For those who need a challenge and something to conceal a St. Patrick's Day beverage, try this advanced level project on your sock machine. Article and photo submitted by Roxana Baechle. Roxana 'cranks out' a variety of clever items on her machines.

       This is a bottle cover/decoration for St. Patrick's Day fun.  It will take any kind of green yarn and you will need to do a little sewing to attach arms, legs and hat.  Your machine does not need to do ribbing.
       Remove all except 12 needles in front.  Use a set up rag or bonnet to get work going on scrap yarn working back and forth on those 12 needles.  Use the heel tension spring when working back and forth.  Stop with the yarn carrier on the left side of the machine.

Starting with Arms & Legs:     
       Remove tension spring for first row; put tension spring back on and knit back to left side.  Using a pick or crochet hook, pull up the bar between each stitch and pull it up over the closest needle immediately to the right of the bar.  (In essence, you are re-hanging a hem and creating a selvedge edge.)  If this is too advanced for you, just knit these two rows and later go back and run the tail of your yarn through the first round.  I just find it easier to take care of it right on the machine--much faster.  Continue for another 20 rows.  (You might want to do more than that if using a larger bottle.)  At each end of the row, take the end stitch and move it over to the next needle so you are decreasing by two stitches on each row.  Either pull the end needles up out of work or remove them from the machine.  (I find it easier to remove them.)  When you have 2 needles left, run the tail of the yarn through those

two and remove from machine.  Leave a tail of 8" to sew the arms to the body.  They will curl inward naturally, so you will not need to sew them.  The pointed end is the "hand" and one will be sewn to the hat and one to the body. Replace needles and make another one the same length.
Repeat this process twice more, making the pieces 24 rows instead of 20.  Leave a long tail for sewing the leg closed.   To form the feet, sew the edges together from the pointed end and pull tightly to make the toes curl.  Make a knot, then continue sewing up the leg.  You will be sewing on the front side of the leg.  Pull inward tightly a second time if you want to form a heel of sorts before you go up the front of the leg.  Sew the leg in regular tension so it doesn't pucker.

(Continued on page 10)