Loom Knitting a Dog Sweater

It's important to remember that we are not the only one's feeling cold this winter...our furry friends need to stay warm, too! Knitting a dog sweater on a round loom is fairly easy and much cheaper & warmer than buying one at the store. I found the idea online and originally used Joann's pattern. I did slightly modify it when making a sweater for my dog.

Things you will need:

• 31 peg round loom
• Soft yarn (two skeins of skinnier yarn or one bulkier)
• Knitting hook
• Knitting needle
• Scissors

I start knitting on the loom like I do in all of my projects. I like using two different colored yarns at the same time to make the sweaters more colorful (and cheaper!). I knit about 15 or so rows, then pull the bottom loops up over the top, knitting those together. This part is the collar that will be around the dogs neck. Once this step is complete, knit only rows 1-9. Now you have to knit backwards. This part was tricky for me at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's really easy. Make sure the yarn is on the INSIDE of the pegs! If it's on the outside, it knots together and you can't continue on. Knit those rows back and forth for 9 rows. This is creating the front of the sweater and the leg holes. Once this is done, cut off 4-5" of yarn.

Cast on at the 10th peg and knit all pegs 10-31. This is creating the back of the sweater. Knit 9 rows back and forth like you did before.

Once you have your 9 rows completed, move the loop on the 31st peg to the 30th peg, and the 9th peg to the 8th peg. I do this to make bigger arm holes for the sweater. The yarn is stretchy, but I don't want my dog to be constrained.

I am still working on this sweater, but you can see in the picture below how it should look as you go through these steps. Knit all the way around the loom until you have the desired length of sweater. I cast off just as I would with headbands and leg warmers.

Here is a picture of a finished sweater that I have previously knitted.

And..my adorable dog Lulu posing for a front view of the sweater.

Back view.

My dog is about 12 pounds and the sweater fits well. I would say this size sweater would fit most 8-12 pound dogs.

Wine Cork Projects

Wine corks can transform any boring or plain object into a beautiful decorative piece! While wandering around Michael's one afternoon, I decided to pick up a few plain wood objects. One was a mirror, and the other was a small box.

For the mirror, I cut the corks in half length wise so they would lay flat on the surface. It took a while to figure out how to get them to fit because the mirror was a little too wide. I laid all the corks out first and realized there was no way to fill all the wood with  corks alone. I picked up a bag of glass marble stones ( I think that's what they are called) and used those around the inside to fill in the extra space. They worked perfectly and added a little burst of color to the mirror. I used hot glue to get everything to stay on. Just be careful hot gluing the glass marbles because they do heat up quick.

The box seemed to be made just for wine cork decoration! The cut corks fit on there pretty easily. Again, I just cut the corks in half with a razor blade and laid them out, then hot glued them into place. Just make sure you leave room for the lock so that it can be easily opened and closed.

This box was one of my favorite projects because I thought it turned out awesome & it is useful! I gave it as a Christmas present and two small bottles of wine fit perfectly in there. (The single glass bottles).

Another thing that is very simple to make is wine cork picture frames. When picking out a frame, look for ones that are flat wood so that the corks can lay flush on the surface.

I used a 4X6 frame and this project only took about 25 minutes start to finish. The longest part is cutting the corks in half. Once that is done, just lay them out to make sure they fit & then hot glue them on!

The frames are a really easy project, only require about 6 corks & also make great presents!

Loom Knitting Headbands & Leg Warmers

Knitting headbands & legwarmers on the loom is just as easy as making a hat! The only difference is at the end when you cast off. For an adult size headband, use the same size loom you would use for a hat. Cast on as you normally would and  knit down about 9 inches (more or less depending on how big you want your headband).

Once you have this done, pull the bottom loops back onto the pegs and knit them together.( Pull the bottom row over the top)

Once you have done this, cut off about a foot and a half of yarn and attach it to your needle. Starting at your first peg, wrap the yarn around and pull the bottom over the top. Then take your needle and put it through the yarn on the peg, releasing it from the peg. Wrap the yarn around the next peg & repeat all the way around, releasing each loop from the peg as you go. 

