Harry Potter Unity Scarf on Flexible Loom

************* UPDATE October 2009 *******************
Scarf is finally finished! Check it out here.
*************UPDATE February 21, 2009*******************

I'm finally to the last four bands for color! It's been slow going on this, lately. I've been so busy with other things I just haven't had the time to work on it. I really want to get it finished, though. It's going to be a very thick and warm scarf.

*************UPDATE January 16, 2009*******************

I've just reached the halfway point! Yay! BUT, I've decided to scrap the crest on the neck for this time around. I've had to put it on the back burner for a few days and need to get it done before winter is over! :) I'm planning on making a second scarf when finished with this one, so I may try the intarsia stuff on it instead. Wish me luck!

*************UPDATE January 05, 2009*******************

I've now got the bottom four stripes and the thin red, gold, and green stripes are finished. I'm going to be experimenting with the crest on the back of the neck before I continue. The scarf seems to be knitting well. I'm really liking the gauge the loom is producing at 4 stitches per inch. The knit pattern is much more subtle and sturdier feeling than the green Knifty Knitter extra large gauge I used on the Slytherin House Scarf. But, it's not too small that it takes forever to knit.

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Just started a new scarf for my mom. I'm making the Unity Scarf that Neville wears in the Harry Potter movie Goblet of Fire.

I changed a few things like adding a Hogwarts "H" crest on the ends and I think another one at the neck. The crests aren't turning out as hoped, but someone on craftster has suggested a fix, so hopefully that will make it better.

Progress so far:




Here is my pattern idea:



And, the crest:



I'm using my new "pick-up stick" loom. It seems to be working wonderfully so far. Here's a link to make the loom (http://knitty-witty.blogspot.com/2008/12/making-easy-knitting-loom.html).

Puffskein with box

Next, for the Harry Potter Swap I knitted a puffskein on the blue KK round loom. I started with the inside color which is pink and switched to the furry tan halfway through. Then, inserted an elastic hairban and knitted it closed like the band on a beanie hat. After binding off and drawing the hole closed, I added a pink tail, some bead eyes, and a hairclip inside to make it perch on your shoulder.

More pics of the puffskein I forgot that I took:







The box was made from an oatmeal container that was cut down to size and painted. I added some raisins in the box to look like...(well you know)...and made a label from the Magical Menagery.





Before the Puffskein, I also made Pygmy Puffs for my daughter and her cousin. It was basically the same construction as the Puffskein.

How to Make an Easy Knitting Loom (Tutorial)

This tutorial is now available in PDF format.

Download Tutorial

The Most Versatile Portable and Easy to Use Knitting Loom Ever

NOTE: I have put together a starter kit with 16-64 pegs, rubberbands and spacer beads. Just email me at the address is in my profile for details. If you want to try making a knitting board, I can throw in some wooden dowels and more rubberbands.

You'll need the following to create your own flexible loom:

- Pegs Any of the following will work:

• Pick-up Sticks (fine - small gauge)
• Swizzel/cocktail stirring sticks (medium - large)
• Pencils or Ball-point Pen barrels (large - extra large)

- Small Rubberbands

- Spacers - optional.

- Knitting Tool - optional.

- Wooden dowels or pen barrels - optional for Double-Knit.

Here is what I used for my current loom:




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Here is my current loom being used as a knitting board to knit a scarf in a mix of e-wrap and double-knit.

To read/see more of it's progress, click here.

I've been experimenting with different materials to make a finer gauge knitting loom for socks. And, I've come up with a decent idea. I tried bamboo BBQ skewers, but they splinter and are pointy at the end. So, I found some of those cheap plastic "pick-up sticks" from the old game with the knobbed ends at an online party supply store. My daughter needed trinkets for her holiday party, so we bought a huge lot of them.

I used small hair rubberbands (real rubber, NOT the new plastic kind that break) and plastic beads with large enough holes for the rubberband to go through. The beads aren't necessary. Twisting the rubberbands inbetween the sticks will produce smaller spacing. I joined one row of rubberband near the top and one near the bottom to keep the loom stable. This is all that is required for knitting in-the-round or flat panel.

To double-knit, I added ball point pen barrels taped together to stiffen the sides and two rubberbands to each end of the loom with spacers to change the distance between the two rake sides. Since the scarf is fairly wide, I also added some paint sticks I had to help stiffen the center even more to prevent it from bowing under stress. NOTE: This loom should not be wrapped too tightly, or bowing will increase.

Earlier attempt at "pick-up stick" loom showing decreasing:

Read/See more about this loom experiment, click here.

Click here to see my other attempts at creating this loom.

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The last thing I really need to experiment with is how wide I can make the loom before it starts falling apart. So far, when the rubberbands are tight, it holds together really well for hat/scarf sized projects. The largest I have attempted so far is an 8" scarf with 64 pegs, which makes the loom about 13" long.

Slytherin Scarf

The first item I attempted for the Harry Potter swap was a Slytherin Scarf made on a green KK round loom. I tried to do an intarsia snake just to see what would happen, but like I suspected, the gauge was too large and you can't tell what it is very well.



