angelovearth Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I'm wanting to make some gifts for family members. I was thinking that a nice dishcloth or maybe some hot pads would be some nice things to make since I have to make quite a few of them. Do you guys have some other ideas and/or maybe some links to some nice dish cloths or hot pads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemongoose Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 There is this place that has a ton: http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory.php And then there is ravelry. I highly recommend joining ravelry and seeing what they have there. It is free to join, and when you do a search you can mark free patterns. You would be surprised how many there are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in OK Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Raverly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Mason Dixon Knitting has lots of great ideas for knitted gifts, and is a fun read as well! They tend to use some materials that are pretty reasonably priced as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Lots of knitters here on the forum. You'll hear most of saying: Join Ravelry! Once there you can search the pattern database for tons and tons of whatever it is you want to make. Want to make a dishcloth? Type in dishcloth. A couple thousand patterns pop up. But now you can limit it: knitting (vs crochet), free (vs pay), with pictures (I like to see how it turned out), worsted weight . . . now you're down to just over 1500 patterns. :lol: A couple of my favorites are Grandmother's Dishcloth and Kitchen Cotton Dishcloth. Have fun searching! There are a lot of gift knitting books out; check your library. You might find Last Minute Knitted Gifts and More Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. There are also the One Skein Wonder books and The Knitter's Year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashfern Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Join Ravelry! I really like the Waffle Knit Dishcloth found here http://homespunliving.blogspot.com/2007/11/waffle-knit-dishcloth-pattern.html. It's quick to make and works very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 When I taught knitting at co-op last year I had the kids make dishcloths. I found dozens upon dozens of patterns for dishcloths on Ravelry, along with dozens upon dozens of example photographs of what the patterns looked like knitted up. It was a great project -- the kids had a blast. There's a Well Trained Mind group on Ravelry, by the way. Actually, there are hundreds of patterns FOR EVErYTHING linked on Ravelry. If you go into the advanced search, you can specify that you're only interested in knitting, in patterns that have a photo, patterns that are free online, patterns that are rated easy, that use a particular weight and yardage of yarn, and/or that are for various types of items (hats, scarves, sweaters, toys, accessories). I love using their search engine. Plus, when you find a pattern, you can see how other knitters made it up, and if they have any comments about what they liked or had problems with. OH, I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING I FOUND LAST NIGHT THERE -- Hexipuffs! Not that it's something you'd want to make for your situation, but shows you the incredible variety of things you run into over there. Also demonstrates that I spend too much time browsing the site, sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashfern Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 OH, I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING I FOUND LAST NIGHT THERE -- Hexipuffs! Not that it's something you'd want to make for your situation, but shows you the incredible variety of things you run into over there. Also demonstrates that I spend too much time browsing the site, sigh. OT question. What do you stuff these with? I want to make a throw using these but I end up having to wash my throws almost weekly. Will the stuffing hold up over time? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 OT question. What do you stuff these with? I want to make a throw using these but I end up having to wash my throws almost weekly. Will the stuffing hold up over time? :D Someone mentioned quilt batting. I've not clue, though. Would it work to not stuff it at all -- wouldn't it still be sort of puffy just because it's a hexagon knitted in the round? Also, would the various yarns felt up various amounts? Although someone mentioned that because of the way you attach them to each other, you can just remove the hexapuffs that get icky if you have to do surgery on the throw. Honestly, I wandered into this while I was looking for something else. I'm not even sure I'll try making any, but I love little quicky patterns that you can do in bits like that. I'm also overly fond of Korknisse. And have more amigurumi crochet books than is really sane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 OT question. What do you stuff these with? I want to make a throw using these but I end up having to wash my throws almost weekly. Will the stuffing hold up over time? :D I've also heard you stuff these with regular polyester batting, but not too puffy or it will be too difficult to seam. I'm not part of the hexipuff craze but I've heard a lot about it from listening to Stash and Burn and Doubleknit podcasts. I think most people are making them with superwash sock yarns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnomeyNewt Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I've been meaning to make these for a while as gifts and for myself even, as they seem pretty sturdy for oven mits. They require felting but once you figure out felting you will realize how easy it is. Basically knit a really big mitten and than throw it into the wash or handbucket and let it swirl around. I check my felting about every 3-5 minutes and as soon as it is the size I want, I remove it from water and squeeze excess water out by hand. Here are the patterns I was planning on using, they are free: http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=50516220 http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=50516221 