Knitting 103 - Teddy Bear Sweater
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NW Synod of Wisconsin Resource Center, (715) 833-1153 |
| Contributed by: |
Trinity Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, WI |
Knitting 103 "Teddy Bear Sweater"
The purpose of Knitting 103 “Teddy Bear Sweater” is to educate the class about all the steps required in knitting a sweater. The pattern was designed to include all the parts of a regular sized cardigan, including a small increase pattern on the sleeves, a ribbed crew collar and button plackets. They will learn the importance of determining gauge and blocking.
The goal is to encourage the class: if you can knit this teddy bear sweater, then you can knit a person sized sweater, too!
It is a four week class. The
sweater is small enough that they should easily be able to finish
the work from week to week
Teddy Bear Sweater, Week One
Before people have arrived to this class, they should have determined what size needles they need to achieve the correct gauge.
Talk to them about gauge.
Gauge doesn’t matter so much if you’re knitting a dishrag or a scarf or even an afghan. But if you’re making something which needs to be a certain size, like a garment or a pillow cover, then you need to make sure that your gauge in knitting will achieve the proper dimensions.
Tell them how gauge might be written in a pattern. Explain the difference bet. stitches per cm/inch and rows per cm/inch. Sometimes patterns will specify that the swatch should be knitted in stocking stitch, and other times the swatch is to be knitted according to pattern.
After you’ve explained all that, then it’s time to get started! Hand out the pattern for week one, and get them started.
The Bible Study is centered on the topic of measuring gauge, Romans 3:19–26.
I. Introduction
Okay, so we’ve spoken a bit about the purpose of measuring your gauge. You may knit a garment perfectly according to the directions. But knitting every knit and purling every purl isn’t enough! Unless you knit the garment according to the same standard of dimension as the pattern calls for, the sweater won’t fit!
So you need a gauge. You have to measure your knitting against a standard. In knitting, we compare the number of our stitches according to so many centimeters or inches.
Questions:
•What’s the purpose of a ruler?
•Is an inch the same on one ruler as it is on another ruler, or are there different standards for the length of an inch?
•In religion, what would be our “ruler”? What do we measure ourselves against? (The Law, or the 10 Commandments)
We measure our lives against the standard of God’s Law. But a funny thing happens once we start to measure our gauge. Have someone read Romans 3:19–20
II. The Law’s Gauge
Question: What is Paul saying here about when we try to “make the gauge” against the Law’s standard? (Nobody will measure up.)
Paul is saying that we can never make the gauge of God’s law.
There are things you can do in knitting to manipulate the outcome of your product.
Question: What are some things you can do? (Use a different size of needles; knit more tightly or loosely; use another yarn)
But Paul is saying that there’s nothing we can do in our lives to manipulate our gauge to fit God’s standard! We will not measure up!
Let’s suppose:
You knit a sweater, but you never check your gauge. And you have a great time knitting it up. But when you get finished, your sweater will be too large or to small.
The same think applies with our lives. You may go through life never comparing yourself against God’s “gauge.” And you might be as happy as a lark. But your gauge will still be off! Being ignorant of the truth doesn’t make our true reality go away.
In fact....look at verse 20.....it’s precisely in measuring our gauge that we become conscious of our shortcoming. The gauge standard is what points out to us the truth about ourselves, that we can never meet the gauge.
III. Another Gauge
Sounds like bad news, huh? But it isn’t! Let’s read on. Have someone read Rom. 3:21–26.
Verse 21—A righteousness from God apart from the Law. Aha! There is a new standard! Question: And what is this new standard of righteousness? (Jesus)
Jesus has measured up to the gauge of righteousness. And the good news is that we’re not measured against our gauge. We’re measured against his.
Vss. 23–24—Question: Does anyone make the gauge on their own?
No! The product of our own doings will always fall short. All fall short, and all “make the gauge” in the same way: through the product of Jesus’ doings.
This is the good news: We don’t make the grade. Jesus makes it. He has “made the gauge” and in him we meet the standard.
