a coat of liquid Fimo clay. The ankh was drawn on afterwards with a blue promarker.

Here’s the link again for this pattern at Ravelry. Here is the link to the pattern for the added wings.

Reblogged from Unique and Handmade:

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Yarn bombing seems to be a growing trend at the moment, which I am loving! It's such a great way to brighten up an area and have it forever changing as it can be so easily removed. I have picked a few of my favourites so far to share with you.

http://artsyforager.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/droppin-y-bombs/

http://vibemistress.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/yarn-bombing-guerilla-knitters-granny.html

http://marialyng.wordpress.com/2011/08/07/yarn-bombing-aka-knit-graffiti/

http://yarnbombing.com/tag/montreal

http://knitthecity.com/why/

http://reducethepanic.com/2011/12/15/guerilla-yarn-artists-combine-graffiti-and-craft/

http://www.bitrebels.com/design/original-fun-yarn-bombing-to-brighten-your-day-with-colors/

http://www.booooooom.com/2012/02/18/hanasaurusrex-yarn-bombing/

http://thefastener.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/pick-your-own/

Read more… 4 more words

Crochet your own Chompies!

So my son is obsessed with Skylanders! But you can’t find any patterns for anything related to this game. So I decided to try to crochet him a Chompy, the small critter that features in the game. So, forgive me if this pattern is not 100% accurate as this is my first toy crochet pattern. The single crochets refer to the US version. If you have any problems with the instructions, please leave a comment or contact me and I’ll fix it/advise you. The teeth and fingers are just cut out from felt and sewn in. The eyes are just embroidered with a satin stitched.

Have fun with this little guy, it didn’t take too long to wip up, and uses less than half a ball of green dk yarn (100g), so leftovers would probably work.

He stands at 8″ high, including his eyes.

Each new line depicts a new row or round.

sc = single crochet
sc2tog = Single crochet 2 stitches together
ch = chain
sc2 in nxt = Increase
dcr = decrease
PATTERN

Skylanders Chompy

3.5 hook Hayfield Bonus DK yarn Shade 0886 100g Ball
Yarn colours needed Green, Red and Black.
Small felt pieces in green and white.

Hands Make 2
Ch16, sc into 1st chain to make a circle (now work in rounds)
sc round x2 (16 sts)
*sc2tog, sc2, *repeat to end (12sts)
sc round
sc2tog, sc2, repeat to end (9sts)
sc round x2
tie off
Flatten and sew in felt fingers using the picture as a guide.
Stuff and set aside

——–
Feet Make 2

Magic circle 6 sts
2 sc in next each st. (12 sts)
*1sc, 2 sc in next st, *repeat to end (18sts)
sc2tog, sc 1, sc2tog, sc 1, sc2tog, sc 10.(15 sts)
sc 15. rows x4
*sc2tog, sc 3. *repeat x2. (12sts)
sc2tog, sc2, repeat x3 (9sts)
2sc in every st to end of row (18 sts)
*sc 1, 2sc in next st, *repeat to end (27 sts)
sc row
tie off 1st but not second.
Stuff and set aside

——–
Body
Count back 13 sts from tied off foot, this is the st you will sc into together with the other foot.
Slip st 5 stitchs together, (making sure your feet are facing forward.) sc next sts tog. (22 sts on each foot)

ch1, sc 1st, slip st 20, in next st slip together with other side 1 st. continue to slip st in each st x 22
sc into chain made at the begining. (45sts) Turn.
skip 1 st, sc in next 20
2sc in next st, skip 1st, slip st, (46 sts)

mark rounds to help

sc 7, sc2tog, sc 2, sc2tog, sc 7, sc2tog, sc2tog, sc 7, sc2tog, sc 2, sc2tog, sc 7, sc2tog.

sc2 in nxt, sc 6, sc2 in nxt, sc 3, sc2 in nxt, sc 6, sc2 in nxt, sc 6, sc2 in nxt, sc 3, sc2 in nxt, sc 7, sc2tog. (44sts)

sc in every st to end of row.

