Play Mat

Farmyard Knits

https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/play-mat-2 • Posted by Andrews McMeel

When you have completed your farmer and his wife and knitted all the creatures, you’ll obviously need to create a special play area for them. The play mat is made up of six different rectangles or “fields.” The fields are then sewn together and a crochet border is worked around the entire piece. You can easily make the mat larger than shown here by creating extra fields. You can also mix and match the fields and arrange them in any way you like. Note Because the fields are worked in different stitches and you may be using different yarn brands for the different fields, the number of rows you need to knit for each field may vary slightly. The easiest way to allow for this is to start your play mat by knitting the cabbage patch. Once this is complete, you can simply knit all the other fields to the same length.

You will need

Very small amounts of dark red and bright yellow Dk Yarn s for the embroidered flowers 1 oz./28 g (77 yd./70 m) dark brown Dk Yarn 1 oz./28 g (77 yd./70 m) pale brown Dk Yarn 1 oz./23 g (62 yd./57 m) pale green Dk Yarn 1 oz./23 g (62 yd./57 m) flecked green Dk Yarn ¼ oz./8 g (22 yd./20 m) aqua DK Yarn ? oz./4 g (11 yd./10 m) medium green Dk Yarn (for the pond edge and for the crochet border around the mat) 1 oz./23 g (62 yd./57 m) sage green DK Yarn 1 oz./23 g (62 yd./57 m) bright green DK Yarn Size U.S. 3 (3.25 mm) Knitting Needles Size U.S. G-6 (4.25 mm) Crochet Hook A Yarn Needle to sew your work together An Embroidery Needle

Project Budget

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Difficulty

Description

When you have completed your farmer and his wife and knitted all the creatures, you’ll obviously need to create a special play area for them. The play mat is made up of six different rectangles or “fields.” The fields are then sewn together and a crochet border is worked around the entire piece. You can easily make the mat larger than shown here by creating extra fields. You can also mix and match the fields and arrange them in any way you like. Note Because the fields are worked in different stitches and you may be using different yarn brands for the different fields, the number of rows you need to knit for each field may vary slightly. The easiest way to allow for this is to start your play mat by knitting the cabbage patch. Once this is complete, you can simply knit all the other fields to the same length.

Instructions

1. Cabbage Patch Make 1 ◊ Using size U.S. 3 (3.25 mm) needles, cast on 45 sts in bright green. ◊ Work 10 rows in st st, beg with a K row. ◊ Next row: K8, mb, [K6, mb] 4 times, K8. ◊ Work 9 rows in st st, beg with a P row. ◊ Rep last 10 rows 4 more times. ◊ Work 2 rows in st st, beg with a K row. ◊ Bind off.

2. Field With Pond Make 1 ◊ Using size U.S. 3 (3.25 mm) needles, cast on 45 sts in sage green. ◊ Beg with a K row, work in st st until the field measures the same as the cabbage patch, ending with a P row. ◊ Bind off.

3. Pond Make 1 ◊ Using size U.S. 3 (3.25 mm) needles, cast on 23 sts in aqua. ◊ First row: K5, [P1, K5] to end. ◊ Next row: K1, [P3, K3] to last 4 sts, P3, K1. ◊ Next row: P2, [K1, P2] to end. ◊ Next row: P1, [K3, P3] to last 4 sts, K3, P1. ◊ Next row: K2, [P1, K5] to last 3 sts, P1, K2. ◊ Next row: P. ◊ Rep these 6 rows 6 more times. ◊ Bind off.

4. Making Up Whipstitch the pond in the center of the field. Using two strands of medium green yarn, make a border of chain stitch around the pond. Embroider the flowers in one corner of the field, using dark red yarn for the lazy daisy stitch petals and making French knots in bright yellow yarn for the flower centers.

5. Floral Field Make 1 ◊ Using size U.S. 3 (3.25 mm) needles, cast on 45 sts in flecked green. ◊ Beg with a K row, work in st st until the field measures the same as the cabbage patch, ending with a P row. ◊ Bind off.

6. Seeded Field Make 1 ◊ Using size U.S. 3 (3.25 mm) needles, cast on 45 sts in pale green. ◊ First row: P1, [K3, P1] to end. ◊ Next row: P. ◊ Next row: K. ◊ Next row: P. ◊ Next row: K2, P1, [K3, P1] to last 2 sts, K2. ◊ Next row: P. ◊ Next row: K. ◊ Next row: P. ◊ Rep these 8 rows until the field measures the same as the cabbage patch, ending with a P row. ◊ Bind off.

7. Plowed Field Make 1 ◊ Using size U.S. 3 (3.25 mm) needles, cast on 45 sts in dark brown. ◊ First row: K2, [P1, K3] to last 3 sts, P1, K2. ◊ Next row: P1, [K3, P1] to end. ◊ Rep these 2 rows until the field measures the same as the cabbage patch, ending after a second row. ◊ Bind off.

8. Rocky Field Make 1 ◊ Using size U.S. 3 (3.25 mm) needles, cast on 46 sts in pale brown. ◊ First row: P. ◊ Next row: K1, *[K1, P1, K1] all into next st, p3tog, rep from * to last st, K1. ◊ Next row: P. ◊ Next row: K1, *p3tog, [K1, P1, K1] all into next st, rep from * to last st, K1. ◊ Rep these 4 rows until the field measures the same as the cabbage patch, after completing a row on the WS of your work. ◊ Bind off.

9. Making Up Join the fields together, using the flat-seam technique (see page 15). Using a size U.S. G-6 (4.25 mm) crochet hook and a double strand of yarn, make a crochet edging (see page 16) in medium green around the entire edge of the mat.