Knitted Felted Nesting Bowls

Image and pattern from Craftfox

We stumbled upon an adorable pattern on Craftfoxes for felted bowls that nest inside each other and decided to give it a try! It's wonderful for beginning felters, and would make a great handmade gift or be a cute addition to your Easter decorations. It's quick and easy, check it out!

We recommend a bulky yarn for this project. Drops Eskimo or Schachenmayr Wash Filz-It are both great choices and felt the easiest.

We picked three different shades of Eskimo for tonal look to these bowls. Each one is a different color.

Supplies:

Size US 9 Double Pointed Needles

3 skeins Eskimo or Wash Filz-It

         (You can choose the same color or different colors)

This pattern »

A sink or a washing machine for felting

Find all the supplies you need in our Webstore

Follow the instructions in the pattern and end by felting either by hand or in your washing machine. It just takes some hot water and some friction to get these yarns to cling to themselves and turn into a felt material. The only little difference we made to this pattern is we did not bind off and pick up stitches, we simply continue to knit the entire way. They ended up looking like mini hats before felting!

Before felting

After Felting, the bowls need to be shaped on a mold while drying

  We promise you have things around your house that you can use as molds. Be creative! We used a candle, an oatmeal container, a vase, and a metal kitchen spoon holder.  You can use bowls for more of a bowl shape than a cylinder or basket shape.

Knitted bowls stacked before felting

Knitted bowls stacked after felting

Happy Crafting and Felting! 

Send us your photos of your finished felted bowls on our 

Facebook page

Fun Yarn with Free Patterns

You may not have heard but about the Schachenmayr brand yarns, but they're some of our favorites here at Nordic Mart.

Boston, Boston Style, Lova, and Wash Filz-It! are all bulky yarns with great potential for colorful patterns.

Here we'll give you some adorable free patterns to use with these yarns for some inspiration! Why not give them a try?

First, let's meet the yarns:

Boston
Boston is Super Bulky
Wool/Acrylic Blend
Machine Washable
Just $4.95 per 50 grams
Find tons of pattern ideas for this yarn on Ravelry » 
Purchase Boston here »

Boston Style
Boston Style is Super Bulky
Wool/Acrylic/Polyester Blend
Machine Washable
Just $5.39 per 50 grams 
Find tons of pattern ideas for this yarn on Ravelry » 
Purchase Boston Style here »

Lova
Lova is Super Bulky
Wool/Acrylic Blend
Machine Washable
Just $5.95 per 50 grams
Find tons of patterns using this yarn on Ravelry » 
Purchase Lova here »

Wash Filz-It! (Now 25% Off for the month of March)
Wash Filz-It is Super Bulky
100% Virgin Wool
Will Felt easily in your Washing Machine
Starts at only $3.39 per 50 grams
Find tons of patterns using this yarn on Ravelry » 
Purchase Wash Filz It here »

What can I make with these yarns?

We're glad you asked! The possibilities are endless, but here are a few basic free patterns we picked out.

Two great hats for guys, one knit, one crochet, both stylish and easy to care for. 

Knit the hat on the left with this pattern »

Crochet the hat on the right with this pattern »

Order Boston for these hats»

These two jumpers are cozy, washable, and have fun pops of neon color for just the right amount of funk.

Knit the pattern on the left with this pattern »

Knit the pattern on the right with this pattern »

Order Lova to make these tops » 

Two great basic hats, one ribbed in Boston, one convertible in Lova.

The hat on the right can be cinched on the top to be a hat, or loosened and pulled around your neck as a cowl 

Make the hat on the right with this pattern »

Knit the hat on the left with this pattern »

Scarves for guys or girls, Boston makes some eye-catching accessories for everyone. 

Knit the pattern on the left with this pattern »

Crochet the pattern on the right with this pattern »

Order Boston »

Make this cute crop jacket in Lova or Boston using this pattern »

Have fun with these yarns and create funky and fashionable garments that will make you stand out! 

Find all these yarns at the best prices at www.nordicmart.com 

Happy Crafting! 

Nordic Mart does the Wurm

We saw this hat on the home page of Ravelry a few weeks ago and immediately knew we had to make it with some of our yarns. We were very inspired in our color choice by the changing leaves.

 

The original pattern is called Wurm by Katharina Nopp, but our version is actually a variation on a variation of the Wurm.

Zanetta's version of the Wurm, which is the pattern we followed and adjusted for our pattern, uses Noro and Rowan yarns and has a bit of a looser and slouchier feel than the original Wurm.

Our version uses the super fun color variegation of Drops Delight and the softness of Drops Alpaca. Don't forget Alpaca is on sale until the end of the year!

We love the way the Delight stripes into different colors, and the fit of this hat is the PERFECT slouchi-ness. 

Here's the pattern we wrote out while experimenting with these two awesome hat patterns to make our own:

Instructions:
Supplies:
US Size 2.5 (3 mm ) circular needle (wood needles) (metal needles)

US Size 2.5 DPN (for very end of hat) (wood) (metal)

1 skein Drops Delight

1 skein Drops Alpaca

 

Cast on 120 sts with Alpaca

**Starting with a purl round, alternate 1 round purl with 1 round knit for 7 rounds.
Knit 5 rounds with Delight
Garter rounds (1 round purl/ 1 round knit) for 7 rounds in Alpaca

Knit 5 rounds Delight**

Repeat **-** three more times

Next round in Alpaca: *Knit 4, K2tog* repeat *-* until end of round
Garter rounds (1 round purl/1 round knit) for 6 more rounds in Alpaca

Next Round in Delight: *Knit 4, K2tog* repeat *-* until end of round 

Knit 4 rounds in Delight

Next round in Alpaca: *Knit 4, K2tog* repeat *-* until end of round 

Garter Rounds for 6 rounds in Alpaca

Knit 5 rounds in Delight

Next round in Alpaca: *Knit 4, K2tog* repeat *-* until end of round 

Garter rounds for 6 rounds in Alpaca

(change to double points when stitches no longer fit on circular needle)

Next Round in Delight: *Knit 4, K2tog* repeat *-* until end of round
Knit 4 rounds in Delight

Next Round in Delight *Knit 1, K2tog* repeat *-* until end of round
Last Round in Delight *k2tog* all the way around, until end of round

Close hole by pulling yarn through all stitches and securing.  

