Knit Angel in your choice of yarn - and knitting..
2011 Rian Anderson
Measurements Approx 20 - 25 cm tall depending on yarn and needles used Requirements Choose your own yarns - see suggestions below, but use yarns of relative thickness, so your angel is in proportion.
For head, hands, arms, feet and legs:
· skin coloured cotton, or any smooth yarn 4 ply - 8 ply thickness x 10 - 15 gms . two 3.25 mm (US 3) or 3.5 mm (US 4) doublepointed needles (for i-cords) - use needles smaller than recommended to give a firm fabric
For dress:
. fluffy soft or small bobble yarn approx 8 ply/DK up to 12 ply (Aran) thickness, eg Moda Vera "Wisp"x 20 gms - OnLine "Picnic"x35 gms 1 pair 3.5 mm (US 4) needles or 4 mm (US 6) or 4.5 mm (US 7) needles - use needles smaller than recommended to give a firm fabric
Knit Angel
For wings:
. soft yarn approx 10 ply (worsted) - 12 ply (Aran) thickness, use a different yarn from dress for contrast, eg Patons"Feathers" x 15 gms or RichMore "Primrose"x 10 gms or Online 67 "Como" x 10 gms · 1 pair 3.5 mm (US 4) needles or 4 mm (US 6) - use needles to give a firm fabric
For hair:
. thin boucle, smooth, or"crinkled" yarn x 5 - 10 m
And:
·. a tapestry needle for sewing seams · small amount dacron filling thin yarn for embroidering face a sparkly metallic "chenille"stick for halo (optional: pink or white chenille stick for arms)
Optional - knitting and bag:
·. small amount thin yarn wound into a tiny ball . 2 round toothpicks, 2 small wooden beads & clear nail varnish or wood glue, or 2 "knitter's pins" . 5 gms sock yarn or similar 4 ply for knitting bag . 3.25 mm (US 3) or 3.5 mm (US 4) needles Abbreviations - read before starting work cast on (knitted method) = place right needle into the stitch as if to knit, draw through a stitch and place on left needle cast on, cable method = place right needle between last 2 sts to make next st (instead of into the stitch as if to knit) k= knit p=purl st = stitch st st = stocking stitch: knit right side rows, purl wrong side rows rev st st = reverse stocking stitch: purl right side rows, knit wrong side rows M1 = pick up the strand from the row below between the next st and the st just knitted, and work into the back of it: increases a stitch k2tog = knit 2 sts together p2tog = purl 2 sts together (k2tog, k1) x 2 (eg) = instructions inside ( ) brackets to be repeated the number of times after x, therefore this example = k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1 rpt = repeat
Tension/gauge
Varies with yarn and needles - use a tension to give a firm fabric for best results.
Dress
With chosen yarn and needles (see requirements), cast on 40 sts using the knitted method (see abbrevs). Work reverse st st for 6 rows - begin with purl row. Row 7. p8, (p2tog) x2, p16, (p2tog) x2, p8 Work reverse st st for 5 more rows - begin with knit row. Row 13. p7, (p2tog) x2, p14, (p2tog) x2, p7 Work reverse st st for 5 more rows. Row 19. p6, (p2tog) x2, p12, (p2tog) x2, p6
Knit Angel
Work reverse st st for 5 more rows. Row 25. p5, (p2tog) x2, p10, (p2tog) x2, p5 Work reverse st st for 5 more rows. Row 31. p4, (p2tog) x2, p8, (p2tog)x2, p4 = 20 sts Row 32. k5, turn (leaving other 15 sts unworked for now) and work 5 more rows on these 5 sts. Cast off the 5 sts. Rejoin the yarn to the rest of the sts and k10, turn (leaving other 5 sts unworked for now) and work 5 more rows on these 10 sts. Cast off the 10 sts. Rejoin the yarn to the remaining 5 sts and work 6 rows rev st st. Cast off the 5 sts.
Sleeves
With right (purl) side facing, pick up and knit 13 sts along an armhole edge (between 10 st and 5 st sections, from cast off to cast off). Work reverse st st for 10 more rows - begin with knit row. Row 12. k6, M1, k1, M1, k6 Row 13. purl Row 14. k7, M1, k1, M1, k7 Row 15. purl Row 16. k8, M1, k1, M1, k8 = 19 sts Row 17. purl Cast off all sts loosely. Rpt for other sleeve. Sew seams along top of sleeves and across shoulders, leaving 1 - 2 cms for centre neck opening. Do not sew back seam of dress yet.
Head
With skin colour yarn and chosen double-pointed needles (or use straights the same size as your dpns), cast on 11 sts, using cable cast on method. Row 1. knit Row 2. purl Row 3. k1, (M1, k1) x 10 = 21 sts Row 4. purl Row 5. k4, (M1, k2) x7,k3 = 28 sts Work 9 more rows st st (beginning with a purl row). Row 15. (k2, k2tog) x 7 = 21 sts Row 16. purl Row 17. (k1, k2tog) x 7 = 14 sts Row 18. p2, (p2tog, p1) x 4 = 10 sts Break off yarn, leaving a 40 cm end, and thread through remaining sts, pull tight to gather and sew up seam at back of head. Fill with dacron and gathel up cast on row for neck. Sew eyes and mouth with simple stem stitch (see pics).