(Attaching arms)
sc 2 in nxt st, sc 9, attach 4 of the arm stitches with sc to the nxt 4 body sts, sc8, 2sc in nxt, sc8, attach 4 of the arm stitches with sc to the nxt 4 body sts, sc 9.

2sc in nxt, sc 5, 2sc in nxt, sc 4, slip st 5 arm sts, sc 3, 2sc in nxt, sc 5, 2sc in nxt, sc 5, 2sc in nxt, sc 3, slip st 5 arm sts, sc 4, 2sc in nxt, sc 4. (56 sts)

sc8, 2sc in nxt st x7 (63 sts)
sc row
sc row for 50 sts, ch 1, turn.
dcr by 3 sts evenly over next row, ch1, turn.
dcr 1 st at beg and end of this row, ch1, turn.
sc row, ch1, turn.
2sctog x2 evenly over row, ch1, turn
sc row, ch1, turn. (23 sts)
2sc in first and last st, ch1, turn.
2sc in st, sc4, 2sctog, sc with 7sts left on row and 2sctog, sc4, 2sc in last st, ch1, turn.
dcr by 2 sts evenly over the row, ch1 turn.
sc row, ch1, turn.
sc2, 2sctog, sc4, 2sctog x2, sc2, ch1, turn. (15sts)
sc, dcr by 3sts evenly over row, ch1, turn.
1sc, 2sctog rep to end, ch1, turn.
sc row, ch1, turn.
2sctog in every st, ch1, turn.
2sctog in every st, ch1, turn.
2sctog.

Change to mouth colour (red)
Lower Mouth
Attach to the first st on the right corner of the bottom part of the mouth. For the first row only sc into the back loops. All following rows sc in both loops. (31sts)

Sc across row, dcr by 3 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn. (28 sts)
Sc across row, dcr by 4 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 4 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 4 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 3 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 2 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 2 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn. (5sts)
2sctog, skip st, 2sctog. tie off.

Upper Mouth
In red, Pick up 35 sts on the back loop (inner edge of the mouth) starting on the opposite side from last time.

ch1, turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 5 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 5 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 5 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 4 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 3 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 2 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 1 sts evenly across row, ch1 turn.
Sc across row, dcr by 2 sts evenly across row, turn.
slip st back to the left corner cut long tail of yarn for sewing, close mouth nearly all the way, stuff and then close gap.
———
Eye Make 2
6st magic circle
2sc in each st (12sts)
2sctog, 1sc to end,
1 sc, 2sctog to end. (6sts)
stuff eye ball,
sc x7 rows stuff to eye stem firmly.
Tie off leaving yarn for attaching to the top of the head, see pictures.
With Black yarn embroider the eyes on, tucking the ends into the back and trim.
Weave in all loose ends and sew in some teeth.

Front

Back

Hermione the Unicorn

Check out this free pattern on Ravelry. It’s SO freaking cute, it’s not too difficult, but I wouldn’t recommend it for beginners. The original pattern does not come with the wings pictured as I added those myself. If you’d like to add them too I have included the instructions in this post below. Enjoy!..

Wings – 3.5 Hook (Make 2)
Ch16
Sc in 1st chain, skip 1 ch, sc in next 15 to end, ch2 turn.
Skip 1 st, sc in next and following 10sts
Slip st in next st, ch2, turn.
Skip 1 st, sc in next and following 3 sts.

chain 1, work 3 dc popcorn st in next stRepeat x5 .. Chain3, turn.

Make 3 Trebles in spaces between the popcorn sts already made below, slip st inside next popcorn st belowRepeat x3

Tie off + Sew on ..OR.. Slip st straight onto side of the body along top edge of the wing.

On the second wing you will want to push the popcorn stitches out the opposite way to the first wing. So you get a pair, and not two the same.

This is an on going project so I’ll be posting as I’m going. Excuse the photos there hasn’t been much good light and I’m posting using my iPod touch. I’ll add more pictures and descriptions of my progress. To be quite honest there is no ‘plan’ per-say. But it’s for my sons birthday party at the weekend.
Reusing t-shirts that are going to be outgrown soon us an ideal way to get a costume started. This one is more of a vest as it has no sleeves, but any type would do!

