The Tiny Skirty Ornament/Keychain Pattern

With this pattern you can knit adorable tiny skirties for keychains, ornaments, gift tags and more. They are great for using up scraps and they knit up fast and cute.

*At this time you may use any items you make from this pattern in any way you like, including offering them for sale. I only request that you link back to this blog to give credit for pattern use and that for every ten you sell, you donate one or the proceeds from the sale of one to the charity of your choice. Thank you!*

Tiny Skirty Ornament/Keychain Pattern

Yarn: Any will work. This is great for using up scraps. Worsted wool is my preference.
Needles: Any size, your preference for small circumference knitting {DPNs or Magic Loop}

Cast on 24 stitches. Being careful not to twist, join ends to work in the round.

Row 1-3: Work 3 rows 1x1 ribbing {knit 1, purl 1, repeat to end 3 times}
Row 4: Purl to end
Row 5-9: Knit in stockinette {knit around to end}
Row 10: Knit 12 stitches. Slip remaining 12 stitches on to stitch holder. You will now be working back and forth.
Row 11: Purl to end
Row 12: Knit 1, K2TOG {knit 2 together}, knit to three stitches before end of row, K2TOG, knit 1
Row 13: Purl 1, P2TOG {purl 2 together}, purl to three stitches before end of row, P2TOG, purl 1
Row 14: Knit 1, K2TOG, knit to three stitches before end of row, K2TOG, knit 1
Row 15: Purl 1, P2TOG, P2TOG, Purl 1
Slip remaining 4 stitches onto stitch holder. Break yarn, leaving a long tail for weaving. Transfer 12 stitches from holder onto needle. Join yarn and repeat rows 11-15 in the opposite {knit where it says to purl and purl where it says to knit}. You should end with knit and 4 stitches.
Transfer 4 stitches from holder to needle and kitchener graft together with other side to form crotch.

Pick up 24 purl stitches from row 4. Join to work in the round.
Skirt row 1-3: Knit in stockinette
Skirt row 4: KFAB to end {knit front and back
Skirt row 5-6: Knit in stockinette
Skirt row 7: KFAB to end
Skirt row 8-10: Knit in stockinette
Bind off in purl. Weave in all loose ends.

Using a tapestry needle and starting at front middle, weave a scrap of yarn through ribbing for waistband. At center back, pull through a loop and tie a knot at the bottom, close to waistband. At front, tie ends into a decorative bow.

MONKEY DANCE IS BACK!

Finally!

Monkey Dance will be stocking on Cyber Monday, November 30th at 3am Eastern Standard Time! There will be at least one free for shipping drawing on Friday, but it will only be available for a short time, so you'll have to be quick to get your name in!

We will be introducing a new line of products to the store when we reopen: beautiful embroidered and hand knit ornaments, magnets and keychains! Blog readers will get a sneak peek at the new products on Wednesday, so check back then to see!

Thanks to everyone for the support and feedback during our year off.

Reopening Postponed

I'm sorry, but it has to be done. I need to wait until after Ali and Nate's birthdays to reopen. I'm just too swamped right now to really do the stocking justice. It will either be the first week of November or the second week of December, or I may wind up waiting until after the New Year to give myself some time to relax and enjoy my sweet new baby.

I WILL be stocking at Hidden Element though. First stocking is October 6th! Be sure to check it out. Not only will I have a few sweet knits up, there will also be an awesome variety of great products by some really spectacular vendors. So check out the Hidden Element on October 6th!

Exciting News!

I've joined the wonderful artists at Hidden Element Congo on Hyena Cart! I will be exclusively stocking knitted items there. Hidden Element stocks the first, third and fifth Tuesday of every month ~ come check it out! I will be stocking for the first time on October 6th.

October 1st!

We have a date! On October 1st, 2009 Monkey Dance Cloth will be reopening! I'm planning a few new things for the store, so be sure to check back here for previews in the week prior to opening. There may be some surprises in store, and some small gifts for customers on opening day. More information to come in the next two weeks!

To view a gallery of past items, visit the new Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42212662@N03/

Re-Opening Announcement

I've made a decision!

Monkey Dance will be reopening on Hyena Cart in early October. I will preview all items here on the blog a week before the live stocking date.

More exciting news: I will be joining Sewing Alley and Facets Jewelry in a booth at the Portland Christmas Bazaar! This is billed as the largest holiday bazaar in the US. The show will be Thanksgiving weekend and the following weekend at the expo center in Portland, OR. If you're in the area, come see us! You can browse through our beautiful items in person and get a little holiday shopping done at the same time. There will be a variety of items, perfect for gifts for just about everyone on your list!

I had a baby!

Introducing Benjamin Patrick Cole. He was born on June 24th, 8 lbs 2 oz of sweet baby boy. He arrived about five minutes before the midwife did! His birth was very fast; he was born about 20 minutes after my water broke, into Dad's arms. A few hours after he was born he began having trouble breathing, so we took him to the ER. They found his O2 sat was 74 and immediately admitted him to the NICU. He stayed in NICU for six days. He had bacterial pneumonia, most likely caused by his rapid birth.

He is 7 1/2 weeks old now, weighs over 12 pounds and is absolutely wonderful. He's a sweet, darling baby boy who loves to be held and snuggled, and we're happy to oblige. This makes it difficult to sew, though I have been able to take up knitting in the lull time.

I do not know right now when I will be reopening the store. I would ideally like to open again in October, but right now finding time to sew is difficult. I'm taking each day as it comes and will definitely post here prior to reopening. Thank you all for the support!