Harry Potter Themed Baubles

Whilst I’m still in the process of spinning my Ryeland fleece, I thought I would share a quick knitting pattern I bodged together last November to make Christmas presents for some friends (although they can be displayed at any time of the year). Whilst thinking of a way to combine Harry Potter, fibre and Christmas, I was inspired by the knitted house scarves and these baubles were the result. They are quick and easy to make and are a great way of using up ends of wool.

You will need:

• A pair of knitting needles UK Size 6 (US 8, Metric 5mm)
• 4 x paper mache baubles with a 7cm diameter (I purchased mine from Hobbycraft)
• A darning needle
• Wool about standard DK weight in the following colours:
  • Red & Gold
  • Green & Silver
  • Black & Yellow
  • Blue & Bronze

I used up leftover bits of wool for this project, so unfortunately I don’t know the exact length it uses, but as the back isn’t visible I was able to neatly join several pieces of yarn without any lumps showing through.

I first attempted this pattern on Double Pointed Needles (DPN’s) so that there wouldn’t be a seam, but as the only DPN’s I own are made of vintage plastic and the pattern starts off quite tightly I managed to break one (oops!) so I decided to keep it simple. I found the seam wasn’t particularly noticeable, but for a cleaner finish, this pattern could easily be adapted for DPN’s.

The Pattern

With UK Size 6 Knitting needles cast on 5 sts

• Row 1: Knit front and back in every stitch
• Row 2: Purl
• Row 3: Knit in front and back in every stitch
• Row 4: Purl
• Row 5: *Knit 2, Knit in front & back of next stitch* Repeat to end of row
• Row 6: Purl
• Rows 7-10: Repeat rows 5&6 twice more
• Rows 11-20: Stocking stitch starting with a knit row
• Row 21: *Knit 2, Knit 2 together* Repeat to end of row
• Row 22: Purl
• Row 23: *Knit 2, Knit 2 together* Repeat to end of row
• Row 24: Purl
• Row 25: Knit 2 together to end
• Row 26: Purl
• Row 27: Knit 2 together to end
• Row 28: Purl

Cast off leaving a tail for sewing.

My colour pattern was as follows, but you can easily use other combinations to change the size of the stripes:

• Rows 1-6: Colour 1
• Rows 7-11: Colour 2
• Rows 12-16: Colour 1
• Rows 17-21: Colour 2
• Rows 22-28: Colour 1

Making up the baubles

Once you have cast off, thread your tail of yarn onto a darning needle. Insert the needle through the opposite end of your cast off row and pull so the two ends meet to form a closed circle – this makes the bottom of the bauble. Then with the right side facing out towards you, begin to sew the two edges together using mattress stitch until you get about 1/3 of the way up. At this point you need to put your mache bauble into the cover and then continue to mattress stitch the seam. At the top of the bauble sew the two cast on ends together to complete the seam, making sure the hanging loop is threaded through the middle. Finally weave in your end neatly to the back of the work.

Since I was giving them as gifts, I decorated a cardboard gift box to display them in and tied it up with string.

Let me know if you have a go at making them in the comments below or feel free to send your pictures to me on Pinterest – I’d love to see them!

Happy Crafting!