Knitting

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Using Yarn Leftovers to Make a “Magic Ball”

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magic ball scarf knittingI’ve been thinking a lot this year about using stash, and sometimes stash means little odd balls of yarn that are only a few yards long. What can you do with those little pieces?

One thing that is fun to try is making your own magic ball, in which yarns of varying types and different lengths are tied together to make one ball of randomly changing color.

I used a purchased magic ball to make a funky cowl, but you can make your own quite easily to make a really interesting cowl or scarf.

One of the problems with a magic ball, though, is how it is made. Because you’re using knots to attach the lengths of yarn to each other, and you’re not supposed to have knots in knitting, right?

Clara Parkes has a great solution on her blog in what’s known as the Fisherman’s Knot. This is a knot that is strong, small, easy to make and the yarn can be trimmed right up close to the knot, so you have no extra ends to weave in. Sounds good to me.

The Classic Elite Yarns gang recently had a magic ball making party — which is a great way to destash and get some yarns into your ball that you would not have bought on your own — and the results can be used for all sorts of things. Check out their magic ball scarf “recipe” for starters, as well as a feather and fan version.

Have you ever made or used a magic ball? I’d love to hear what you did with it.

[Photo via Classic Elite Yarns.]

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Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.