Rainbow and sunshine necklace knitting pattern

Want to learn how to knit this cute little necklace? Follow the steps from expert knitter, Love From B.

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You will need:

DK yarn in yellow & 6 rainbow colours of your choice. 4 x 3.75mm (size 5)double-pointed needles. Darning/Tapestry needle for making/sewing up. You will also require a necklace chain of your choice & 4jump rings (2 x large, & 2 x small enough to be linked through the chain).

Tension/Gauge: Doesn't really matter so long as your stitches aren’t too loose or tight.

Abbreviations: k – knit p – purl kfb – knit front and back of stitch co – cast on or off, st/sts – stitch/es. Numbers in brackets refer to the number of stitches you should have after completing each row.

To make the sunshine:

This pattern requires you to knit in the round.

• CO 6 sts onto one double-pointed needle, and then distribute sts evenly amongst 3 needles (i.e. 2 sts per needle). Place stitch marker on first stitch.
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• Row 1: k all sts, joining the round. (6)
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• R2: kfb all sts. (12)
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• R3: (kfb, K1) to end of row. (18)
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• R4: k all sts. (18)
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• R5: (kfb, k2) to end of row. (24)
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• R6: k all sts. (24)
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• R7: (kfb, k3) to end. (30)
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• R8: k all sts. (30)
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• R9: (kfb, k4) to end. (36)
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• R10: CO all sts leaving a cast off tail of approx 20 cm for sewing up. 

Making up: You should now have a flat circle. Remove stitch marker. Thread the cast on tail through centre and secure at back of pattern (purl side). Fold circle in half so that the cast off tail is at the corner of the semi-circle, not the middle. Sew up the circle with the cast off tail using mattress stitch. (Stuffing is optional).

To make the sunshine rays:

This pattern only requires 2 double-pointed needles; to be used as straight needles.

For one 'ray':

• CO 4 sts
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• I-cord 4 x knit rows
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• Cast off sts leaving a cast off tail of about 10 cm. 

Repeat this pattern until you have 5 'rays'.

Making up: Thread cast off tail through last stitch to join the round (see pic). Then thread the cast off tail through the whole i-cord to meet up with the cast on tail – use these tails to stitch the rays to the sunshine & secure them in place.

To make the rainbow:

This pattern only requires 2 double-pointed needles; to be used as straight needles.

• CO 16 sts in 1st rainbow colour of your choice (i.e. red). Leave cast on tail of approx. 10 cm for sewing up.
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• R1: k all sts. Join second rainbow colour (i.e. orange).
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• R2: p all sts. Join third rainbow colour (i.e. green).
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• R3: k all sts. Join fourth rainbow colour (i.e. blue).
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• R4: p all sts. Join fifth rainbow colour (i.e. purple).
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• R5: k all sts. Join sixth rainbow colour (i.e. pink).
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• R6: p all sts.
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• R7: CO all sts. Leave a cast off tail of approx. 20 cm for sewing up.

Making up: With the cast off tail (i.e. the pink strand), stitch up the rainbow length-wise. You are effectively making a ‘tube’. Remember to tuck in and secure all the ends of the other rainbow colours as you go, but leave the cast on tail out (i.e. the red strand). Once you have stitched up the entire rainbow tube you should have enough yarn left of the cast off tail to then stitch and secure this end to the back of the sunshine. Use the cast on tail (the red strand) to stitch and secure the other end of the rainbow to the back of the sunshine.

Attaching to necklace: Hook the large jump rings through stitches at either end of the sunshine. Use jewellery pliers or tweezers for this. Then hook the large jump rings through the smaller jump rings. Snip a necklace chain of your choice in half using some jewellery cutting pliers. Hook each smaller jump ring through either end of the necklace.

Voila... your completed sunshine rainbow necklace!

Do you live in London and want to learn to knit? Or maybe you've nailed the basics but want to advance your knitting skills? Check out Love From B's knitting classes - they're very affordable and you get tea and cake thrown in too!