Cuddle A Snugglily

Everyone loves something to cuddle. These very soft pillow toys are hand knit and would make a perfect gift for baby, toddler or a unique Christmas gift! 

The Snugglily's are shaped making the pillow easy to grip, but soft enough to place a sleepy head on, doubles as a soft toy and decorative pillow. The features are hand embroidered (no loose objects). 100% acrylic, stuffed with polyester fiberfill and can be machine washed and dried on cool setting. Measurements are approx 15inches (38cm) high and 12inches (30.5cm).

30 turkish Lira which is approx 10 pounds sterling (15 USD) price includes p&p


I will ship all items via  First Class mail within 3 business days of receiving your order. Each item will come with a postal tracking number.
I want you to be 100% happy with your purchase. If it is not exactly what you imagined, I am happy to work with you to make it right! I take great pride in my handcrafted treasures and want you to love them as much as I loved creating it.

I will accept items for return, repair or exchange (if available) within 5 days of receipt. However, buyer will be responsible for all shipping costs. Please contact me first to discuss the details of the situation so I can be prepared and give you an appropriate timeframe on repairs. Again, shipping charges are not refundable.

Exception : Custom orders are NOT returnable or refundable. I make all items myself and many hours of love, hard work and attention to detail goes into each and every item. I take great pride in what I make and endeavour to make every item perfect.

Snugglilies make great gifts for special occasions such as birthdays, Christenings, Christmas, Thanksgiving etc and also “just because”.

I use high quality materials to ensure  Snuggliles have a long life span and live up to the high demands of children and equally  want to provide you with great value for money. I aim for my products to be reasonable priced; and all proceeds will go to help fund 'Lily' Love In the Language of Yarn a non profit organisation providing hand knitted and crochet items for children in need. 
All items are well packaged and protected for posting.

If for any reason your  mailing address does not match your Pay-Pal address, please leave a note upon checking out to avoid any confusion and delays in processing your order.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please be sure you provide me with your correct delivery address, as I cannot be responsible for your items once they are have been shipped, thank you for understanding.

Please contact me if you  would like an item making in specific colours / have any special request. I am more than happy to make items to order. You can contact me by leaving a comment on this page, knitting Galore facebook page, Lily facebook page or email dbjones5559@hotmail.co.uk

Choice

Santa Rudolph Snowman Kitty Puppy Froggy Owl Giraffe Elephant Duckling

Purchase Pattern Only If you would prefer to knit your own  Snugglily you can purchase the knitting pattern here for 

only  4 Turkish Lira (under 1.50 pounds, 2 USD). Again all proceeds will go to help fund 'Lily' Love In the Language of Yarn a non profit organisation providing hand knitted and crochet items for children in need. 

 All efforts are made to make these patterns effort free.

This is a knitting pattern in PDF document format.

Knitting Pattern.

Choice

Santa Rudolph Snowman Kitty Puppy Froggy Owl Giraffe Elephant Duckling

The pattern will be e-mailed to you within 24 hours of receiving payment. So please ensure that you provide your correct e-mail address.

'Thoughtful Thursday' 'Lily' Needs Squares For Syrian Refugees.

More than 126,000 Syrians have registered with the Turkish government as refugees – part of the 440,000 registered refugees who have fled to countries that are Syria’s neighbors.  Most of the displaced people in the camps are children. All have fled the violence of Syria’s civil war. Many have seen violence themselves. Some have lost relatives, and most have trouble sleeping and panic when they hear loud noises or airplanes.
 We expect the situation to get worse when winter hits, lowering temperatures and sending rains that could turn the camps into a muddy bog.

So let's try and send them a little comfort and the knowledge that someone is thinking of them. Please keep the squares and blankets coming! 

Help 'Lily' Love In the Language of Yarn Knit Squares For Syrian refugees especially the children.

Please consider making a square or two with your odds and ends. Any spare wool you have can be knitted into eight inch squares and then we'll stitch them all together into a blanket. No waste and a child with nothing gets a warm and colourful, cover for their bed!

