In the works...New Patterns and Free Pattern Tab

I'm working on publishing a new pattern. It will include instructions for making these Tiny Titans and 7 of their buddies for a total of 10 patterns. It will be available in my Etsy and Ravelry store later this month or early in April.

I also added a new tab at the top of the page that links you to a list of all my free patterns. 

I hope you are having a wonderful week.

Cheers,
Jenn

Naalbinding

I was looking into the history of knitting in Egypt when I stumbled across a photo of these Coptic socks that were made in the 4th century. The divided toe is so that they can be worn with sandals. It looks almost identical to knitting, but it is really a very different technique called naalbinding.

There are also ancient sample of Naalbinding found in Peru where the craft is still practiced today. In fact, variations of this craft have been found all over the world.

There are many different types of stitches that you can do using this technique. What makes it different from knitting and crochet, however, is that instead of working loops into other loops you pass the entire length of your working yarn through each stitch. To do this you use short lengths of yarn and a large blunt sewing needle. This makes it a little unforgiving, but it also makes the fabric very sturdy and difficult to unravel. If you want to know more about the basics of Naalbinding you can check it out on Wikipedia or Ravelry

Here are some photos of my first attempts at this technique.

Foundation Chain

The Coptic Stitch

My finished pouch.

I have enjoyed toying around with this technique and I look forward to learning more about it's history and practicing a variety of stitches.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Cheers,
Jenn

Ninja Bunny

This pattern isn't a new one... just a variation on my bunny finger puppet pattern.

 

Materials
E or F hook
worsted weight yarn
tapestry needle

Stitches:
Ch - Chain
Sl st - slip stitch
SC - Single Crochet
Inc - Single crochet 2 stitches into one

Bunny Body: 

Row 1: Start by making 6 sc into a magic ring (6)

Row 2: (sc, inc) around (9)

Row 3: (sc, sc, inc) around (12) 

Row 4: to make the white eye slit in the ninja suit simply switch to white in any for any four stitches in rows 4 and 5. Add two black lines to make the eyes and you are done. I made the stitches in the back loops only to keep the stitches cleaner looking.

Row 6-11: sc in each stitch (12)

Sl st into next two and fasten off 

Ears:

Make ears by chaining 8 then sc into second stitch and continue to the end of the row. Fasten off and

attach to the body. Weave in all ends.