Teddy Bear Sweater, Week One
Romans 3:19-26
Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.21 But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26 it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.
Teddy Bear Sweater, Week One Pattern
Materials:
1.5 oz. worsted weight yarn
3 (½") buttons
Gauge:
18 sts = 4 in.
This sweater will fit a teddy bear bet. 10–12 in.
Back
CO 27 sts
Row 1: * K1, P1*; rep bet * til 1 st rem; K1.
Row 2: * P1, K1*; rep bet * til 1 st rem; P1.
Row 3: Rep Row 1
Row 4: (WS) P across
Row 5: (RS) K across
Rep rows 4 & 5 til piece measures 2" from beg.
Cont. in st st, binding off 3 sts at beg. of next 2 rows (21 sts). Cont til piece measures 4" from beg.
Next Row: Following est patt., BO 4sts, K/P 13 sts, BO 4 sts. Place rem. 13 sts on holder.
Right Front
CO 13 sts. Work as per back til piece measures 2" from beg., ending with RS row. Then BO 3 sts at beg on next row, and purl to end of row (10 sts).
Work in st st til piece measures 3 ½", ending with WS row.
Next row: K 4 sts, place on safety pin. K across (6 sts).
Next row: Purl across.
Next row: BO 2 sts, K to end. (You should have 4 sts on your needle.)
Cont. in st st til piece measures 4" from beg. BO.
Teddy Bear Sweater, Week Two
This week the class will learn two things:
They will receive the sleeve patterns and start to work on that.
They will learn how to block the finished pieces.
Make sure to bring all the things you will need to demonstrate blocking.
When these two things are done, close with the Bible study on Exodus 3: 1–8. Since we’re making sleeves today, the theme is the “arm of God.”
I. A Little Background
Let’s go back to the story of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. Question: How is it the Hebrews ended up in Egypt? (Joseph sold into slavery; big drought; brothers come to get food; Joseph is reunited with them; he gives them a place to live in Egypt.)
So they settled down in Egypt. Question: How did they end up being slaves? (They multiplied to the point where the Egyptians were threatened by their numbers, so they enslaved them.)
So the Hebrews languish in slavery. But they’re still multiplying like rabbits! So the Pharaoh orders the Hebrew midwives to kill all the male babies born. They disobey him. They tell the Pharaoh, “Oh, those Hebrew women, they’re so tough—they’re not like the Egyptian women! They give birth to their babies before we arrive!” So Pharaoh orders that all male babies should be thrown in the river
A little baby boy is born, named Moses. Question: What does his mother do to spare his life? (She puts him in a waterproof basket before she throws him in the river! She hides him in the reeds.)
Question: Who finds the baby? (Pharaoh’s own daughter!) She adopts him and raises him as her own son.
So Moses grows up in the lap of luxury in Pharaoh’s palace. One day he’s out walking, and he sees an Egyptian task master beating a Hebrew slave. Question: What does Moses do? (He kills the cruel man)
Now he must run for his life, or face charges for murder and treason. So he flees to the wilderness. There he meets a sheepherder named Jethro. He marries one of his daughters and settles down. One day he’s herding sheep, and he sees a strange thing. Question: What does Moses see? (He sees a bush burning, but it isn’t consumed)
God speaks to him from the bush. He tells Moses he wants him to be his spokesperson before Pharaoh and lead the people of Israel to freedom. So Moses returns to Egypt. And this is where we encounter our reading for today.
II. The Strong Arm of God
Have someone read Ex. 6:1–5.
The Hebrews had languished in bondage for about 400 years. They still remembered that God had made a promise to their ancestor, Abraham:
“I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all people on earth
will be blessed through you.”
They must be wondering what’s up with that promise, huh? Is God aware of their plight? Does God care? Or maybe God simply isn’t powerful enough to help them!
And so God tells Moses that God has heard, and God is faithful to their covenant.
Have someone read Ex. 6:6–8.
