My Puffy Recipe (Updated 7/24/12)

Updated 7/24/12 to include clearer directions for the decreases.

Here's my personal hexipuff recipe.  I consider this to be "the perfect puff."

What's a hexipuff?  It's a motif used in making The Beekeeper's Quilt.  There are a series of posts on my blog about adjusting the pattern to make hexipuffs of the same size from all different types of yarn.  These are modifications - you'll still need to buy a copy of the official pattern to make the quilt.

I use 3.25mm needles (instead of the 3.50mm specified in the pattern) because I like the look better.  This makes a 3" puff with a sock yarn of average fingering weight.

This recipe has been tested and works for:
Skinny Bugga! (formerly from the Sanguine Gryphon and now Cephalopod Yarns)
Gnomespun Yarn Phouka
Knit Picks Palette
The Sanguine Gryphon Little Traveller
Zwerger Garn Opal Regenwald
Update 7/24/12: Into the Whirled Ulundi Sock


Abbreviations
M1T: make one towards. Make a right-leaning half hitch, with the yarn tail coming out of the front (just as you would cast on a stitch during a backward loop cast-on).
  This is also known as m1R (make one right) by some knitters.
M1A: make one away. Make a left-leaning half hitch, with the yarn tail coming out of the back.  This is also known as m1L (make one left) by some knitters.
ssk: slip the next stitch knitwise, slip the following stitch knitwise, knit these two stitches together through their back loops.
k2tog: knit the next two stitches together as one.


Here's how you do it...


Using the long tail cast on, cast on 22 stitches, alternating between front and back needles. 


Start your first round by knitting into the last stitch cast on. Knit the rest of the round.

INCREASES
Increase Round A: Knit 1, M1T, knit to 1 stitch before end of first needle, M1A, knit 1. Repeat on second needle.

Increase Round B: Knit 1, knit 1 through the back loop, knit to end of first needle. Repeat on second needle. 


Repeat Increase Rounds A & B again (30 stitches total).

Knit one round.

Repeat Increase Rounds A & B three more times (42 stitches total).

DECREASES
Decrease as described in the pattern, but add an extra plain knit row after you have decreased 3 times (when you have 30 stitches total), to mirror the bottom of the puff.  Continue to decrease as described in the pattern, but omit the final knit row.  See more specific instructions below.


Decrease Round A: ssk, knit to 2 stitches before end of first needle, k2tog.  Repeat on second needle.

Decrease Round B: knit all stitches.

Repeat Decrease Rounds A & B  twice more (30 stitches total)

Knit one round.

Repeat Decrease Rounds A & B once more. (26 stitches total)

Repeat Decrease Round A only once more.

FINISHING
Stuff your puff.

Bind off in purl using a crochet three-needle bind off as follows: purl first stitch from the front & back needles together using a crochet hook. Repeat for second stitch. Pull loop from second stitch through loop from first stitch using crochet hook.  One stitch from each needle bound off.

Repeat until 2 stitches remain on each needle. Purl these 4 stitches together as one, and pull that loop through the loop from the previous stitch to complete the bind off.  Break yarn, pull tail through remaining loop.  Use the crochet hook to tuck the tail inside the puff.

Ta-da!  Puff perfection!

THE CRAZIEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT OF ALL TIME

OK, maybe it’s not the craziest birthday present ever. That would maybe be, like, an elephant riding a unicycle wearing lederhosen and trumpeting “You Are My Sunshine” while holding out a bouquet of flowers or something.

But still, pretty crazy.

Yesterday, this arrived on my doorstep. That’s right, ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY 50g balls of Palette, each a different color. My mom, who is also a knitter, is trying to inspire my fledgling designer self with every color under the sun. I think it might be working.

What do I do with it?!?!?!?!?!!!11!!? Puff all the hexipuffs? Knit toys? Massive clown barf sweater? Yarn bomb my building’s lobby?

Here are some pictures of the awesomeness:

Hexipuffs - Worsted & Bulky Weight

If you're not knitting The Beekeeper's Quilt yet, you probably will be soon.  This is a pattern that's sucking 'em in left and right, and for good reason!  It's a fun way to use up your scraps and creates the cutest little finished object with each motif.

