knitting interlude

A cute little knitted Farmer Boy type knitted whimsy. Yarn and gauge not important. I used some unknown wool carpet yarn I bought over thirty years ago. The pumpkin body above is about two inches tall.

Cast on 18 stitches, leaving a long tail to use for sewing with later. Knit one row. Then begin short row shaping:

Row 1: Slip 1 stitch, Knit 16, Slip 1
Row 2: Sl 2 stitches, Purl 14, sl 2
Row 3: Sl 3, K 12, sl 3
Row 4: Sl 4, P 10, sl 4
Row 5: Sl 5, K 8, sl 5
Row 6: Sl 6, P 6, sl 6
Row 7: Sl 7, K 4, sl 7
Row 8: Sl 6, P 6, sl 6
Row 9: Sl 5, K 8, sl 5
Row 10: Sl 4, P 10, sl 4
Row 11: Sl 3, K 12, sl 3
Row 12: Sl 2, P 14, sl 2
Row 13: Sl 1, K 16, sl 1
Row 14: K 18

Repeat rows 1 through 14 five more times. Then do rows 1 through 13 once. There will be seven bumps around the pumpkin body. Bind off. Use the tail end of cast-on yarn to do a running stitch around opening at one end and pull closed. Knot and pull tail through to inside, cutting to leave enough so it won't pull out.

Stuff body of pumpkin with filling of choice, poking and shaping as you go. The pumpkin above is stuffed with some black wool leftover from a fleece a "Little House" friend sent me to card.

For stem, crochet around top opening, having a dozen or so stitches. Continue around using single crochet until stem is desired length. Bind off and pull yarn end down into stem.

For tendrils, make a crocheted chain of desired length, using a needle smaller than you normally would for your yarn weight. Cut and pull yarn though last stitch. Use a crochet needle to poke through pumpkin body at base of stem, and pull half of tendril through. If chain doesn't curl enough naturally, wrap around crochet hook to encourage twist.
- posted by pioneergirl at 2:38 AM