If you do not block this hat it will appear more "ribbed" and wavy. 

We like a flatter look so decided to dunk the hat in our sink and then laid it flat to dry. 

Once you make your own Wurm hat, share it with us on our Facebook 

 Happy Crafting

Our Favorite Woolly Winter Hat

As the weather cools down you definitely want something to keep your ears and your head warm.

We love this hat pattern: It's simple, it's fast, it looks great. 

Make a few for yourself, make a few as gifts.  This is a great project for beginners because it utilizes some of the basic knitting skills like ribbing, decreasing, and using circular and double pointed needles.

 

The pattern is available for free here 

We made a few adjustments to this pattern:

• We used a size US 10.5 needle for the ribbing, and a size US 11 for the rest of the hat. Keeping the ribbing a little smaller helps this hat stay on your head, and we like the look of a tighter ribbing. 
• We used Eskimo instead of Andes.  We particularly love the Eskimo colors for this project. You can stick with Andes or use Eskimo as a substitute.

Eskimo Color 27 is a beautiful brick color that lends itself well to the Autumn Season.

We have a lot of great Eskimo colors to make this hat in. We love the color mixes because they give a fun variegation of color.  But we also carry solids in every hue of the rainbow. You could also choose a few colors and make a striped version! This pattern is very versatile.

You only need two skeins of Eskimo for this hat! Find all the available colors in our Webstore. 

Or you can use 1 ball of Andes. Browse all the Andes colors in our Webstore.

                                                                             

Post your hats to our Facebook page when you're finished!

Happy Crafting,

We Love Lace

Knitting lace patterns can seem intimidating if you've never worked with them before. They often involve yarn overs and dropped stitches, which can seem a bit mysterious until you've mastered them.

We have the perfect pattern for those of you who have never tried a lace pattern and want to learn, or even those of you who just want a simple, interesting scarf pattern.
Instead of using very fine lace yarn for this, its easier to learn on thicker yarn or by holding yarn double.

DROPS Design 127-26 is made in its original version with Fabel, so it has some fun color variegation, but there are many different ways to make up this scarf. If you love the color changes and wash-ability of Fabel, shop all our colors in our Webstore.

If this pattern seems a little scary, watch these tutorial video to get some practice with these techniques:
Dropped Stitches Tutorial Video
Yarn Over Tutorial Video

Print this pattern for free

In the store, we have a version made with two strands of Alpaca held together, which gives this scarf a cozier and bulkier feel. Holding two colors together also gives more of a tweed color effect to the scarf. Browse all our Alpaca colors if you like this looks of this scarf best.

And stuck on our needles currently is this same scarf made with Cotton Light and Glitter.  Glitter is a great addition to hold along with thicker yarns to add to patterns you want some to have some pizzazz! It's a metallic and shiny thread in a variety of colors which adds sparkle without adding bulk. And usually just one bobbin of Glitter is enough for a whole sweater.

Order some Glitter from our Webstore.

The Cotton applied to this pattern makes for a super soft and washable scarf. Doubled up on a cool fall day, this scarf is warm without being itchy or too hot. This is also the cheapest version of the scarf, since Cotton Light only runs $2.90 per skein. Take a look at our Cotton Light!

 

Make your own version of this scarf and post the finished results on our Facebook or Ravelry page! 

Once you've mastered this lace pattern, you can make this adorable sweater with it!

Find the pattern here. 

Happy Crafting!

           XO

Colorful Cotton Headwrap

One really simple way to change your look everyday is to have a plethora of hair accessories to give that extra pizazz to your outfits.
We showed you our crochet flowers to add to headbands and accessories, so now...

Here's the headband!

You can make this in a variety of thicknesses. Make a thick version for those days when your hair is just not lookin' tip top and you want to throw a cover up on.  Make a thin version to decorate with a group of crocheted flowers or to just add a pop of color to your hair-do when you don't want a heavy duty headband.

This is such an easy pattern, it is a absolutely perfect for beginners, or a great project to whip up for gifts!

You will need: 

• 1 skein of Drops Paris for the base color
• 1 skein of Drops Paris in a complementing color, or some scrap yarn
• Size US 8/ 5mm needle (straight or circular, whichever you prefer)

To make the band:
Cast on approx. 24 stitches (depending on the width of the band you want, add stitches to get a band wider than pictured, and less stitches to get a band skinnier than pictured)
Knit all rows until the band will fit tightly around your head. It will stretch a little with wear, so you want the initial measuring to fit tight.
Bind off when you have desired size and seam the two ends together.
Wrap contrasting color yarn over the seam to hide it.
Voila! An easy peasy knitted hairband!




We used our cotton Paris yarn for this, which means there are so many color combinations to choose from.




Even better, all of our cotton yarns are on sale for the month of July! That means you can grab Paris for only $2.20/ skein right now, so don't miss this opportunity to get your headband on.

Find all the bold and beautiful Paris colors in our Webstore.

This can really be made with any yarns by just adjusting the needle size to fit the yarn you pick.  I would also check out our Muskat Soft yarn, a fun color changing cotton that would look so awesome as a headband! 

Find Muskat Soft in our Webstore

Happy Knitting!
XO,