Loom knitting 101

There are women in my family who are amazing craftswoman and can knit anything.  I am NOT one of those women.  I can, however, knit a basic hat in the time it takes to watch a movie on Netflix.  Maybe this post should be called "Netflix and knit" but I digress.

My adventures in knitting started when I found a wooden circle loom on sale at Goodwill.  In the past year I've knitted maybe 8 hats so the loom has paid for itself!

For this project you will need:
Circle Loom
Loom knitting hook
Needle
All of these items should come with the loom.  It they didn't they're available separately at any craft store or Walmart/Target type store.

Everything you need should come in the box!

You'll also need 1 skein of yarn. #6 weight.

Super Bulky #6 yard

I've learned the hard way that getting the correct weight yarn is important.  Otherwise your hat won't be warm!  OR the thread will be to fat to work on your loom.

My loom!

I learned to knit using the Internet and you tube videos.  My technique is not perfect but my hats still keep your head warm!  I chose grey yarn with a bit of sparkle.  This one skein of yarn made 1 hat.

My yarn

CASTING ON:
       Now on to the knitting!  Find the peg that is on the side of the loom (the anchor peg).  Wrap the yarn around that peg 3-4 times.  This will anchor your thread.

wrap thread around the anchor thread

Now proceed to the first peg on the top of the loom.

Wrap the thread around the first peg

 Loosely wrap the thread around the first peg 3 times.

wrap 3 times

Using your hook pull the middle thread over the top thread and all the way off the peg.  Proceed to the next peg.  Wrap the yarn around the second peg 2 times.  Pull the bottom thread over the top thread and off the peg.

wrap the second peg 2 times

Now move to the 3rd peg.  Wrap the thread 2 times.  Pull the bottom thread over the top thread and off the peg.

This process is called "casting on".  Continue casting on until you've gone all the way around the loom.

first row cast on

When you get back to the first peg, wrap the yarn around the peg 1 time.  Pull the bottom thread over the top thread and off the peg.

wrap the first thread 1 time

KNITTING:
Continuing knitting around the circle by wrapping each peg with 1 loop of yarn.  Then pull the bottom loop over the top loop and off the peg.  For a little while it feels like nothing is happening, but before you know it, Kevin Spacey has killed a dog (sorry - house of cards reference) and you've got something that looks like knitting!

Knitting is underway!

Now, just keep going!

Progress

 How quickly you progress depends on how soon you find a rhythm.  It's just the same step over and over again until your knitting looks hat like.

Keep knitting!!

The bottom edge of your hat will begin to curl onto itself just a bit.  Don't panic, just keep knitting!

Bottom edge curl

 You'll keep knitting and soon you'll have a lot to show for your effort!

More progress.

After a while you'll wonder if you've knit enough to have a real hat.  There are all kinds of fancy measuring techniques to figure this out.  I simply try it on!

Have I knit enough yet?

I wanted a hat that came down over my ears with room left in the top of the hat.  Not done yet!  Keep knitting until your hat looks and fits right for your needs!

Finally done!

Once you've knit enough for a hat, it's time to bind off.

BINDING OFF:
Locate the first peg that you knit.  (it's right near the anchor peg).

Find the anchor peg

Take the loop from the second peg and put it over the first peg.

Move the second peg thread to the first peg

 Now pull the bottom thread over the top thread and off the peg.

Pull the bottom thread over the top thread

Move the thread on peg 1, back to peg 2.

Move the thread back to peg 2

 Repeat this step moving around the loom.

Continue to bind off

Continue to bind off until you reach the last peg.

leave a 4-5 in. tail

Cut the thread leaving a 4-5" tail.

 Pull the tail through the last thread loop.

Done binding off!

Thread the needle with the tail.

Thread the needle with the tail

Now weave the tail through the knit stitches on the hat.

weave tail

Cut off any remaining thread after you've weaved as much tail as you can.

Snip end of tail if necessary

Bound edge

One edge of your hat will feel loose and stretchy.  The edge that you bound off will be less stretchy.

loosely stitch the bound edge

Turn the hat inside out.  Cut a length of yard and loosely sew the bound edge together to form the top of the hat.

Pull the threads to gather the hat

Pull the threads to gather the top of the hat.

Tie several tight knots

Tie the threads in a tight knot.  Knotting 2-3 times.

Done!

Now turn the hat on the right side - you're all done!!!

Loom knitting success

For more crafting ideas, click HERE!

Every second person on Pinterest has turned their kids old crib into a bench.  I LOVE this idea but wasn't sure I could do it.  Turns out - it's super easy!  It is also back breaking work!

This was a really fun project - mostly because I wasn't sure that what I wanted to do was possible.

My vision was to create a mission style banquette for my dining room.  My 2 youngest sons LOVE restaurants and HATE sitting still.  Banquette seating in the dining room would feel like a booth to them with is very restaurant-y.  Trapping them in a restaurant booth at home will (hopefully) keep butts glued to seats until the meal is complete.

This piece was my inspiration:

This banquette has simple smooth lines that I thought I might be able to replicate.  Also-I didn't need a corner banquette.  I basically just needed a long bench.

Here was my process:

Step #1- Find the old crib in the cluttered attic.

Old crib - disassembled

Step #2-  Assess the materials.  This crib was actually in really good shape, but it had long end posts that didn't really work for my design, so they had to go.

4 Post crib - before

Step #3 - I removed the posts

I sawed off all 4 posts

Step #4 -  The next step was to assemble my basic design.  I purchased a couple of 2x4's at the hardware store and had them cut to size.

2x4's attached to the crib head and foot board

I attached the 2x4 frame to the head and foot board of the crib.

Step #5 - Seating.  I used 3/4" plywood for the seat.  This made the project VERY heavy!  But it also made for a sturdy seat.

3/4" plywood seat

Step #5 - Bracing.  The back of the banquette felt sturdy and like it wasn't going to move around ,but I wanted to make sure.  I used a couple of mending plates to brace the 2 sides of the crib together.

Back Braces

Step #6 - Standing and finishing.  The plywood was pretty rough so I sanded the dickens out of it.  Now it's smooth like butter!  I made sure to sand all of the edges so that nobody gets a splinter!

Power sand everything!

Step #7 - Fill and stain.  I filled the screw holes and stained the bench.


Step #8 - Cushions. I'll be honest, i'm not in love with the cushions I chose for this project.  I wanted to make a tufted seat, but I also need something that is machine washable.  I had a couple of old couch cushions that I cut to size.

Cut couch cushions to size

An electric knife cuts dense foam easily!

Banquette with cushions

Step #10 -  All done!