Knitted Kindness Elves
These directions are not very exact, but should make sense to anyone with some experience.
This elf is made with dk yarn, size 4 dbl needles, and a
size 0 crochet hook. For each part I first crocheted a chain and a made a loop
the size I needed, made one round of sc, and then picked up those stitches with
the double pointed needles to knit. This prevented the edges from rolling when
knitted in stockingette stitch and helped me visualize size of each part since
I was working without a pattern.
Supplies:
2 inch wooden ball for head, preferably with a flattened end
with a hold drilled into it. If it doesn't have a hole, you will need to drill
a 1/4 inch one.
4 one inch diameter wooden beads or flattened end balls for
hands and feet.
3-4 inch long pieces of dowel to fit into the holes in the
beads. The ones for arms and legs should have a very small hole drilled through
the end not in the bead. (The wooden balls I have have a half inch hole that
goes partway into them, so my dowels were thick enough to drill)
The wooden balls should be painted flesh color, though you
might want to paint the feet like shoes and the hands like mittens. Eyes and
mouth can be painted or drawn with permanent markers.
A small amount of stuffing.
A small piece of knit material for the body, or a 4 inch
long section of stocking (I used white tights)
Leftover balls of dk yarn in the colors of your choice.
Worsted yarn for hair.
Sleeves: Crochet a
chain long enough to make a ring the will fit around the arm dowel, but not completely
around the hand bead. Mine was 17 stitches. Sc into each chain, then use those
stitches as your cast on, dividing them onto three dbl needles. Knit a tube 4
inches long. Fasten off, leaving about an 8 inch tail.
Pants: Make just like arms, except one or two stitches
smaller (but still large enough to go over the dowel, mine was 16 stitches).
When the first tube in four inches long, bind off just less than one third of
the stitches (I bound off three). Put the remaining stitches on a scrap of yarn
while you knit a second identical tube. Then redistribute the remaining
stitches from both tubes onto the three needles and knit for one inch. Bind
off; sew the crotch seam.
Sweater: Crochet a
chain long enough to go around the head ball about a third of the way up. Form
into a ring and sc into each stitch, then transfer to double pointed needles as
above. Knit even for an inch to make rolled neckline. Mark the center front and
center back. Every third round increase one stitch on each side of both markers
by wrapping one stitch before and one stitch after each marker (wrap, k1, slide
marker, k1, warp). After six sets of increases, knit even for six round to make
a rolled bottom edge.
Hat: Make a chain
long enough to fit around head and form into a ring. Sc in each chain and
transfer to double pointed needles. Knit even for three inches. Decrease 5
stitches distributed evenly through next row. Decrease 5 stitches in following
row. Thread a yarn through remaining stitches, pull tightly and secure.
Hair: The braid is made with 15 strands of worsted weight
yarn (21 of dk).
Assembly:
Lightly stuff a body formed by making a bag out of the
section of stocking or knit material. Gather the top edge with a long string. (The
body will be about 3.5 inches tall and about 6 inches around.)
Put legs into the pant legs. With a large needles, draw a
string through the hole in the top of one leg, through the lower part of the
body, then through the other leg. Sew back and forth a couple times to secure.
Pull up pants and stitch in place.
Put the sweater on the body, then insert the dowel with the
head ball and pull the gathering string very tightly, wrap around dowel and tie
securely. You could also add a little glue at the neck.
Put sleeves on arm dowels and stitch closed at top. If the
dowels are short, add a tiny bit of stuffing.
Using matching yarn, sew through
the top of the sleeve, through the top of the sweater and body, and out through
the other sleeve top. Sew back and forth a couple times and secure.
Either glue the braid to the head, or sew it to the sides of
the hat.
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