Maddison Cowl

A friend asked me to make a cowl for her little girl Maddison, so I thought I'd write up how I did it. 

You will need: 
Less than 50 metres each of three different colours of double knitting 
3.5mm hook 

You will need to make 8 granny squares using your favourite method. I really like the Purl Bee tutorial, it is explained really well and is super easy to follow!

So you'll be making 8 squares and sewing them together into a band. You could make all the squares the same, but I like them all to be different. Have a look at the picture to see how I made them. The sizing can be adjusted at this point - my squares were a little under 3 inches - so if you want to make it smaller, make fewer squares - if you want it larger, make more!

Once the granny squares have been sewn into a band, you'll be continuing the granny pattern (*3 tr, ch1, rep from * - or in American terms it's *3dc, ch1, rep from *) remembering to make 3 trebles (or doubles if you're American) inbetween each square. Look at the next picture to see how I did it. Easy right? I did 5 rows of granny, but you could make fewer, or more if you wanted. The last row is slightly different - just do the 3 trebles (or doubles) in each ch1 space, but don't ch1 - this makes the top and bottom of the cowl ever so slightly smaller, which helps to keep it snug on your neck. 

Isn't it pretty? The next time I make one I'm going to use all my favourite granny square patterns. Hope Maddison likes her cowl, and that it keeps her warm this Winter.
 

Winding wool

My generous friend Jon gave me seven skeins of beautiful, natural Merino wool. I got my swift out last night and wound it into balls, but what am I going to do with it?

I'm designing a cardigan with it! I want something a little bit Starsky & Hutch, a little bit 70s, and very warm and snuggly. If the pattern turns out good, I might see if Lynne from Calon Yarns wants to stock it in her shop.

Designing baby shrugs

I have been busy designing baby clothes for my gorgeous niece. Here they are:

Ruffles (these aren't names, they're descriptions, 'ruffles' would be a terrible name for a shrug!)

Lace and cable

Stripes and crochet

It's actually more difficult designing baby clothes, well it is for me because I'm crap at knowing how small babies are. The stripey shrug will probably fit my niece when she is three!

Not sure about selling the patterns yet: separately, or as a little booklet? Maybe if I come up with another two, then a booklet of 5 patterns would be good value for a tenner.