Knitting – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Grand Finale: Christmas Stocking, 4

Overall, I am pleased with the final iteration of my SIL’s Christmas stocking. A lot of work in some ways, just because I didn’t think about what I was doing. I ripped it a few times and had to learn how to knit an “after thought” heel. Watching videos for that really helped a lot.

The pattern this stocking is based upon is from Yarnspirations Festive Fair Isle Stocking. I won’t say it is a difficult pattern if you are used to stranded knitting, but because on a number of occasions there are more than 5 stitches between different colored stitches, the floats can get long and the tension can get messy. As well, if you reach into the stocking with rings with things that stick out, you can catch a float, before, after, or during its making. I will putting a note about this into the package when I send it off to Wisconsin in the next few days.

If you recall in my last post about the stocking, I had knit the foot pattern twice. It was way too long. I cut it off, and then moved into picking up the green stitches to make the toe itself, which is green. I used a circular toe decrease just because I was lazy and using circular needles, first 16 inch, and then 11 inch. You can see the decreases in the image below. I have not yet pulled in the open stitches to cinch the toe closed.

After this, it was time to clean up the mess inside the stocking itself. With all the color changes and dropped stitches here and there, I did not tie off the floats like I usually do. See how messy?

It looks pretty bad, but in reality, it was pretty easy to clean up. I tugged together the loose ends, knotting them (which I would not do if this were a sock to be worn on my foot!) for security. All the long ends were trimmed, and I worked from the top of the sock to the bottom. In the end, it worked out pretty well.

The corners of the after thought heel also needed to be cleaned up and pulled in so there were not any holes. The directions for the stocking do not give you notes that beginners (and non-attentive knitters like me) may need. Having never done this sort of heel, I was confused, but some good YouTube videos proved helpful.

If you are interested, I used size 8 US knitting needles for this project and changed some of the pattern colors and so on. The top of the stocking used a “fur” yarn which is not longer manufactured, so I made an i-cord. The i-cord was made so I could have a loop for hanging the stocking as well as picking up the 60 stitches needed for the pattern itself. The yarn is an acrylic yarn, and may colors were white, warm light grey, green and red. If I were to do this over, I would probably drop down to a 7 US needle. Because I could, I used a 16 inch circular needle, and dropped to an 11 inch needle for the toe.

I did not enjoy the after thought heel. It had me using 4 needles, which I do not like at all. The needles were aluminum and kept sliding out the of the stitches. When I knit socks, I use 3 needles, and ones made of wood or bamboo. I plan to try this heel again, but use a different methodology.

After cleaning up the inside of the sock, securing the heel and toe, and making sure I didn’t have any dropped stitches, it was time to iron the stocking to make it presentable. I sprayed it with water and then pressed it – pushing the iron down on it – between to rather heavy dish towels placed on the ironing board. I had my iron set to linen so the heat could penetrate the towels and set the stitches and shape of the stocking. This was done to both sides. I let it set overnight, to cool and give it some memory.

Years ago, when I was a kid, my mother made Christmas stockings for the four of us. I hung mine in front of the fire and it melted. I will send my SIL a note to that effect! This is also why I misted the stocking and pressed it between heavy towels – I have no desire to peel melted acrylic yarn from my very good iron.

Would I recommend doing this stocking? Yes, I would, but with caveats: know how to do stranded knitting, learn about after thought heels if they are new territory, and either find a fur yarn or make a ribbing or i-cord beginning. And then, enjoy the result.

Christmas Stocking, 3

This stocking for my sister-in-law has been quite the adventure. Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes! I will say, I am responsible for the majority . . . I had to restart the darned thing, and then, I made the foot too long.

If you look, you can see the end of the stocking I cut off – I wasn’t in the mood to ravel all that, so I took my scissors and cut off the toe. I had repeated the pattern twice – misread the directions. Then I picked up, several rows above, the right leg of the V of the stitches I wanted. And I picked up the exact number, much to my relief, and proceeded to finish up the stocking. As you can see below, the amputated foot above the completed foot.

I would have preferred the red strip with diamond in the center – more Christmassy in color – but it was time to bring this to an end. I need to gather up the toe to close it up, and then work on the weaving in of loose ends and looking for dropped stitches. I found one, which I pinned for now, but will secure it when I work on the inside of the stocking. And that is for another day. Like tomorrow.

Happy New Year 2026!

