Knit One, Embellish Too: Hats, Mittens And Scarves With A Twist

130 Pages·2008·101.3 MB·English

by  Cosette Cornelius-Bates

NEEDLECRAFTS/KNITTING
Cozy Knits
with an Artful Twist
Customizing your handknits is easier than
you think! Knit One, Embellish Too includes
easy-to-follow patterns for more than 35
warm and comfy scarves, hats and mittens,
and shows you how to make them your own
with decorative yarn stitching and other
simple embellishments. Whether you’re
an enthusiastic beginner or a seasoned
pro, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to
transform your knitted accessories into
one-of-a-kind works of art.
Pick up your
knitting needles and:
Create quick, easy projects from a minimal
amount of yarn. Plus, learn how to choose the Embellishments add
best yarn for your project, or even recycle old
a whole new dimension
sweaters into unique yarns for knitting.
About the Author to your handknits!

Explore fun ways to personalize your work with
Inside Knit One, Embellish Too, you’ll
artful stitching and the addition of buttons,
Cosette, who usually goes by
appliqués and other unique embellishments. learn simple ways to transform your
Cosy, is a third-generation If you’re looking for a bigger challenge,
creations into personalized works of
Montanan. A native of Missoula, helpful guides show you how to try your hand
art. Whimsical projects like the Berry
at choosing and combining colors and fi nding
she fell in love with wool in
the perfect fi t. Bramble Hat show you how something
Vancouver, British Columbia,
as simple as berries gleaming in the
while at graduate school. There, Learn all the basics of knitting and
sun can inspire a unique embellished
she knit a project for a Masters embellishing in a comprehensive techniques
in Theology and the Arts and section right up front, complete with clear design. With their adorable stitched
illustrations and instructions.
opened up a small business, Cosy snowfl akes, the Snow Princess Hat and
Knits (literally). Today, she makes Snow Day Mittens are just the thing to
a living by knitting, ripping, keep your favorite little ones warm
dyeing, spinning, thrifting and Knit something new while they play in the snow. And the
making up patterns in Pittsburgh, and embellish it, too: Snuggly Neck Scarf will keep you cozy
Pennsylvania, where she lives in a
Open up a world of creative yarns, vibrant while showing off those great vintage
big row house with her husband, colors and inspired embellishments for buttons you’ve been saving.
Ben, and two fabulous roommates. your knitted accessories.
Whether you want traditional
She sells her wares on Etsy.com
shapes and colors, or something a
and at craft fairs.
Z1594 US $22.99
little more fun and funky, you’re
(CAN $25.50)
bound to fi nd accessories in Knit One,
ISBN-13: 978-1-60061-046-2
ISBN-10: 1-60061-046-3
Discover imagination, Embellish Too that you’ll love to create
innovation and inspiration at
and customize for yourself, your
www.mycraftivity.com
family and your friends.
C Connect. Create. Explore
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Knit One,
Embellish Too
Hats, Mittens and Scarves
with a Twist
by cosette cornelius-bates
cincinnati, ohio
www.mycraftivity.com
Knit One, Embellish Too. Copyright © 2008 by Cosette Cornelius-Bates. Manufactured in China.
All rights reserved. The patterns and drawings in this book are for personal use of the reader. By permission
of the author and publisher, they may be either hand-traced or photocopied to make single copies, but under
no circumstances may they be resold or republished. It is permissible for the purchaser to make the projects
