Thursday, February 6, 2014

Designing "The Little House" Knitting Pattern

A few months ago I started sketching out an idea for a little three dimensional knitted house.  I wanted it to be tiny….small enough to be a hanging ornament for Christmas.  From the sketch, I estimated how many stitches, how many rows of knitting, etc.  I cast on stitches using some very, very old worsted weight yarn.  It took a few tries to find the right stitch choice to make the bottom stay flat and the right number of stitches and rows to have visually appealing proportions. 

When the knitting came together and the roof was sewn on straight, I had a cute little house in my hands.  But, it didn’t have a door or windows.  It wasn’t very interesting.  The house needed something to bring it to life.  Felt!  I dug out some felt and embroidery floss and sewed on doors and windows.  I love layering and mixing different materials!


Adding the felt appliqué to the design process sparked all kinds of ideas about customizing the house for many occasions.  I found myself waking up at 4:00 a.m. thinking of other themes for “The Little House”….a gingerbread house, a new home, welcoming home a new baby….the list became pretty long! 

One of the first ideas was a little pink house to celebrate Valentine’s Day…with little hearts on the door.  I made this version with Berroco Vintage Worsted.  It’s a lovely yarn at a reasonable price.  I fell in love with this delicious pale pink called ‘Fondant’.  The dark gray, called ‘Cracked Pepper’, tops off the house perfectly.




"The Little House" knitting pattern includes photos and directions for six variations.  The pattern includes row by row knitting instructions, specific instructions for finishing the house, patterns for the felt appliqué pieces, embroidery stitch instructions and lots of tutorial photos.  

I have assumed that you know how to cast-on stitches, knit & purl confidently, cast off stitches, knit two stitches together, sew up simple seams and have some basic hand sewing experience.  Detailed instructions are provided for any other techniques which may be new to you.

For example, I could have written simply: “sew up seams of the house” and “sew on roof”.  But, it took me a few tries to sew up the seams consistently and sew the roof on straight.  I want you to have the same results.  The pattern contains lots of photos (such as the one below) and tips to guide you through this process step by step.


You can purchase my pattern through my FiftyFourTenStudio Etsy Shop or in my  5410Studio Ravelry Pattern Store.  Or, see the Pattern Store tab above.


For me, “The Little House” pattern is all about home and love and family.   




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