KnitBits: Yarn Bombing, Using Scraps and Adorable Ducklings

If you’ve been around the knitting world long, you’ve probably heard the name Magda Sayeg, and if you haven’t, you’ve probably seen some of her work. She’s the person who made yarnbombing into a thing, and is known for her large-scale knit and crochet coverings from city buses, motorcycles and more. She gave a TED talk about how she got started in yarnbombing, the power of putting down your cell phone and making something, and the notion that “hidden power can be found in the most unassuming places.” It’s worth five minutes to watch.

We all have yarn scraps if our stashes, and it’s a great feeling to use up all those little bits. Yarnbombing is one way to do it, but there are lots of others that may or may not include knitting or crochet. This is an old list of 50 projects to make with yarn scraps, but it turned up on Facebook again recently and is definitely worth revisiting. I still want to wrap my office clock in yarn.

If you have any brown scrap yarn in your stash, you can knit yourself a bunch of Hot Cross Buns for Easter. This pattern from My Poppet is super easy and cute, and I missed putting it in my Easter knitting roundup the other day so I wanted to make sure you saw it.

And finally, the Boston Globe reports that the ducks in the Public Garden have been yarnbombed in the most adorable way. The ducks, which honor the story Make Way for Ducklings, have been decked out in tiny scarves and hats thanks to knitwear company STIK (aka S**t That I Knit). Make way for cuteness!

[Photo from STIK, via Instagram.]

Looking for more Easter themed Knitting patterns? Check out these Knitting patterns we found over on Etsy.

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It’s been well documented that I love a knitting pattern with a bit of whimsy, so when I saw the Mine! Pullover from Sarah L. Kelly recently I knew I had to share it with you.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to knit a sweater with a yoke full of seagulls? And another seagull at the waist? Chasing little crabs?

The story behind the sweater (and you knew there had to be one, right?) is that while Sarah was traveling around Europe there were a lot of cheeky seagulls about. They reminded her of the scene in Finding Nemo where the seagulls say “mine, mine, mine” and thus the Mine! series of patterns was born.

Oh yes, there’s a whole set. It was the sweater I saw first but there’s also a pair of socks (and the pattern says there’s a cowl, too, but I couldn’t find it as of this writing. If you see it let me know and I’ll add the link here!) so you can totally deck yourself out in pesky seabirds if you want.

But back to the sweater for now. This is worked in DK weight yarn from the top down in the round. The yoke and a section at the bottom are worked in stranded colorwork, with stripes on the body, though you could make the body a single color if you wanted. Details like the beaks and eyes are added with duplicate stitch to make the knitting a little easier.

The colorwork sections are charted. The pattern comes in 10 sizes, with a finished chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 80 to 170 cm.

The socks are worked in sock yarn and come in three sizes. There worked from the cuff down and change needle sizes to accommodate the less stretchy nature of stranded colorwork. You can choose from a side profile or a seagull that’s looking out from the sock. Make a matching pair or mix it up.

Both patterns are available on Ravelry: sweater and socks. If you make them I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sarah L. Kelly]

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