"Let the sky rain potatoes! Let it thunder to the tune of Greensleeves!"
- The Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare)
The Greensleeves tune is stuck in my head quite frequently... I can never remember all the words, so I replace them with lyrics about my cats! And now Greensleeves is also the name of my newest free knitting pattern! It's green, it's a coffee sleeve, its Greensleeves:
I wanted to make another pattern that would be good for knitters learning to use double pointed needles (I know they can be scary at first!) and I think this is just the thing. The simple knitting and purling combination, Aran yarn, and small project size keep it from being too intimidating. Plus, it's great for girls & guys, for keeping or gifting!
For this project you will need a set of four US8 / 5mm double pointed needles, one stitch marker, a tapestry needle, and about 50 grams of Aran 10ply yarn (Red Heart, TLC, and Vanna's Choice are common, inexpensive yarns that work great for this pattern).
Cast on 33 stitches and divide them onto three of your DPN's (11 on each needle).
Join your work for knitting in the round (be careful not to get your stitches twisted) and place a marker to mark the beginning of the round.
Rounds 1-5: Knit all stitches.
Rounds 6-10: Purl all stitches.
Repeat rounds 1-10 twice more.
Repeat rounds 1-5 one more time.
Your coffee cozy should now have 7 horizontal sections alternating between knit and purl designs. This makes it kind of springy, like an accordion!
Bind off and use your tapestry needle to weave in your loose ends.
*If you are new to DPN's, you will want to be careful about "laddering", especially on your purl rows. "Laddering" refers to stitches that are looser where two DPN's come together, making them look wider or off from the rest of the stitches. If you notice that this is happening to your work you can tighten your knitting tension when you come to these areas OR you can periodically shift some stitches around on your DPN's so that they aren't always stacked in the same columns (there are some great tips for dealing with laddering
here).
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