Meet Chauncey...

Chauncey - He doesn't require much picking up after, nor does he keep you up all night with his snores. He's a gentleman afterall.

Finished size - approx. 6 3/4" tall, 4" or so wide

Materials:
Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky, approx. 60 yards of Oatmeal (MC)
Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky, approx. 12 yards of Onyx (CC)
US 15 DPNS, set of 5
stuffing of your choice (my current stuffing is wool batting from Peace Fleece, polyfill or others will work just as well)

Gauge pre-felting:
3 stitches/inch
4 rows/inch

Notes:
As this is a toy and is felted, your gauge really doesn't matter all that much, and the finished size will also vary based on your felting experience and the yarn used. Use worsted weight and smaller needles (around a US 10 would be good since you want your pre-felted piece loose so the fibers have room to shrink) and your finished piece will be significantly smaller.

For the CC, I used a technique somewhere between intarsia and fair isle, twisting my yarns at the color changes (and every few stitches for the longer mouth rows), you may find it easier to work the entire skull in the MC and duplicate stitch the CC before felting, or embroider the details after felting. Unless noted in the pattern, stitches are all in MC.

Abbreviations:
CO - cast on
KFB - knit into the front and back of the stitch (forms two stitches)
K2TOG - knit two stitches together (forms one stitch)
SSK - slip one stitch knit-wise, slip a second stitch knit-wise, knit both slipped stitches together through the back loops (forms one stitch)
P2TOG - purl two stitches together (forms one stitch)
P2TOGTBL - purl two stitches together through the back loops (forms one stitch)
BO - bind off

Pattern:
With MC, CO 8 stitches (using a long-tail cast-on), divide stitches evenly on 4 DPNS (2 per needle), and join to knit in the round, making sure not to twist. Place a marker at the beginning of the round.
1 - *KFB* around
2 through 12, even rounds - knit all stitches
3 - *KFB, K1* around
5 - *KFB, K2* around
7 - *KFB, K3* around
9 - *KFB, K4* around
11 - *KFB, K5* around
13 - knit all
14 - K22, K3 w/CC, K6, K3 w/CC, K22
15 - K21, K5 w/CC, K4, K5 w/CC, K21
rows 16, 17, 18 - same as 15
19 - *K2, K2TOG* repeat 3 times, K6, K3 w/CC, K6, K3 w/CC, K6, *SSK, K2* repeat 3 times
20 - K23, K2 w/CC, K23
21 - K1, *K2TOG, K2* repeat 2 times, K10, K2 w/CC, K10, *K2, SSK* repeat 2 times, K1
22 - K19, K4 w/CC, K19
23 - *K2TOG, K1* repeat 3 times, K7, K4 w/CC, K7, *K1, SSK* repeat 3 times
rows 24, 25, 26, 27 - knit all stitches
28 - K11, *K1 w/CC, K2 w/MC* repeat 4 times, K8
29 - K9, K17 w/CC, K8
30 - K1, K2TOG, K3, SSK, K1, K17 w/CC, K2TOG, K3, SSK, K1
31 - K9, *K1 w/CC, K2 w/MC* repeat 4 times, K6
rows 32, 33 - knit all stitches
34 - K3, K2TOG, K1, SSK, K14, K2TOG, K1, SSK, K3
35 - K2, K2TOG, K2, SSK, K10, K2TOG, K2, SSK, K2
36 - K2TOG, K1, K2TOG, SSK, SSK, K4, K2TOG, K2TOG, SSK, K1, SSK
37 and 38 - K11, BO6, K8
39 - P2TOG, P4, P2TOGTBL
40 - knit all stitches
41 - BO remaining stitches

(Errata... row 13 was written as an increase round but is supposed to be a knit only round, and I removed the last purl row before the final bind-off to reduce the amount of flap.)

Close up the hole at the CO stitches with the tail, weave in all ends, and toss in the wash with hot water (use a zippered pillowcase to keep fuzzies from clogging your washer hoses), a splash of detergent and some jeans or a towel for extra agitation. Once felted to your desired amount (mine went through twice and got some additional hand-felting in spots that didn't felt enough for my tastes), firmly stuff, tuck the flap into the hole, and stitch the opening closed with thread to match.



As always, this pattern ©blackrayne.com. Use it for personal non-profit use only, do not redistribute without written permission, do not sell items made from this pattern, do not claim this pattern to be your own.

Hogwarts Sock Swap - Design Contest!

I almost don't want to post this because my pal will know at least part of her gift, but I can't refuse a chance to score points for my Slytherin classmates. I have never written a sock pattern before, so it's rudimentary, and it assumes that you know how to knit a toe-up sock, if you need assistance with the toes or heels I suggest checking out the Universal toe-up sock formula on Knitty.



Dobby Style House SockMark

Materials:

fingering weight in your choice of two colors (Elann Peruvian Baby Silk in Cornflower and Mocha Cream pictured)
set of 5 size 0 DPNs (or one circular for magic loop or two circulars)

Gauge doesn't matter too much since it's not going on a foot, but mine is 11 stitches and 14 rows in a one inch square.

Finished size is just over 1" wide on the leg portion and 13.25" long from toe to toe.

There was an error in the second toe's decrease rounds, the correction is in bright red. Whoops!

Directions:

My preferred toe-up sock method may vary from what you use, so the first part can be changed to suit your needs.

Provisionally cast on (I use a long-tail provisional cast on, you can use a crochet chain if desired) 6 stitches with color 1 onto one of your DPNs. Since the provisional long tail creates your first knit row, purl the next row, then knit the following row. Pick up the stitches from the cast on edge onto another DPN (making sure you have 6 stitches on each needle), removing waste yarn, and continue to knit around the picked-up stitches. You can continue to work with your stitches on only 2 DPNs if desired, or you can divide them onto 4 DPNS. I divided mine after completing the toe.

Next round, K1, M1L, knit 4, M1R, K2, M1L, knit 4, M1R, K1
K one round
Repeat above two rounds, knitting 6, then 8 stitches in place of the knit 4, for a total of 24 stitches.

Switch to color 2 and knit 20 rounds.
Switch to color 1 and add your heel - mine is a short row one, with 3 wraps per side.
Switch to color 2 and knit 30 rounds.
Switch to color 1 and knit one round.
Switch to color 2 and knit 11 rounds.
Switch to color 1 and knit 2 rounds.
Switch to color 2 and knit 9 rounds.
Switch to color 1 and knit 3 rounds.
Switch to color 2 and knit 7 rounds.
Switch to color 1 and knit 4 rounds.
Switch to color 2 and knit 5 rounds.
Here is your center point, now the rounds reverse.
Switch to color 1 and knit 5 rounds.
Switch to color 2 and knit 4 rounds.
Switch to color 1 and knit 7 rounds.
Switch to color 2 and knit 3 rounds.
Switch to color 1 and knit 9 rounds.
Switch to color 2 and knit 2 rounds.
Switch to color 1 and knit 11 rounds.
Switch to color 2 and knit one round.
Switch to color 1 and knit 30 rounds.
Switch to color 2 and add another heel, making sure it's on the same side as the first.
Switch to color 1 and knit 20 rounds.

Switch to color two and work your second toe:

K one round
Next round, SSK, knit 8, k2tog, SSK, knit 8, k2tog
Repeat above two rounds, knitting 6, then 4 stitches in place of the knit 8, and kitchener your remaining toe stitches closed.



As with all patterns, this is for personal use only. Please respect my creative copywright, ok?