Harry Potter (and other) Knits

Yes, I've been busier than I look.  I've finished up a bunch of projects...

Ravenclaw bookscarf. (~8/8/07)

Project details:

Pattern: from Laura Miller's website; pattern can also be found in Charmed Knits.

Needles: size 0 dpns

Yarn: DMC Pearl Cotton size 5, blue 796 and bronze 436.

Ravenclaw Tote Bag.  (~8/10/07)

 

Project details:

Pattern: from HP House Fair Isle Pouch Bags.

Needles: size 6.5 mm circulars

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver colors 0387 (Soft Navy) and 0400 (Grey Heather) on size 6.5mm circular needles.

Notes: It's not quite done yet; I still have to line the bag with fabric and attach a shoulder strap.

Tips & Tricks: This was my first colorwork project.  I knit with one color in each hand (blue in right, my dominant hand, and silver in my left hand).  Despite what the pattern says, I found it very important to catch the stranded color every 3-4 stitches, or else the color blocks would pull apart at the edges.  This was especially true on the edges of the bag (where the pattern would repeat) since when the bag's sides were folded, there was nothing pulling the blocks into position.  I used this website to learn how to catch the floats.  I would catch the last stitch of every repeat, and this seemed to keep the edge blocks in shape.  I also caught the strands in the large areas of color in the shields, and every so often at the top or bottom edge of a block in the middle.

 Heart Mittens (not HP-inspired). (~8/13/07)

 

Project Details:

Pattern: a mishmash of several free online patterns.  The general shape of the mittens is from the Generic Norwegian Mitten pattern.  The chart on back and front is basically Corazon, although I modified it a little bit to fit on fewer stitches, and used three colors instead of two.  I also cast on fewer stitches (40) and increased to size right before starting the chart to make the ribbing more fitted.  I used a tubular cast-on.

Needles: 3.5mm dpns

Yarn: Jo-Ann Sensations Bellezza Tesoro (worsted) in Cream, Pink & Purple.  (on sale)

Finished Size: 9.5 inches long (from tip to bottom of cuff), 3.5 inches wide in the hand.  I'd say a child's large or women's extra small.  Unfortunately, a hair too small for me, which means much too small for either cousin I was thinking of giving them to.

Notes: I'm going to try blocking them larger but I don't have much faith in that (the colorwork is pretty tight).

Hermione's Cable & Bobble Hat. (8/19/07)

Project Details:

Pattern: from Charmed Knits.  I did 10 fewer ribbing rows than in the pattern.

Needles: 4.5 mm circular, 5 mm dpns to finish the crown.

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca, Redwood Mix colorway.  It's not quite the same color as the pics though I did tweak the pictures to get the color closer.

Finished Size: 9.5 in long, without turning up the ribbing.  15 in circumference, unstretched.  It fits my head well, and I guess I have an average to small head.

Notes: A fun knit, my first cables and bobbles.  I like the way the cables shrink at the top of the crown.  I'll try blocking the hat to "settle and even out the cables" as suggested in the pattern.  This will go on my list of patterns I can knit as gifts.