photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

This year,

I decided

to have fun

with my

vintage Mattel knitter.

I love this funky

old gadget!

It’s a little finicky,

but still, oh, so much fun!

I wanted to design an

amigurumi pocket teddy bear

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

that  I could make

using the knitted tube made

with sport weight yarn

and the Mattel knitter.

(Note: It has 16 pegs, and

makes a tube that’s a couple of

inches wide, so any spool knitter

that has 15 to 20 pegs would work,

if you don’t have a Mattel knitter.)

If you have a Mattel Knitter, or

a similar round crank style knitter,

knit up a few feet of  cord with it,

to be able to make a bunch of bears.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

BODY AND HEAD:

You will need to separate a section of

knitted tube that is 5 inches/12.5 cm long.

To cut off a length from the

cord, snip a stitch from a row or 2

above the desired length.

If you want a taller bear,

cut a longer piece.

Pull up hard on one end of the cut yarn.

Keep pulling until the yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

tightens up, and it gathers in.

Now,  look closely at the

pulled in stitches, and snip

the horizontal yarn,

close to the original

snipped stitch.

When you tug on it,

a length of yarn will be

released,

by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

and the 2 pieces of knitting

will come apart.

Thread the end

of the cut off piece

of yarn into a

craft needle,

and take it through all the

stitches on one end of the

Body/Head piece of knitting.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Pull up to gather the end,

and tie the ends in a tight knot.

Stuff with polyester stuffing &

gather the other end.

Tie it off and knot tightly.

Wrap yarn around the neck 2 times.

Tie and knot tightly.

Pinch an ear at each side of the head

and stitch across the base of

each ear, stitching in place

to anchor.

To shape the legs,

stitch vertically

half way up the body.

Mattel-knitter-teddy- photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Stitch the leg line several times

to make it really secure.

For the first few bears that

I made, I spool knitted

cords to use as the arms

and legs and ears.

I wasn’t happy with this,

as I wanted the entire bear

to be made from the tube.

So, I twigged to pinching the ears,

and doing the stitched legs.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The arms were more of a challenge.

I solved this dilemma by

cutting short lengths of tube (approx. 5 rows)

for the  arms.

I picked up the stitches on the top

of the short length of

tube, and gathered them.

Then, I picked up the stitches on

the other end of the tube,

and gathered them, too.

This makes a poofy little piece,

which I then folded in half

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

and stitched lengthwise.

Because it is now 4 layers

of knitting,

the arm does not

need to be stuffed.

And, because this tutorial is

getting to be so long,

I am going to

finish it up tomorrow,

so come back tomorrow

for the rest of the tutorial…..

(Please remember that this tutorial was a HUGE amount of work to create, so please DO NOT copy or post it to another blog or website, but please do feel free to share the link far and wide! Thanks so much! Original design by Noreen Crone-Findlay, copyright)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Our youngest is three years-old — looks like my husband is going to be climbing that ladder for a while yet.

Here’s some Christmas lights you can make without having to climb a roof at all: Christmas lights pattern. The pattern is free, perfect for using up those leftover pieces of yarn that aren’t long enough for anything else besides the smallest of items and you can sit down while making them.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

There are few things as satisfying than working on a project for hours and then gifting it and seeing the recipient really appreciate it. On the other hand, there are few things as frustrating as working on a project for hours and then gifting it and seeing the recipient react in a lukewarm or downright cool fashion.

One thing I try to remember is who appreciates my knitting and who doesn’t. I knitted this scarf for my mom a couple of years back… 

As you can see, it’s lacy and it was time-consuming, but I did it because I liked the project and I wanted her to have it.

She didn’t appreciate it. Instead of foisting more handknitted goodness on her, I just buy her storebought gifts and that’s that.

Sometimes we as crafty people want everyone to love our gifts as much as we do, and it doesn’t always work out that way. So to avoid frustration, I only knit for those who appreciate it (too often, it’s only other knitters!) and buy stuff at the store for those who don’t.

Are you Christmas knitting/crafting this year? Why or why not?

Post from: Hankering for Yarn