Now I’ve started to add the spines , which are actually different sized ‘house’ shapes. And are stuffed with toy filler. As they are sewn so the bottoms are opened up, it pulls in the sides of the ‘house’ shapes and gives more of a stegosaurus shape.

Alice Band Black Swan

A little project just for me. I just couldn’t resist making myself this cute head band. The swan itself was drawn by myself, transferred onto felt and embellished with a lace ‘half’ yo-yo’, then decorated with seed beads. Other decorations I added were some little vintage black buttons, bugle beads and faceted glass beads. For the eye I used a vintage green Mother of Pearl button with a fish eye design. I embroidered a simple trellis on the chest too.

I’m so pleased with this, I’m going to make a few more animal designs. Next I want to try an octopus, I think this will look great too in those white and dirty vintage creams and off pinks. *squeals* can’t wait!

Oh, and to top it off.. I’m going to the NEC in Birmingham to the Sewing for Pleasure Craft Event at the end of March! Will be buying loads of fabric goodies and crafting essentials.

Let me know what you think of my head band below! Happy Crafting. =]

Black Swan

Front view

Veteran Remembrance Poppy

Jacobean Peony Flower

These 2 bookmarks were made for my Grandparents. My Grandad is a WWII veteran and his father was in WWI. So a gift to show we still remember what they gave was lovingly received. My Nan, she just loves her flowers. At a risk of being boring or predictable, I designed a Peony flower in a Jacobean style. I guess it could also pass for a rose too. However, I thin it worked out looking nice. Let me know what you think below in the comments!

I want to share some tips with you about working with felt. Although I’m a relative newcomer to felt. I have taken some time working with it. Especially embroidering. It’s not too hard to embroider onto, altho if you tug at the work the felt will, over time distort. The worst is, you probably won’t notice until it’s too late and you’ve done all the hard work. Soooo.. my tip is to work with a piece larger than you intend to use for the end result. That way, the edges you’ve been gripping during any sewing will be trimmed off and you’ll have a lovely neat finish.

If your felt is thin or the acrylic type. You might want to strengthen the overall design by sandwiching a light card in between another piece of the felt. Sew close to the edge of the card. so that it’s trapped inside. A thin layer of PVA glue between the layers is a good idea too.

To finish I topped them with a button, and on my Nan’s, a bit of ribbon from my stash. These are around 6.5″ x 2.5″ in size. The poppy design ended up being a smidge taller due to the script.

The stitches used are, running stitch, satin stitch, back stitch, heavy chain, trellis, split stitch, french knot and fly stitch.

Any questions about these bookmarks are welcome, please comment below!

Doll Mittens

3mm Needles – 4 ply yarn

Make 2 c/0 34sts

k2, p2 to end
p2, k2 to end
k2, p2 to end
p2, k2 to end
(Knit Row, Purl Row) x 5
k4, k2tg, k8, k2tg, k8, k2tg, k5, k2tg, k1
Purl Row
k4, k2tg, k4, k2tg, k6, k2tg, k4, k2tg, k4
Purl Row
k2, k2tg to end
Purl Row
k2tg to end
Purl Row
Cut yarn leaving 6 inches of thread, use this to thread through the loops remaining on the needle using a darning needle. Pull Tight and knot. Fold to join edges right sides together and sew up the seam. Additionally you, so they don’t get easily lost. Braid, or using a crochet hook create a chain long enough for your doll and tie to each wrist of the mittens. Thread through the clothing of the doll, just like you would for a child.

Hope you have fun knitting these easy cute mittens! They make a lovely gift, I will be posting more patterns for 17″ dolls soon.

Suitable for Chou Chou, Baby Annabell, Walk and Learn Doll and dolls of similar size.

Doll Mittens

Front - Click to enlarge

I’ve been quite busy over the winter months, especially before Christmas. So I have a backlog of stuff I need to post. Most of the things you need for this are tools most people and almost definitely frequent crafters’ will have already.

