Molly's Sketchbook: Simple Embroidered Stockings

These stockings are a relatively quick project. You can make one for each member of your family and still have to to be together and enjoy the holiday! They are made with Robert Kaufman's gloriously colored solids Essex and Kona Cotton as the base, and the beautiful and natural Essex as the lining and the cuff.

There is something so sweet about seeing everyone's stocking hung on the mantle in anticipation of the goodies that will soon fill them and these particular stockings are such an easy way to add a little holiday cheer to your home.

To make the embroidery as neat and legible as possible we designed a special alphabet, complete with upper and lower case letters to use as an embroidery pattern.  Below is a sample of the alphabet, you can download and print the entire alphabet at this link (or find a link on the project journal page).The letters are all reversed, which allows you to make your own embroidery transfer pattern from them:

To transfer the letters simply print out the alphabet pattern, trace the letters you need onto tracing paper using an iron-on-transfer-pencil and then iron the tracing paper onto your stocking... viola, the name has been neatly transered to the stocking. Embroider over the marked letters using a simple back stitch and satin stitch.

I knew these particular stockings were going to live in the Christmas window at Purl Patchwork so I embroidered them with the names of everyone who works there. It was so fun picking out who got what color stocking! If you'd like to make your own set please visit my Simple Embroidered Stockings project journal for the complete pattern and instructions. Happy Holidays! -- Molly

Colorful Crafting with Jen: SnoBuddy Family from Knitting at KNoon

These snowmen may be the cutest project I've ever completed. The pattern is from the creative minds at Knitting at KNoon, and is called The SnoBuddy Family. 

The snowmen were super quick and easy to make, and it was so fun to make their little tiny accessories. The tiny scarves for the mom and dad were done in no time and made my Snobuddy family come to life! 

I think my favorite accessory to make was the little boy snowman's gloves.  I'm not sure what made this particular part was so gratifying, but it may have something to do with the finished product, could it be any cuter?

To make my entire SnoBuddy family I used just one skein of Blue Sky Alpaca's Suri Merino, a super soft, slightly fuzzy yarn that reminded me of a freshly fallen snow (but any soft white worsted or aran weight yarn will work for the pattern). For needles I used Crystal Palace double pointed US size 6 bamboo needles. For their accessories, I went into my stash and found some scraps in the same gauge as the Suri Merino to ensure that the hats, scarfs and gloves would fit.

You can find the SnoBuddy Family pattern from KNitting at Knoon right here!

I hope you'll enjoy making these snowmen as much as I did! --Jen

Whit's Knits: Men's Rustic Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

It's been five years since Purl's owner, Joelle Hoverson, published her first book, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. Since then it has become a modern classic in today's knitting world, joining with other books to bring the craft of knitting from the dark ages of garments that seemed to come from a parallel fashion universe to the present day of beautiful, elegant hand knits.

Every day customers come into Purl, dog-eared copy of Last-Minute Knitted Gifts under arm, wanting to replicate their favorite projects. Over the past five years, however, some of Joelle's original yarn recommendations are no longer available.  At Purl we always have to be ready to suggest new, equally exciting alternatives.

One common request is for the yarn to make the Men's Rustic Scarf, a ruggedly masculine scarf perfect for all the men in our lives. Rowan no longer makes the Yorkshire Tweed Chunky that first gave the scarf its distinctive flair, so we decided to update the pattern here with a new, beautiful Blue Sky Alpacas version.

For two of the colors we used Blue Sky's Worsted and for the third we used Blue Sky's Sportweight Alpaca doubled. Both yarns are incredibly soft, which in our experience is the number one concern when it comes to knitting for men (it's true!). The textural shift between the different yarns adds a subtle layer of interest to the scarf, and the drape of alpaca gives this version a gorgeous heft.

I don't necessarily want to say that this scarf is better than the original, but it's definitely a close call! --Whitney

The Materials

Version One

• 2 skeins (one each in two colors) of Blue Sky Alpaca's Worsted, 50% superfine alpaca, 50% merino wool. These colors are, from the left, Chocolate 2016 and Tan 2009.

• 2 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca's Sportweight Alpaca (Melange or Solid), 100% baby alpaca. This color is a Solid and is Scarlet 518. (Make sure to double this yarn so it is the same weight as the Worsted.

• A 32 inch or 40 inch US #11 circular needle.

• A copy of Last-Minute Knitted Gifts for the pattern.

