Panda Cake

Dustin was having a birthday party and themed it around Kung-Fu Panda. I was put in charge of making the cake, so I decided to make a panda cake. I forgot to look at panda pictures beforehand, so I didn’t make the markings on the panda accurate. My instructions will be more accurate.

I baked two round cakes (9” and 10”) as well as a regular loaf pan. After they were baked, I put the 10” in the middle, cut the 9” so it fit on top of the other round. Then I cut the loaf cake to fit as feet, leaving enough extras to make ears and hands.

Make or buy fondant in black and white. I prefer making marshmallow fondant because it tastes good, but it is your choice. I used marshmallow fondant for the white and store bought for the black because black is difficult to create. Frost the cake and roll out the fondant. Cover the cake with the white. Cut out a small circle in white for a pupil. Roll out the black fondant. Cut two square-ish shapes to cover the bottom legs and cone-like shapes to cover the arms. Cut two half-circles for the ears.  Cut a small circle for the pupil and a large circle for the patch around the eye. Cut a small triangle for the nose. Place these in the appropriate places on the panda. Enjoy!

Tetris Fondant Cake

I have always had a love of making cakes. When I was little, my mom would let me make the birthday cakes for everyone in the family. I brought this love with me to college, and when my then-boyfriend’s birthday came around, I decided to make a nerdy cake. My search for the perfect nerdy cake brought me to Tetris. Classic!

Looking for square, colorful candies, I stumbled upon Starbursts. My purchase entailed a giant pack as well as some twisted black licorice. Once arriving home, I set to work. First the outline of licorice went on, followed by the pieces. The side pieces added the extra touch the cake needed. Only after I had make half the cake did I realize that I needed to leave holes in the puzzle in order for the rows to not disappear. I apologized to my husband, but he said the cake was perfect.

Knit Double-sided Checkered Scarf with Pattern.

I had created a pair of gorgeous fingerless gloves for one of my friends, so for Christmas, I double knit her a matching checkered scarf with a black border.

Materials:
~One Skein of Each:
- Caron Simply Soft: Autumn Red
- Caron Simply Soft: Cream
- Caron Simply Soft: Black
~1 Pair Size 10 Needles
~Size J Crochet Hook
~Tapestry Needle

**If you have never double knitted before, look at this site and scroll down to “Double Knitting.” She has a video there which will show you how to double knit and explain things.

**If you need help changing colors, watch this video from about 2:50. She does the edges differently on her video so know if you combine the stitches on the edge, your scarf will look slightly different.

Pattern:
1. Cast on 20 double stitches. (40 total)
2. Knit cream on the near side and red on the far side, ensuring that the stitches used match the color being knit. (If you have to, switch the stitches on the needle before double knitting)
3. Knit until you have 5 stitches, including the stitch on the needle.
4. Switch colors. Work the red on the cream and cream on the red until the end of the row.
5. Double knit until you have 5 stitches again and repeat from 4 until the scarf is the desired length.
6. Crochet black around the outside of the scarf, making sure to grab only the outermost part of the stitch when doing the side edges.
7. Weave in the ends.

If you need to see the pattern instead, use this:

X = red yarn
X = cream yarn

Odd rows:
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Even Rows:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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When the scarf is as long as desired, cast off and crochet black around the outside of the scarf, making sure to grab only the outermost part of the stitch when doing the side edges. Then finish off by weaving in the ends.

Note: You may not sell items made from this pattern, but you may make them for free for anyone you would like. If you are going to give the pattern to someone, or post it off- or online, please put a link to my site. I am offering these patterns for free and would like to be able to keep them that way.

Crochet Ornaments/Bulbs with Pattern

I wanted to do something special and homemade, yet quick and easy. Crocheting ornaments was perfect.

Green and Red Ornaments

If I have made a mistake in any of the patterns, please tell me.

Note: You may not sell items made from this pattern, but you may make them for free for anyone you would like. If you are going to give the pattern to someone, or post it off- or online, please put a link to my site. I am offering these patterns for free and would like to be able to keep them that way.

Red and White Ornament:
Materials:
- Red and White Yarn
- Hook, Size H (Size F through I will work. The bigger the hook, the bigger the ornament, but you will see more stuffing if you don’t use a thicker yarn with the bigger hook.)

