sweater for a big teddy

As promised, here is the pattern for a sweater for the big teddy. The sweater is basically a raglan style, knit flat from the neck down, and there are seams along the front of one shoulder, under the sleeves, and on the sides. If this is too much seaming for you, it should be easy to convert this pattern to knit in the round. The pattern does not include instructions for the stripes, but check the end of this post for the striping sequence I used. Feel free to ask any questions by email or leaving a comment here.

Yarn: 50 g of Elann's Peruvian Quechua. I used celery, parchment, and smoldering ember. Any light worsted weight yarn would work.
Needles: 4mm (US size 6) straight needles (or 4mm dpn's/circular needle)
Other stuff: one 1/2 inch button, darning/tapestry needle, scraps of yarn or stitch holders

Gauge: 5.5 sts and 7.5 rows per inch
Finished dimensions: 4.5 inches long, 13 inches around

Cast on 36 sts.
Row 1: [k1, p1] across.
Row 2: [p1, k1] to last 2 sts, yo, k2tog.
Row 3: [k1, p1] across.
Next row: [k1, m1, k2] across. (48 sts)
Next row: P across.
Next row: kfb, m1, k6, m1, k1, PM, k1, m1, k14, m1, k1, PM, k1, m1, k6, m1, k1, PM, k1, m1, k14, m1, kfb. (58 sts)
The set of sts before the first marker is the left sleeve, the next set of sts is the back, the third set of sts is the right sleeve, and the last set of sts is the front.
Next row: P across.
Next row: k2, m1, k8, m1, k2, m1, k16, m1, k2, m1, k8, m1, k2, m1, k16, m1, k2. (66 sts)
Next row: P across.
Next row: k2, m1, k10, m1, k2, m1, k18, m1, k2, m1, k10, m1, k2, m1, k18, m1, k2. (74 sts)
Next row: P across.
Next row: k2, m1, k12, m1, k2, m1, k20, m1, k2, m1, k12, m1, k2, m1, k20, m1, k2. (82 sts)
Next row: P across.
Next row: k2, m1, k14, m1, k2, m1, k22, m1, k2, m1, k14, m1, k2, m1, k22, m1, k2. (90 sts)
Next row: P across.
Next row: k2, m1, k16, m1, k2, m1, k24, m1, k2, m1, k16, m1, k2, m1, k24, m1, k2. (98 sts)
Next row: P across.
Next row: k2, m1, k18, m1, k2, m1, k26, m1, k2, m1, k18, m1, k2, m1, k26, m1, k2. (106 sts)
Next row: P across.
Next row: k2, m1, k20, m1, k2, m1, k28, m1, k2, m1, k20, m1, k2, m1, k28, m1, k2. (114 sts)

Left sleeve: 25 sts, back: 32 sts, right sleeve: 24 sts, front: 33 sts.

Next row: p33 - place these sts on scrap yarn, p24 - place these sts on another piece of scrap yarn, p32 - place these sts on a third piece of scrap yarn, p25.

Left sleeve
Next row: k2, m1, k22, m1, kfb. (28 sts)
*Work 9 rows in st st.
Next row: [k1, p1] across.
Next row: [p1, k1] across.
Next row: [k1, p1] across. Cast off in pattern.

Right sleeve
Place sts for right sleeve onto needle.
Next row: kfb, m1, k22, m1, kfb. (28 sts)
Follow instructions for left sleeve from *

Back
Place sts for back onto needle.
Next row: kfb, m1, k30, m1, kfb. (34 sts)
**Work 9 rows in st st.
Row 1: [k1, p1] across.
Row 2: [p1, k1] across.
Repeat these 2 rows twice more for a total of 6 rows. Cast off in pattern.

Front
Place sts for front onto needle
Next row: kfb, m1, k30, m1, k2. (34 sts)
Follow instructions for back from **

Sew together front left shoulder seam, leaving neck band open. Sew together underarm seams. Sew together side seams. Secure all yarn ends. Attach button to collar.