contained herein solely for personal use. No other part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in
writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote a brief passage in review. Published by North
Light Books, an imprint of F+W Publications, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236.
[phone]. First edition.
12 11 10 09 08 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Metric Conversion Chart
Cornelius-Bates, Cosette
Knit one, embellish too : hats, mittens, and scarves to convert to multiply by
with a twist / by Cosette Cornelius-Bates. -- 1st ed. Inches Centimeters 2.54
Centimeters Inches 0.4
p. cm.
Feet Centimeters 30.5
Includes index. Centimeters Feet 0.03
Yards Meters 0.9
ISBN 978-1-60061-046-2
Meters Yards 1.1
1. Knitting--Patterns. 2. Hats. 3. Mittens. 4. Scarves.
Sq. Inches Sq. Centimeters 6.45
I. Title. Sq. Centimeters Sq. Inches 0.16
Sq. Feet Sq. Meters 0.09
TT825.C687 2008
Sq. Meters Sq. Feet 10.8
746.43’2041--dc22 Sq. Yards Sq. Meters 0.8
2007043135 Sq. Meters Sq. Yards 1.2
Pounds Kilograms 0.45
Kilograms Pounds 2.2
Distributed in Canada by Fraser Direct
Ounces Grams 28.3
100 Armstrong Avenue
Grams Ounces 0.035
Georgetown, ON, Canada L7G 5S4
Tel: [phone]
Distributed in the U.K. and Europe by David & Charles
Brunel House, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 4PU, England
Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
Distributed in Australia by Capricorn Link
P.O. Box 704, South Windsor, NSW 2756 Australia
www.fwpublications.com
Tel: [phone]
Editor: Jennifer Claydon
Designer: Marissa Bowers
Layout Artist: Cheryl Mathauer
Production Coordinator: Greg Nock
Technical Illustrators: Toni Toomey, Kara Gott
and Cheryl Mathauer
Photographers: Adam Leigh-Manuell,
John Carrico, and Adam Henry of Alias Imaging, LLC
Stylists: Jan Nickum and Leslie Brinkley
Make-up Artist: Cass Smith
Dedication
For my parents, Marian and Dana,
who have supported me even when they weren’t quite sure what I was doing.
Acknowledgments
Alissa, I wouldn’t have done this book without your encouragement, so thank
you. To Gwen, Shannon and Katy for their brilliant feedback while test-knitting
some of the harder designs. My more-than-heartfelt thanks go out to Susan and
Sarah, my constant companions in fi bery crime no matter where we are on the
globe. To Maxine, many thanks for encouraging me, advising me and seeing me
through my thesis. To Katie for her unending support and knitting vacations. To
Benjamin, who sweeps up all the wool dust and gently puts stray balls back into
their baskets. And to Jenni and Tonia at North Light Books, thank you for this
wonderful opportunity.
Contents
Introduction 6
Where to Find Wool 8
Finding and Recycling Sweaters 10
Tools 16
Techniques 18
Planning a Project 36
Hats • 42
Little Flower Top Hat 44
Cupcake Hat 46
Wood and Water Hat 48
Blooming Tulips Hat 50
Lollipop Hat 52
Mountain Sunset Inside Out Hat 54
Berry Bramble Hat 56
Lake Reflects Trees Hat 58
Fresh-Cut Grass Hat 60
Forest Gnome Hat 62
Apple on the Tree Hat 64
Sweet Pea Hat 66
Root Vegetable Hat 68
Back Alley Hat 70
Snow Princess Hat 72
Headgear • 74
All Things Grow Hat 76
Nautical Nellie Hat 78
1970s Ski Sweater Hat 80
Biker Hat 82
Daisy Helmet Hat 84
Yellow Bells Jester Hat 86
Twirly Girl Bonnet 88
Butterfly Pixie Bonnet 90
Daffodil Headband 92
Flapper Eyelet Headband 94
Fruit Punch Headband 96
Mittens • 98
Popsicle Mittens 100
Snow Day Mittens 102
Night Sky Wristers 104
Tree Bud Mitts 106
Communion Mitts 108
Scarves • 110
Moon over Waves Scarf 112
Snuggly Neck Scarf 114
Silky Smoke Ring 116
Flutter Neck Scarf 118
All-Star Scarf 120
Resources 122
Patterns 124
Index 127