Knitting Instructions

FOR ONE 8"/20 cms SQUARE, you will need:
Yarn from a 100 gram (3.5 oz) ball of yarn or scraps of yarn 
 worsted weight , double knit or 8ply

Size 4mm needles  6 (USA)
A yarn sewing needle.
 Cast on 32 stitches (try to make your stitches neither too loose nor too tight to help ensure uniform squares)
 Row 1: knit
 Row 2: knit. These two rows form the 'garter' stitch knitting pattern for your square but you use any stitch you prefer, beascreative as you like. Continue knitting  until you have knitted a square
 To ensure you square is 8"/20cm either use a tape measure .

 Cast off
 Use your yarn sewing needle to sew in all the yarn ends using a darning method
VERY IMPORTANT 
Leave a one metre length of your yarn attached to your work after you have cast off. This will be used to join the squares together. but if you're changing colors work in your other tails.  DO NOT TIE AND CUT IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE KNOT, THAT IS GUARANTEED TO COME UNDONE.  Knot if you want, but leave a tail and work in your ends.


We work with reputable, experienced relief agencies to securely transport and distribute our hand-knit and crocheted blankets for this project we are working with  Humanitarian Relief Foundation. 
You can also find us at:  https://www.facebook.com/LilyLoveInTheLanguageOfYarn

Please Help If You Can!

'Lily' is supported by businesses and individuals in Turkey, whether it be donations of yarn, Knitting and Crocheting or transportation of completed blankets to receiving agencies.

'Lily' has no paid employees.  All the good work is done on a strictly volunteer basis.

'Lily' wishes to thank all those private individuals and businesses which support us.  Without you, there would be no 'Lily' - Love In the Language of Yarn.  We work hard for the day when we are no longer needed to help keep Children warm.

Dianne Jones - Founder of  'Lily'- Love In the Language of Yarn.
Address - 'LILY' C/O Dianne Jones
                   Türkmen Mahlesi
                    Ünlü sokak No 10 D4
                    Kuşadası
                    Aydin
                    Turkey.

Wednesday Question: Can You Recommend a Buttonhole?

All knitters have questions about the best way to do things, why different things happen while they are knitting, how to fix knitting mistakes and more.
 Here is this weeks question  from Shirley. I never know which buttonhole to use can you recommend one?

Answer:  There are several options. The simplest way to knit a buttonhole is to make an eyelet: just knit 2 stitches together, then bring the yarn over the needle. On the next row, work the yarn over like a regular stitch. This makes a small hole, and it's appropriate for smallish buttons, baby clothes. It works well in a garter stitch button band, where it is concealed by the ridges of the garter stitch. 

The one-row buttonhole is a firm horizontal buttonhole that is self-edging.

 Bring yarn to the front of work. Slip one stitch purlwise, and then bring yarn to the back of work. Slip the next stitch, and then pass your previously slipped stitch over it. This makes one cast-off stitch for your buttonhole—repeat these two steps until you have cast off enough stitches for the desired width of your buttonhole. Turn your work. Using a cabled cast on, cast on as many stitches as you cast off plus one additional stitch. For example, if you previously cast off 4 stitches, you will want to cast on 5 new stitches using the cabled cast on. Turn your work. With yarn at the back of work, slip one stitch from your left needle onto your right needle, then pass the extra cast-on stitch from your right needle over it. This closes the buttonhole—make sure that you pull your yarn a bit to tighten the hole and prevent gaps. Continue your row according to your chosen stitch pattern.

The two-row buttonhole makes a slit like opening, suitable for larger buttons  but it is loose and you may want to edge it with a buttonhole stitch to reinforce its weak corners and keep it from stretching excessively.

On the first row, cast off enough stitches for the desired width of your buttonhole. The two-row buttonhole is easier to make than the one-row buttonhole, but it is looser and you may want to edge it with a buttonhole stitch to reinforce its weak corners and keep it from stretching excessively.
 On the next row, cast on the same number of cast off stitches from the previous row to create the top edge of the buttonhole.
Using a buttonhole stitch*, stitch your way around the buttonhole. This will stabilize the buttonhole and keep its edges neat.

If you have a knitting question for Knitting Galore, please email it to : dbjones5559@hotmail.co.uk  or  Please  post it as a comment here.  All questions will be answered, and many are selected and answered each wednesday here on the Blog. 

