Looking forward to Halloween this year? Obviously things will have to be a little different because of the pandemic: I saw an excellent suggestion online though: rather than trick or treat, why not go on a pumpkin hunt? If everyone puts up pictures of pumpkins in the windows, kids can go for walks and keep their eyes open for all the pumpkins! I’ve taken this idea a step further, with banners for a ghost, a witch and a pumpkin, and I can’t wait to hang them in the windows for them to be admired.
Fancy knitting your own Halloween banners? They’re perfect for hanging in windows, or on walls, and they’re the same size as my Rainbows in the Windows banners, so you could just swap them over for a few weeks! The pattern is written for one basic banner that can be decorated with your choice of three intarsia motifs: a ghost, a pumpkin or a witch. The patterns for the intarsia portions are provided as both charts and written instructions. If you’re not a fan of intarsia, you can knit the banner without any colourwork and use duplicate stitch to add the motif at the end.
Each banner uses a small amount of aran weight yarn in a limited palette, and is perfect for stash-busting, or you could buy the yarn you need and make a few extra Halloween banners for friends and family from your leftovers. If you have leftovers from your Rainbow banners you’ll just need to get hold of some black aran weight yarn (sock yarn held double would also work well if that’s what you have to hand).
Want to buy the pattern now? You can find it on Ravelry* and PayHip. Use the code SPOOKY to get 20% off until 11.59pm BST, Tuesday 20th October 2020.
The pattern will also available on LoveCrafts later today.
Did you know? Favouriting my patterns on Ravelry helps spread the word about them, so if you like the pattern, please go and add it to your Favourites!
********
Here’s everything you need to know about the pattern…
Sizes
One size: 30.5 cm [12.25 in] wide x 30 cm [12 in] high
Tension
18 sts and 25 rows = 10 cm [4 in] in stocking stitch worked flat on 5 mm (US 8) needles after wet blocking, or size needed to obtain correct tension.
Yarn
You will also need aran-weight yarn in the following colours and amounts, depending on which design you are making:
Ghost
• A (black): 130 m (145 yds)
• B (cream): 40 m (45 yds)
Witch
• A (black): 35 m (45 yds)
• B (cream): 60 m (70 yds)
• D (purple): 130 m (145 yds)
Pumpkin
• A (black): 130 m (145 yds)
• C (orange): 55 m (65 yds)
• E (green): 5 m (10 yds)
Needles
• 5 mm (US 8) straight needles
Notions
• Fixed stitch markers x 2
• Tapestry needle
• Bobbins for holding the different yarn colours during colourwork (optional)
• Chart row marker (optional)
• 2 lengths of dowel, 35 cm [14 in] in length and 1 cm [0.5 in] in diameter
• Hanging thread
• PVA glue (optional)
Pattern notes
The sample is knitted in Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran (aran, 184 m per 100 g ball, 100% acrylic) in 201 Pure Black (A), 202 Champagne White (B), 219 Blood Orange (C), 247 Pansy Purple (D) and 228 Lime Green (E).
Instructions are provided for three designs. For each design, you will need to print out the written instructions for the plain banner (page 3) and either the chart or written instructions for the picture of your choice:
1. Ghost (EASIEST)
a. Chart, page 4
b. Written instructions, pages 5
2. Witch (INTERMEDIATE)
a. Chart, page 6
b. Written instructions, page 7
3. Pumpkin (INTERMEDIATE)
a. Chart, page 8
b. Written instructions, page 9
The pattern is designed to be worked using intarsia for the colourwork portions. If you prefer, you can work the banner in a single colour, then add the colour work at the end using duplicate stitch – the yardages given should be sufficient for you to complete the banner this way. Links to introductions to intarsia and duplicate stitch are provided in the Resources section (see page 10). You may wish to use a combination of intarsia, stranded colourwork and duplicate stitch to minimise ends.
Pattern edited by Jo Torr.
*Ravelry link: proceed with caution if you suffer from photosensitivity.
No comments:
Post a Comment