More Fun Christmas Crafting from Red Heart

Red Heart has a 12 weeks of Christmas e-mail series that’s full of ideas for knitters and crocheters looking to make their homes a little more festive this holiday season, but they also recently released the Make it Merry ebook, which includes all those patterns — 34 projects in all for knitting and crochet.

The ebook has the patterns arranged by theme:

Red and White Christmas
Heart-Warming Decor
Cozy Holiday Home
Snowflake Wonders
For Babies and Kids
To Wear and Give

Some of my favorites include the Cheerful Holiday Penguin, which is super cute with its striped belly and little red scarf; the Santa Baby Sweater, a little red hooded sweater with white trim, of course (they also have a full Santa Baby Suit, though I didn’t see it in the ebook); and the lovely, warm Cozy Shrug, worked in super bulky yarn, making it a quick gift to knit or a wonderful warmer for yourself.

(By the way, another cute one from the 12 Weeks of Christmas e-mails that I didn’t see in the book is the Holiday Pillow with Stockings. If it were me I would absolutely find a tiny gift to stick in those little socks!)

This guide is sure to get you inspired and excited about the holiday knitting season if you aren’t already.

See anything that catches your eye? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo via Red Heart.]

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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