So Moses is supposed to announce to the Israelites that God is going to free them from slavery. And here’s where we get to our theme for today! Question: With what does God say that he’ll redeem them? (With an outstretched arm)
We’re making sleeves for our sweater today. And sleeves cover arms. And in this Bible passage, God is saying that God doesn’t have anything hiding up God’s sleeve! The only thing in God’s sleeve is God’s arm! God isn’t going to rely on any fancy tricks to free the Israelites. And God isn’t going to call in some foreign power to free them. God will free them by God’s own strength!
I was at Mike’s Smokehouse yesterday, and there were two little old ladies eating lunch there. One lady was quite a bit older than the other one. They got up to leave. And the more sprightly of the two took off ahead of the other lady. But the other lady called to her. The first lady stopped and turned around, and she realized what she had forgotten! She walked back to her frail friend, and she held out her arm. And the older lady took her arm and hung onto it! And then they both smiled, and they walked out, arm in arm.
Sometimes we need an arm to hold onto. And there is no arm more powerful than God’s!
So in closing, let’s recite together Psalm 89:13.
Teddy Bear Sweater, Week Two
Exodus 6:1-9
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: Indeed, by a mighty hand he will let them go; by a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.”
2 God also spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name ‘The Lord’ I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they resided as aliens. 5 I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites whom the Egyptians are holding as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 “Say therefore to the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’ ”
Psalm 89:13
You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand,
high your right hand.
Teddy Bear Sweater, Week Two Pattern
Sleeves (make two)
CO 17 sts. Work in rib patt for 3 rows, then switch to st st as per other pieces. On 4th row of st st patt (K row), inc 1 st on each side of row (19 sts). Cont in st st until piece measures 3" (or until necessary size for your teddy’s arms). BO.
Finishing
Block pieces.
Teddy Bear Sweater, Week Three
This week the class will sew the shoulder seams and attach a ribbing around the neck.
After the neck ribbing is complete, then they will attach the button placket and the button hole placket. Have them do the solid button placket first before they tackle the placket with the button holes.
Finishing
Sew tog shoulder seams of each of the front panels to the corresponding shoulders of the back.
Neck Band—Beg with the right front, pick up and knit 4 sts on safety pin. Pick up 3 sts along right neck edge, then knit sts on back stitch holder; pick up 3 sts on left neck edge, then 4 sts on left front safety pin (27 sts).
Row 1: *P1, K1*; rep bet * til one st rem; P1.
Row 2: *K1, P1*; rep bet * til one st rem; K1.BO, acc to est rib patt.
Right Button Placket—With RS facing, pick up 17 sts along right front edge. Knit 3 rows in 1x1 ribbing; BO.
Left Button Placket—With RS facing, pick up 17 sts along left front edge.
Row 1 (WS): K1, P1, YO, P2tog; (K1, P1) twice, YO, P2tog, (K1, P1) twice, YO, P2tog, K1.
Row 2 (RS): (P1, K1) across til 1 st rem; P1.
Row 3 (WS): (K1, P1) across til 1 st rem; K1.
Row 4: BO according to est rib patt.
The Bible study for this week will center on "Bears in the Bible."
I. God Almighty and the Four Bears
We're making teddy bear sweaters, and so I thought it would be appropriate for our Bible study to look at bears in the Bible. I'm sure you've all heard of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," but today I'm going to tell you about "God Almighty and the Four Bears."
II. They Bear
The first bear's name is They Bear. These are the people or other beings who bear one thing or another. Let's look at them:
A. Judah - Question: What's the context of this story? (Judah is explaining to Joseph - whom he doesn't yet recognize - that Benjamin has to go home to Canaan for the sake of their aged father. Judah promised Jacob that he'd come to no harm.)
Question: Joseph had set up this whole cup scene. What do you think he was looking for in his brothers' attitude? Did he find it in Judah's speech?
B. The Goat - Okay, this is the text about the scapegoat. Question: Who is Aaron, and what was his role? (Moses' brother, the high priest) Aaron, on behalf of the people of Israel, confesses all the sins of Israel over the goat.
