Knit Bow Tie

Lately I've been really interested in mixed media knitting, a.k.a. knitting with other materials in addition to yarn, so I decided to incorporate some ribbons into this big, fun bow tie that I made.

Here's the what you'll need if you want to make one too:
Less than 1 skein of worsted weight yarn
US Size 7 knitting needles
Less than 1 spool of 1/4 inch ribbon
2 hooks
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Glue

Abbreviations used in this pattern:
k2tog = knit 2 stitches together (decrease stitch)
yo = yarn over (increase stitch)

Pattern for the bow:
Cast on 15 stitches
Row 1: k2tog, yo, knit 3, k2tog, yo, knit 1, yo, k2tog, knit 3, yo, k2tog
Row 2: purl
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until your work is 11.5 inches long.
Bind off

Your work should now have 4 rows of holes in it, like the second picture in this post.  Thread a ribbon along each of those 4 rows, in and out of each hole until your work looks like the picture below.

Now cut the ends of the ribbons so they are about 2 inches long. Fold the ends over the edge of the knitting and glue them down on the back side of your work, as pictured below.

Once the glue dries, seam the two edges of the knitting together (where you just glued the ends), forming a loop with the knit stitches facing out.

For the neck band:
Cast on 5 stitches
Row 1: knit
Repeat row 1 until you have a strip of garter stitch that is about 16 inches long (or the circumference of the neck you're making the bow tie for, if you know it).
Bind off

For the center of the bow:
Cast on 8 stitches
Row 1: knit
Row 2: purl
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until you have a strip of stockinette stitch that is 4.5 inches long.
Bind off

Finishing:
Lay the big loop flat on a tables with the seam in the center.
Lay the neck band on top of the loop.
Wrap the center strip for the bow around the big loop and the neck band and sew it all together using matching yarn and your tapestry needle. It should now look like a bow tie!

To finish it off, sew two hooks onto one end of the neck band so that the new owner of this bow tie can hook the back of the neck together anywhere along the knitting that he would like.  This will make it fit just right even if you made the neck band a little too long.

Here's Justin modeling his new look:

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to leave them in the comments section!
xoxo
Laura

p.s. This bow tie is what I was knitting in this post.  Did you guess correctly?