Once your headband is free from the pegs, sew a knot into the bottom and cut off any extra yarn. Your headband is complete!

I have found that super bulky yarn works the best because it stretches less & fits better because of how thick it is. 

To make leg warmers, use a small 24 peg loom. Knit as normal until they are the desired length. Use the same cast off technique as you would with the headband. I made mine about 14" and they go from my ankle to an inch under my knee. I wear them with leggings and boots; they're really cute and warm!

Making a Wine Cork Wreath

Wine cork wreaths are awesome because you can keep them up year round! Adding bows, flowers, ornaments, or whatever you want can keep them festive for any season. Things that you need to make the wreath are:

• Wine corks. A lot of wine corks. (around 150ish I'd say)
• Hot glue. (I used at least 25 mini sticks)
• A plain straw wreath
• String
• Bows/flowers for decoration 

I used a straw wreath as a base, but it was a little messy. I think using a styrofoam circle as a base might be easier. You can buy these wreaths at craft stores, I think I paid around $6.

Make sure you take the plastic off of it, but do not cut the twine. Use a sturdy string and tie it around the top before you start with the corks.

I work at a seafood/ steakhouse restaurant where we sell a lot of wine. I also have friends and family save their corks for me too. ( use your resources for finding corks! make friends with a bartender & have them save their corks for you!) Since I get most of mine from the restaurant, I have a lot of  the same corks. I separated the really cool & unique ones to the side and used the more plain and repeat ones at the beginning.

I didn't take pictures as I was making this wreath, but you'll be able to see in the pictures the pattern I followed/ made up. I started on the inside of the wreath, stacking the corks on top of each other. Once I got to the top, I just started gluing like crazy in every direction just to cover up all the straw.

It is tricky trying to get them to fit nicely by each other, so just be patient and play around with it.

After I had a pretty good base layer, I added on the cool corks that I set aside earlier and placed them wherever they could be seen. I pretty much only used one layer of corks and it turned out great! Once all the corks were in place, I lightly glued some flowers in and it was ready to  be hung.

This is the finished product! Except one of the flowers is M.I.A...I didn't want to glue them in with too much glue, because I want to be able to take them out and put other decorations on. Bows, ornaments and ribbons would all look great, too! Cheers.

Loom knitting different color hats

Now that you've mastered the basic loom knit hat, you'll be happy to know that it's easy to jazz them up into different patterns. To add stripes, simply cut your first color of yarn and double knot it onto a new skein of a different color yarn. Knit 3-5 rows, depending on how thick you want the stripes, and alternate until the hat is finished.

For the hat above, I didn't count consistently so the stripes came out uneven. I think it still looks good, but I wish I would have been more precise. 

Using two different colored yarns is also a cool way to make hats unique. For this one I used a bulky purple and then regular Red Heart white. Combining the two makes for a cool pattern. Just tie them together and use the two strands as one.

Using one color for the brim and another color for the top of the hat turns out nicely, too. The top right I used a camouflage yarn on the brim and hunters orange for the top. My dad is a hunter & absolutely loves it!  

This hat I made with the Detroit Lion's colors for a friend. Using multiple colors is a great way to show support for your favorite teams! Have fun and get creative with different colors and yarn types.

Making a Wine Cork Birdhouse

One of my favorite crafts to make are wine cork birdhouses! They're easy to make and look amazing when finished. They are perfect for decorating or giving as gifts.

Things you're going to need are:

• Wine corks
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• Wooden bird house
• Razor blade knife or exacto knife
• Cutting board

The wooden birdhouses can be found at your local craft store. I usually get mine from JoAnn's because they have a pretty good variety of shapes and sizes.

