Celebrate a Hogwarts Halloween with Marly Bird

We’ve just recently started reading the Harry Potter books with our daughter, who just turned 8. We’ve read the first two books and watched the first movie, and she was suitably impressed that I years ago knit a red and gold scarf just like the one in the movie.

There are a lot of connections to knitting in the Harry Potter books and movies, and lots of knitters and crocheters have been inspired to make their own patterns based on the magical stories (and have wished we could bewitch our needles to knit without us, no doubt!).

Marly Bird collected 10 such patterns for her Halloween at Hogwarts collection.

And while you can’t knit one of those giant scarves or a Weasley sweater before Halloween, you could crochet a Harry Potter drink cozy or knit a house tie or some mitts.

Do you have any HP knits? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: via MarlyBird.com.]

Are you hosting a Harry Potter party? Check out these DIY Harry Potter crafts on Craftbits.com that we made and take a look at them in our very own Harry Potter Party we hosted. We also created these Harry Potter cupcakes and share the tutorial here. Check out the Harry Potter Cookbook too for fun party food.

If you are looking for Harry Potter gifts check out these on Etsy.

Next Pattern:

The felted slipper craze that began last year doesn’t seem like it’s fading away. The Sailor Slippers, often striped knit and felted slippers made with super bulky yarn, because the project of the moment late last year (check out more knit slipper options in this post all about sailor slippers) and they’re still consistently popular with knitters.

Which makes sense because they are fun and fast to knit, and seeing them go from this giant thing to something that actually fits a foot feels a little magical.

I have always loved felting (in fact my first book was about felting knitting) and it’s always fun for me to see people rediscover this technique.

If you’ve knit enough plain slippers to fit all the feet you know, maybe it’s time to stitch up some tabi style slippers instead.

Maymade Knits has designed these cute tabi ballerina slippers, made with bulky yarn and felted. They’re worked flat at first and then in rounds, and are available in 10 EU sizes (the Internet tells me add 31 to your American shoe size to get your EU size). The designer says the slippers are meant to have a close fit and you should choose a size a little smaller than your foot for the ideal fit.

The pattern includes a video tutorial along with the written pattern.

You can grab this pattern on Ravelry. The same designer has her own version of the striped felted slipper as well, called Sarah’s Striped Slippers. These are worked in super bulky yarn and have a contrasting foot and a striped body. These are knit flat and seamed and there are 7 size options available. Check that pattern out here if you’re looking for a more traditional slipper shape. They also look roomier so you can wear them with socks if you like.

[Photo: Maymade Knits]

Next Pattern:

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