The wall hanging is made from 2 x A4 chipboard (cardboard), cotton fabric, acrylic yarn and felt. Held together with fabric glue I used PVA glue as it does a good job, also I used some cotton embroidery thread. You’ll also need scissors, a hole punch suitable for heavy card and hammer, pencil, embroidery needle or a large sewing needle, iron, and last but definitely not least a decent craft knife/Stanley blade.

Made for my niece as a Christmas present. I wanted to include her name, Summah. The name is cut out using acrylic felt because it was what I had in my stash. But you could use any you have.

Directions
Draw out yourself a cloud design. To make it as even as mine you can cheat like I did and draw around something =] .

I used a plate  and something else small I can’t remember, maybe a cookie cutter to draw the rainbow. You could just use a rectangle though instead of a rainbow shape. Cut both out with a blade.
At this point make sure you mark evenly according to the weight balance of your shapes the wholes and don’t punch them too close to the edge as it will not work very well. Important – Keep the bits you punch out. You’ll need them afterwards!

At this point you’re ready to get your freshly ironed fabrics and place any motifs or patterns straight. You’ll want to leave a 2cm overlap running around the edge. Spread a thin layer of glue on the card only. You don’t want the glue to ooze through the fabric, you just want it to be tacky. Use a spare piece of card to spread it over evenly making sure you have no globs. Do this for all the chipboard shapes. Let it dry for a few minutes. Turn over and glue the overlap to the back, don’t worry if it looks messy at this point, as long as it looks good from the front. The best thing to do is to snip curved edges to make them look smoother. Work your way around the edge until it’s stuck and let it dry for all pieces.

Once dry you can now cut X’s into the fabric where your holes are supposed to be with a Stanley knife. Don’t attempt this until it’s properly dry. From the reverse. Place a small bit of glue on the fabric covering the hole at the back and using the punched pieces you saved earlier, push them front to back so it rests inside. Lay the fabric flat to the board with glue. This may not be much but it gives you a clean look on the other side later. Do this to all the holes. When all holes are dry push out the card (front to back).

Back - Click to enlarge

While waiting for glue to dry you can prepare the covering felt for the back. Cut out exactly the same shapes but slightly smaller like the picture shows. Place over the chipboard and mark with a pencil where you need to punch holes, remove and punch all the holes.

To prepare yarn, I plaited even lengths of yarn so they would balance out across the bottom. Remember to leave enough yarn where you are attaching to the board, so you can knot in place. You will need shot plaits for joining the boards and a hanger at the top.

Once all this is done, your boards should be dry enough to  pop out the carded holes and glue on the felt backing. Spread the glue over card and smooth the felt over. Attach plaits after felt is dry.

Draw letters the name of the child and cut them out in felt, not too thinly as felt will tear and warp if handled a lot as small pieces. Make sure they will all fit onto the board and glue onto the felt and stick down.

While waiting for the drying again, you can get on with making the little rain drops, or whatever motif you have chosen instead. Cut them all evenly as you want the weight of them to be spread so it hangs straight. Place on at the front and one at the back of the plait, measuring evenly for all of them. Using the embroidery thread, embroider a back-stitch all around the edge as neatly as possible with a contrasting thread colour depending on the look you want.

This should give a finished piece that looks gorgeous on a nursery wall. Changing the theme it can be for a good range of ages. You can always start off small by making a hanger for the door handle.

Any questions please post them. Or if I’m not clear on something please let me know so I can correct it! Happy crafting =D

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 7,100 times in 2010. That’s about 17 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 46 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 148 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 25mb. That’s about 3 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was March 25th with 141 views. The most popular post that day was FujiFilm finepix – Knitted Camera Case Free Pattern.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were toponlineengineeringdegree.com, ravelry.com, facebook.com, en.wordpress.com, and marianaknits.wordpress.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for flower outline, http://www.angelbear.org.uk, mickey mouse cake, flower template, and mickey cake.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

FujiFilm finepix – Knitted Camera Case Free Pattern February 2010

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Theme Birthday Cake – How to May 2010
2 comments

Easy – No Zip – Cushion Cover February 2010
4 comments

Personalised Knitted Baby Bib January 2010
4 comments

Angel Bear – Knit bears for UK Children – Charity February 2010
2 comments

I was definitely curious to see what Etsy would come up with as ‘My taste’. I would have to say it’s 95% accurate! Here are my results http://etsy.me/ehig63

If you want to try it out for yourself go straight to http://tastetest.etsy.com/

Cute and tasty!

