Thursday, February 10, 2011

Staggered eyelet shrug

It's been extremely cold here. Temps below freezing. And so I decided to make Naomi a little something to help keep her warm while she's indoors... something that would allow her to move freely and continue exploring. I also wanted something that was straight forward to make and didn't require me to follow a pattern. So a make-it-up-as-I-went-along shrug was just the ticket.

Staggered eyelet shrug

I used Socks that Rock heavyweight sock yarn in Storeytime colorway, and US 6 double pointed needles.

BMFM Storeytime

Here's the approach I used to make this shrug for a 12mth size:

Cuff:
- Cast on 39 stitches and divide evenly over 3 needles
- Join to work in the round, and k1, p1 rib for 8 rounds (approx 1 inch). Note that because there is an odd number of stitches, your round will start on a knit stitch and end on a knit stitch

Sleeve 1:
- Decide on the pattern that you want for the shrug. You could simply do stocking stitch for example. I chose to add a little interest by adding staggered eyelets as follows:
- Round 1 and 2: Knit every stitch
- Round 3: (K2, K2tog, Yarn over)* repeat to last 3 stitches, K3
- Rounds 4, 5 and 6: Knit every stitch
- Round 7: (K2 tog, yarn over, K2)* repeat to last 3 stitches K2tog, yarn over, K1
- Round 8: Knit every stitch
- Continue with rounds 1 through 8 until sleeve is desired length (I measured against one of her other cardigan sleeves. I also write down every row so that when I work the 2nd sleeve I can make sure they'll be exactly the same length)

Back:
- Instead of working in the round, now you want to work back and forth as if you were knitting a scarf
- Implication for the eyelet pattern is that for rows 2, 4 and 6 you will need to purl every stitch
- Continue in pattern until back is desired size

Sleeve 2:
- Return to knitting in the round, as described in sleeve 1
- And finish with 8 rows of K1, P1 rib
- Cast off off in rib pattern

Edging:
- I picked up stitches around the opening for the back (picking up 2 stitches for every 3 rows worked) and worked 8 rows in K1, P1 rib.
- Cast off in rib pattern
- Weave in ends

And that my friends is it!

Shrug

It has turned out to be super practical - great for when she's busily active, but also perfect at night if it's a little chillier (since all her sleep sacks are without arms and the t-shirt material pjs don't seem sufficient in my mind.)

Hope you are keeping warm.
Sam

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Look at all that hair! :O
She seriously continues to be the most cheerful baby ever :) Erm, does she still count as a baby?

At Home Mommy Knits said...

Adorable! Love the curly bow hairtie to match all those colors. Great little shrug.

marycatharine said...

So cute! I can't believe how much Naomi has grown.

Bea said...

So Cute! It looks like it really suits her.

Denise said...

That is just the cutest thing, and she looks adorable in it. Love the yarn colors too :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, what a nice little bolero on a little lady!! :-)
It's so nice Sam! And the colors.. so spring!!!
I love it!

Terrie D. (StarSpry) said...

Naomi is so adorable and happy!! The shrug is just perfect :)

Terri said...

I love this shrug and Naomi is adorable! Thanks for the great little pattern!