Pattern
1. Starting with red, use the magic ring to crochet 6 stitches (6)
2. red inc every stitch (12)
3. red (sc 1 inc 1)* (18)
4. red (sc 2 inc 1)* (24)
5. red (sc 3 inc 1)* (30)
6. red (sc 4 inc 1)* (36) sl st join
7. (sc 2 red sc 2 white sc 2 red)* (36) join (do the join in white)
8. (sc 4 white sc 2 red)* (36)
9. sc 36 white
10. sc 36 white
11. sc 36 white join
12. (sc 3 white sc 2 red sc 1 white) join
13. (sc 2 white sc 4 red)
14. red (sc 4 dec 1)* (30)
15. red (sc 3 dec 1)* (24)
16. red (sc 2 dec 1)* (18)
17. red (sc 1 dec 1)* (12)
18. red decrease every stitch (6)
19. Bind off, and close up the hole
20. Flip the ornament over, and attach a ribbon or some yarn to act as the hanger for the ornament. (I cut off a length of yarn, put a knot in it, and passed it through the middle of the bottom.)

Green, Red, and White Ornament

Materials:
- Red, White, and Green Yarn
- Hook, Size H (Size F through I will work. The bigger the hook, the bigger the ornament, but you will see more stuffing if you don’t use a thicker yarn with the bigger hook.)

Pattern (Note: This ornament is more difficult than the first)
1. Starting with green, use the magic ring to crochet 6 stitches (6)
2. green inc every stitch (12)
3. green (sc 1 inc 1)* (18)
4. green (sc 2 inc 1)* (24)
5. green (sc 3 inc 1)* (30)
6. green (sc 4 inc 1)* (36) sl st join
7. (sc 2 white sc 4 green)* (36) join (do the join in white)
8. (sc 2 white sc 2 green sc 2 white)* (36) join
9. (sc 4 white sc 2 red)* (36) join
10. (sc 3 red sc 2 white sc 1 red)* (36) join
11. (sc 3 white sc 2 red sc 1 white)* (36) join
12. (sc 4 white sc 2 green)* (36) join
13. (sc 2 white sc 4 green)* (36)
14. green (sc 4 dec 1)* (30)
15. green (sc 3 dec 1)* (24)
16. green (sc 2 dec 1)* (18)
17. green (sc 1 dec 1)* (12)
18. green decrease every stitch (6)
19. Bind off, and close up the hole
20. Flip the ornament over, and attach a ribbon or some yarn to act as the hanger for the ornament. (I cut off a length of yarn, put a few knots in it, and passed it through the middle of the bottom.)

Simple Adult Women’s Knit Hooded Scarf with Pattern

This year for Christmas, none of my family has the money to buy normally priced gifts. To solve this problem, I have decided to knit and crochet gifts for my family. For my sister, I knit a simple pink hooded scarf.  It came out much better than I thought. I used a simple garter stitch and it came out beautiful.

Side shot

Note: You may not sell items made from this pattern, but you may make them for free for anyone you would like. If you are going to give the pattern to someone, or post it off- or online, please put a link to my site. I am offering these patterns for free and would like to be able to keep them that way.

Items needed:
- 1 tapestry needle
- 1 skein of yarn (regular weight, such as Caron Simply Soft, Red Heart, or even thicker yarns will work)
- size 10 needles (or any size needles. I added inches measurement to make the pattern easier to manipulate)

Pattern:
1. Cast on 45 stitches. (the work should be 11.5 inches after a few rows)
2. Knit until it is 24.5 inches long.
3. Bind off, until you have 15 stitches left to work with (about 3.25 inches). This is the start of the scarf section.
4. Knit until the ’scarf’ section is the desired length (I did about 30 inches). Measure the length.
5. Bind off.
6. Go to the other side of the work and catch the first 15 stitches (or the same number as you had in step 3) back onto the needle.
**Note: Make sure that you are catching the same side that you worked for the first scarf section. You should come out with a T shape. If you have a Z shape, you picked up the wrong side.
7. Knit until this side is the same as the measurement you took of the other side.
8. Bind off.
9. Sew up the back of the hood (bottom of the T, or the side farthest away from the scarf edge.) by folding the work in half and sewing up the back. For techniques on how to do this, look at http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/knitting-tips
10. Weave in ends
11. Enjoy!

Crochet Plush – Metool/Mettaur

Building my army of metroids, I needed a break. The head-suckers were taking over. I needed something to fight them off.  I chose the Met. With his hardhat, he won’t get his head chomped on, and he can shoot them from afar! All i have left to do for him is to add his eyes and details on his hat. I am considering giving him a pickaxe and making him a mettaur.

.   .   .   .   .   .

He is finally finished! I couldn’t decide how I wanted to do the details on his hat and his eyes, so I played around with a few different options. These were the ones that came out the best.

Crochet Plush – Metroids!

After finishing my own pair of metroid gloves, I needed to have my own army of plush metroids. I winged it by crocheting a sphere and making my own teeth by trial and error. After stuffing and sewing all the pieces together, I had my very own shoulder metroid. He was so adorable that I decided to make more. Every one is turning out unique, but I love each one. Here is a picture of the two I have completed already and the one I am currently working on. If enough people show interest, I will work on creating a pattern.

