This soft, cuddly bear will appeal just as much to teens as to toddlers. We’ve embroidered the buttons and facial features, so there are no small pieces to worry about with young children, but you may wish to use buttons or other decorative notions if safety is not a concern.
Using cc B, embroider a French knot on each cc C stripe.
Using polyester fiberfill, loosely stuff the bear’s body and legs, arms, and head. Note: For a more cuddly toy, do not stuff the bear too tightly. Use a knitting needle to stuff the fiberfill into the crevices, if necessary.
Following the illustration, use cc A to embroider French-knot eyes on the bear’s head. Using bright pink crewel yarn, embroider a satin-stitch nose. Using cc B, embroider a smiling mouth, using a backstitch.
Using matching sewing thread, sew the arms into place, 1″ (2.5cm) from the neck edge. Sew the head in place on the neck.
Fold the lower ear corners in (see above A and B), then bring the top corners down to meet the lower corners (C). With matching thread, tack corners in place at top of head, then stitch them all around. Make a grosgrain ribbon bow at the neck.
GREAT BARRINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Born in Ireland and raised in Western Massachusetts, where she now resides, Crispina ffrench has a fine arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. During her sophomore year, Crispina created a collection of handwoven clothing and Ragamuffins, whimsical dolls made from recycled wool sweaters, which she sold through a craft cooperative in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This business, plus two other part-time jobs allowed her to graduate from college debt-free. Her success at The American Craft Council Exhibit in West Springfield, Massachusetts, launched her business with flying colors.
Her current company, Fuchsia, Inc. dba Crispina, recycles wool sweaters and worn denim jeans into heirloom-quality blankets, throws, pillows, rugs, and window treatments. Crispina is founder and Creative Director of Fuchsia, whose mission is to promote “sustainability by turning throwaways into treasure.” In their Housatonic riverbank studio, Crispina and her colleagues wash, sort, cut, combine, sew, and press using a special process designed to enhance the natural qualities of the fabrics, making the finished products remarkably plush, soft, warm, comforting, and durable. Her business recently received RIRC grants from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
Crispina likes to “celebrate the quirks of the original garments,” by creatively including features like pockets, buttons, and labels in the recycled item. Her products have been featured in such publications as The New York Times, Country Home, Traditional Home, Country Living, and Organic Style. Crispina, Inc. has reclaimed more than 200,000 pounds of discarded clothing — truly spinning straw into gold!
This pillow is fun to knit using a technique known as intarsia, which uses a separate ball of yarn for each color block. When you pick up a new color to begin the next block, be sure to wrap the new yarn around the old one, to avoid getting holes at the color changes. See page 172 for more information.
If you’re looking for interesting textures and effects, search no further than your nearest yarn store. Here we feature a fur-look, tufted chenille-like polka dot, hand-dyed yarns, backed with coordinating silk fabrics.
The next time you go on a picnic — or the invitation says BYO — carry your wine along in this elegant bag. The soft, thick felt will keep the bottle well protected, and even contribute some insulation. The grape “vine” and grape leaf “veins” are applied using a technique known as needle felting. The “grapes” are made by felting fleece (see page 157 for directions).
Keep the cold winter winds at bay by tucking this easy-to-knit draft blocker against the bottom of your door. The colorwash effect is created by alternating rows of color in a transition block between adjacent, related colors. Felting enhances the blended look. To give the draft blocker weight and stability, an inner liner is filled with inexpensive kitty litter.
Keep your teapot snug and warm with this brightly colored, whimsical cozy, decorated with small purple felt balls. You may have to trim the top edges of the cozy to get a smooth curve and a good match back and front, but the well- felted fabric will not ravel when you cut it. If you wish, knit one side of the cozy with the main color and the other side in one of the contrasting colors.
Attaching the triangles to the inside of the back
Sewing the front to the back
6 EASY STEPS
MATERIALS
Liquid dishwashing soap or laundry detergent
8½ cups warm water
White vinegar 2-quart, 1-pint, and 1-cup containers Washed and combed wool fleece
1. PREPARING SOLUTIONS. In the 2-quart container, combine ¼ cup soap with 6 cups warm water. In the 1-pint container, combine ½ cup soap with 1½ cups warm water. Stir 2 tablespoons white vinegar into 1 cup water.
2. GETTING STARTED. Take a small handful of fleece about twice as big as the finished ball, and divide it in half. Separate one half into several small bundles. Fluff out and align the fibers of these bundles. Tip: For equalsized balls, prepare enough fleece for all the balls you plan to make before you begin the felting process.
3. WETTING THE CORE. Dip the unseparated fleece into the weak soap solution, squeezing it until it is fully saturated.
4. WRAP IT UP. Firmly wrap one of the fleece bundles around the saturated fleece. Smooth it as you wrap, taking care not to pinch or twist the bundle. Dip the ball into the stronger soap solution to wet the outer layer. Add the remaining bundles, smoothing and wetting them in the same manner.
Tip: Use your palms rather than your fingertips.
5. GET THE BALL ROLLING. Gently roll the ball between your palms. If it won’t roll, your hands may be too soapy, so give them a rinse. As the ball becomes denser, you can apply more pressure. Continue rolling until the wool fibers are tightly packed and the ball is uniform.
6. FINISHING UP. Rinse the ball under hot water and then drop it in the vinegar solution for a few seconds (this restores the pH of the wool). Roll the ball again to remove excess moisture and reshape it. Allow it to air dry.
There’ll be no burned fingers or scorched counter tops when you use these coordinating, brightly striped oven accessories. Use double-strands of worsted yarn for the protective thickness, or choose a bulky weight yarn for the same effect.
You’ll love knitting these nifty stockings, and Santa will love filling them to the brim. The secret to the furry tops is a strand of brushed mohair worked along with the worsted wool.