Question: What do you think will probably happen to that goat when it's left all alone in the wilderness? (It will be attacked by a wild animal and die.) So the goat is given a death sentence. He's bearing the sins of the people. He's being led out to isolation, suffering and death, which is what sin does to us.
C. The Angels - Question: Whom is this verse referring to? (The angels). The angels are bearing something, too. They're bearing us!
This verse is quoted by Satan when he's in the wilderness tempting Jesus. Question: What had Satan dared Jesus to do, because the angels will be there to bear him up? (To jump from the pinnacle of the Temple).
D. Mary -This verse is spoken by one of those angels who bear us up. It's spoken by the angel Gabriel. He's saying these words to Joseph, who thinks his intended, Mary, has been up to no good. But Mary isn't bearing iniquity; she's bearing a son, who will be the savior of the world.
E. Jesus - This text comes from one of the Servant Songs in the book of Isaiah. Question: As Christians, we interpret these passages as referring to whom? (Jesus)
Notice how Jesus becomes like the scape goat. He forsook the care of the angels, who were ready to bear him up, so that he could bear our sin upon himself.
III. Real Bear
Okay, now, here's an interesting little text! This isn't your ordinary Sunday School story!
This is a story about mean bullies. This sounds to me like the kind of story parents tell their children to make sure they behave, don't you think? It's an odd little story, but there it is, in the Bible!
IV. No Bear
The third bear's name is No Bear. This bear is about all the things we're not supposed to bear! And it's true, isn't it, there's things that it's no good to bear them. We need to just put them down and walk away.
Question: We're told not to bear false witness or bear a grudge. Can you think of some other No Bears?
V. Yes Bear
The last bear's name is Yes Bear, and this is about all the things we do bear. The first three items list things we are commanded to do:
Bear much fruit
Bear witness
Bear one another's burdens
Question: What has to happen for a plant to bear a lot of fruit? (It has to be healthy, be planted in good soil, well watered.) A plant just barely surviving won't bear fruit. And for the branches to bear grapes, they have to be plugged into the main vine. They' can't bear any fruit apart from the vine.
The same is true for us. Apart from Jesus, we can't bear any good fruits. Question: What kind of fruit do you suppose we bear? (Fruits of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
Bear witness - These words were spoken to Paul. He was in Judea. It was night, and he was in prison. These are Jesus' words of encouragement to him. He's not going to die there in prison, because Jesus has another task for him to complete.
We're not supposed to bear false witness, but we are commanded to bear witness of our hope in Jesus.
Bear burdens - We don't bear a grudge against one another, but what we can bear is one another's burdens. How many times are we rendered unable to be about bearing the Yes Bear because our arms are full of the No Bears? And how much of a better place would this world be if we would just put down the grudges and jealousies and fears and bear one another's burdens?
The final Yes Bear is a promise. This promise comes from the same One who has borne our iniquities. He has borne our iniquities, that we might bear his image of righteousness.
Teddy Bear Sweater, Week Three
1. They Bear
Genesis
44:30-33
(Judah said:) "Now therefore,
when I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with
us, then,
as his life is bound up in the boy's life, 31 when he sees
that the boy is not with us, he will die; and your servants will bring
down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.
32 For your servant became surety for the boy to my father,
saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the
blame in the sight of my father all my life.' 33 Now
therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord
in place of the boy; and let the boy go back with his brothers."
Leviticus
16:21-22
Then Aaron shall lay both his hands
on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities
of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their
sins,
putting them on the head of the goat, and sending it away into
the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task. 22 The goat
shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region; and the goat shall be set free in
the wilderness.
Psalm 91:12
On
their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash
your foot against a stone.
Matthew
1:21
"She will bear a son,
and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from
their sins."
Isaiah 53:11b
The righteous
one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he
shall bear their iniquities.
2. No Bear
Exodus 20:16
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Leviticus
19:18
You shall not
take vengeance or bear a grudge
against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself:
I am the Lord.
