handspun and bunny tails

There are still a bunch of Scraps Chaps kits in my etsy shop, for anyone who would still like one! However, if you'd like something a little different, Sheepshape Spinning has a kit of hand-spun alpaca in just the right weight and yardage to make a Fuzzy Mitten toy. She tells me there should be enough to make a bunny or teddy or other regular-size (8") toy, and it comes with a set of safety eyes too. The photo below is a bunny she knit from some similar hand-spun yarn. I think she plans to add some more kits as she has yarn ready for them. Read more about what she's up to on her blog.

She also shared with me this pattern for a little pom-pom you can knit for a bunny tail, if you're worried about little fingers pulling apart a regular pom-pom.

Cast on 5 stitches. Purl next row.
Next row: K1, M1, Knit to last stitch, M1, K1.
Purl next row.
Continue the last two rows until you have 11 stitches.
Next row: K1, K2tog, Knit to last two stitches, K2tog, K1.
Purl next row.
Continue the last two rows until you have 5 stitches.

Break off yarn and thread through stitches on needle. Continue threading yarn through the edges of the shape, all the way around. Press some stuffing material onto the centre of the wrong side of the fabric and pull the thread tight around it to form a ball. Secure the edges of the ball together and attach the ball to the rabbit as a tail.