I made it my mission to make some Minnie mouse cake pops. However, I didn’t anticipate this to be as frustrating as it was. With the overall waiting for the cake to cook, fair enough, but there was soooo much waiting for things to cool, set or cook. I was getting rather tired of doing them.

I followed instructions from another website that sounded like they had it in the bag. I started out with 20 cake pops. After lots of hassle with them staying on the stick I went through several techniques in coating these little babies in chocolate. I knew I couldn’t just dunk and pull it out all fresh-as-you-like. Cause the weight of the chocolate would rip the cake ball apart and stay put in your nice bowl of melted chocolate.

In the end the best technique I found was to use a heat proof silicone pastry brush and slowly coat the balls supporting the ball underneath with your hand so it didn’t shift down the stick. Place on its head on grease proof paper and don’t move it until it’s set. You won’t need to refrigerate for it to set. Plus it attracts condensation if you do.

Once I had a thin layer on and it had set and could be peeled from the paper. I was able to coat allot easier due to the chocolate acting like glue and it (mostly) stayed put. Your next layer of chocolate should include placing the ears on. I used chocolate buttons. Don’t bother trimming the side off like some websites tell you. This only inhibits the attaching part, which frankly is quite important! =D Push the ears in after the second coat of chocolate, as this will soften the previous layer just enough to help with that. Otherwise they just break up! These are then to be stood up on their sticks to set, a block of Styrofoam is useful here. A useful tip I did pick up is to make use of a cocktail stick. Just to pick define areas like the ears and to move the chocolate and to remove any excess. I coated mine until I was happy with them. Or at least, not so disappointed!

You only need to make them around 1 inch diameter at first, as the chocolate layers bulk them out. I was worried I wouldn’t get them inside the cellophane bags I had that were 3.5″x5″ I bought from Ebay. I chose 4.5″ lolly sticks or the plastic variety, if they don’t come with, you will need some plastic coated wires too to seal them. On my travels around my local town of Cannock, I picked up some lovely ribbon the I thought was just right, at 20p a meter I wasn’t complaining!

I just cut the ribbon a few inches long and tied once tightly. You could, with thinner ribbon tie a bow. But at this point in the baking and making process, I was ready to give up altogether. In the end, I managed to salvage 11 decent looking Minnie silhouettes. They didn’t taste bad at all either. My 2.5yr old son was happy to eat any disaster pops. Although to be fair they were very rich, so don’t worry if you don’t make a lot. I probably wouldn’t eat more than one at a time.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Overall, I’m happy I gave it a go, but I won’t be in a hurry to try this again. Maybe plain round ones with decoration on top to disguise the dodgy coating of chocolate. Let me know if you have tried this and how it worked out.

Fast knits!

This super chunky knitted scarf took less than a day start to finish. Including figuring the style and making the buttons. The pattern was one I thought of that would work best for this project.

You can use any alternatives but these are what I used and would bode best for this pattern. Plus the quality of the yarn speaks volumes on this project. Ideal as a winter time gift.

Dimensions 7.5″ x 28″

What you need
1 x ball of  Sirdar Denim Ultra Wool (super chunky)
8mm Knitting Needles
3 x 15-18mm Odd but similar sized buttons with preferably 4 sewing holes.
Small piece of colour coordinating Wool Felt to cover buttons
Needle and thread

Directions
Using the 8mm knitting needles
Cast on 18 sts

(Rib pattern row)
[Row 1 -K2, P2 until last 2 stitches, K2]
[Row 2 -P2, K2 until last 2 stitches, P2]
knit Row 2 of rib pattern
knit Row 1 of rib pattern

(Body of scarf)
(right side row)Knit row
Purl row
P2, K14, P2
K2, P14, K2

Continue scarf body pattern until you reach 26″ ending on a wrong side

Knit Row 2 of rib pattern
Knit Row 1 of rib pattern
Knit Row 1 of rib pattern
Knit Row 2 of rib pattern

Cast off and tie in any ends not weaved in.