Here is a closeup of the tag from Quality Quidditch Supplies:

Knitted Candy Corn Pouch

Of all the items for the OYP Halloween swap, this one took the most time and I was least happy with. The candy corn on front is polymer clay that I sewed on. The inside has candy corn lining. I used a metal dog comb that I pulled some of the teeth out of to knit the pouch using garter stitch with a black cotton crochet string. I knitted a single row of orange plastic bead into the knit just as an experiment. If you're curious about the comb knitting, see my other post about pick knitting.

Spider Beanie

This item, which was the first thing I completed for the OYP swap, didn't fit in the can. Well, it did before I made everything else, but here it is modeled by me:





I used scrap yarn I was given. The orange/black (acrylic?) yarn is kinda scratchy, so I put a thick fuzzy chenille type on the band around the head. The knit pattern was made on my DIY pen loom with a slightly altered "rib stitch"(It really a 1 over 2) I learned online. I made the pom pom body, but the head is a store bought pom pom I had left from another project. The spider (cat) eyes were also bought for another project. Overall, I think it turned out really cute. It looks ordinary until you see it from the back staring at you.

My daughter didn't want to give it up, so I guess I'll be making her one. Probably pink/brown.

Double knitting success

Well, here it is. I managed to double knit on my DIY loom. Yes it is really small and skinny, but I will be making a wider full-size scarf for my mom as soon as I get more yarn and finish my craftser swaps.



The blue and white was done with one peg spacers on both sides while the orange tighter knitted one was done on what is shown with only a bead spacer between the sides. I forgot to use an anchor yarn on the orange and it was difficult to pull out of the loom. Oops!

I will probably use long dowels instead of short pens when I make the wider scarf. I just wrapped more rubber bands around the horizontal pens to attach them to my existing round loom.

One note I should mention. The plastic bands I'm using, which were hair accessories, are starting to break when I try to reuse them. Seems they are only good for one use and then just snap. On the first use they are fine, but can't reuse. (Is this another modern example of "planned obsolesence" or disposable goods?) How weird. Anyway, I bought some actual "old-fashion" real rubber bands and will be trying them next time. They should hold up longer.

Bear Hat on Bic Knitting Loom

Here is yet another hat. I didn't really intend on making this wearable (hence the size). This was just an experiment in decreasing stitches on my Bic pen loom creation. I have discovered that I can actually add and remove pegs from the loom while working, giving me the ability to increase/decrease stitches while knitting "in the round". I need to improve my placement of the decreases, but at least I figured out how to do it. I'm eventually aiming to make some contoured fingerless gloves and some socks to wear camping. I will need to use thinner pegs, though. I'm thinking BBQ skewers at the moment.






Here are close ups showing the decrease effect. Not the best placement.





Next I think I've found a way to double knit on it as well! I'll keep you posted on my success. :)

************UPDATE************

I did it! I figured out how to double-knit on my pen loom. Check it out here. I'm all ready to start making a double-knit scarf!

"Knit Picking" or Pick Knitting

After trying the finger weaving, I started thinking about trying this knitting on other items. I found a pick and tried knitting on it. It was a little tight and the pick didn't have enough teeth for me.



So, I tried a fat comb. I really liked the results. I skipped every other tooth.



Then, I tried other stitch combinations. Below are alternating rows of knit/purl, e wrap, rib, and seed..





***************UPDATES****************

For my Halloween swap I used a metal dog comb to create a little pouch using cotton crochet string. I really like the texure of the pouch. Check it out here.

I also figured out a way to double-knit on this thing! It's really cool. Check out my double-knit here

Finger weaving/knitting

Below are some of my experiments with finger knitting. I wanted a wider result than I was getting with just five fingers, so I started using all ten. Finger weaving is really easy, quick and fun. Jeudi and I have been enjoying it. We will definitely be doing more of this in the future.





Here are some pics Jeudi took of me working:

Adjustable Round Knitting Loom

I'm taking a short break from my can tabistry to share my new creation I'm rather proud of.

I've been try out some knitting with my daughter before she goes back to school. I came across a post on http://www.renaissancefestival.com/ about finger weaving (I'll post some of our finger weaving soon). Anyway, since then, we've been doing a lot of experimenting with loom knitting. Being a thrifty person, I was playing around with things arounds our house like combs and pencils. Finally, I've come up with a great new adjustable loom for knitting.

Here is Jeudi modeling her new hat while displaying our loom. I ran out at 32 pens. Have to wait to make a hat for myself until I can get more.





Makes a great duck beak, too!!


I used BIC stick pens, small rubber bands, and beads. It separates anywhere along the pegs and can be laid flat. When ever I need, I can add/subtract pegs really easily. No extra looms to carry or fancy tools necessary. I love it because I can just roll it up yarn attached and all and stuff it in a bag for long car rides.



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Before the adjustable BIC loom, I had tried a pencil loom. I tried tying string to each pencil, but it took too long to put together and I couldn't make it smaller as easy. I made 2 hat/scarf sets for Jeudi's dolls.