This Hot Water Bottle Cover Pattern is A Free Pattern which you can find on Marie Wallin Pattern Page on Raverly.
I fell in love with the collourwork design and had to make one myself as I needed a quick gift.
I used Rowan Felted Tweed DK only one ball of each colour was enough not as the pattern suggests two balls of one colour and one ball of another colour.
I will remind you though that you do need to knit it to the gauge specified in the pattern or your cover will not fit very well. I used 2.75 knitting needles as I am a loose knitter and I hit my gauge with that perfectly.
As soon as I downloaded this free pattern I discovered the the pattern does not provide instruction on how to increase or decrease and which method to use. It just shows the chart. I guess it was a free pattern and let’s be grateful for the idea and inspiration but it presented me with a few challenges as I am a very lazy knitter and I do like to be given all the instruction like a baby. The pattern also suggests to make two covers and sew them together at the end. As we all know, I don't like sewing so I knew I had to rectify that. I did however decide to be a good girl and try out the method of making two and sewing them at the end.
The light pink one on the right is my first attempt which I did following the pattern suggestion to make two and I obediently sewn them up at the end which was a nightmare to say the least even with a mattress stitch. While I made my first prototype I also learnt that in the section where the deers are located on the chart, the floats are just enormous and that I would have to insert a little more pattern into that section of the chart to make it more manageable. Not to mention the poor contrast of the colours that I chose on my first attempt. At that point I knew I will have to make this properly again with my own modification.
So here it goes :
Cast on 92 Sts using Judy's Magic Cast On method and join to work in the round.Place a stitch marker after 46 Sts to separate the front from the back of the cover. As you come to increase and decrease make sure to remember to work your increases and decreases on both sides, the front and the back.
Refer to the chart from this point and start increasing on every round as indicated in the chart using k1, kfb to increase by one stitch and k1, kfbf to increase by two stitches at the beginning on the right side of the chart and kfb, k1, and kfbf, k1 on the left side of the chart. The k1 stitch is just to make it look a little bit neater.To avoid confusion at the point of decreasing I skipped the colour work.
Once you increase to 60 Sts. on each side of the cover, 120 Sts all together start following the colourwork chart.
When you reach the section of the chart where the deers are located I recommend inserting a little more pattern into the chart to break the lengthy floats.
Here is what I have added;
This worked much better.
Continue following the chart until you reach decreases section.
Here I found that my cover could do with a little extra length so I added one round of plain stockinette with no decreases between each round.
This not only gave me the extra length but also made the decreases a lot more steady and a lot more neater. To decrease I simply used k1, ss1 (left leaning ) on the right and k2tog (right leaning) at the end just as I would decrease on all sock toe decreases. Where the pattern asked me to increase twice on the same side I just repeated the in I used on that side.
And ta - dah!!! I cast off using a stretchy cast off method (s s k) to avoid puckering and pulling in at the top.
I followed the pattern instructions to make eye lets and to crochet the cord and the flowers.
When I finished I finished finished! No sewing!!!