wee tree pattern

I thought I would share the pattern I made up for my little trees, because I'm sure all of you are caught up with your Christmas knitting and have time for one more project ;) These are a little tricky, but if you're comfortable with dpn's they're quite fun!

This project is great for using up little bits of yarn, especially that cheap acrylic stuff you wouldn't want to use for anything really nice. I used worsted yarn, but I'm sure the pattern would work fine with a different weight, and appropriate needles. Once the tree is done, you can decorate it with beads, buttons or sequins.


Materials
Approx. 10g worsted weight yarn, set of 4mm dpns, darning needle, stuffing

Cast on 10 sts. Distribute between needles.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [k1, m1] 10 times. (20 sts)
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [k2, m1] 10 times. (30 sts)
Knit 2 rows. Purl 1 row. This makes the base of the tree.
Knit 3 rows.*
Next row: [k4, k2tog] 5 times. (25 sts)
Knit 3 rows.
Next row: [k3, k2tog] 5 times. (20 sts)
Knit 3 rows.
Next row: [k2, k2tog] 5 times. (15 sts)
Knit 3 rows.
At this point, you will want to stuff what you have knit already. Don't stuff it too tightly, or the stuffing will show through the fabric and you will have trouble knitting the top of the tree.
Next row: [k1, k2tog] 5 times. (10 sts)
Knit 3 rows.
Add a bit of stuffing to the top of the tree. Break off yarn, thread end through remaining sts, pull tight and secure. Use the yarn end from where you cast on to thread though the loops of the cast on stitches, snug these together, then secure the yarn end.

Ta da! A sweet little Christmas tree!

Abbreviations
k = knit
k2tog = knit 2 stitches together
m1 = make one stitch by picking up the loop between the stitch you just knit and the next one, and knitting into the back of this loop.

If you feel creative, you can add stripes in different colours. The bobbles were a lot more complicated, but I can give you a basic idea of how I added them. There are 5 in each row, knit in the second of the 3 knit rows, like here*. The row at the bottom are 5 st bobbles, 5 sts apart. The next row are 3 st bobbles, 4 sts apart. The next row are 3 st bobbles, 3 sts apart. The last row are like little knots made by knitting into one st 3 times, then k3tog. These are 2 sts apart. You can stagger the rows of bobbles if you want, or just have lines running up the tree.