Saturday Stitch: Mosaic Diamonds

Every Saturday I will share with you a new stitch.
Today's stitch is: Mosaic Diamonds

Rows of large moss stitch diamonds and chains of small stockinette diamonds form this mosaic knitting stitch. Lovely on a sweater, scarf, throw, plillow etc.  You need a stitch number multiple of 12 + 1 + 2 edge stitches. Repeat the pattern between the * as many times as you like.

Instructions.

Row 1: edge st, * (k1, p3) x 3; repeat from * to last 2 sts, k1, edge st
Row 2: edge st, p1, * (k3, p1) x 3; repeat from * to last st, edge st
Row 3: edge st, * (p1, k1, p3, k1) x 2; repeat from * to last 2 sts, p1, edge st
Row 4: edge st, k1, * (p1, k3, p1, k1) x 2; repeat from * to last 2 sts, edge st
Row 5: edge st, * p2, (k1, p3) x 2, k1, p1; repeat from * to last 2 sts, p1, edge st>
Row 6: edge st, k1, * k1, p1, (k3, p1) x 2, k2, repeat from * to last st, edge st
Row 7: edge st, * p3, k1, p1, k3, p1, k1, p2; repeat from * to last 2 sts, p1, edge st
Row 8: edge st, k1, * k2, p1, k1, p3, k1, p1, k3, repeat from * to last st, edge st
Row 9: edge st, * p4, k5, p3; repeat from * to last 2 sts, p1, edge st
Row 10: edge st, k1, * k3, p5, k4; repeat from * to last st, edge st
Row 11: same as row 7
Row 12: same as row 8
Row 13: same as row 5
Row 14: same as row 6
Row 15: same as row 3
Row 16: same as row 4
Row 17: same as row 1
Row 18: same as row 2
Row 19: edge st, * k4, p2, k1, p2, k3; repeat from * to last 2 sts, k1, edge st
Row 20: edge st, p1, * p3, k2, p1, k2, p4; repeat from * to last st, edge st
Row 21: edge st, * k3, p2, k1, p1, k1, p2, k2; repeat from * to last 2 sts, k1, edge st
Row 22: edge st, p1, * p2, k2, p1, k1, p1, k2, p3; repeat from * to last st, edge st
Row 23: edge st, * k2, p2, k1, p3, k1, p2, k2; repeat from * to last 2 sts, k1, edge st
Row 24: edge st, p1, * p2, k2, p1, k3, p1, k2, p2; repeat from * to last st, edge st
Row 25: same as row 21
Row 26: same as row 22
Row 27: same as row 19
Row 28: same as row 20

Repeat rows from 1 through 28.

Difficulty level: Medium

Wednesday Question: What Is Duplicate Stitch?

All knitters have questions about the best way to do things, why different things happen while they are knitting, how to fix knitting mistakes and more.
 Here is this weeks question  from Lilian Marshall. What is duplicate stitch?

Answer:  Duplicate stitch, also called Swiss darning, allows you to go back over your knitted stitches with a different colour. When you do duplicate stitch carefully, you can’t even tell that the stitches weren’t knit in the contrasting color (at least, not without scrutiny). The basic concept of Duplicate Stitch is in its name. You sew over your finished knitting with a contrast colour, "duplicating" the original knit stitches. It's much easier than fair-isling or intarsia.

 

To work duplicate stitch, you need a finished piece in stockinette stitch, a good yarn needle, and some contrasting yarn of the same weight as the knitted piece.

If you want to plan out your strategy, a good method is to mark the stitches you're going to "duplicate" with an erasable fabric pen. Otherwise, you can just wing it...

Bring your needle from the back of the work to the front through the bottom point of a stitch, or a "V". (Leave a generous tail in the back so you can weave it in at the end.)

Next, thread the needle across the stitch ABOVE the one you are dupicating.

And then insert the needle back into the bottom of the "V", the same place where you began. One stitch duplicated! 

 

 Do the same thing for the next stitch. Start at its bottom point, sew across the stitch above it, and back down your starting place.

If you want to duplicate vertically adjacent stitches, you'll have to sew under both the original stitch and the duplicate stitch. That's ok.

