Sock Sales to Benefit Red Cross

Chrissy Gardiner designed and knit her Hurricane Socks after the devastating hurricanes in the summer and fall of 2008. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the pattern went to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Since the storm called Sandy caused such great damage on the East Coast, Gardiner is ramping up her fundraising efforts again, and has pledged to donate the full $6 pattern cost to disaster relief efforts when people buy the pattern through Ravelry (that’s the link above) from now through the end of November. (Ignore that part on the page about helping earthquake victims; I’m sure it just wasn’t properly updated.)

The pattern is worked top down and involves stranded knitting to make the white hurricane motifs on a blue background. The pattern isn’t so literal as to be creepy, and it is an easy way to support a good cause and get a cool knitting pattern to boot.

You can learn more about the pattern on Gardiner’s website, but remember to buy through Ravelry for the donation to count.

[Photo by Chrissy Gardiner.]

Next Pattern:

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?