Free Knitting Pattern - SCATS and COWLS

As well as knitting and designing cakes I've also been frantically knitting bits and bobs for a stall at the Chorlton 'Green' Festival (Manchester) which was held last Saturday. My daughter had a stall for her arts and crafts and I had promised to share the stall with her and provide some knitted stuff. The problem was - I forgot - so I had to think of some really quick knits. I thought it would be the perfect place to sell my SCATS - what's that I hear you ask?? A SCAT is a knitted tube that you can wear around your neck like a scarf or on your head like a hat. Perfect for those with dreadlocks, as the dreads come out of the top of the tube. They look great.

I used Sirdar Bigga, which is megga chunky and knits up really quickly - just the ticket. Luck was on my side when I went into Oxfam and there was a bag of 10 balls of Bigga in a lovely greeny-brown, for just £5. What a bargain.....

I managed to make quite a few in the limited colours I had. They sold like hot cakes. Here's how I made them......

(Please note these patterns are my design and are published under copyright to me (CakesKnitsandCosies). Please do not reproduce the pattern or any part of the pattern without my permission. The pattern is for personal use only - many thanks)

Materials - 1 x 100g balls Sirdar Bigga/15mm circular needles/cable needle/button

Plain neck cosy (sm/med/large) - Cast on 28/32/36 sts. Knitting in the round, knit approx 16 rounds. Cast off. This cozy will fit a small-medium head/neck.

Cabled SCAT (sm/med/large) - Cast on 28/32/36 sts. Knitting in the round, knit 4 rounds. Round 5 - [place first two sts onto cable needle, put the cable needle to the back of the work, knit next 2 sts, knit 2 sts from cable needle, Knit 3/4/5]. Repeat 4 times. Round 6-8 - knit. Round 9 - as Round 5. Round 10-12- knit. Round 13 - as Round 5. Round 14-16 knit. Cast off.

Buttoned Neck Cosy (sm/med-large) - Cast on 30/36 sts. Knit in rows (not in the round). Row 1 - Purl 4, Knit 22/28, Purl 4. Row 2 - Knit 4, Purl 22/28, Knit 4. Repeat Rows 1 and 2 [7] more times. Cast off. Sew a large button onto one end. It should slip through the knitting without the need for a button hole.

TIP for starting to knit in the round - before you start to knit in the round I find it best to swap the first and last cast on stitches (the stitches at the tip of each needle). Pass the first stitch at the tip of the left needle to the right needle knitwise. Then pass the first stitch at the tip of the right needle over the stitch that you have passed across. Leave it on the left needle and knit into the front of it. Continue knitting in the round.

TIP for casting off - when you get to the end of your cast off round you will have one stitch left on the needle. Cut yarn and thread through it under first cast off stitch from back of work to front, then pass the yarn through the last stitch and pull tight to finish off.

Cakes, Cakes and more Cakes

It's been ages since my last blog - oops. Times really flies when you're knitting. I've been busy knitting cakes for baby ballet. My daughter's dance teacher asked me to knit 12 cakes for her baby ballet class. They 'pretend' with them - buy them, carry them, place them nicely on a plate and pretend to eat them. It helps them with presentation and posture. They absolutely loved them and had loads of fun. I knitted them from my latest knitting pattern for butterfly cakes, fairy cakes and currant buns.

I also crocheted some cakes from my new crochet pattern and knitted a few doughnuts too. A nice selection for baby ballet.

My latest crochet pattern was a bit of a whirlwind really. I was contact by the Editor of a new crochet magazine. She asked me if I was interested in designing a crochet cupcake pattern - how exciting. The deadline was really tight so I only had a couple of weeks to come up with something good. The Editor sent me the yarns that will be free with the first edition, and this is what I came up with. I was really pleased with the result. I have sent the pattern and the cakes through to the mag and the response was really positive, so fingers crossed, they will be featured in the first edition.

These patterns are listed in my Etsy, MISI and Folksy online shops, if you would like to make some for yourself....