Velvet Rabbit: The White Album

My  version.  A gift for a friend who made my shoulder better.

 

The view from the back.

Separates

This adorable bunny

(photo from the book)

from Simple Knits for Little Cherubs called the "Velvet Rabbit",  by Erika Knight.  The bunny pattern was pretty straightforward. All garter stitch.  I knit both front and back pieces at the same time to ensure that they were the same size. Same strategy as for sweater sleeves.  Also, when you are done, you are done, except for the arms, which are very quick.  The ear shaping works quite well.

The instructions for sewing up the bunny don’t seem (no pun intended) as if they will work, but follow them and they do!  I’m making another one in Cascade Ecological Wool (a gift for the son of one of my knitting friends)..  This one was made using Cascade 220 Superwash since the recipients were busy parents.

Note:  The pattern calls for Rowan Fine Chenille, which appears to be somewhere between fingering and DK weight yarn, using needles that are several sizes smaller than normally used for the yarn, (pattern calls for a US 1 needle, yarn recommends US 2-5 needles).  So, where I am going with this is:  Whatever yarn you choose to make this adorable bunny out of, go down several needle sizes from the recommended needle for the yarn. What this produces is a fabric that is denser and more "velvet-y" (especially if you are using a chenille yarn or cotton yarn), it keeps the stuffing from showing through and helps keep the garter stitch from stretching too much.

Enough said.

And of course, this bib (free pattern)

before photos on the "board". Blocking makes a big difference when you are sewing together pieces that are supposed to be the same size.  I bought this one

and it makes all the difference.  It folds in half for easy storage and well, you can read about on Webs.  Enjoy.

Denver’s 1st Birthday Party!!

Inspired totally by Jess Hutch’s adorable robot, but created without a pattern, since she is no longer selling her book. Some careful looking at photos and lots of counting and charting and trial and error and knitting and frogging and I arrived at a finished product by B-Day, Denver’s birthday party!

I decided to try Elann’s Peruvian Highland Wool for this project. The verdict: while the wool has a soft silky feel, it pills and fuzzes (technical term). How do I know this since the item was not "worn" or washed? Remember, I said I had to do a lot of knitting, re-knitting, frogging, etc. The yarn did not take kindly to being frogged. There was a lot of fuzzing, making pulling the stitches out somewhat difficult. I guess my benchmark is Cascade 220, which you can pull out over and over again, with little ill effects.

Final verdict: I would NOT purchase this yarn again.

Without a pattern I had to improvise in a few areas:

1. the arms: I chose to pick up stitches at the shoulder and then increase to get the total number required for the arm, knitting it flat, sewing it up afterward. If I were to do it again, it would do it on dpns and stuff the arm as I went along. Not liking all the seaming…

2. the legs: I knit both of them at the same time so they would be the same length. Really, they are, although in some of the photos, they don’t look like they are. Again, if I were doing this again, I would do them on dpns, (seaming!!). I would probably switch to flat knitting for the body and head since I think that the seaming does help give the robot more structure.

3. For the antenna, I doubled the yarn and reduced the needle size to 1/2 the size I was using for the body of the robot to get some real structure! Again, I picked up and knit the i-cord antenna before i seamed the top of the head.

in general, I was trying to reduce the amount of seaming/sewing because it is the most time consuming and if you don’t do it carefully, it detracts from the look of your toy. I am only so-so on the seaming… (working on improving). But everyone loves the robot, so that’s what it’s really all about!

Sadly, the gifts were opened after the party, so no cute shots of the kid with the gift…

And here is the requisite shot of the young one with cake on the face and what looks like a future in orchestra conducting! Or perhaps a plea to get this stuff off my face, please.

;*)