First up, we have these adorable covered barrettes from Angry Chicken's tutorial, and soft knit curlers inspired by these. They are both for my Niece 2- whom, DearSis informed me, gets along amazingly well with her sisters when they play beauty shop.
Niece 3, who is usually the customer at 2's beauty shop, already has perfect Shirley Temple curls - but what the heck, it's just to play with, right?
The barrettes are great for wispy little girl hair, and really cute (although the tutorial ones are way more adorable than my hand-sewn versions), and I'm making myself some of the soft curlers - hopefully using them will eliminate the foul memories I have of when I would get my hair did as a kid- I still occasionally have flash backs of trying to fall asleep with those nasty curlers with the brushes inside poking my head, and the pink plastic picks that always seemed to dig in deeper the more you tried to get comfortable. Ugh.
I didn't really write a pattern, but here's a quick summary of how I knit the curlers. They're a lot of fun to make, quick knits that I mostly worked on while watching TV with DearHubs at night.
Knit Curlers
This 'pattern' is so easy to customize - for bigger curlers, use heavier yarn and bigger needles; for longer ones, knit more rows; you get the idea. I like the fact that you can make these to suit yourself, rather than trying to force your head to work with the generic one-size ready-made store-bought plastic scratchy ouchy blech. Have little wispy hairs? Make a few little teeny curlers. Thick, heavy hair? Jumbo curlers it is (although you may want to wait until your hair is already mostly dry before using these - experience speaking!)
The barrettes are great for wispy little girl hair, and really cute (although the tutorial ones are way more adorable than my hand-sewn versions), and I'm making myself some of the soft curlers - hopefully using them will eliminate the foul memories I have of when I would get my hair did as a kid- I still occasionally have flash backs of trying to fall asleep with those nasty curlers with the brushes inside poking my head, and the pink plastic picks that always seemed to dig in deeper the more you tried to get comfortable. Ugh.
I didn't really write a pattern, but here's a quick summary of how I knit the curlers. They're a lot of fun to make, quick knits that I mostly worked on while watching TV with DearHubs at night.
Knit Curlers
- With any weight yarn, and double-pointed needles approximately 2 sizes too small for the yarn you are using, cast on six stitches.
- Knit 4 rows.
- Knit 2 stitches, bind off two stitches, knit last two stitches. Turn.
- Knit two stitches, cast on two stitches, knit last two stitches. Buttonhole made. Turn.
- Knit across.
- K2tog across - You will now have 3 stitches on your needle.
- Knit i-cord for as long as you would like ( I tried to keep it about 2 inches for my small curlers, but you could of course go longer for larger ones), keeping track of how many rounds you knit.
- When you have reached the desired length, begin increases.
- Kfb in each stitch for 2 rounds - you should now have 12 stitches, divided onto at least three needles.
- Knit around for the same number of rounds as your i-cord.
- Stuff curler with small amount of batting or fiber-fill, enough for it to be firm but not so much that the stitches stretch out. (Seriously, you only need the tiniest bit of batting for each curler. I shoved mine in with a knitting needle.)
- Begin reducing - k3tog first round (6 stitches left), k2tog next round (3 stitches left). (If you're going to be using a button on the end, go straight to step fourteen and fifteen, and then just use the leftover yarn to sew on your button if possible. If not, weave in your ends, sew on your button and voila! You're done! Go curl your hair! If you're making this for children, like I was, continue as written, with the i-cord knot at the end rather than the choking hazards also known as buttons.)
- Begin i-cord - you're going to want at least an inch.
- Leaving stitches on needles, cut your yarn, leaving a decent tail (at least two inches)
- With tail, thread a yarn needle and pull yarn through each stitch, sliding the stitch off the needles as you go. Pull yarn tightly and knot.
- Now, use the tail of the yarn to help you knot the smaller i-cord at the end of the curler, clipping excess once you're done.
This 'pattern' is so easy to customize - for bigger curlers, use heavier yarn and bigger needles; for longer ones, knit more rows; you get the idea. I like the fact that you can make these to suit yourself, rather than trying to force your head to work with the generic one-size ready-made store-bought plastic scratchy ouchy blech. Have little wispy hairs? Make a few little teeny curlers. Thick, heavy hair? Jumbo curlers it is (although you may want to wait until your hair is already mostly dry before using these - experience speaking!)