The pattern is written for sock yarn, but what if you want to use up those worsted and bulky weight yarn scraps you've got lying around?  Face it, we've all got some Vanna's Choice we bought when we starting knitting that really shouldn't be used for anything else.The solution, of course is to PUFF ALL THE SCRAPS!  Even the worsted weight ones.

Therefore, after much trial and error, here is the recipe I have come up with.   This creates a puff that is 3" in diameter (1.5" on each side).  That's the same size I get knitting my sock yarn puffs on US size 3 (3.25mm) needles.

I recommend using the type of increases described in My Puffy Recipe (M1T and M1A) instead of the kfb used in the official pattern.  Kfb tends to result in a puff that's shorter on the bottom than it is on the top.

Aran or Lighter Bulky Weight Yarn
Cast on 14 stitches total (7 stitches per needle) on US size 8 (5.0mm) needles 
Increase per pattern until you have 26 stitches total (13 stitches per needle)
Decrease per pattern until 14 stitches total (7 stitches per needle) remain 
Use bind-off described in pattern

Worsted Weight Yarn
As described above, but cast on 16 stitches (8 stitches per needle) and increase to 32 stitches (16 stitches per needle).

Hexipuffs: Skinny Bugga!

Here are the modifications for making a Beekeeper's Quilt hexipuff with Skinny Bugga!  This yarn was originally made by Sanguine Gryphon, but is now sold by its offshoot company Cephalopod Yarns.  It's a fingering weight merino/cashmere/nylon (80/10/10).

This results in a 3" diameter puff.

Cast on 11 stitches per needle (22 stitches total) on US size 3 (3.25mm) needles.  
Increase per pattern to 21 stitches per needle. 
Add one extra row of plain knitting after the 2nd increase and again after the 3rd decrease (when there are 15 stitches per needle).  
Decrease per pattern to 11 stitches per needle.
Bind off as per pattern.

Hexipuffs: Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe

Here is the recipe I used to make a hexipuff out of Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe.  This yarn is a light worsted weight, more like a DK. 


What's a hexipuff?  It's a motif used in making The Beekeeper's Quilt.  The pattern calls for a fingering weight sock yarn, but I'm using all my scraps - including worsted weight.  There are a series of posts on my blog about adjusting the pattern to make hexipuffs of the same size from all different types of yarn.  These are modifications - you'll still need to buy a copy of the official pattern to make the quilt.  


The modifications are generally to (a) the number of stitches cast on, (b) the total number of stitches the puff reaches at its widest point, and (c) whether there are extra plain knit rows added to the ones specified by the pattern.  


This results in a hexipuff that is 3" in diameter (1.5" on each side).

Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe - Modifications
Cast on 9 sts per needle on US Size 3 (3.25mm) needles.
Increase to 19 sts per needle.
Decrease and bind off as usual.
No extra knit rows.

Hexipuffs: Bernat Baby Jacquards

Here is the recipe I used to make a hexipuff out of Bernat Baby Jacquards.  This yarn is a sport weight 100% acrylic that self-patterns.


What's a hexipuff?  It's a motif used in making The Beekeeper's Quilt.  The pattern calls for a fingering weight sock yarn, but I'm using all my scraps - including worsted weight.  There are a series of posts on my blog about adjusting the pattern to make hexipuffs of the same size from all different types of yarn.  These are modifications - you'll still need to buy a copy of the official pattern to make the quilt.  


The modifications are generally to (a) the number of stitches cast on, (b) the total number of stitches the puff reaches at its widest point, and (c) whether there are extra plain knit rows added to the ones specified by the pattern.  


This results in a hexipuff that is 3" in diameter (1.5" on each side).

Cast on 10 sts per needle on US size 3's.
Increase as described in pattern to 20 stitches per needle.
Decrease and bind off as described in pattern.

(No extra knit rows.)

Hexipuffs: Full O' Sheep by Debbie Stoller Stitch Nation

Co 8 sts per needle on size 3's, skip first plain knit row
Extra knit rows at 12 sts (top and bottom)
Inc to 16 (one less increase)