Christmas Stocking, 2

Ten days ago I began a requested Christmas stocking for my SIL. Started out fine – as you can see from the previous post. Disaster hit soon after – yarns tangled, knots, and total frustration as dropped stitches occurred and, and, and…I took it off the needles to ravel and begin again. More knots, more disaster, and my angry solution was a pair of scissors and the trash.

Total stop.

A break.

Begin again.

I returned to the pattern once again, cast on my stitches and began. This was couple of days ago. Things are proceeding in a more orderly and much more happy manner. I’ve continued to change things around as far as color and patterns to a degree, but am happy with the results. Sitting in the afternoon sun, coffee and audiobook for breaks, make for a pleasant and non-stressful knitting time.

Onward!

Fish Hat: Dead or Alive (Revisited)

Years ago I made a fish hat for my husband. It’s in the shape of a real fish, complete with eyes, fins, and a tail. That was some 10 years ago, and over time, I have probably made another half dozen. The fish hat is clever and a fun way to use up your stash of left over yarn. The pattern was published in the online knitting magazine, Knitty, and you can find it here: Fish Hat: Dead or Alive? Because the dead fish hat was so popular, the designer even opened up a special website for more information about her ingenious pattern. The beauty of this last link is that you can find the fish hat in crochet, for charity, using a knitting machine, in different languages. If you don’t want to knit, find the crochet version at that site.

I even created knitted, rather than felt cloth, eyes for the dead fish. The pattern is below:

Fish Hat [Dead or Alive?] Eyes

Cast on 4 stitches. Knit front and back of each stitch – 8 stitches. Transfer to double point needles, place marker at round beginning.

Rnd 1: Knit

Rnd 2: Knit front and back each stitch – 16 stitches.

Rnd 3: Knit

Rnd 4: *Knit front and back, knit 1,* repeat to end – 24 stitches

Rnd 5: Knit

Rnd 6: *Knit front and back, knit 2,* repeat to end – 32 stitches

Rnd 7: Knit

Rnd 8: *Knit front and back, knit 3,* repeat to end – 40 stitches

Rnd 9 and 10: Knit

Bind off.

Here is the first fish hat I made. I made it around 2008 for my husband. It has the knitted eyes, which look pretty good, I think.

The most recent fish hat is all stripes and has crocheted eyes. The eyes were all done with single crochet. For these eyes, follow the same ideas as the knitted eyes, but crochet. It works.

I like the knitted eyes better.

With limited amounts of yarn for the most recent fish hat, I had to be pretty careful about what I used. For instance, the tail is in two colors, not one. The pectoral fins are smaller, too, because I was running out of black yarn.

I spent the last week knitting up this most recent fish hat – good way to listen to an audio book or watch some TV and do something productive and satisfying while riding out a head cold.

If you need something to do with your stash and have worsted-weight yarn, make a fish hat! I’ve made a Nemo (clown fish) and others, and everyone has liked them. The yarn is worsted weight, and my preferred yarn is acrylic, specifically Vanna’s Choice, which I find to be a very nice yarn altogether. The original fish hat is about 10 years old, and has been washed multiple times.

This one is for my SIL who, at Christmas, said, “I’d like a fish hat, too!” So, here it is, ready for her birthday next month.

Below, a rogue’s gallery of the fish hat in action!

Moments of Inspiration

There are a lot of people who can inspire you, but how many can put their challenges into words that inspire? Here, above, we have the book Handywoman, by Kate Davies. Eight years ago she had a stroke, and went from an agile, athletic, academic woman to someone whose world was suddenly in upheaval. This book is about her recovery, but more than that, it is about the trials and tribulations, the mental and emotional and physical challenges. Being inside another’s mind in all this turmoil is one of the gifts of this book.

Simply put, it’s one of the best books I have read this year.

And, that made me get out my needles and yarn. I decided I was going to learn to knit with both hands. My preferred method is English – throw the yarn with the right – and have struggled numerous times to use my left hand to any useful degree. Continental knitting leaves me befuddled if I only use my left hand – but using both is pretty simple. (Mirrors? – read Kate’s book to find out more!) I have a problem transferring learning from the right side of my brain to the left, probably remnants of a very serious head injury when I was a kid.

Kate went from being an academic to a woman running her own business, writing books, creating patterns, and developing her own line of wools. Take a look at her blog if you don’t know who she is – I’ve been following her for years and always enjoy what she has to say.