3. Yes Bear
John 15:5-7,
16
"I am the vine, you are the
branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit,
because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does
not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches
are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you
abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and
it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
16 "You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name."
Acts 23:11
That night the Lord stood near him
and said, "Keep up your courage! For just as you have testified
for me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also in Rome."
Galatians
6:2
Bear one another's burdens,
and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
1 Cor. 15:49
Just as we have borne the image of
the man of dust, we will also bear the image
of the man of heaven.
This week the class will sew in the sleeves to their sweater and sew up the side seam. Teach them proper seaming technique.
FinishingAttach sleeves. Sew tog side and sleeve seams (the sleeves are inset). Sew 3 buttons onto right button placket.
The Bible study this week will look at Paul's "sweater" passage in Col. 3:12-14.
I. What To Wear?
What a person wears can tell you something about them. Question: Can you think of some things that a person's clothing might say about them?
Schools have clothing issues. Many schools will have a dress code. Question: Did the school you attended have a dress code? Do our schools today have a dress code? What are they? How do the dress codes from the past compare to the dress codes in our school today?
The text we're going to look at is often used at weddings. Question: What kind of clothing issues do people involved in a wedding make? What about the people attending a wedding? Can you wear just any old thing?
II. Spiritual Clothes
Well, Paul writes about a different set of clothes.
A. Have someone read Col. 3:12.
These aren't typical garments! Schools and brides and grooms don't consider these when they're deciding what to wear. But these are far more important, aren't they, than shirts and socks and hats!
Now, I never forget to put on clothes in the morning. But I know there are mornings I forget to put on compassion or humility or patience. Question: How can you tell if you've forgotten to put on these things? How does your day differ from days you remember to put them on?
B. Have someone read 3:13.
And here we meet another of those Bible Bears! This is another of the "Yes Bears," things we are called upon to bear. Hmm.....so bearing with one another has something to do with forgiveness. In forgiveness, we're bearing one another, warts and all. We're bearing one another's imperfections. Question: After you've forgiven somebody, what happens to the weight of what you're bearing? (It mysteriously disappears).
After we've forgiven them, we're not "bearing with" them any more. That weight just goes away. And I think that disappearance has something to do with the second half of the verse, the part about our Lord. I think that weight of the grudge, the weight of the bitterness, the weight of the impatience, I think Jesus takes all of it. He bears it.
C. Have someone read 3:14.
"Above all, clothe yourselves with love." Here we're encouraged to put on one last garment, the garment of love. The NIV puts it this way: "And over all these virtues, put on love."
Love is the last thing we put on, and it covers all the other spiritual garments. It's like a sweater. A sweater is the last thing we put on. It goes on over everything else.
We've been knitting sweaters for a teddy bear. But we can't knit this love sweater! That's a sweater which only God can knit. And God has knit it for us through Christ Jesus. We received that "sweater" at our baptism.
Traditionally, at a baptism, when the new Christian came out of the water, they were clothed in a white garment, like a big poncho. That's where the tradition of having a baptismal dress for babies comes from. And all the other white robes we wear in church - at confirmation, the albs the pastors and other officiants wear, and the funeral pall These are all different versions of the baptismal garment. At our baptism, we are clothed in Christ. And in being clothed in Christ, we are clothed in his love.
III. Memory Aid
Here's one way that I think we can help ourselves to remember to put on our spiritual clothes every day. When we wake up in the morning, we can make the sign of the cross upon ourselves. We received that sign at our baptism, and in drawing its invisible lines upon us again, we remember that baptismal garment of Christ's love that we received. Or maybe you can do it when you're in the shower, with that water hitting you.
At any rate, God has knit a sweater of love for you, and you received it at your baptism. This is a garment that will go perfectly with everything in your closet! It's the perfect accessory, you might say! But it's more than an accessory. It's the foundation of your spiritual wardrobe.
Teddy Bear Sweater, Week Four
Col. 3:12-14
As
God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness,
humility,
meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another
and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other;
just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14
Above all, clothe yourselves with love,
which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
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