OH, I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING I FOUND LAST NIGHT THERE -- Hexipuffs! Not that it's something you'd want to make for your situation, but shows you the incredible variety of things you run into over there. Also demonstrates that I spend too much time browsing the site, sigh. I've seen a similar pattern to this on ravelry, but you use your excess sock yarn! You know those extra yards you might have at the end of knitting socks... you can turn all those different colors and types into a blanket. Its pretty neat. I don't think I have enough years of knitting socks to have that many extra bits around, but overtime I can see it adding up. I found the pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sock-yarn-blanket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I've been meaning to make these for a while as gifts and for myself even, as they seem pretty sturdy for oven mits. They require felting but once you figure out felting you will realize how easy it is. Basically knit a really big mitten and than throw it into the wash or handbucket and let it swirl around. I check my felting about every 3-5 minutes and as soon as it is the size I want, I remove it from water and squeeze excess water out by hand. Here are the patterns I was planning on using, they are free: http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=50516220 http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=50516221 Another fun pattern for felting is Fuzzy Feet. It helps if you have the recipient's foot available for sizing, but you could just go for something in the general size range if you're trying to be covert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I've been meaning to make these for a while as gifts and for myself even, as they seem pretty sturdy for oven mits. They require felting but once you figure out felting you will realize how easy it is. Basically knit a really big mitten and than throw it into the wash or handbucket and let it swirl around. I check my felting about every 3-5 minutes and as soon as it is the size I want, I remove it from water and squeeze excess water out by hand. Here are the patterns I was planning on using, they are free: http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=50516220 http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=50516221 I made some using this pattern (also free). It worked well and I used my wool scraps to make it. I think I had to run in twice through my front loader. Fuzzy Feet is good, too. The knitting goes really quickly--almost faster than the felting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelovearth Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 There is this place that has a ton: http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory.php And then there is ravelry. I highly recommend joining ravelry and seeing what they have there. It is free to join, and when you do a search you can mark free patterns. You would be surprised how many there are! Thank you! Ravelry seems to be the place to be according to you all. lol I had no idea! I will go and join there tody. Raverly. ...is the place. lol Thanks! Mason Dixon Knitting has lots of great ideas for knitted gifts, and is a fun read as well! They tend to use some materials that are pretty reasonably priced as well. I'll check that out too. Thank you! Lots of knitters here on the forum. You'll hear most of saying: Join Ravelry! Once there you can search the pattern database for tons and tons of whatever it is you want to make. Want to make a dishcloth? Type in dishcloth. A couple thousand patterns pop up. But now you can limit it: knitting (vs crochet), free (vs pay), with pictures (I like to see how it turned out), worsted weight . . . now you're down to just over 1500 patterns. :lol: A couple of my favorites are Grandmother's Dishcloth and Kitchen Cotton Dishcloth. Have fun searching! There are a lot of gift knitting books out; check your library. You might find Last Minute Knitted Gifts and More Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. There are also the One Skein Wonder books and The Knitter's Year. Those cloth's are super cute! I never even thought of looking at the library for knitting books. I did find one at our local surplus store the other day with some really cute stuffed animals. Join Ravelry! I really like the Waffle Knit Dishcloth found here http://homespunliving.blogspot.com/2007/11/waffle-knit-dishcloth-pattern.html. It's quick to make and works very well. I LOVE that pattern! I'll have to figure out how many I'd need to cast on to make it just a tad wider. I'm looking to make all different kinds and I really like this one! Thanks for that link! When I taught knitting at co-op last year I had the kids make dishcloths. I found dozens upon dozens of patterns for dishcloths on Ravelry, along with dozens upon dozens of example photographs of what the patterns looked like knitted up. It was a great project -- the kids had a blast. There's a Well Trained Mind group on Ravelry, by the way. Actually, there are hundreds of patterns FOR EVErYTHING linked on Ravelry. If you go into the advanced search, you can specify that you're only interested in knitting, in patterns that have a photo, patterns that are free online, patterns that are rated easy, that use a particular weight and yardage of yarn, and/or that are for various types of items (hats, scarves, sweaters, toys, accessories). I love using their search engine. Plus, when you find a pattern, you can see how other knitters made it up, and if they have any comments about what they liked or had problems with. OH, I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING I FOUND LAST NIGHT THERE -- Hexipuffs! Not that it's something you'd want to make for your situation, but shows you the incredible variety of things you run into over there. Also demonstrates that I spend too much time browsing the site, sigh. Thank you so much for all that info. I will definitely go join there! Those hexipuffs look interesting and something to do with all your extra yarn. lol I'm not sure how comfy that would be though. I'm sure it's warm but doesn't look very bendable. Thank you ALL for your replies! I've just recently got into knitting again. I've not done anything for about 5 years now. I did a lot when my boys were young and would actually wear the hats I made them. haha I even had my own spinning wheel but I got rid of that because I was hoping to move to a warmer climate where I would never have to wear wool again. LOL yeah, didn't quite make it there yet! haha Now I'm heading to see my family in Germany in July. I haven't seen them in 8 years so I thought some nice handmade gifts would be nice for me to bring them. I'm actually really enjoying knitting again. My SIL is pregnant and I recently made her baby a knitted bunny, some booties, and some mittens. I really enjoyed that and realized how much I truly missed it! Thanks again for all your ideas and info!