Version Two

• 2 skeins (one each in two colors) of Blue Sky Alpaca's Worsted, 50% superfine alpaca, 50% merino wool. These colors are, from the left, Olive 2014 and Butter 2005.

• 2 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca's Sportweight Alpaca (Melange or Solid), 100% baby alpaca. This color is a Melange and is Dijon 807. (Make sure to double this yarn so it is the same weight as the Worsted.

• A 32 inch or 40 inch US #11 circular needle.

• A copy of Last-Minute Knitted Gifts for the pattern.

Molly's Sketchbook: Miniature Patchwork Pincushions

I've always been fascinated by miniatures. When I was a child in Albany, California there was an amazing toy store called Ms. McPhizz that sold, among other things, lots of dollhouse furniture. One entire wall of the store was taken up by small cubbies, each set up like a tiny little room. One was a bedroom with itsy bitsy bunk beds and a bureau with real working drawers. Another a kitchen full of diminutive pies and microscopic cloth napkins. Each of these Lilliputian rooms was inhabited by a family of small stuffed mice and I spent hours imagining I was one of them.

I've carried this fascination with all things small with me into my adult life but for some reason I'd never thought of making a miniature quilt. I think this might be because I like the things I sew to be practical.

Recently we decided that we wanted to make pincushions for The Purl Bee. Joelle, Page, Whitney and I all brainstormed on how to make them but nothing was working. Then one day as I was cutting some fabric to try again I realized I could make a miniature quilt using tiny little pieces. I was amazed at how quickly they came together and how satisfying they were to make. I could make a whole "quilt" in about an hour! The small size of the pieces was so freeing. If I messed up it was really no big deal to start over again. Best of all when they were done they were both beautiful and totally useful.

I used one of our exclusive Spectrum Fat Quarter Bundles in a sunny array of orange, gold, and yellow which made the project even speedier since I didn't have to pick out the fabrics individually. I backed and trimmed them with some lovely natural colored Essex, a sturdy linen cotton blend from Robert Kaufman. As a very practical addition I stuffed them with a fine grade steel wool wrapped in cotton to keep the pins and needles they hold very sharp.

I think these little pincushions are the perfect gift for any quilter friends because they will recognize the log cabin, nine patch and stacked coins patterns.  If you'd like to make your own set please visit my Miniature Patchwork Pincushions Project Journal. Happy (miniature) sewing!-- Molly

Free Pattern from Kelbourne Woolens and The Fibre Company: The Fiddlehead Pullover

The Fiddlehead Pullover from Kelborne Woolens is one of the sweetest and most classic baby sweaters we've seen in a long time. It was designed by the creative minds at Kelborne Woolens and we're happy to share it with you exclusively and for free here on The Purl Bee!

This sweater is made from The Fibre Company's amazing yarn Canopy Fingering which is a soft and silky blend of bamboo, alpaca and merino that knits up into an wonderful soft and smooth fabric (the sweater above is knit in the color Fern). Canopy Fingering comes in a pretty palette of nature inspired neutrals which perfectly highlight the subtle details of this adorable vintage style sweater. We love its simple shaping and pretty details, its cute shoulder buttons and faux cable accents. It's such a quintessential little piece, the kind of sweater you can imagine passing down for generations and becoming even softer and more loved as the years go by.

Kelbourne Woolens is the distributer of one of our favorite yarns, the British based Fibre Company. The Fibre Company specializes in artisianal natural yarns like Canopy Fingering. It's no surprise then that the ladies at Kelbourne Woolens chose to name this sweater after something in nature! Fiddleheads are the young, uncurled new growth of the fern plant and are reminiscent of the little mock cables that decorate the sweater. Plus fiddleheads reminded us of the little human sprouts in our lives! If you'd like to make one for your little sprout here's what you'll need:

• Free Fiddlehead Pullover Pattern available exclusively at The Purl Bee
• Canopy Fingering Yarn (see pattern for quantities)

During the month of November Kelbourne Woolens is hosting a giveaway on The Purl Bee.  You can enter to win the yarn for The Fiddlehead Pullover or two other great Kellborne Woolen patterns! Click here to find out how to enter.  And for even more inspiration, Kelbourne Woolens has a great website where they have a whole bunch of beautiful, free patterns!

Update on November 19, 2009 by purl bee

If you downloaded this pattern before November 19th the version you have has a mistake. The pattern has since been corrected. Please download the newly corrected pattern again from the links above or here. Happy knitting!