Thursday, 10 April 2014

The Giant Pineapple Cosy KAL (with free crochet and knitting patterns!)


Hello everyone! Last year Tanya and I organised a Foxy KAL that was so much fun that we wanted to do another one! And it's finally happening! ^___^ 

We found a great retro knitting pattern for a pineapple tea cosy and we're excited to share that pattern with you in our new Giant Pineapple Cosy KAL! You can download the pattern straight away (just click on the image or the text below to go to the download link); it was originally made by Patons in their Nick-Nacks C41 pattern book. We don't know when it was released, but since it includes measurements in both centimeters and inches, I'm guessing it's probably from about the 1970s. Ace!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_MO0cK8Qg7mYWJFTG83UWotU0U/edit?usp=sharing


Tanya made this one, so you could see what you're getting into! Isn't it lovely? She's done a super job and I'm so excited to make my own!


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_MO0cK8Qg7mVkdweHJKWEdLbmc/edit?usp=sharing



Now, even though we've called this a knit-a-long, we haven't forgotten about the crocheters! I've made a really simple crochet version of the original knit pattern; it looks a little different but it's still full of retro-style amazingness! You can click the image above to download the pattern from my Google Drive ^___^ The KAL will start on May 5th, and will run until June 2nd and then we'll announce the winner of this awesome prize pack! Far out! ^___^





Join our Ravelry group to stay up to date on all the KAL chatting fun and to share your awesome WIPs and FOs with us! ^___^ See ya on the flip side!

Lisa xx

15 comments:

Tanya said...

wooo! and we're off!

BEESTLYproducts said...

Oh my gosh! I want to make one too! This is super cute. My tea cozy is the most mundane!

Lisa said...

I do hope you join Robbie, I think it will be super fun! We have already got a rather impressive group over on Ravelry, but of course you do not have to join the group to knit along with us ^___^ I am seriously so excited to see everyone's cosies, and I can't wait to get started on making my own knit version!

Elvis Lives said...

I am in. Thanks for the crochet pattern, because I can't knit :-)

Lisa said...

Great to have you with us, Elvis Lives! I am primarily a crocheter, and it always makes me a bit sad when I see an awesome pattern that is only for knitting (because I'm really not a very good knitter!) so we always try to make our KALs more like K/CALs ~___^

Maree said...

A friend requested a pineapple tea cozy for her birthday, and I was so excited to find your pattern.....but I need some help! How do i make the puff stitch are you using?? In row 3, do I puff stitch in each of the 35 stitches done in row 2? What about in subsequent rows? Sorry to be so helpless, but I've had as few goes at the pattern and I can't get it to resemble anything like the picture. I would really appreciate any advice you can give!!
Thanks!!!

Lisa said...

Hi Maree! I'm so glad you're giving this pattern a go ... and so sorry that I am a bit of a dope at writing patterns! But, hopefully we can get you sorted ^___^

First up: the puff stitch! I do it like this: *Yarn over (YO), insert into stitch, YO, pull through. Do from * twice more, so you should have seven loops on your hook. YO and pull through the seven loops. You should only have one loop on your hook now. Then do a chain stitch to hold it all together, and continue with the pattern.

Now, on with my pattern, in which I assume everyone is a mind reader, apparently ~____^ In row three, you are not puff stitching into each of the 35 single stitches. The chains in between the puff stitches need to correspond to skipped single stitches. So, you start by chaining three and doing a puff stitch into the first single stitch then you chain two, skipping the two single stitches underneath the chains, and then puff stitch again into the fourth single stitch. You should have about eleven puff stitches along one row (if, of course, your teapot is exactly the same size as mine and you're following the pattern exactly!)

In row four (and all the other puff stitch rows to follow), you do your puff stitches in the space left by the two chains, which gives you that nice diagonal look with the stitches.

I really do hope all of that makes sense! If you have any more troubles, let me know and I will attempt to help further ^______^

Unknown said...

Thanks so much Lisa, that makes perfect sense now!!! I really appreciate the time you put into replying!!!!!! (I was thinking i might have to have a crack at the knitting pattern, and knitting and me are NOT friends!! You have saved me hours of frustration :)

Lisa said...

No problems Maree! Good luck with the pattern and please do let me know how you go! ^____^

Anonymous said...

Hey there, Lisa! I just LOVE the look of this tea cosy and have been trying to replicate it, but following the crochet directions, my stitching looks NOTHING like that second picture of yours but more like this: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/DWScissors/pineapple-tea-cosy. :( Not that it doesn't look good, but I'm going for that second picture look of yours. I'm at a loss to what I've been doing wrong. Have you had anyone else tell you the same thing? If so, do you know what the solution is? Thanks for any help... I know this was posted a while ago.

Lisa said...

Hi intlangel! I'm guessing the difference you're referring too is that Bec's (Deadly with Scissors) tea cosy is kinda more gappy between the puff stitches? I think this is because I tend to crochet very tightly, while Bec is more chilled. No one else has actually asked me this question, so I'm not positive on the solution. What I would suggest is maybe try a couple of swatch squares, trying to get a gauge close to mine (6 puff stitches x 11 rows in a 4” square btw). You could try crocheting tighter, using a thicker ply of yarn, using a smaller hook, or maybe even only crocheting one chain in between each puff stitch. I hope this helps you out xx

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Lisa! I will try your suggestions. I appreciate your feedback! :)

Lisa said...

No problems intlangel! ^___^

gwenstella said...

Hi Lisa! I think your pattern is so cute! I just shared it on my most recent blog post here: https://gwenstellamade.wordpress.com/2018/04/30/vintage-novelty-pineapple-teapot/

Lisa said...

Thank you gwenstella! xx