felted stars

Here's a new free pattern for you! I came up with this idea in the middle of the night (no kidding, but I did wait until morning to start on it) and after a few false starts, I hit on a simple and fast method of knitting them. They also need very little yarn, so I've been using up odd ends of hand-dyed yarn to make them. The felting makes them flat, and look lovely and soft from both sides. Make sure you use 100% wool yarn or they will not felt properly. You could try knitting them with a different weight yarn (with appropriate sized needles) to achieve larger or smaller stars. I think they will look lovely on a tree, added to a garland, or just hung up wherever you like!

Felted Stars

Materials
Tools: set of four 4mm dpns, tapestry needle, crochet hook (optional)
Large: 14 m or yards (about 7 g) of worsted weight wool in colour A, same amount of worsted weight wool in colour B
Medium: 10 m or yards (about 5 g) of worsted weight wool in colour A, same amount of worsted weight wool in colour B
Small: 8 m or yards (about 4 g) of worsted weight wool in colour A, same amount of worsted weight wool in colour B

Measurements
Large: 12 cm (4.75") diameter
Medium: 10 cm (4") diameter
Small: 8 cm (3.25") diameter
(note: finished size of star will depend on amount of felting and blocking you do)

Large Star

Cast on 72 sts with yarn A. Distribute 24 sts to each of 3 needles. P 1 round.
Work round 2 with yarn B. For rest of star, purl odd number rows with yarn A, and work even number rows in yarn B.
Rnd 2: [k2tog, k4, yo, k4, skpo] 6 times. (66 sts)
Rnd 4: [k2tog, k3, yo, k4, skpo] 6 times. (60 sts)
Rnd 6: [k2tog, k3, yo, k3, skpo] 6 times. (54 sts)
Rnd 8: [k2tog, k2, yo, k3, skpo] 6 times. (48 sts)
Rnd 10: [k2tog, k2, yo, k2, skpo] 6 times. (42 sts)
Rnd 12: [k2tog, k1, yo, k2, skpo] 6 times. (36 sts)
Rnd 14: [k2tog, k1, yo, k1, skpo] 6 times. (30 sts)
Rnd 16: [k2tog, yo, k1, skpo] 6 times. (24 sts)
Rnd 18: [k2tog, yo, skpo] 6 times. (18 sts)
Rnd 20: [k2tog] 9 times. (9 sts)
Break off yarn B, thread end through remaining sts, and pull tight to gather.

Medium Star

Cast on 60 sts with yarn A. Distribute 20 sts to each of 3 needles. P 1 round.
Follow pattern for large star starting at Rnd 6, working even numbered rounds in yarn B.

Small Star

Cast on 48 sts with A. Distribute 16 sts to each of 3 needles. P 1 round.
Follow pattern for large star starting at Rnd 10, working even numbered rounds in yarn B.

Finishing
Weave in all yarn ends securely. Optional: crochet a loop on one of the star points. Hand-felt the star in hot water until it is flat and smooth (stars will be cup-shaped before felting). Gently remove as much water as possible, then pin to a flat surface, stretching out points and indenting between points. Leave until dry. If you didn't crochet a loop for hanging, you can add a length of yarn or ribbon.


Abbreviations
k = knit
k2tog = knit 2 sts together
p = purl
skpo = slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over knit stitch
yo = yarn over