Christmas Balls to Knit
September 21, 2024
Over the summer I took the most fun class at my lys, Uncommon Threads, with Arne and Carlos--"How to Knit a Christmas Ball." Knitting a small ball in the round required using 4 double pointed needles and while I do not like working with dpns, I was really dying to meet these two colorful fellas in person, so I signed up for what I was hoping would be the easiest class. I am so glad I did because not only are these men kind, talented, and engaging, they were also highly entertaining and made the atmosphere so warm and friendly. They are both natural teachers, and while I felt all fiddle fingery balancing 4 needles, actually 5, they encouraged me to knit in a style that suited me. They have traveled around the world enough to see the different techniques and styles for knitting and really encouraged us knitters to practice our own best technique and that may be quite different from the knitter next to you. Freedom!
So with that encouragement, and as I was still struggling mightily with 4 needles, one of the knitters saw me and said, "I use TWO dpns." Astonished I said, "You can do that?", to which she replied, "Why not?" And then I thought, well Kristen, why not? So I transferred my stitches to 2 needles (using a third for the knitting) and from then on I sailed! Just when I thought I would never get through one Christmas ball, I ended up making 8, now 9 since this picture was taken, and I'm not done! Below I have pictures to show you just how I knitted them. Lastly, If you ever have a chance to take a class with Arne and Carlos, do not hesitate! They bring so much to the knitting community, joy, kindness, expertise and whimsy, we are lucky knitters. I am also a religious follower of their charming YouTube channel.
Many of Arne and Carlos Christmas ball patterns can be purchased on Ravelry. Other designers have made patterns for balls too and there are also many free ones. I only looked at the patterns with 64 stitches in which four 16 stitch panels are usually graphed with a single pattern repeat. That is the most common size for a Christmas ball and was the easiest for me to knit. I also ended up buying Arne and Carlos Christmas book, 55 Christmas Balls to knit which includes the cutest patterns. I found it online for under $10 with free shipping and now it's priceless to me. I don't have a link for the pattern book, but if you google it you'll find a dozen choices from $10 to $250. You certainly don't need a class to knit these, the class was just icing on the cake. I would download one or two of the free patterns and knit a few to see if you think they're fun, but I'm warning you, these little guys are addictive and I soon found I couldn't live without the book! This Ravelry project page is where I'm going to keep adding my new ornaments.
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| Some of the balls have different scenes on each panel. This village scene has a church, two houses and a tree. |
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| This fella wearing a nightcap in each panel holds either a candle, a cake, a present and on one panel carries a bag of gifts. So cute. |
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| Arne and Carlos glued little crystals to their trees and I might do that too. |
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| The skater was the pattern they handed out in the class and it's not my best work as it's my first one, but it got easier and the work got better and faster with each one I knit. |
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| By the time I knit my 8th ball, my stitches were much more even. |
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| Here's what I do: I cast on all my stitches, 12 in this case, on one dpn like so: co 3, pm, co 6, pm, co 3. Move the last 6 stitches onto a second dpn. You now have 6 sts on each needle with a marker in the middle of each group of 6. Place a locking bor stitch marker on the first st and keep it there (the hard to see red lightbulb shaped marker). The white markers tell you where your "second" and "fourth" needles begin. You will now follow the chart as written. When you are knitting the first stitch on a needle, give a little extra tug to prevent a ladder. The picture above shows the work after the first few increases have been made. I found this easier than 4 dpns and magic loop. |
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| When I have increased to enough stitches, I transfer the stitches to a 9" circular. I know not everyone likes knitting with small circulars, but they are comfortable for my hands and I have success with them. If you don't, it's just as easy to continue with the 2 dpns and if you like magic loop, that's an easy switch too. I did that for a few of the balls when I forgot to bring my 9" circular with me, but if you struggle with 4 needles and don't like magic loop, try this! |
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When I start the decreases, and when the stitches become too difficult around a circular, I transfer them back to dpns. The yarn for these balls is from Arne and Carlos own yarn from Rowan, Norwegian Wool. I bought a few skeins of both the red and white and a green too so I could knit as many balls as I want. Arne and Carlos recommend wool batting over polyfill, so I bought a bag on Amazon and really do think it's superior. It's more firm and feels better because it's natural and not chemical but honestly, we all have poly and it works just fine too. Gentle reminder! You have until the end of the month to use the 20% discount using code KNITIONARYxUNWIND for Rachel Illsley's Unwind Knitwear's beautiful sweater patterns! Go directly to Rachel's pattern library here, or read my blog post for more details. I hope you enjoyed my post and will consider becoming a follower of the Knitionary blog. If yes, please click here. I won't sell your email so no need to worry about that sort of thing. I try to send out one post a week, usually about knitting but also about my other loves--gardening, crafts and entertaining. Sometimes I use affiliate links in my posts to help offset the costs of running a blog. If you click on an affiliate link and purchase an item, I may earn a little money. If you purchase the item using my affiliate link or not, the price will be the same. Purchasing from my affiliate links adds no cost to you but could put a little money in my pocket. Thank you for supporting the blog. If you'd like to make a comment, please scroll down. I reply to each comment and that response will appear directly below your comment. If you would like a personal reply, please know that I use the Blogger platform and they do not give me your contact information when you comment. If you would like a personal reply, you can contact me using the contact form on the right side at the very end of my website. |
8 Comments
I recently read that doing crafts is good for the brain. You must be very smart!!!
ReplyDeleteNow that would be nice!
DeleteI love their knitting dolls book. I haven't bought it yet but I've borrowed it from the library at least 3 times.
ReplyDeleteHadn't heard of it so had to look it up. So dang cute!
DeleteI make Christmas balls using Addi Flexi Flips or Hiya Hiya Flyers. I could never manage DPNs at that small circumference.
ReplyDeleteI have some flexi flips but never use them. I think I'll give them a try. Thanks for the idea!
DeleteI love Arne and Carlos. I have learned a lot from them technique wise. They make everything seem so doable. Coincidentally - looking for something else - I ran across a free Christmas ball pattern you might want to take a look at - FAB ball by Shiny Super Hero for more Christmas ball fun. Chloe
ReplyDeleteYes! I love it and it's free! Thank you!
DeleteYou make my day when you make a comment!