The razor blade knife works best when cutting the corks in half length wise. Personally, I think cutting the corks in half makes a cleaner looking finished product because it's not as bulky as using whole corks. It is also great because you don't need as many when you cut them in half! Champagne corks also look great when mixed in with regular corks. Fake corks can have really cool designs and are much easier to cut than real corks, it just depends on what type of look you want to go for.  It is important to lay the cut pieces out on each side of the house BEFORE gluing. You will find that you need to trim some corks to make them fit neatly. Once the glue dries, it is not an easy task removing the pieces.

For the birdhouse above, I left whole corks on the sides to give it a log cabin look, but used half corks for the front to keep the bulk down. As you can see toward the top you have to trim pieces to fill in the holes, doing whatever you can to make them fit! Here is a side view of the house. 

For the roof, I cut a whole cork into about 8 circle pieces and layered them into shingles. Cutting the circles in half makes for fun decorative pieces for any left over wood that is still showing. Here are a few different style bird houses.

The smaller bird house was much more difficult than the larger ones! I thought it would be a quick project but it was harder to find corks that would fit because you don't have as much room to work with. With some time and a lot of trimming, it ended up turning out cute. Just keep in mind that the bigger ones give you more room to work with. 

Loom Knitting a Beanie Hat

Welcome to my blog! At least once a week, I am going to share loom knitting ideas, wine cork crafts and other fun and easy projects. I just recently started knitting on a loom and I have no other knitting experience. I started right before Thanksgiving, and I ended up making all of my Christmas gifts this year! I have never thought of myself as an "artsy" or overly creative person, but I have found a new hobby that I really enjoy. I have also been taking orders for friends, so I'm getting a little extra cash as well.

For this week, I want to talk about the basics of knitting on a round loom. I bought my set at Michael's for about $10 and it came in a set of four. The beautiful thing about craft stores is that there are ALWAYS coupons! I do have the Michael's and Joann's apps on my phone, but a quick Google search never hurts ( I take this into account no matter where I'm shopping). I got it 40% off at the click of a button on my phone. 

This is the round loom set:

For knitting a beanie style hat for an adult, use the orange one. (36 pegs).  Other materials that you will need include yarn, scissors, plastic knitting needle and a crochet hook. The needle and hook were included in my loom set. I think using bulky or super bulky yarn creates the nicest hats and I also think it is the easiest yarn to use.

The first step is to knot the yarn around the anchor peg. This will keep the yarn in place as you begin to knit. Take the yarn and put it through the circle so that it is inside of the loom. Starting to the left of the anchor peg, wrap the yarn around each peg clockwise. Wrap the yarn a second row until all pegs have two loops on them. It will look like this:

The most important thing is that the yarn is on the inside of loom. If it is not, you will not be able to knit for long! It will knot and get tight and you will be frustrated. Now you simply start at the peg to the right of the anchor and hook the bottom row over the top. Continue clockwise until you have one strand of yarn on the pegs again. That is your first row. Wrapping the yarn and hooking the bottom over the top until you have a few inches of rows completed. Once you have them done, pull the original loops from the bottom and re-hook them onto the pegs. Take the bottom and hook it over the top. This creates a brim for the hat, and you can experiment with different size brims. My first hat I did not make a brim, but the bottom part would continuously roll back anyways. If you don't put a brim on it, the hat will roll back! After the brim is completed, continue on with your rows. Once the knitted rows reach around 7 inches (depending on the size of the hat you want), it's about done!

To close the hat, pull about 15 inches of yarn and cut. Tie the end of it to your knitting needle. Next, take the needle and put it through the first peg, removing it from the peg. Continue on clockwise until the hat is free from the loom.

Once your hat is off the loom, pull it straight up tightening it together. There will be a hole at the top. Place the needle through the hole and turn your hat inside out. Sew back and forth a few times until the hole is gone. Knot off the yarn and trim any left over. 

Congratulations! You now have an awesome homemade hat!