Introduction
Welcome to my living room. Choose a mug or teacup and help yourself
to the tea on the coffee table. Take a seat on the polka-dot couch or on
one of the comfy chairs. Feel free to explore, to examine the posters, paintings and
other artifacts from my journeys, or to browse the books on the shelves and in piles on
the fl oor. Sip your tea and notice the baskets of yarn tucked into every corner. Half-
fi nished projects pepper the room; two spinning wheels sit side by side next to a round
basket full of colorful piles of wool and a mug full of double-pointed needles. If you
want to knit, you’ve come to the right place—I have the supplies and support, and I give
both willingly.
In many ways, I hope this book is like an extension of my living room: I want it to
be a place you can enter, relax, drink tea and indulge in all things wool. I’ll share some
of my coziest patterns, and along the way I’ll show you how to take your knitted items
to the next level by transforming them into canvasses for artful stitching, buttons and
other embellishments. Once you learn to add your own creative twist to hand-knit hats,
mittens and scarves, you can make each item you create a unique work of art perfectly
suited for you or its lucky recipient.
Within these pages, I hope to pass on my experience to you not only in the form of
knitting and embellishing techniques, but also with the empowering knowledge that
you can expand your knitting horizons and be creative in new ways. I want to push you
beyond traditional crafting into artistic creation with interesting new approaches to
yarns, textures, color combinations and embellishments. Soon you’ll be warming
yourself and those around you with your one-of-a-kind works of art!
7
Where to Find Wool
... and why I believe you need a lot of it
First, I must confess that I am an accessory knitter. I love knitting small projects, and many of my
yarn-obtaining habits are conducive to that knitting style. I do not need whole bags of wool. If I do
happen to fi nd a great deal on a bag of wool and buy it, I’ll use it forever. I generally buy small
quantities of yarn. One skein can be enough to make me happy for a very long while because there
are so many combinations that I can get when combining new yarns with the yarns I already have.
Don’t worry if you’re thinking right now that you need larger quantities of yarn—sweater recycling
and yarn store sales will give you those. But for the accessories in this book, it is to the smaller
quantities of yarn that we turn.
To me, wool is a perfect medium because it provides both the textures and the colors that my
creative imagination revels in. I must admit that I have a rather large amount of yarn, but I can’t
imagine knitting without having so many options handy. I come from a painting background, so
I am used to having a wide spectrum of colors at my disposal. Another good reason to have so much
yarn around is that I can be generous with both my knowledge and my supplies when someone
wants to learn to knit. One of my goals as a fi ber artist is to spread and further the craft as much as
possible. Providing support and materials is a great place to start.
There are several ways and places that I fi nd yarn. I regularly shop for yarn at thrift stores.
Shopping in thrift stores is good not only for the budget, but also for the world. When I shop at a
thrift store, instead of buying something new, I am choosing to reuse something that someone else
didn’t want anymore to make something new. Another great reason to shop at thrift stores is to
search for sweaters to recycle. (To learn how to turn a sweater into yarn for knitting, see Finding
and Recycling Sweaters on page 10.) I enjoy taking something that had no thought or love in its
making and creating something beautiful and useful from it. When I do this, I am saying “No” to
the consumerism that goes along with so much of modern life and “Yes” to caring for our resources.
I also fi nd that shopping at thrift stores stretches my limits as an artist. I often pick up yarns
that I normally wouldn’t buy in a regular yarn store, but because they’re great bargains, I buy them
anyway. Then, I have to think creatively to fi nd the right projects for these yarns. Thrift stores are
8
also a great place to shop for fun embellishments such as
buttons, tapestry wool and scraps of fabric for appliquéing.
Don’t give up if you don’t fi nd a treasure trove at the fi rst
thrift store you visit. You may have to poke around a bit
before you discover a thrift store with yarn and other
great fi nds.
Although yarn from thrift stores and sweater recycling
can be a large part of your stash, it generally won’t be all of
it. There are plenty of fun commercial yarns that I will grab
a skein or two of whenever I can to regularly expand my
color palette. Another benefi t to buying commercial yarns
is that there are many fi bers available commercially, like
angora and alpaca, that you may not fi nd while thrifting. In
addition, commercial yarn comes with a handy ball band
that recommends gauge and needle size, which takes away
the guesswork when working with a new yarn.
Another wonderful resource I’ve found for obtaining
new-to-me yarn is former knitters. Don’t underestimate
the kindness of strangers. There are many, many people
out there who used to knit, and you should graciously ac-
cept their gifts if you can use them, or if you know someone
else who might use them. Usually, former knitters are just
happy to see the supplies being used again and cleared out of their basements.
A further way to expand the variety of your stash of wool is to dye your yarn (see Resources, page 122).
Recycling sweaters and dyeing yarn go really well together. A sweater will yield a lot of yarn in the same color
and texture, so by dyeing some of it, you can get a fun new stash enhancement. Also, dyeing isn’t just for
white yarn. Consider overdyeing colors like light grey and pastels for appealing colors. An alternative way to
increase your yarn variety is to get your friends into recycling sweaters and trade sleeves with them—that
way you get several different yarns for the price of one! I traded sweater sleeves with a friend to get the light
yellow yarn I used in the Yellow Bells Jester Hat on page 86.
If you want to go even further into the fi ber arts, you can also try spinning your own yarn (see Resources,
page 122). If you are not interested in spinning your own yarn, I encourage you to consider buying handspun
or hand-dyed yarns from small businesses and independent artists (see Resources, page 122). Throughout
this book, I knit with several handspun yarns from small yarn companies. Not only are these yarns beautiful,
creative and a pleasure to knit with, but they also make you feel great for supporting a small business. I keep
a basket full of small balls of handspun and hand-dyed yarns (mine and others) in a basket in my living room
for daily inspiration.
Gathering supplies is a slow and cumulative process. Once you have a compatible collection, try to fi nd
the right places and projects for each of the yarns you have collected. Add a new yarn once in a while for
creative inspiration. I always have a spurt of creativity right after I dye a new batch of recycled sweater wool.
Throughout this book, you will see combinations not only of disparate colors, but also of textures and yarns.
Often, my greatest inspiration comes from seeing yarns combined with whatever they land next to in the box
or basket I’m keeping them in. I would like to encourage you to take a similar journey. Push yourself: Fill out
your color palette, whether at a thrift store or a yarn store. Buy orange, just so you can look at it next to other
colors. Buy crazy handspun yarn and mix it with some basic commercial wool.
Explore. Engage. Enjoy!
9