Free Pattern: Slipped Stitch Kindle Cozy

Next up in my free pattern offerings is a lovely little slipped stitch pouch that will be the perfect place to keep your Kindle^TM safe and clean when you’re not using it. It is also just the right size to store a large Moleskine^TM notebook or other similarly-sized journal. This quick knitting project will make a great gift for the reader or journaller in your life.

ETA: I designed this to fit a 3rd generation Kindle, with about an extra inch of space width-wise. The extra room should allow the pattern, as written, to accomodate the slightly larger 2nd generation Kindle as well. 

The pattern is written to be knit flat and then seamed. Knitters will need basic knitting skills as well as slightly more advanced techniques such as casting on stitches over small bound off areas using the Backwards Loop cast on method and Mattress Stitch for seaming.

Yarn: Approximately 150 yards of sport weight. Sample was knit using just over half a skein of Enchanted Knoll Farm Sport, Cleopatra colorway.

Needles: US7 straight or 24” circular needles, or needle size necessary for you to get gauge

Additional Tools: Tapestry needle, three locking stitch markers or safety pins

Notions: Three ¾” buttons (or buttons to properly fit your resulting button holes)

Gauge: 5 stitches per inch in Slipped Stitch pattern.

Finished Size: 6 ¼” x 9”. (Note that this is designed for a roomy fit for a Kindle^TM. If you would like a snugger fit, cast on six fewer stitches, adjust the length as desired in the first two sections and adjust the placement of the buttonholes in the third section to fit the narrower width.)

Abbreviations:

RS – right side

WS – wrong side

K1 – Knit one stitch

K – Knit

P1 – Purl one stitch

BO – bind off

Slipped Stitch Pattern

(Note: All slipped stitches are slipped as if to purl. All WS rows are purled.)

Row 1 (RS): *K1, bring yarn forward, slip next stitch to right needle, move yarn to back, repeat from * to last stitch; K.

Row 2 (WS): Purl.

Row 3: With yarn forward, slip first stitch to right needle, move yarn to back. *K1, bring yarn forward, slip next stitch to right needle, move yarn to back, repeat from * to last two stitches; K1, bring yarn forward and slip last stitch.

Row 4: Purl.

Directions

Section One (Inner Panel) –

Cast on 37 stitches.

Row 1 (RS): *K1, P1, repeat from * to last stitch; K.

Row 2 (WS): Knit all knit stitches, purl all purl stitches.

Repeat these two rows once more to create four rows of 1x1 ribbing for the edge of the inner panel.

Begin working in Slipped Stitch pattern. Continue until fabric measures 8” from cast on edge, ending on a WS row.

Purl the next RS row. This creates a fold row.

Section Two (Outer Panel) –

Purl this WS row.

Begin working again in Slipped Stitch pattern. Continue until fabric measures 9 ½” from the fold row of Section One. End on a WS row.

Purl the next RS row. This creates a second fold row.

Section Three (Flap) –

Purl this WS row.

Begin working again in Slipped Stitch pattern. Continue until fabric measures 2” from the fold row of Section Two. End on a WS row.

The next two rows will create button holes.

Button Hole Row 1 (RS): Work 6 stitches in pattern,* BO 2 stitches, work next 9 stitches in pattern, repeat from * once; BO 2 stitches, work remaining 4 stitches in pattern. (31 stitches)

Button Hole Row 2 (WS): Purl across row. Using backward loop method, cast on two new stitches at each of the three places were stitches were bound off in the previous row. (37 stitches)

Resume working in pattern until flap is 2 ½” from fold row of Section Two. End on a WS row.

Work four rows of 1x1 ribbing as you did at the beginning of Section One.

Bind off (loosely) in pattern.

Finishing –

Fold the inner and outer panels together at the first fold row, right sides facing outward. Using locking stitch markers or safety pins, secure the inner panel to the outer panel at the corners of the cast on edge, making sure the cast on edge is even with the fold for the flap. (The cast on edge will NOT meet the fold for the flap but should be about an inch shorter. Just use the flap fold as a guide for getting the edge of your inner panel lined up straight.)

Using a tapestry needle, seam the inner and outer panels together using Mattress Stitch. Begin seaming at the bottom fold and work up toward the open edge. After seaming the first edge, recheck to make sure the upper edge of the inner panel is still even with the flap fold. Adjust if necessary.

With pouch lying flat, outer panel downward, fold flap so that it overlaps inner flap. Using stitch markers or safety pins, carefully mark the site where your three buttons will need to be attached. Open flap again and using the rows of the fabric as your guide, make sure you’ve marked all three buttons on the same row so that they are even.

Sew on buttons.

Free Pattern: Fast & Easy Finger Puppets

As promised, here is the first of a few fast and easy patterns I've designed recently for gifts. This one actually came at the request of my daughter, who wanted to make finger puppets for a friend and for her nephew. They're quite beginner friendly!

Fast & Easy Finger Puppets

If you’re in need of a really quick gift for a kid, these finger puppets are just the thing! They take very little yarn and very little time. You’ll likely spend more time embellishing them with the stitched on faces than you will actually knitting the puppets themselves. And they are a great way to use up leftover yarn from other projects.

Materials

Worsted weight yarn scraps. Each puppet uses approximately 3 grams of yarn, which is about 6 – 7 yards of worsted.

Other small bits of decorative yarn for embellishing.

US4 needles. I used two 8” DPNs just because these are small pieces and they easily fit on them, but use whatever US4 needle you prefer, straight or circular.

Tapestry needle.

Directions

Using long-tailed cast on, cast on 12 stitches.

Work in stockinette stitch (Row 1: knit; Row 2: purl) for approximately 2”, ending with a purl row. If you are making the puppets for a small child whose fingers are shorter, adjust length accordingly.

After reaching desired length, k2tog across all stitches (6 stitches remaining).

Next row, p2tog across all stitches (3 stitches remaining).

Break yarn, leaving an 18” tail. Leave the last three stitches on the needle (or place them on a small stitch holder or waste yarn) while you embellish your puppet.

Using contrasting yarns, stitch on eyes, mouth, or whatever features you wish to add. Weave in the ends of your embellishment yarns, or simply tie them off as they will be inside the puppet and not visible. (Hint: when stitching on knitted fabric, try to insert the needle in between strands of yarn of the stitches rather than into the gaps in between the actual stitches. Your embellishment stitches will stay closer to where you want them that way.)

Once your embellishments are complete, thread the tail of your working yarn onto a tapestry needle and run it through the remaining three live stitches, pulling it snug to cinch them up, forming the top of the puppet’s head.

Using the tail yarn, which is still attached to the puppet at the top, use mattress stitch to seam up the two edges of your puppet’s back down to the cast on edge. Weave in ends.

Now add hair! You can create a braid and stitch it to your puppet’s head (such as on my brown one), or you can thread individual strands of yarn through the top of the puppet and tie them off to each other for a spiky hair do (like my red one). Or channel your inner beautician and create your own innovative hair style!

Variations

Use different yarns to make up the body in order to give your puppet a bottom and top ensemble.

Knit the last few rows of your puppet with a fuzzy yarn (such as fun fur) to make the hair an integrated part of the puppet (like I did on my purple one).

Use beads or small buttons for eyes. However, if you’re making this for a small child who may choose to gnaw on the puppet as well as play with it, you may wish to forego using anything that could be a choking hazard.

In general, have fun! Mix it up! Be creative!

Pattern and images © Lisa M. Beamer, 2010. Reproduction of pattern is permissible for personal, non-income generating purposes only.