Wednesday, October 29, 2014

New pattern: Paper Planes

The third pattern in my 'Paper Hats' set is out - this one's called Paper Planes. A tutorial for making my favourite made-of-actual-paper planes (like the ones in the photos) is included below. I couldn't find one online for this method, so I made my own. :)


Features:
  • textured paper-plane shapes, outlined with twisted stitches
  • a cosy garter-stitch brim
  • both charted and written instructions
  • five sizes - for babies, kids, and adults
  • requires only one 50g ball of Merino Soft 4ply from Skeinz
    (or 85-185 yards of 4ply/sock/fingering weight yarn)

There are two kinds of twisted stitches used: the 'normal' one, i.e. knitting through the back loop of a stitch, plus its mirror image, which is slightly more complicated. You slip the stitch knitwise, then slip it back the left needle purlwise, and finally knit the stitch. I've abbreviated this as 'skw spw k', which in my head tends to turn into 'skew spew knit'!


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Best Paper Planes
- A tutorial by Amy van de Laar

You will need a pair of scissors, and a sheet of paper - printer paper is fine, or coloured paper if you choose. I usually use a sheet of A4 paper (or a halved sheet of A4). Take care to line up the edges/corners well when you make your folds, and try to make your folds nice and crisp.

1. Fold your paper in half lengthwise, and open it out again:


2. Fold each of the top corners down, to meet the central fold from step 1:


3. Fold the top triangle down, lining up the point with the central fold:


4. Fold your rectangle in half lengthwise, with your folded triangle visible on the outside:


5. Snip a small-ish square out of the top outer corner:


6. Open out your rectangle, with your folded triangle visible on top:


 7. Fold each of the top corners down, to meet the central fold:


8.  Fold the little triangle up, so that the folded parts are 'locked' in place:


9.  Fold your plane in half lengthwise, with the folded parts visible on the outside:


10. Fold down your wings (flight-testing will help you find the best angle):


11. Test out your airplane!


© Amy van de Laar 2014.

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