Frankie's Knitted Stuff
This Christmas tree goes on the back wall of the Gingerbread House. It is knitted in three sections before a trunk is added, together with the decorations. I have used tiny buttons to decorate my tree but you could use beads or sequins - anything that you can find. The tree is knitted in DK weight yarn on 3.25 mm / US size 3 needles. It should measure about 6 cm / 214" tall, excluding the trunk. I used Stylecraft Special DK (295 m / 100g) in Bottle for the tree and Sirdar Country Style DK (155 m / 50g), shade 530, Chocolate for the trunk. The little buttons are from a ‘Dress It Up' pack called Tiny Primary Buttons.
The Tree
This is knitted in three pieces - the top, middle and bottom - which are then sewn together. Top Using the long tail method cast on two stitches. Row 1: Kf&b, K1 (3 sts). Row 2: Purl. Row 3: K1, ml, K to last st, ml, K1. Repeat Rows 2 and 3 twice more. You should have nine stitches on your needle. Cast off knitwise. Middle Using the long tail method cast on three stitches. Row 1: Purl. Row 2: K1, ml, K to last st, ml, K1. Repeat these two rows three more times (11 sts). Cast off knitwise. Bottom Using the long tail method cast on five stitches. Row 1: Purl. Row 2: K1, ml, K to last st, ml, K1. Work these two rows four more times (15 sts). Cast off knitwise. Pin the middle section behind the top and the bottom section behind the middle. The height of the tree should be 6 cm / 214". Sew the sections together, using green thread and stitching just above the cast off edge of the middle and top sections.
The Trunk
Using brown yarn and the cable method, cast on nine stitches. Work two rows in moss stitch (US seed stitch): Every row: K1, \*P1, K1, repeat from \* to end. Cast off in moss stitch. Sew to the back of the tree, just above the centre at the bottom.
Now you can decorate your tree. Use green thread to sew on little buttons or anything else that you can think of.
Sewing the Tree to the House
Pin the tree to the right side of the back wall of the house. The trunk should be about 1.5 cm / 1/2" above the bottom of the wall to allow for the snowdrift. Use ginger thread and sew round the edges of the tree and trunk, working through the top layer of the knitting on the wall only. Frankie Brown, 2014.
Abbreviations
st/sts stitch / stitches K knit P purl kf&b knit into the front and back of the stitch m1 make 1 by lifting the thread before the next stitch and knitting into the back of it