Keep going until you're done.

 Have Fun!!

If you have a knitting question for Knitting Galore, please email it to : dbjones5559@hotmail.co.uk  or  Please  post it as a comment here.  All questions will be answered, and many are selected and answered each wednesday here on the Blog. 

Ray of Sunshine Dress

This dress with it's laced yolk and hem will have your little girl looking radiant.

Materials: I used Anchor delux baby in a sunshine yellow shade 1 (2, 3, 4) 100g balls but any sport, baby yarn that knits to gauge.
Needles: 3.5mm circular 60cm
Buttons: four, small

Gauge : 24 sts x 31 rows = 10 cm (4ins) over stockinette stitch.

Measurements and Sizes

Sizes to fit (years): 9-18 months (2-3, 4-5, 6-7)
Chest (cm): 50 (55, 60, 65)
Actual chest (cm): 70.5 (81.5, 92.5, 103.5)
Back length (cm): 44 (50, 56, 62)

Abbreviations:

k – knit

P – purl

K2tog – knit 2 together

yfwd – yarn forward.

M1 – make one

skpo -slip a stitch, knit the next stitch, pass the slipped stitch over

sk2po - slip one, knit two stitches together, then pass the slipped stitch over

This dress is worked from the top down and includes wrap and turns to create short row shaping. This technique is used to create shaping in the middle of the knitted fabric and in this case, it’s used to create the armholes.

Body

NOTE: work from the top down in one piece Using 3.5mm circular needle cast on 54 (66, 78, 90) sts. Do NOT join in the rnd

K two rows Cont in lace pattern as folls
Row 1 (RS): k
Row 2 and all alt rows: k3, p to last three sts, k3
Row 3: k3, * k3, yfwd, k3, rep from * to last three sts, k1, yfwd, k2tog.
Row 5: k3, * k3, [yfwd, k1] twice, k2, rep from * to last three sts, k3
Row 7: k3, * k3, [yfwd, k1] four times, k2, rep from * to last three sts, k3
Row 9: k3, * skpo, k2, yfwd, k2tog, k1, skpo, yfwd, k2, k2tog, rep from * to last three sts, k1, yfwd, k2tog
Row 11: k3, * k2, yfwd, k2tog, yfwd, sk2po, yfwd, skpo, yfwd, k2, yfwd, rep from * to last three sts, k3
Row 13: k3, * yfwd, skpo, k2, yfwd, sk2po, yfwd, k2, k2tog, yfwd, k1, rep from * to last three sts, k3
Row 15: k3, * k1, yfwd, skpo, k1, yfwd, sk2po, yfwd, k1, k2tog, yfwd, k2, rep from * to last three sts, k1, yfwd, k2tog
Row 17: k4, * k1, yfwd, skpo, k3, k2tog, yfwd, k1, yfwd, sk2po, yfwd, rep from * ending last rep, k1, yfwd, skpo, k3, k2tog, yfwd, k1, yfwd, k2tog, k3
Row 19: k3, * yfwd, k3, yfwd, skpo, k1, k2tog, yfwd, k3, yfwd, k1, rep from * to last three sts, k3
Row 21: k3, * [k1, yfwd, sk2po, yfwd] three times, k2, rep from * to last three sts, k1, yfwd, k2tog. 118 (146, 174, 202) sts
Row 22 (WS): k
Next row: k
Next row: cast off three sts, k to end. 115 (143, 171, 199) sts

Divide for armholes

Next row: k18 (21, 24, 29), cast off next 21 (28, 35, 41) sts pwise, k next 37 (45, 53, 59) sts, cast off next 21 (28, 35, 41) sts pwise, k rem 18 (21, 24, 29) sts
Break yarn and sl the last group of 18 (21, 24, 29) sts onto the opposite end of the needle
NOTE: these 36 (42, 48, 58) sts are for the back of the dress With RS facing rejoin yarn to these 36 (42, 48, 58) sts and work as folls:
Next row (RS): k2 (4, 6, 12) sts, then k twice in each st to last 2 (4, 6, 12) sts, k to end of row. 68 (76, 84, 92) sts.
Turn and work on these sts only as folls

