The trio of treats on this tote bag look good enough to eat! Louise Smith's ice cream pattern first appeared in Simply Knitting issue 148, and we're delighted to bring it to you for free.
All you need to follow this ice cream pattern are small amounts of aran-weight yarn (or use whatever you can find in your stash – just remember to check your tension so you know what size your finished motifs will be!), plus a few other craft supplies including embroidery thread and fabric glue.
As well as sewing these fun knitted ice creams onto a plain bag, you could also use them to customise a T-shirt or brighten up a nursery. Wherever you are, they’ll make you feel like you’re at the seaside.
To knit this ice cream pattern you will need
- Stylecraft, Malabar Aran (78% cotton, 22% silk, 100g/165m) 1 ball of each: Yarn A Buttermilk (2520), Yarn B Lime (2524), Yarn C Petal Pink (2528), Yarn D Fuchsia (2522), Yarn E Mandarin (2521), Yarn F White (2527)
- If you can't find this yarn you could try substituting Yarn and Colors Epic, a cotton yarn that comes in dozens of different shades
- Need help finding an equivalent to aran-weight yarn? See our yarn weight conversion chart
- A pair of 5mm (US 8) knitting needles
- A small amount of embroidery thread in shades: blue, pink, purple, green and yellow
- A small amount of light brown and dark brown felt
- Fabric glue
- A plain canvas tote bag measuring 45 x 38cm
Ice cream pattern: 3 motifs to knit
Tension
Yarn used knits as DK to this tension: 18 stitches and 24 rows to measure 10x10cm (4x4in) over stocking stitch using 5mm needles
Measurements
Each finished motif measures approx: 6 x 14cm (2¼ x 5½in)
Abbreviations
M1B Make 1 st by knitting into the stitch below before knitting the next stitch
For more see our complete list of knitting abbreviations.
Ice cream pattern 1: Stripy Ice Lolly
Cast on 12 sts with Yarn D.
Row 1 (WS) Purl.
Row 2 (RS) K1, M1B, K10, M1B, K1. [14 sts]
Row 3 Purl.
Row 4 Knit.
Repeat rows 3 & 4 twice more. Change to Yarn E.
Row 9 Purl.
Row 10 Sssk, K8, k3tog. [10 sts]
Row 11 Purl.
Row 12 Knit.
Repeat rows 11 & 12 twice more. Change to Yarn B.
Row 17 Purl.
Row 18 Sssk, K4, k3tog. [6 sts]
Row 19 Purl.
Row 20 Knit.
Row 21 Purl.
Row 22 Ssk, K2, k2tog. [4 sts]
Row 23 Purl.
Row 24 Ssk, k2tog. [2 sts]
Cast off purlwise.
Ice cream pattern 2: Ice Cream
Cast on 9 sts using Yarn A.
Row 1 (RS) K1, *P1, K1; rep from * to end.
Row 2 (WS) P1, *K1, P1; rep from * to end.
Row 3 Purl.
Row 4 P1, *K1, P1; rep from * to end.
Row 5 K1, *P1, K1; rep from * to end.
Row 6 Knit.
Row 7 K1, *P1, K1; rep from * to end.
Row 8 P1, *K1, P1; rep from * to end.
Row 9 Purl.
Row 10 P1, *K1, P1; rep from * to end.
Row 11 K1, *P1, K1; rep from * to end.
Row 12 K1, M1B, K to last st, M1B, K1. [11 sts]
Row 13 K1, *P1, K1; rep from * to end.
Row 14 P1, *K1, P1; rep from * to end.
Row 15 Purl.
Work 4 rows of st st, starting on a purl row.
Row 20 Knit.
Change to Yarn F.
Row 21 Knit.
Row 22 Purl.
Row 23 (K1, M1B) twice, K7, (M1B, K1) twice. [15 sts]
Row 24 Purl.
Row 25 (Ssk) twice, K7, (k2tog) twice. [11 sts]
Row 26 Purl.
Row 27 K1, M1B, K9, M1B, K1. [13 sts]
Row 28 Purl.
Row 29 (Ssk) twice, K5, (k2tog) twice. [9 sts]
Row 30 Purl.
Row 31 K1, M1B, K7, M1B, K1. [11 sts]
Row 32 Purl.
Row 33 (Ssk) twice, K3, (k2tog) twice. [7 sts]
Row 34 Purl.
Row 35 Ssk, sk2po, k2tog. [3 sts]
Row 36 Purl.
Row 37 Sk2po. [1 st]
Fasten off yarn.
Ice cream pattern 3: Bitten Ice Lolly
Cast on 8 sts using Yarn C.
Row 1 (WS) Purl.
Row 2 (RS) K1, M1B, K6, M1B, K1. [10 sts]
Row 3 Purl.
Row 4 K1, M1B, K8, M1B, K1. [12 sts]
Work 13 rows of st st starting with a purl row.
Row 18 Sssk, K9. [10 sts]
Row 19 Purl.
Row 20 Sssk, K7. [8 sts]
Row 21 Purl.
Row 22 Sssk, K3, k2tog. [5 sts]
Row 23 Purl.
Row 24 K3, k2tog. [4 sts]
Cast off purlwise.
To make up the ice creams
Using the different coloured embroidery threads, sew approx 3mm long sprinkles onto Ice Cream using image as guide. Cut a small rectangle out of the dark brown felt. Position the Ice Cream on the centre of the tote bag, with the felt chocolate bar positioned poking out of the top right – use image as guide. Glue felt in place, underneath Ice Cream and either sew Ice Cream onto tote bag using matching (or invisible) thread, or also glue Ice Cream in place. Cut a small, straight lolly stick out of the light brown felt, using image as guide. Position Stripy Ice Lolly to the left of the Ice Cream and glue felt stick in place just beneath. Either sew or glue Stripy Ice Lolly in place using image as guide.
Cut another stick out of the light brown felt, this time slightly curved. Position the Bitten Ice Lolly to the right of the Ice Cream and glue curved felt stick in place just beneath. Again, either sew or glue Bitten Ice Lolly in place using image as guide.
Ice cream pattern download
Get a PDF version of this ice cream knitting pattern here: Ice cream pattern PDF
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