KNITTED THROWS

Sewing is not the only hobby I enjoy, I also like to knit.  I find knitting calming and enjoyable.  Enjoyable when something you are knitting turns into something you are proud of.  I must admit, when I spend too much time on one sewing project, I get bored.  When I'm bored and fed up, I can make mistakes.  Making mistakes is not what I want to do.  Don't get me wrong, all the projects I have started will be finished, but it's nice to work on different projects every now and then.

My first complete knitting project is my blue and white nautical throw for beds, armchairs and sofas.  It's not too large, just large enough to cover your knees when you get cold or to put around your shoulders.  Of course, I love it and I am very happy with the outcome.

Blue And White Knitted Throw Folded In Half 

To start my knitted throw, I again turned to YouTube:

GoodKnitKisses - "Cast On Beginner" - Kristen shows you how to cast on before you start knitting.  There are so many ways to cast on and this way was the way I identified with the most.

Share The Warmth!  "Brett Bara Shows You How To Knit" - Brett shows you another way to cast on.  I found this a little confusing to follow, but some people might prefer this way.

With my knitted throw, I decided to do it in separate blocks and sew them together at the end.  The middle, small squares were knitted separately.  I cast on 10 and did 10 rows.  With the long stripes, I cast on 60 and did 10 rows.

Blue And White Knitted Throw - Full Size

Then came the sewing.  With some trepidation, I looked into sewing my knitted squares and stripes together.  I looked into many ways on YouTube and I found:

Heather Gibbs - "Invisible Sewing Technique - Crochet" - Heather explains carefully and clearly exactly her process of doing an invisible seam to sew knitted items together.

Nancy Wynn - "Invisible Mattress Stitch On Garter Stitch Seams - Nancy, like Heather, explains her process of doing invisible seams with knitted items.

Even though both ladies sewed their knitted seams in the same way, I used Nancy's technique more.  Why?  I'm not quite sure, may be it was because my knitted throw is garter stitch.

Once I sewed my blocks together, the outside edges were a little uneven in places and I needed to hide the uneveness.  I decided on a border.  Again, I looked on YouTube and found many different ways to stitch a border.  I tried a three stitch crochet border, but found that stitch a little overbearing.  Then I found:

BookPeopleStudio - "How To Crochet A Border" - This person showed how to single stitch a crochet border, which I preferred.  I chose a yellow border for my throw, keeping the nautical/summery feel.

Folded Blue And White Knitted Throw With Yellow Single Crocheted Border

It was fun doing my knitted throw and I look forward to doing another one.  I am trying to design my own patterns which I'm finding challenging.  My next knitted project, I think, will be scarves.  I want to do something simple before I start a more difficult project.

Well, adios until the next time.