Work shaping for armhole **

Next row: p twice into first st, p6 (8, 10, 12), w&t
Next row: k
Next row: p twice into first st, p12 (14, 16, 18), w&t
Next row: k to end
Next row: p twice into first st, p19 (21, 23, 25), w&t
Next row: k
Next row: cast on 2 (4, 6, 8) sts, p to end. 73 (83, 93, 103) sts
Next row: k twice into first st, k6 (8, 10, 12), w&t
Next row: p
Next row: k twice into first st, k12 (14, 16, 18), w&t
Next row: p
Next row: k twice into first st, k19 (21, 23, 25), w&t
Next row: p
Next row: cast on 2 (4, 6, 8) sts, k to end. 78 (90, 102, 114) sts **
Break yarn and rejoin to Front 37 (45, 53, 59) sts with RS facing
Next row (RS): k3 (7, 11, 13) sts, then k twice in each st to last 3 (7, 11, 13) sts, k to end of row, turn. 68 (76, 84, 92) sts
Work on these sts only as given from ** to **. 78 (90, 102, 114) sts
Place marker for beg/end of rnd and cont in st st (every rnd k) working in rnds across all the sts of the back and then the front. 156 (180, 204, 228) sts
Work 16 rnds in st st
Inc rnd: k19 (22, 25, 28), m1, k40 (46, 52, 58), m1, k38 (44, 50, 56), m1, k40 (46, 52, 58), m1, k19 (22, 25, 28). 160 (184, 208, 232) sts
Work 16 rnds in st st
Inc rnd: k19 (22, 25, 28), m1, k42 (48, 54, 60), m1, k38 (44, 50, 56), m1, k42 (48, 54, 60), m1, k19 (22, 25, 28). 164 (188, 212, 236) sts
Work 16 rnds in st st
Inc rnd: k20 (23, 26, 29), m1, k42 (48, 54, 60), m1, k40 (46, 52, 58) sts, m1, k42 (48, 54, 60), m1, k20 (23, 26, 29). 168 (192, 216, 240) sts
Work 16 rnds in st st

FIRST SIZE ONLY

Next rnd: k to end inc two sts evenly across rnd. 170 sts

SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH SIZE ONLY

Inc rnd: k23 (26, 29) sts, m1, k50 (56, 62) sts, m1, k46 (52, 58) sts, m1, k50 (56, 62) sts, m1, k23 (26, 29) sts. 196 (220, 244) sts
Work 16 rnds
Inc rnd: k24 (27, 30), m1, k50 (56, 62), m1, k48 (54, 60), m1, k50 (56, 62), m1, k24 (27, 30). 200 (224, 248) sts

THIRD SIZE ONLY

Inc rnd: k27, m1, k58, m1, k54, m1, k58, m1, k27. 228 sts
Next rnd: k to end inc two sts evenly across rnd. 230 sts

FOURTH SIZE ONLY

Next rnd: k to end inc two sts evenly across rnd. 250 sts
Work 11 rnds

ALL SIZES

Cont in lace st patt on these 170 (200, 230, 250) sts as folls:
Rnd 1 (RS): k
Rnd 2 and alt rows: k
Rnd 3: * k5, yfwd, k5, rep from * to end of rnd
Rnd 5: * k2tog, k3, [yfwd, k1] twice, k2, skpo, rep from * to end of rnd
Rnd 7: * k2tog, k2, [yfwd, k1] four times, k1, skpo, rep from * to end of rnd
Rnd 9: * k2tog, k2, yfwd, skpo, k1, k2tog, yfwd, k2, skpo, rep from * to end of rnd
Rnd 11: * k2, yfwd, k2tog, yfwd, sk2po, yfwd, skpo, yfwd, k2, yfwd, rep from * to end of rnd
Rnd 13: * yfwd, skpo, k2, yfwd, sk2po, yfwd, k2, k2tog, yfwd, k1, rep from * to end of rnd
Rnd 15: * k1, yfwd, skpo, k1, yfwd, sk2po, yfwd, k1, k2tog, yfwd, k2, rep from * to end of rnd
Rnd 17: sl 1, * yfwd, k1, yfwd, skpo, k3, k2tog, yfwd, k1, yfwd, sk2po, rep from * to last rep, yfwd, k1, yfwd, skpo, k3, k2tog, yfwd, k1, yfwd, sl 2, remove marker, place second of these two sl sts back on to LH needle, k2tog, psso, replace marker
Rnd 19: * yfwd, k3, yfwd, skpo, k1, k2tog, yfwd, k3, yfwd, k1, rep from * to end of rnd
Rnd 21: * [k1, yfwd, sk2po, yfwd] three times, k2, rep from * to end of rnd
Rnd 22 and 23: k
Cast off loosely pwise.

