Kanoko Baby Pants

Keeping with my apparent trend of craft-related posts, I have to share these knitted baby pants in grey-blue. (The official color is Lake, in Lion Brand Cotton Ease yarn.) I can't recall how I found the pattern online, but somehow I stumbled upon this ymymmytm post from 2008, and the photo of a little one crawling around in these Kanoko Baby Pants convinced me I had to give them a try.



I'm very pleased with the results. I love the changing stitch patterns, the drawstring waist, and most of all, the extra room to accommodate a diaper! This pair is size 3-9 months. The pattern is knit from the top down, starting with a circular needle and then switching to double points to knit each leg in the round.



Another great thing about this pattern is that it uses yarn that I can find at my local craft store. After I put the finishing touches on the grey-blue pants, I just had to start another pair -- this time in violet.

Treats for the (Play) Kitchen

Our niece Margaret will turn a whopping 4 years old this month, and one of her favorite things to play with is her little red retro kitchen. (That's her above with her little sister Piper, in ballet gear, of course.) When Margaret turned 3, I knitted her two cupcakes to keep in her kitchen. Being only 3, she wasn't as impressed with my handiwork as I was, but I knew the cupcakes would get their fair share of playtime eventually.



For her 4th birthday, I sent her two felt doughnuts, complete with frosting -- strawberry and chocolate, of course -- and sprinkles, because there are few things in the world that Margaret loves more than licking frosting off of doughnuts. (Tutorial from Skip to My Lou. The only change I made was to stitch around the center opening of the doughnuts by hand because the felt layers were too thick to fit in my sewing machine. A minor hiccup with an easy solution.)

Fabric Fun: Little Boxes

I'm pretty proud of this little fabric box I made using a tutorial from The Sometimes Crafter. All it requires is 2 fabric fat quarters and some thick sew-in interfacing. This blue and green version reminds me of spring, which is slowly making its way to Indianapolis. The blue and green is Box #2; I experimented with some more traditional fabrics with an autumn feel for Box #1, just to make sure I could handle the project (and follow the directions!).

There's no shortage of little odds and ends around my craft room that need containing. Next up, a summery combo in plaid and yellow.