Hayden Inspiration

I never set out to become a designer or design a knitting pattern. My Ravelry queue is 6 pages long and I was more than content to knit the abundance of patterns I have lined up for myself. But something changed. I have 3 boys that are not babies or toddlers any longer. When they see me knitting things for myself they ask when I am going to knit them a sweater or a hat or a scarf. I kind of shied away from knitting things for them when they were very little because they just grew so fast that they would grow out of a sweater in a matter of weeks. But now that they are all of ages when they can wear my hand knits for at least a year I started searching for patterns for them. Problem is that there is an abundance of cute patterns for girls out there but for boys - not so much. I need knits that are going to be stylish, rough and tumble, and versatile because that is my boys in a nutshell. All three of them are into sports and they are hard playing, active kids. I need sweaters and accessories that are going to survive them!

Enter Hayden. I couldn't find a pattern that I had in mind that I wanted to knit for one of my boys. I thought, I have been at this knitting thing for over 11 years now, why not just make your own pattern? I got this, right? I knew what I wanted - something classic and traditional yet something that a boy can wear out to play in and still maintain his cred on the playground. I have always loved a classic cable and rib crew neck so after knitting up a swatch and loving it, that's what I went for.

My son loves it. He always asks to wear it when he is chilly. He has worn it a lot and so far it hasn't pilled and it still looks great. Truth be told, I am more than a little jealous of this sweater and I might just have to make a pattern for women too - so I can knit it in multiple colors for myself! This sweater would be just as great for girls knit up in pretty colors and I think it would work in a worsted weight cotton too for wear all year round.

New Pattern: Hayden

I am so very excited to announce the release of my first pattern, Hayden.

Hayden is a classic cable and rib crew neck for children. This cozy pullover is worked flat with an all over cable and rib pattern. Each size has its own set of instructions to ensure that the 4 stitch rib is directly in the center of the front, back, and each of the sleeves. The neck band is picked up after seaming and worked in the round. I designed this sweater with my son in mind but it would work equally as well for a girl.

Specifications:

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Lake Ice Heather

Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 5 (3.75 mm)

Gauge: 23 stitches and 28 rows to 4inches/10 cm. in cable and rib pattern with US 7 needles after blocking

Notions: Cable needle, stitch holders, stitch markers, blunt tapestry needle

Sizes: To fit ages 2 (4, 6, 8, 10) years

Finished Measurements: Chest: 24 (26, 28, 30, 32) inches

You can purchase this pattern on Ravelry here. Thanks so much!!

Finished: Diagonal Cross-Rib Socks

A few years ago, my oldest son gave me 2 skeins of a beautiful variegated blue sock yarn for Christmas. A few days later, I found both of those skeins on the floor in a jumble - they were a total mess. My mischievous dog got ahold of them, ripped off and chewed up the ball bands and left the yarn completely tangled up. I picked up the skeins-no-longer and put them away and my dog got a firm finger shaking with a "naughty dog!!" I was super upset about the yarn. Needless to say, I was looking through my stash recently and came across that messed up yarn and decided to untangle it, wind it up, and knit some socks. Surprisingly it didn't take too long to straighten out.

The pattern is Diagonal Cross-Rib Socks by Ann Bud from the book Favorite Socks from Interweave. The Yarn is Koigu KPPPM but I have no idea what color it is because the ball bands were destroyed. I used size US 2 needles.

I tried to choose a pattern that would offset the pooling with the variegated yarn and I think this does a pretty good job of that. I like how the socks feature different leaning stitches for a mirrored effect. The yarn is very soft and comfortable but I have to say that the socks stretch out of shape after one wear and then they are really loose. I like a nice tight fitting sock so this kind of annoys me. Other than that, the color is beautiful and my son did a great job picking it out. I'm so glad I finally got to use it.