Armhole edging

(alike) Working from the RS pick up and k 28 (32, 36, 38) sts around underarm
Cast off kwise

Finishing

Press lightly on WS or according to ball band instructions. Sew in all ends. Sew the three cast off sts at bottom of back opening to the inside of the work. Sew buttons into place to correspond with buttonholes.

The wrap and turn abbreviated w&t, is the most common way of creating short rows. By wrapping the yarn around an adjacent stitch, rather than simply turning a piece over and knitting back the other way, one can prevent holes from forming in the finished work. If you've never worked short rows don't let this put you off making this dress. Take a look at the free mini class at craftsy. Carol Feller, an expert knitwear designer, will show you four different short row methods: wrap and turn short rows, Japanese short rows, yarn over short rows and her own invisible short rows. You can watch each lesson on your schedule, as many times as you want, and ask Carol and your classmates questions along the way. Master short rows in no time - sign up for Short Rows today! Online Knitting Class

Saturday Stitch: Eyelet Moss Stitch.

Every Saturday I will share with you a new stitch.
Today's stitch is: Eyelet Moss Stitch.

Right side

See how simple knit, purl and slip stitches create this airy stitch pattern for a light summer baby blanket, throw, shawl, scarf and even a hat. You need a stitch number multiple of 2 + 1 + 2 edge stitches. Repeat the pattern between the * as many times as you like.

 wrong side

 Instructions.

Row 1: edge st, * p1, k1; repeat from * to last 2 sts, p1, edge st
Row 2: edge st, p1, * sl1pwyf, p1; repeat from * to last st, edge st
Row 3: edge st, * k1, p1; repeat from * to last 2 sts, k1, edge st
Row 4: edge st, sl1pwyf, * p1, sl1pwyf; repeat from * to last st, edge st

Repeat rows 1 through 4.

sl1pwyf = slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front

Difficulty level: Easy

Snowman Snugglily

Everyone loves something to cuddle. This very soft pillow toy is hand knit and would make a perfect gift for baby, toddler or a unique Christmas gift! 

The Snowman Snugglily is shaped making the pillow easy to grip, but soft enough to place a sleepy head on, doubles as a soft toy and decorative pillow. The features are hand embroidered (no loose objects). Snowman Snugglily is 100% acrylic, stuffed with polyester fiberfill and can be machine washed and dried on cool setting. Measurements are approx 15inches (38cm) high and 12inches (30.5cm). A great gift for anyone who loves Snowmen!

30 turkish Lira which is approx 10 pounds sterling (15 USD) price includes p&p

I will ship all items via  First Class mail within 3 business days of receiving your order. Each item will come with a postal tracking number.
I want you to be 100% happy with your purchase. If it is not exactly what you imagined, I am happy to work with you to make it right! I take great pride in my handcrafted treasures and want you to love them as much as I loved creating it.

I will accept items for return, repair or exchange (if available) within 5 days of receipt. However, buyer will be responsible for all shipping costs. Please contact me first to discuss the details of the situation so I can be prepared and give you an appropriate timeframe on repairs. Again, shipping charges are not refundable.

Exception : Custom orders are NOT returnable or refundable. I make all items myself and many hours of love, hard work and attention to detail goes into each and every item. I take great pride in what I make and endeavour to make every item perfect.

Snugglilies make great gifts for special occasions such as birthdays, Christenings, Christmas, Thanksgiving etc and also “just because”.

