Long Loom Scarves

These two scarves were Christmas presents for my sister and my dad, both were knit using super chunky wool and a long loom. For my sister's (the black one) I used a fine shimmery purple wool, along with the main black wool, to give it a bit of sparkle. 

They're quick to knit and I love the pattern the long loom gives in the stitches. These looms are a good idea for anyone who's not great at maintaining the same tension all the way through their knitting, because they keep the knitting and the stitches nice and even.

Similar to the circular looms, the long looms also come in four different sizes. I've seen them online in sets with all four sizes, however in any of my local knitting supply shops, they all seem to be sold individually. Each loom also comes with a pick/hook and a wool needle. 

If you're going to buy an individual one, I'd recommend buying the longest one, simply because there's a greater variety of projects you can use it for - you don't have to use every peg on the loom, so if you wanted to knit a narrow scarf you could use the first 8 pegs, and for wide scarves or wraps you could use the whole length of the loom.

Wool from: Springwools

Loom from: Home Focus at Hickeys

Loopy Scarf

I knitted this one for my Mum last Mother's day (I also did one in a different colour for my mum in law, but I haven't got a picture of it). I had been browsing around YouTube looking at various knitting videos and I saw a video tutorial for this scarf. I love the look of the scarf, and figured it would be something both my mum and my husband's mum would get a lot of use out of. Most importantly (given that it was about ten days til Mother's Day) it looked like a project that would knit up quickly!

Once you get the hang of which loop to knit into, the scarf is nice and easy to make. The yarn is called Rico Loopy and each ball makes one scarf, so there was no need to do up gauge swatches to work out how much wool would be needed. When you look at the wool when it's in the ball, it's hard to imagine what the finished product will look like. (Obviously aside from the picture on the label.) Here's the wool:

One thing I'd recommend you get, especially if you need to set your knitting down at any stage (like to answer the phone, get tea or answer a call of nature) is a stitch holder. The loops make quite large stitches and it's very easy for the stitches to slip off either end of the needle. This happened to me a couple of times and it's a nightmare trying to pick them back up again. If you can't get your hands on a stitch holder, thread a piece of chunky yarn through all your stitches and tie the ends in a loose bow - it'll do the same job as the stitch holder but it'll take slightly longer to put in and take out.

I think the scarves took me two to three hours each to knit. I'd had dinner, watched tv, etc while I was making them so I reckon if you actually sat down and just focused on it, you'd have a scarf knitted in under 90 minutes. I was very pleased with how they turned out, and I'd definitely make one again. 

Wool and needles from: Springwools

Video tutorial from: Black Sheep Wools

Loom Knit Wrap

I knitted this for my Mum for Christmas. I mentioned in a previous post that I bought a set of circular looms on eBay, and I used the biggest one to knit this. Not wanting to toot my own horn but it looks way nicer in real life than it does in the picture.

The looms are kind of funny sizes, the smallest one would knit a hat to suit a small newborn, or a preemie. The second smallest would do for a toddler or small child. The second largest one would do for an adult, but as for the biggest one, I don't know what sort of hat you'd be knitting on it. Maybe one for an elephant or something - it's massive. 

This scarf/wrap is about the same dimensions as a pashmina. There are three different types of wool in the scarf, the main wool is a plain black chunky wool, and then I also used Firefly wool at the same time to incorporate some interesting colour and texture. Every ten rows, I would weave in a row of furry wool, and I also had a row of furry wool at the start and at the end.

All in all this took me about 2 weeks to knit, it would probably have been quicker but I had several other Christmas present projects on the go at the same time. I'm seriously considering knitting one for myself also, because it's lovely and warm and the furry wool is really soft!

Wool from: Springwools

Loom from: eBay

Drop Stitch Scarf

I made this for my youngest sister for Christmas just gone. It's made using MASSIVE 25mm needles, which are about as thick as a broom handle. The wool is Sirdar Indie in shade #151, and I think it's gorgeous! I love colour combinations!

It was quick enough to knit once I got the hang of it, I think after about the 3rd row I got into a rhythm and the whole thing was finished in less than an hour.

Needles from: Home Focus at Hickeys

Wool from: Home Focus at Hickeys

Pattern and video tutorial from: Hulu Crafts on YouTube

Patch The Puppy

I knitted this for my son for his first birthday. It really was a labour of love because it took AGES!! The needles you use are tiny, like about 2.5mm so it’s like knitting on toothpicks. Also there were LOADS of increasing stitches, which I found quite difficult to knit because this particular wool has no stretch in it at all. That being said, the smaller bits like the arms, legs and ears knit up quite quickly. The head and body were a bit of a slog though.

I had a good laugh when I ordered the stuffing, because it's sold by weight, so I accidentally ordered enough to make about ten teddies! (If you're ordering the stuffing from my link below, one bag is more than enough to make this project)

This was the first thing I’d ever knit using a proper pattern and in retrospect it might have been wiser to start with something simpler, however I was really pleased with how it turned out in the end. And, most importantly, my son loves it!

Pattern and wool from: Go Woolly

Stuffing from: Springwools