A topic of discussion on the Decoraccentsinc Yahoo group this week has been a knitted cupcake. One of the members said there was a pattern in the book, One Skein, that she had ordered, but hadn't received. Also, I searched and found a pattern online here. Of course, these were both needle knitted patterns and I never learned to needle knit. So, armed with determination I decided to design a pattern for a loom knitted cupcake.For this project, I used one strand of worsted weight yarn flat knitted with a tight tension, which produces a gauge of 4 stitches X 8 rows = 1 inch. Three different looms were used: the 24 peg blue Knifty Knitter, the 12 peg Knifty Knitter flower loom and the 5 peg end of the Knifty Knitter spool loom. The visible part of the cup and most of the cake were knitted on the 24-peg blue loom. The cup was done in a flat knit using the K1/P1 rib pattern. The cake is garter stitch with a modified hang hem where the cup joins the cake. Near the top of the cake, I decreased and transferred to the 12 peg flower loom and continued with the garter stitch for several more rows before doing a gathered bind off. To make the bottom of the cup, I hung two of the twenty-four outer loops from the original cast on edge onto each peg of the 12 peg flower loom, then did four flat knit rounds. The yarn was cut and pulled through the 12 loops and left open so the stuffing could be added. Fiber fill was stuffed into the cake. To stuff the cup bottom, I cut the bottom from a clear plastic cup and added scraps of brown yarn and a rock. At this point I finished the gathered bind off to create the flat bottom. The cherry and stem were made on the spool loom and whipped stitched onto the top of the cupcake. The final touch was the addition of pearlized ball head pins to simulate candy sprinkles. So this cupcake actually has a practical function as a pin cushion.
The completed cupcake is 4 1/2 inches tall (including the cherry) and 3 inches wide. Since this was my pilot cupcake, there are a number of adjustments that need to be made before I write the pattern. However, I loved making this, so it shouldn't take too long to cook up another one and write the adjusted pattern.
