Easter Bunny Pattern

Easter is right around the corner, but there's still plenty of time to make up a herd of these bunnies!



I started this pattern almost a year ago, intending the bunny to have four paws. It wasn't working out, so I put it aside. This version is simple and quick to make, and I'll be offering this as a project class at Michaels in March. The pattern is available on my website.

Bootie Slippers

These bootie slippers are very easy to make.



Collaborating with Jo Ann Hill has been fun -- the slippers are her design, and I helped her write up the instructions. She created this slipper for Project One Fifty, which sends warm clothing to impoverished people in a small town in Enseñada, Mexico. But these slippers are great for local use too, such as during our chilly MN winters, and they make great gifts!

Jo Ann has kindly given her permission to make this free pattern available on my website.

Beaded I-Cords

I've had beaded I-cord bracelets in the back of my mind for some time, and have posted about them on several of the Yahoo loom groups. Here are a few samples I made up for a kid's class. You get two really different looks depending on how many pegs you use on the loom.



To make these, first string the beads onto the yarn. Putting a piece of tape on the cut end of the yarn helps! The last bead you string will be the first bead you use, so if you are putting on extra beads, do them first.

The white bracelet is made with a 2-peg I-cord. Always bring the bead up to the pegs at the same point in the wrapping process. I knit off the figure-8, put the bead between the pegs, and wrap another figure-8. I used 21 beads on this bracelet.

The blue bracelet is made with a 3-peg I-cord. The bead goes on the long strand of yarn that gets brought from peg 3 back to peg 1. There are 20 beads on it, and the blue bracelet is longer and stretchier than the white one.

So then I started thinking about purse straps. I-cords make great purse straps, but they get kinda boring. Beads would sure dress them up, especially if they are something a bit classier than pony beads. ;)



This sample is also made with a 3-peg I-cord. I think fancy rectangular beads would look really nice. Depending on the length of the beads, I might use 4 pegs for the I-cord. Again, the beads go on the strand of yarn that goes on the inside of the loom between the last peg and the first peg on each row.

My daughter has put in her request for a black choker with black beads. ¡Qué sorpresa!

Bunny Knits

Gotta be careful where the knitting gets left; you never know who or what may be interested in it!



This is my daughter's Dutch rabbit, Komet. He took a break from his agility training to investigate my experimentation. He did not chew the holes in the knitting, but I did find some damaged electrical cords. Uh oh.

Cable Cast On

Edited 2/3/07: I called this the crochet cast on, but it's really the cable cast on. The crochet cast on is very similar, but with that, the loops are placed on the pegs instead of around the pegs. I'll illustrate the crochet cast on in a different post. Sorry about the confusion!

I've been asked about the crochet cable cast on method, so thought I'd post pictures on how to do it. This cast on makes the starting end of the piece look very similar to the flat bound off end of the piece.

I'm right handed, so it's easiest for me to crochet from right to left, so the loom gets wrapped from right to left, or in a clockwise direction.

Step 1: Make a slip knot in your yarn, and place it between two pegs.


Step 2: Put the crochet hook through the loop in the slip knot.


Step 3: Let the working yarn wrap around a peg, and catch the yarn with the crochet hook.


Step 4: Pull the working yarn through the loop on the crochet hook.


Step 5: Let the working yarn wrap around the next peg, and catch the yarn with the crochet hook.


Step 6: Pull the working yarn through the loop on the crochet hook, and continue with each peg.


At the end, put the loop that is on the crochet hook onto the last peg.


If knitting in the round, the last loop should go onto peg 1, which will already have a loop on it. Knit off peg 1 as the last step of the cast-on. Then wrap peg 1 for the first stitch in row 1.