Craft

Knitted Christmas gift cards

Dec 05 09:48am

Mini t-shirt
Finished size: 10.5cm from cuff to cuff, 6cm from bottom edge to top of neck, and 5cm wide across chest

Gather your supplies
1 ball each of Semco Milford Soft Knitting Crochet Cotton 50g 4 ply in colours A (white), B (2408) and C (2137); five (short) 2.00mm double-pointed knitting needles; stitch marker; wool needle for sewing in ends; beading wire; small round blue beads; round-nose pliers; wire cutters
Tension: 28sts and 36 rows = 10cm. Exact tension is not essential for this project.

Here's how
Back and front (make 2): With A, cast on 16sts onto 1 double-pointed needle. Working back and forth in rows (do not join as for working in the round), work in [UNKNOWN NODETYPE 7]? >? >? > K2, P2 rib for 2 rows. Change to stocking stitch and work 2-row stripes (knit 1 row, purl 1 row) in the following order: B, C, A, B, C – 12 rows completed. Cut yarn, leaving sts on the needle. Weave in ends and put aside.
Sleeves (make 2): With A, cast on 12sts onto 1 double-pointed needle, leaving a 30cm tail for sewing seam. Working back and forth in rows, work in K2, P2 rib for 2 rows. Change to stocking stitch, and work 2-row stripes (knit 1 row, purl 1 row) in the following order: B, C – 6 rows completed. Cut yarn, leaving sts on the needle. Weave in ends, leaving the 30cm starting tail, and set aside.
Yoke, Rnd 1 (joining rnd): Attach A to sts of first sleeve needle with right side facing, K12 sleeve sts, K16sts from the front, K12sts from other sleeve, K16sts from the back – 56sts: 12sts each on 2 needles for sleeves, and 16sts each on 2 needles for back and front. Join for working in the rnd, and place marker to indicate the beginning of the rnd.
Rnd 2: With A, knit 1 more rnd.
Rnd 3: Change to B. *K1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts on needle, K2tog, K1; repeat from * for remaining 3 needles – 8sts decreased; 48sts: 10sts each on 2 needles for sleeves, 14sts each on 2 needles for back and front.
Rnd 4: With B, knit 1 more round.
Rnds 5 and 6: Change to C, and repeat rnds 3 and 4 – 40sts remain after Rnd 5.
Rnds 7 and 8: Change to A, and repeat rnd 3 – 32sts.
Rnd 9: Change to B and repeat Rnd 3 – 24sts.
Rnds 10 and 11: Work in K2, P2 rib.
Cast off all sts with B in rib pattern.

Finishing: Using yarn tail from sleeve, sew sleeve and side seam from cuff to underarm, then down side of T-shirt to the cast-on edge. Repeat for other sleeve and side seam. Weave in ends.

Beaded coathanger: Loop a 15cm length beading wire at 1 end and thread beads onto it. Make a securing loop at the other end just to hold the beads in place for the time being. Bend 1 beaded end around a pencil to make the hook of the coathanger then, pushing the beads into place so there is some slack, fashion the wire into a coathanger shape. Bend the wire end around the base of the hook and trim excess wire. Hang T-shirt on beaded coathanger. Attach to card (see instructions, right).

Mini stocking
Finished size: 6.5cm in length

Gather your supplies
1 ball each of Semco Milford Soft Knitting Crochet Cotton 50g 4 ply in colours B (2408) and C (2137); set of four 2.00mm double-pointed needles; wool needle; 5.00mm crochet hook; snowflake sequin; red seed bead; tacky white glue

Here's how
With B, cast on 18sts. Divide the sts evenly between 3 needles. Join for working in the rnd and place marker
to indicate the beginning of the rnd. Knit 14 rnds.

Short-row heel: Redistribute sts on 3 needles with the first 8sts on 1 needle for the heel, and 5sts on the other 2 needles for the instep. Work back and forth in rows on 8 heel sts only as follows:
Row 1: (RS) Join C. K8, turn.
Row 2: P7, turn.
Row 3: Yon, K6, turn.
Row 4: Yon, P5, turn.
Row 5: Yon, K4, turn.
Row 6: Yon, purl to first yon, purl this yon together with the next st, turn.
Row 7: Slip the first st as if to purl, knit to first yon, knit yon together with the next st, turn.
Row 8: Slip the first stitch as if to purl, purl to first yon, purl yon together with the next st, turn. Repeat rows 7 and 8 until all yons have been worked, ending with a RS row – 8sts. Cut C.

Foot: Redistribute the 8sts on the heel needle onto 2 needles with 4sts each, then transfer the remaining 10sts to 1 needle for the instep. Join B at the back of the heel, between the 2 needles with 4sts each, and place marker for new beginning of rnd. Knit 9 rnds.

Toe: Change to col C and knit 1 rnd. Decrease rnd: on first needle, K1, K2tog, K1; on second needle, K1, ssk, knit to last 3sts of needle, K2tog, K1; on third needle, K1, ssk, knit to end – 4sts decreased. Knit 1 rnd even. Repeat the last 2 rnds 2 more times – 6sts. Cut yarn, leaving a 15cm tail.

Finishing: Thread tail on wool needle, run the tail through the remaining sts, and pull to draw sts together and close toe. Turn stocking inside out and weave in loose ends. If desired, work a crochet chain for a hanging loop at top edge of stocking. Glue snowflake on 1 side and a seed bead in centre as pictured.

Card
Gather your supplies
13 x 15cm 180gsm watercolour paper; pencil and ruler; nail and hammer; 1 ball of Semco Milford Soft Knitting Crochet Cotton 50g 4 ply in 0043; tapestry needle; clear embossing pad; red- or blue- coloured embossing powder; heat blower tool (for heating embossing powder); Merry Christmas stamp; tacky white glue

Here's how
STEP 1 Mark dots around all 4 sides of the paper, 6mm apart and 6mm in from the edge. Using a hammer and nail and working on a protected surface, pierce card where marked.
STEP 2 Using crochet cotton and wool needle, blanket stitch around card.
STEP 3 After first practising on scrap paper, press the stamp on the clear embossing pad, then stamp the card approximately 30mm up from the lower edge. Sprinkle embossing powder over the stamped impression and heat-set with the blower tool. Shake off excess powder.
STEP 4 Glue knitted project in place on card.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens magazine, December 2006