I use high quality materials to ensure  Snuggliles have a long life span and live up to the high demands of children and equally  want to provide you with great value for money. I aim for my products to be reasonable priced; and all proceeds will go to help fund 'Lily' Love In the Language of Yarn a non profit organisation providing hand knitted and crochet items for children in need. 
All items are well packaged and protected for posting.

If for any reason your  mailing address does not match your Pay-Pal address, please leave a note upon checking out to avoid any confusion and delays in processing your order.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please be sure you provide me with your correct delivery address, as I cannot be responsible for your items once they are have been shipped, thank you for understanding.

Please contact me if you  would like an item making in specific colours / have any special request. I am more than happy to make items to order. You can contact me by leaving a comment on this page, knitting Galore facebook page, Lily facebook page or email dbjones5559@hotmail.co.uk

Purchase Pattern Only If you would prefer to knit your own Snowman Snugglily you can purchase the knitting pattern here for 

only  4 Turkish Lira (under 1.50 pounds, 2 USD). Again all proceeds will go to help fund 'Lily' Love In the Language of Yarn a non profit organisation providing hand knitted and crochet items for children in need. 

 All efforts are made to make these patterns effort free.

This is a knitting pattern in PDF document format.

The pattern will be e-mailed to you within 24 hours of receiving payment. So please ensure that you provide your correct e-mail address.

'Thoughtful Thursday' Help Knit Squares For Syrian Refugees

8 months ago I founded 'Lily' in memory of my granddaughter Lily Iris Gibson who was born sleeping. Because of photos like this I wanted to help these Syrian children refugees.

 I am just one person but with the help of our wonderful supporters sending knitted and crochet squares and blankets, and the help of family and friends in sewing the squares to make the blankets we have been able to send 3,257 blankets to the children living in these camps, many of them in tents. But this is just a drop in the ocean as thousands are fleeing Syria every day. 

At least 11,000 Syrian refugees have fled their country in single day, pouring into Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon with children and dozens of wounded. The new arrivals bring the number of refugees in Turkey to around 120,000. Most of the displaced people in the camps are children. All have fled the violence of Syria’s civil war. Many have seen violence themselves. Some have lost relatives, and most have trouble sleeping and panic when they hear loud noises or airplanes.
 We expect the situation to get worse when winter hits, lowering temperatures and sending rains that could turn the camps into a muddy bog.

So let's try and send them a little comfort and the knowledge that someone is thinking of them. Please keep the squares and blankets coming! 


Help 'Lily' Love In the Language of Yarn Knit Squares For Syrian refugees especially the children.

Please consider making a square or two with your odds and ends. Any spare wool you have can be knitted into eight inch squares and then we'll stitch them all together into a blanket. No waste and a child with nothing gets a warm and colourful, cover for their bed!

Knitting Instructions

FOR ONE 8"/20 cms SQUARE, you will need:
Yarn from a 100 gram (3.5 oz) ball of yarn or scraps of yarn 
 worsted weight , double knit or 8ply

Size 4mm needles  10 (USA)
A yarn sewing needle.
 Cast on 32 stitches (try to make your stitches neither too loose nor too tight to help ensure uniform squares)
 Row 1: knit
 Row 2: knit. These two rows form the 'garter' stitch knitting pattern for your square but you use any stitch you prefer, beascreative as you like. Continue knitting  until you have knitted a square
 To ensure you square is 8"/20cm either use a tape measure .

 Cast off
 Use your yarn sewing needle to sew in all the yarn ends using a darning method
VERY IMPORTANT 
Leave a one metre length of your yarn attached to your work after you have cast off. This will be used to join the squares together. but if you're changing colors work in your other tails.  DO NOT TIE AND CUT IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE KNOT, THAT IS GUARANTEED TO COME UNDONE.  Knot if you want, but leave a tail and work in your ends.


We work with reputable, experienced relief agencies to securely transport and distribute our hand-knit and crocheted blankets for this project we are working with  Humanitarian Relief Foundation. 
You can also find us at:  https://www.facebook.com/LilyLoveInTheLanguageOfYarn

Please Help If You Can!

Photos of refugees in this post are by getty images.

'Lily' is supported by businesses and individuals in Turkey, whether it be donations of yarn, Knitting and Crocheting or transportation of completed blankets to receiving agencies.