Feet and legs
First foot
With skin colour yarn and chosen double-pointed needles, cast on 5 sts, using the cable method, leaving a 30 cm end for sewing later. Row 1. knit Row 2. purl Row 3. k1, (M1, k1) x 4 = 9 st Work 7 more rows st st (beginning with a purl row). Row 11. (k2tog) x2, k1, (k2tog) x 2 = 5 sts.
Legs
Now work i-cord as follows on these 5 sts: instead of turning to work next row, just slide all sts down to other end of needle and swap it to the left hand with the same side facing. Knit all sts, pulling yarn tight on first st as it is coming from the end of the last row. Repeat this until length of i-cord section measures twice the length of the dress from neck to hem (my sample was 75 rows on 3.5 mm dpns).
Second foot
Row 1. purl Row 2. k1, (M1, k1) x4 = 9 sts Work 7 more rows st st (beginning with a purl row). Row 10. (k2tog) x2, k1, (k2tog) x2 = 5 sts Row 11. purl Break off yarn, leaving a 30 cm end, and thread through remaining sts, pulling tight to gather. Sew up seam at back of foot from the right side, filling with little dacron toy flling as you go. Sew seam on first foot,flling with dacron as before. Fold legs in half so feet are together and sew the top of the legs together for 1 - 2 cms.
Hands and arms First hand
With skin colour yarn and chosen double-pointed needles, cast on 5 sts, using the cable method, leaving a 30 cm end for sewing later. Row 1. knit Row 2. purl Row 3. k1, (M1, k1) x4 = 9 st Work 5 more rows st st (beginning with a purl row). Row 9. (k2tog) x 2, k1, (k2tog) x 2 = 5 sts.
Arms
Now work i-cord as for legs on these 5 sts, until length of i-cord section measures from cuff to cuff of the dress's sleeves when dress is laid flat (my sample was 45 rows on 3.5 mm dpns).
Second hand
Row 1. purl Row 2. k1, (M1, k1) x 4 = 9 sts Work 5 more rows st st (beginning with a purl row). Row 8. (k2tog) x 2, k1, (k2tog) x 2 = 5 sts Row 9. purl Break off yarn, leaving a 30 cm end, and thread through remaining sts, pulling tight to gather. Sew up seam at side of hand from the right side, filling with a litle dacron toy flling as you go. Gather cast-on sts and sew seam on first hand, filling with dacron as before. Fold arms in half, and mark the halfway point with a safety pin.
Wings - make 2 the same
With chosen yarn and needles, cast on 30 sts, using the cable method. Row 1. knit Row 2. knit Row 3. slipping the first st rather than knitting it cast off 3 sts, knit to end of row Row 4. knit to last 2 sts, k2tog Rpt the last 2 rows twice more = 18 sts Row 9. slipping the first st, cast off 2 sts, knit to end of row Row 10. k2tog, knit to last 2 sts, k2tog = 14 sts Rpt last row three more times = 8 sts Cast off all sts.
Assembling the angel
Place the top of the legs onto the centre of the arms and sew together at right angles. (The angel doesn't have a body - she has legs all the way to her armpits, just like supermodels!) Sew head firmly to top of legs / centre of arms, leaving some yarn for securing head to dress as well. If you want the arms to be spread wide (as the sample in small picture title page), then you may want to stiffen the arms with a chenille stick threaded between the hands down the centre of the i-cord.
Dress your angel, with the opening down the back. Sew this back seam. Finish sewing head to neck of dress, so it doesn't wobble.
Halo
Bend the sparkly metallic stick into a ring 4.5 cms diameter, winding it around itself again so it is doubled. Ends can be twisted and left sticking out for a cm or two at the edge (see pic). Poke the ends into the top of the head, then sew halo in place to secure. The halo may be used to hang your angel up, so make sure it will stay on properly.
Hair
Wind yarn around your hand (all 4 fingers) approx 10 times. Cut in one place and tie in a bundle. Sew the bundle to the centre of the head with strands at each side, then again at the back. Rpt until you are happy with the"coverage"of the head and the halo base stitching is hidden. Plait the hair for a"cute" look, give her a fringe at the front, leave hair floating free - your choice.
Knit Angel
Wings
Sew wings into a pair along cast off edges and sew to back of dress. (If they tend to"flop around" sew tips in place on dress).
Optional - knitting and bag
If you agree with me that all angels are probably knitters, then you can give your angel a bag with yarn and needles to carry with her:
Yarn and needles
Wind thin yarn into a tiny ball(1 cm diam?) and sew a few sts to make sure it won't unwind when she's on the wing... Needles can be bought ready made in the guise of knitters pins, but you can make your own by glueing wooden beads to the ends of round toothpicks, with wood glue or clear nail varnish.
If your angel is knitting a row - start her off on your smallest needles with just a few sts and rows. Transfer sts to the tiny needles then glue the sts to the needles so she never drops a stitch! Sew hands to needles. If your angel is still working out what to knit then stash her ball of yarn and the needles in her bag.
Bag Use small needles and thin yarn to knit a rectangle: Cast on 15 sts using the cable method. Work st st for 20 rows. Cast off. Strap is 30 sts, cast on cable method and then cast off again right away. Fold bag in halfso cast on and cast off edges are together as top of bag, Sew seams on inside and attach strap to tops of seams. Add a loop in centre of one edge at the top and a knot at the other side as a fastener (see pics). If your angel is praying, sew her hands together after you place her bag on her arm.
Knit Angel
And of course you can make an angel who doesn't knit - maybe she'll learn later...