Knit Fingerless Gloves – Red Wool with pattern

For my Mega Man ideas, I bought red yarn. When I bought one of the skeins, I mistakenly picked up wool. I decided to make a pair of fingerless gloves to get rid of the yarn. When they were finished, I discovered the magic and wonder of wool. The gloves I made that fit me also fit my husband! as well as all my friends who I have shown the “magic trick” to.

RED WOOL FINGERLESS GLOVES
Materials needed:
1 skein of wool yarn (I used Sensations)
1 set of size 5 dpns

Instructions
1 Cast on 36 stitches
2-15. k 36
16. Cast on 8 stitches k 36
17-18. k 46
19. k 46 k2tog
20. k8 ssk k 34 k2tog
21. k 44
22. k6 ssk k 34 k2tog
23. k 42
24. k 4 ssk k 34 k2tog
25. k 40
24. k 2 ssk k 34
25-27. k 36
28-38. (k2 p1)* [aka. 2x1 ribbing]
39. Bind off
If curling, create a single crochet a border around the top to keep it from curling.

Note: You may not sell items made from this pattern, but you may make them for free for anyone you would like. If you are going to give the pattern to someone, or post it off- or online, please put a link to my site. I am offering these patterns for free and would like to be able to keep them that way.

To see a list of all my fingerless glove posts, click here.

If you would like to find more fingerless glove patterns, try one of these: knucks (men and women), bella fingerless gloves (women), or even here (men and women) for a list of a bunch of patterns.

Knit Fingerless Gloves – Zelda

Being on a gaming high, and having just purchased Twilight Princess, I needed a pair of Zelda gloves to enjoy my gaming experience more fully. Therefore, I set off to get green, yellowish and red yarns. Simply Soft has been a favorite of mine lately, so I purchased that brand. Using dpns and fair isle knitting, I knit ribbing at the top, then three triforces, green space, rupies, and then more ribbing. After weaving in the ends, I was ready to pick up a controller and play.

ZELDA TRIFORCE GLOVES
Materials:
1 skein olive green yarn (I used SimplySoft)
1 skin cream yarn
1 skein red yarn
1 set size 5 dpn

Instructions:
1. Cast on 32 stitches
2-5. (k1 p1)* [aka. 1x1 ribbing]
6. 5 green 1 cream 6 green
7. 4 green 3 cream 5 green
8. 3 green 5 cream 4 green
9. 2 green 1 cream 5 green 1 cream 3 green
10. 1 green 3 cream 3 green 3 cream 2 green
11. cream 1 green
12-13. k32
14. Cast on 16
15. K 36 8(k1 p1)
16. K 36 k2tog 7(p1 k1)ssk
17. K 36 7(p1 k1)
18. K 36 k2tog 6(k1 p1) ssk
19. K 36 6(k1 p1)
20. K 36 k2tog 5(p1 k1) ssk
21. K 36 5(p1 k1)
22. K 36 k2tog 4(k1 p1) ssk
23. K 36 4(k1 p1)
24. K 1 green 5(2 green 1 red 2 green) k2tog 3(p1 k1) ssk
25. K 36 3(p1 k1)
26. K 1 green 5(1 green 3 red 1 green) k2tog 2(k1 p1) ssk
27. K 36 2(k1 p1)
28. K 1 green 5(1 green 3 red 1 green) k2tog 1(p1 k1)ssk
29. K 36 1(k1 p1)
30. K 1 green 5(1 green 3 red 1 green) k2tog ssk
31. K 1 green K 5(2 green 1 red 2 green)
32-36. k36
37-40. (k1 p1)*
41. Cast off

To see a list of all my fingerless glove posts, click here.

If you would like to find fingerless glove patterns, try one of these: knucks (men and women), bella fingerless gloves (women), or even here (men and women) for a list of a bunch of patterns.

Crochet Plush and Drawings: Liger

A while back, my sister forced me to draw her a liger while we were on family vacation. I thought it was so gosh darn ugly that I promised to make her a new one when I got home. Months passed by without even a thought about ligers. Finally, my brother’s 25 birthday came along and he said the only thing he wanted for his birthday was a picture of a liger. When I told my sister, instead of laughing, she demanded that I make her liger picture as well. What came from the two demands were these pictures.

(c) Miriam Westover 2009

(c) Miriam Westover 2009

After these were completed, I thought I was free from liger demands until my sister’s birthday came around. The only thing she wanted for her birthday was a plush liger. Once again, I set out to create. I turned a cat pattern into a liger by adding a mane and stripes. She loved it.