'Lily' has no paid employees.  All the good work is done on a strictly volunteer basis.

'Lily' wishes to thank all those private individuals and businesses which support us.  Without you, there would be no 'Lily' - Love In the Language of Yarn.  We work hard for the day when we are no longer needed to help keep Children warm.

Dianne Jones - Founder of  'Lily'- Love In the Language of Yarn.
Address - 'LILY' C/O Dianne Jones
                   Türkmen Mahlesi
                    Ünlü sokak No 10 D4
                    Kuşadası
                    Aydin
                    Turkey.

Photos of refugees in this post made available by Reuters.

Wednesday Question : How To Felt

All knitters have questions about the best way to do things, why different things happen while they are knitting, how to fix knitting mistakes and more. Here is this weeks question. Just recently I've had many questions about Felting so I hope this will answer everyones questions with regards to this subject.





Answer: Felting is a fun, easy technique with great results!

Felting a knitted piece makes it SHRINK. Therefore, the piece you knit will be much bigger than your felted piece will actually turn out to be. How much it shrinks depends since there are so many factors that go into it –

how hot your water is,

how hard your water is,

how much it is agitated,

the amount and kind of soap you use,

The colour of yarn (darker colours felt quicker than lighter colours), and so on.

You can felt your piece a little or a lot. If you felt it just a little (maybe by taking it out of your machine after half a cycle), you will still have stitch definition. If you felt it more, you won't.

Just about any knitted object can be felted, from flat pieces like coasters and afghan squares to bags, belts, hats, home accessories such as scatter cushions and more. But felting can be a little mysterious and intimidating to those who have never done it before.

The Seps to follow are:

1.Wash in hot water with soap, soap actually speeds up the felting process and felting can often be improved by adding baking soda or washing soda to the water also washing felted things with other laundry can speed up the process because agitation is another important element for the felting. Take the knitted piece and place it in a mesh wash bag. You can also use a zippered pillow case, and some people prefer to just put the piece itself in the washer. I personally like to use a bag because when the piece felts, the process does leave some residual remnants of yarn in the washing machine. The bag helps keep them contained and easily cleaned up. 

There are two schools of thought about agitation - some like to just use the wash cycle agitation, but some people like to add elements to help the agitation. (i.e. tennis balls, an old pair of jeans, tennis shoes, etc.) I have tried both methods, and in most cases, I choose not to use any additional materials, but rather just used the heavy wash cycle on my washing machine. 

The settings on your washing machine should be the following: 

Water level - the lowest setting 

Water Temperature: Hot 

Speed: Heavy 

This process could take up to 20-25 minutes to complete. Check frequently and keep turning back the wash cycle on your washing machine to continue felting.

2.Rinse in cool water this "locks" the fibers in place. Be careful not to let the piece spin too long, or it will get permanent creases set into it. The spin cycle is mainly to help get most of the liquid out of the piece.

3.Air dry ,If you are making a piece that needs to be to a particular shape ( a rectangle piece for a bag), it is likely be lopsided when it comes out of the washer. BEFORE you let it dry adjust it to the right shape (remember: once felted, there's no changing it back) or pin it into shape on a blocking board or terry cloth towel and let it dry there.

Be sure to follow any specific felting instructions for the piece you are making, and check your piece a few times during your felting process to make sure you are getting the desired results.

Since felting “fuses” the fibers together, you can cut it!, if your piece is truly felted, it won’t unravel. That means you can cut into the bottom to make a cute fringe, you can cut strips of felted fabric and plait them there's no end of things you can do!

Mixing yarns is really fun with felting. Try mixing fun fur and Wool, wait till you see the results! because the fun fur won’t felt you get wicked furry effects! You can try lots of other yarn comdnations to see what looks coolest – remember, only the wool will felt, so you can create great textural differences with mixing.

There’s no limit to this craft, so play around and let your imagination go wild!

Have Fun!!

If you have a knitting question for Knitting Galore, please email it to : dbjones5559@hotmail.co.uk  or  Please  post it as a comment here.  All questions will be answered, and many are selected and answered each wednesday here on the Blog.