How it's fastened

The buttons were made using a simple technique. With leftover yarn from the scarf. There should be more than enough if you have good tension.

Cut 3 lengths of yarn at around 8″
3 x 2″ diameter felt circles, or big enough to cover the buttons as pictured.

Tie knots in the centre to make a bobble. Split the yarn so you have 4 tails (see picture below) and thread each through the 4 eyes of the button.

Using small stitches, make a running stitch around circles of felt. Do not knot yet.

Pull slightly on the thread so that it creates a slight dome shape. Place in the prepared knotted wool and button. Pull the thread and make sure the thread covers the back of the button centrally. Tie off the thread after sewing over the felt and yarn to secure the back, as these will be pulled at when used.

Using the picture to help you with placement, use the tails of the buttons to tie onto the rib of the scarf. Making sure they line up with the natural holes created by your stitches.

The three stages of covering the buttons

Threading Technique

Finishing the button

Jewellery Box Cake

I can’t let a birthday pass without having a bit of cake! I really treasure my Aunt so I thought I’d try something I hadn’t done before and just go with it. She loves a vintage look and feel, so I tried to get that feel. It didn’t turn out as I imagined, or aimed for as I’m not an overly experienced cake decorator. But I was happy with the end result non-the-less. But needless to say, it went down a treat, as it was filled with high quality chocolate butter cream with a vanilla sponge.

To get a box and lid look, you need to use two cake boards. As my cake was 6″ in diameter the ‘lid’ needed to have a matching size of 6″. The one that holds the whole cake should be at least 1″ bigger than the cake so it’s easy to carry. ‘Glue’ the cake to the base with a touch of frosting and cover it all in your fondant base, board and all so it’s hidden.

Pre mix your colours and wash your hands really well as that dye gets everywhere if you’re not careful! You can use a pair of latex gloves if you have some. Let your coloured fondant cool back down as it will stick to your roller if it’s too warm. But don’t let it dry out, cover it with a cup or wrap it in foil. Don’t try to refrigerate it to be quick as this will only make your fondant go horrible! Just be patient, it doesn’t take long to go back to temperature on a cool surface like a chopping board.

I use gel food colouring to dye my fondant. I have only ever used supermarket fondant as I find it perfectly fine to use and it tastes good as well. To get the paisley look I used my round pastry cutters with the fluted edge usually used for mince pies and tarts. I dotted holes around the edge of the shapes to give it some detail and brushed it with gold shimmer dust.

To get a satin inlay inside the box just roll out a sheet of coloured fondant. I folded mine inside to get a luxury feel of fabric, dust with a white shimmer to give it luster. Of course, to make it look like a jewellery box, you need jewellery draping out of the box. I used some strung pearls that you can buy per meter, you only need one meter. I also used some nice sheer ribbon too. Get them to stay put by putting the cut ends between layers of fondant.

Click to enlarge

A tip I like to share when trying to transport your tasty treats, especially ones you’ve worked so hard on! When you only have a container that is just about big enough. Use a triple folded piece of baking paper underneath as pictured – that will go above the sides of your cake to retrieve your cake once inside the tin. Or else you’ll never get it out in one piece!

Happy baking everyone!

Smile!

I made this dinosaur from a magazine pattern, I forget which one, in September. It’s taken me a while to post on here as I’ve had a few distractions keeping me away. The magazine also features another dinosaur and can be knitted in any colours you like, even girly pinks and purples. My dear son loves this dino, and takes it to bed with him!

You can buy poly stuffing quite cheaply. This was an easy pattern, however it did seem like an eternity sewing up all those ends for the back plates. But was fun and glad I gave it a go.

Remember to always be extra careful sewing up toys for toddlers as they can be quite rough and tough on your knitted gift. Use a crochet hook to pull all the loose ends into the toy and firmly into the stuffing.

If you gave this pattern a go, let me know how you got on, I’d love to see the different colours you used. I used Hayfield fantasy in the green tones with orange and yellow toy yarn for the plates and spots.

Stegosaurus - Click to enlarge