Saturday, September 20, 2008

autumn acorn :: a pattern

this week, while creating autumn inspired crafts for our home and a swap, i looked high and low for a knit acorn pattern i had bookmarked last fall (or was it the year before??) after my search came up empty i decided to just wing it, with plenty of input from my 5 year old, and see what we could come up with.
it is with joy that i introduce you to our adorable autumn acorn!

supplies needed:
~ small amounts of yarn (approx. 1/2 oz each) in 2 colors, 1 for the body and 1 for the cap~ this is a great way to use up scraps.
~ set of 4 DPNs appropriate for your yarn. gauge is not important for this project. i used peace fleece and size 8 DPNs for the little acorn in the photos.
~ stuffing (wool roving, yarn scraps, or polyfill)
~ tapestry needle
abbreviations:
CO- cast on
K- knit
P- purl
KFB- knit into the front and back of stitch
K2tog- knit 2 sts together
bottom of acorn
*CO 6 sts and divide between 3 needles.
*row 1: k all sts
* row 2: KFB of each st (12 sts)
* row 3: k all sts
* row 4: KFB of each st (24 sts)
* row 5: k all sts
*row 6- 18: k all sts
* row 19: *K2tog, k2* all around (18 sts)
* row 20: k all sts
*row 21: *K2tog, k1* all around (12 sts)
* row 22: k all sts
* row 23: *K2tog* all around (6 sts)
now, stuff your acorn then thread your yarn tail through the 6 sts on your needles and sew shut. weave in the ends and you are ready to knit your acorn cap!
acorn cap
* CO 24 sts and divide between 3 needles. leave an extra long yarn tail when you cast on to sew your acorn cap to your acorn body later.
* row 1: k all sts
* row 2: p all sts
* row 3: k all sts
* row 4: *KFB, K3* all around (30 sts)
* row 5: k all sts
* row 6: *KFB, K4* all around (36 sts)
* row 7- 9: k all sts
* row 10: *K2tog, K4 all around (30 sts)
* row 11: k all sts
* row 12: *K2tog, K3* all around (24 sts)
* row 13: k all sts
* row 14: *K2tog, K2* all around (18 sts)
* row 15: k all sts
* row 16: *K2tog, K1* all around (12 sts)
* row 17: k all sts
* row 18: K2tog all around (6 sts)
thread your yarn tail through the 6 sts on your needles and sew shut. you can also add a little loop at the top of the cap~ good for letting little acorns hang out all over the house!
place your cap where you would like it to sit on the acorn body and stitch it on using the yarn tail from your cast on. finally, you can add a little face to your acorn. i stitched faces on ours using sock yarn and a tapestry needle but you can use beads, fabric paint, buttons... or skip the face all together!

enjoy! i would love to see all the little acorns that come to life using this pattern!

happy crafting!

1 comment:

Alyssa said...

So adorable! Can I link to you?