Free Pattern: Corgi Wall Art

April 25, 2020April 25, 2020 | julieandtheknits

A while ago I knitted this corgi love wall art, along with another few random creations. At the time I had sketched an alternative option for this one, featuring the Queen’s jewels instead of a heart. Follow the free pattern below and make your very own corgi wall art!

Inspirational Moodboard

Materials

Pair of 4mm (US 6) straight knitting needles
DK yarn in green, rust, blue, yellow, black & white (I used King Cole Merino Blend DK)
Tapestry needle
4′ x 6’ photo frame (10x15cm)
All-purpose glue
Scissors

Tension

39 stitches and 29 rows to 15x10cm rectangle in stocking stitch on 4mm (US size 6) needles.

INSTRUCTIONS

Cast on 39 stitches using green yarn and 4mm needles.
Starting from the bottom of the chart, knit in stocking stitch (knit one row, purl one row, repeat the last 2 rows) using the Intarsia technique. You might want to use the Fairisle technique to knit the ‘v’ pattern in the top half of the chart.
- You will need a separate ball/strand of yarn for each colour change in the chart (except ‘v’). To switch colour, twist the yarns at the back of your work to keep it together and prevent holes.
Once you have worked all 29 rows, cast off and weave in the ends (roughly – nobody’s going to see the back!).
Block your work.
Glue your knitted piece to the backing board of your frame.

New Pattern: Animal Patchwork Blanket

March 31, 2019March 31, 2019 | julieandtheknits

(AKA The slowest project ever) I started this blanket a few years ago as a side project and would only knit when on holiday, hence why it took me months to finish it. And it’s taken me even longer to write up the pattern, but it’s finally here!

I initially created this blanket for Lindsay‘s little girl, Matilda. The whole time I was making it I thought ‘by the time I’m done she will be too big for it’, but luckily (I’m a lazy knitter and don’t really measure my work from the start) it ended up being quite big for a baby blanket – it’s around 70x84cm.

Lindsay is the talented maker behind Em&Sprout and is one of the reasons why I started knitting squares in the first place. Remember the 30 animal squares I knitted back in 2014? I created them as part of her #animaldoodleaday challenge on Instagram! I then used the squares to make my first ever patchwork blanket and wrote up the pattern for all 30 squares – you can find it here. The response to this pattern has been incredible and worth the effort!

When Lindsay asked me to make one of these blankets for her little girl, I knew I wanted to try something a little different and improve my design skills, plus the initial blanket was a bit small anyway. So I mixed it up and alternated animal squares animals in Intarsia, with plain seed stitch squares (my fave stitch). I redesigned some of my original animal squares, and added a couple of new animals: an aplaca and a panda (don’t think I need to justify why I chose these cuties).

To join the squares together, I decided to give crochet a try and I instantly fell in love! It gives the blanket such a pretty finish. So I went on and made a crochet border too. Finally I stitched on a fleece backing and I was done!

Years later, the pattern for the animal patchwork blanket is finally available! It includes the instructions, a stitch library and individual animal charts. It’s a very complete pattern and ideal if you’re looking to learn new (and easy) finishing techniques. I really hope you love this pattern and I can’t wait to see your creations!

Buy The Animal Patchwork Blanket Pattern on: ETSY | RAVELRY

Single Animal Square Patterns now available!

January 15, 2016November 14, 2016 | julieandtheknits

Good news! You can now purchase individual patterns of my animal squares! Some of you have been emailing me asking for single patterns from my 30 animal squares pattern over the last few months, so I’m pleased to say it is now possible :) They look great as part of a baby blanket but you can also frame them – they makes a lovely decoration for a child’s bedroom.

You can order the pattern for the animal of your choice exclusively in my Etsy Shop.

There are 30 animals to choose from: alligator, bat, bear, bird, cat, chipmunk, deer, dog, duck, elephant, flamingo, frog, hedgehog, hippo, kangaroo, koala, lion, monkey, mouse, narwhal, nessie, penguin, pig, rabbit, raccoon, seal, tiger, unicorn, whale, yeti.

Aren’t they cute? I have a soft spot for the whale, what about you?

Click here to get your favourite animal square pattern!

Click here for more patterns

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30 Animal Squares

May 5, 2014June 29, 2016 | julieandtheknits

It all started on Instagram on a cold December evening. As I was going through my feed, I came across one of these ‘one photo a day’-type challenges, something I never take part in, but this one was different. The wonderful Lindsay from Em & Sprout (who I interviewed before, read the post here) came up with a fun challenge to draw one different animal a day throughout the month of January. I LOVE animals, but I can’t draw, so instead I thought this project would be a great way to develop my chart design skills. For those of you who are not familiar with chart design, this is what we knitters use to create a pattern. This was also a great opportunity to discipline myself in a month where I would probably get a bit lazy.

So every day, I ‘doodled’ the animal on graph paper, then knitted it as a square and posted the image on IG. Not only was I amazed at how much people liked them, but I discovered many talented drawers/illustrators. You can see all the photos from the challenge by searching for the hashtag #animaldoodleaday on Instagram.

Here are my animal squares:

This challenge turned into something much bigger than I expected! Due to the huge interest my animals received, I decided to make the patterns available as an ebook so anyone can use them to make their own cute animal squares.

You can buy the the pattern for my 30 animal squares in my Etsy shop, on Ravelry and Craftsy. If you’re only interested in one or a few animals, just contact me by email at julietheknits@gmail.com and we’ll work something out :)

A lot of you have also been asking what will become of my squares. I have sewn them together and framed them. As there were only prototypes I didn’t want to make a blanket as it would be of no use. This framed knit would look lovely in a child’s bedroom, but this one will stay in my knitting room for now :)

Don’t forget to share your pics with me if you have knitted your own animal squares!

Click here to check out my other patterns :)

UPDATE: You can now buy individual patterns of my animal squares on Etsy!

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Weaver & his Tuxedo Collar

August 21, 2013March 14, 2016 | julieandtheknits

Since I started knitting, I’ve created a few designs for my favourite pets in the world, DOGS! The first pet accessory I ever made was for my dog Spike, it wasn’t perfect but I love it so much!

Last year I also made a personalised bandana collar for Muffin, how cute :)

Here are some more collars with striped and polka dot bow ties, a couple of designs are still available in my Etsy Shop. Weaver, my friend Claudia’s Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen, actually owns one of those!

Recently, Claudia asked me to make Weaver a tuxedo collar for her Big Day. He looked so smart!

I’m thinking of making a series of smart collars in the future so watch this space!

Eliza’s floppy bunny ears hat

March 1, 2013March 14, 2016 | julieandtheknits

This is the first of (hopefully) many posts about your special orders – in the meantime you can check out some of last year’s special knits here. I love when people ask me to knit something very original, it can be tricky to bring their idea to life but I always try my best to make it happen. Because nothing makes me happier than making my customers happy :)

My good friend Ollie just became a daddy. Ollie and his lovely wife Nichola found a really cute picture of a baby in a fluffy bunny hat. They asked me if I could knit a similar one for their little girl Eliza – challenge accepted! I looked for super fluffy wool and created the hat as I went without a pattern. I received some very clear instructions: the ears had to be very big and long.

Meet Eliza and her floppy bunny ears hat – WARNING: cuteness overload!