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Oh, I just remembered something that might interest you: knitted monsters. It's all the rage . . . at least on Ravelry. Check out Rebecca Danger's Big Book of Knitted Monsters. She has a couple of free patterns on her blog (see the right-hand column). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I like pinterest to see what patterns and projects look like first. I find knitted scarves are a easy pattern and good gift for most people - just pick style and yarn to match the person's taste and maybe coat color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelovearth Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Someone mentioned quilt batting. I've not clue, though. Would it work to not stuff it at all -- wouldn't it still be sort of puffy just because it's a hexagon knitted in the round? Also, would the various yarns felt up various amounts? Although someone mentioned that because of the way you attach them to each other, you can just remove the hexapuffs that get icky if you have to do surgery on the throw. Honestly, I wandered into this while I was looking for something else. I'm not even sure I'll try making any, but I love little quicky patterns that you can do in bits like that. I'm also overly fond of Korknisse. And have more amigurumi crochet books than is really sane. Wow! Those are just adorable!!! I've been meaning to make these for a while as gifts and for myself even, as they seem pretty sturdy for oven mits. They require felting but once you figure out felting you will realize how easy it is. Basically knit a really big mitten and than throw it into the wash or handbucket and let it swirl around. I check my felting about every 3-5 minutes and as soon as it is the size I want, I remove it from water and squeeze excess water out by hand. Here are the patterns I was planning on using, they are free: http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=50516220 http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=50516221 I've seen a similar pattern to this on ravelry, but you use your excess sock yarn! You know those extra yards you might have at the end of knitting socks... you can turn all those different colors and types into a blanket. Its pretty neat. I don't think I have enough years of knitting socks to have that many extra bits around, but overtime I can see it adding up. I found the pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sock-yarn-blanket Thank you! I love ALL of those! Another fun pattern for felting is Fuzzy Feet. It helps if you have the recipient's foot available for sizing, but you could just go for something in the general size range if you're trying to be covert. Those are very cute! I've felted some for my dad once before but then they didn't felt down small enough and they turned out huge. Like size 14 huge! lol I made some using this pattern (also free). It worked well and I used my wool scraps to make it. I think I had to run in twice through my front loader. Fuzzy Feet is good, too. The knitting goes really quickly--almost faster than the felting! Love them! Oh, I just remembered something that might interest you: knitted monsters. It's all the rage . . . at least on Ravelry. Check out Rebecca Danger's Big Book of Knitted Monsters. She has a couple of free patterns on her blog (see the right-hand column). Those are just adorable! Very cute! Thank you all for such wonderful ideas and links! I can see I'm going to stay very busy from now on. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelovearth Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 I like pinterest to see what patterns and projects look like first. I find knitted scarves are a easy pattern and good gift for most people - just pick style and yarn to match the person's taste and maybe coat color. Oh that's a great idea! I just joined pinterest a few days ago. I still need to figure out what's going on over there. I am planning on making this really cool cowl for my mom and my soon to be 90 year old grandma. I bought the pattern, I just need to get some wool tomorrow when I go to town. http://nevernotknitting.blogspot.com/2010/08/shawl-collared-cowl.html I am going to make some shawls for my other grandma and grandpa. I think that's always a thing people will actually use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 This is a great scarf pattern :) http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/drop-stitch-scarf-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 there is a search feature at pinterest, so you can search "knit" or "knitted gifts" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelovearth Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 This is a great scarf pattern :) http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/drop-stitch-scarf-2 That's beautiful but it looks difficult! there is a search feature at pinterest, so you can search "knit" or "knitted gifts" Thanks! I'll look for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 It is not difficult. I made it as a beginner. It was my first scarf pattern. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelovearth Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 It sure looks difficult. lol Nice job for your first project! I'll have to look at the pattern and read and then it'll be clearer. It sure is purty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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