Abbreviations
K or k - knit
k2tog - knit 2 sts together
kfb - knit into front and back of the stitch
m1 - make one by picking up the loop between st just worked and next st, and knitting into the back of this loop
P or p - purl
yo - yarn over
st or sts - stitch or stitches

Stripe sequence
G = green, W = white, R = red
collar in G; then 4G, 2w, 4R, 2W, 4G, 2W, 4R, 2W, 4G; then cuffs and hem in G. The sleeves and body of the sweater are the same number of rows in st st, so the stripe pattern is the same for both.

sweater dilemma

Here is the most recent little sweetie I've been working on. The customer who asked for her requested that she be as small as possible. Well, I was limited to the finest yarn I had, because I didn't want to buy three skeins of yarn for one tiny toy. The finest stuff I had was alpaca fingering weight that a friend gave me, which originally came from her mother's stash. I have no idea how old the yarn is, but it's only slightly nibbled by moths, and makes lovely socks. I only had 2 shades of brown, so I used some grape kool-aid to dye a bit for the dark points. It worked great, and the kitty smells like grapes :)

I used 2.25mm needles, so the fabric would come out dense and not show the stuffing. She is so tiny and adorable, like a new kitten! I was going to use bead for her eyes, but once I stuck the buttons on her face, I just knew she needed those huge turquoise eyes.

I've also been working on a big teddy, since I only ever made Strudel from the pattern. I'm using some fluffy white acrylic yarn I bought a while ago, so the toy will be fine to give a child. Machine-washable toys are usually a good idea when wee ones are involved. I wanted to design a new sweater, rather than put the new toy in overalls. But I having rather a lot of trouble with that. I had the second attempt 90% done when I realized I hated the way it fits.

I decided the problem comes down to this: I am trying to design the sweater based on techniques used for people sweaters, but teddies are not shaped like people! The teddy has no shoulders, short arms, and a chubby tummy (okay, you could say this about some people, but I'm sure their sweaters fit terribly too). I wanted it to have a yoke with pretty stripes in different colours, but I don't think this will work at all. I'm back to square one, and not sure how to proceed.

A raglan sweater isn't much better, because by the time I've done enough increases (or decreases) to get the body and sleeves wide enough, the underarm is nearly at the teddy's wrist. I could do drop-shoulders with a basic set-in sleeve like most of the other sweaters I've made for the toys. They're simple and fit all right. The stripes I want to do might not look quite as good as on a yoke or raglan top, but I'm going to have to make a compromise somewhere. I just want to decide what I'm doing, before ripping out the sweater another 2-3 times.

sweet treats

How far in the future can you plan your stash? I have plenty of projects to think about right now, so I am planning for next winter. As a mostly patient person, I get a lot of satisfaction from the anticipation of a sweet treat for myself.

I made myself two new hat and mittens sets last year, and they are still great and work nicely with my fall and winter coats. I have a big, comfy mohair scarf that I love. I have beautiful yarn to knit myself a new neck-warmer. So I really can't justify a new hat and mitten set this year... but next year! I think I may have to go with this yarn, in a colour-way that co-ordinates with my neck-warmer. Or something completely random that I love, because I was never one of those matchy-matchy people. I saw it blogged by the Harlot, and I love my Socks that Rock yarn, so what could be better then snuggly, thick mittens and tuque in hand-painted merino?

is it too early?

Festive Knits
Originally uploaded by mricon

Can I mention the C-word?

My wonderful husband has spent the last few weekends working on a big surprise for all of my fans. (I helped a little with the editing, but he really did the worst of the work) We now have a pattern book! Woo hoo!

I am really excited about this, because it's an idea we've talked about for months. Only lots of pressure and late nights managed to get it done in plenty of time for Christmas shoppers. We imagined it as a gift for people who love to knit, and love cute cuddly things. Of course, if you want it just for yourself, that's okay too :) The book has 12 toy patterns, plus a little bonus, and you can get it in printed book form or as a pdf file. We ordered an early copy, and it's so special to be holding our book in my hands, with lovely colour pictures and everything!

I hope you all like it too :)

no time for me

soft pair
Originally uploaded by baprime

I knew the last couple months before Christmas would be a busy time for me, but I still hate that I have no time to knit anything for myself. I started a pair of socks, but felt so guilty about knitting them I put them away over a week ago. The greenish yarn in the photo is some hand-spun BFL a friend gave me for my birthday. The bluish yarn is some amazingly soft hand-spun I picked up In Nova Scotia on my honeymoon. I plan to use them together in a neck warmer of my own design. I am itching to get started with this stuff, but I am strong enough to put it aside and make the toys on order.

But come the middle of December, it's all about me! I plan to give myself two months of just knitting what I want. This may include the twin to the sock I knit for my husband last year. If the sweet, soft yarns for my socks and sweater don't tempt me too much ;)

lucky winner!

There were 11 people who left comments in the last 2 weeks, so you all had a pretty good chance of winning. The lucky person whose name was drawn from the hat by my lovely assistant (Mr. Mitten) is sara!

Could you please send me an email (barbara at fuzzymitten dot com) with your mailing address and the pattern you would like? I will send the pattern as a pdf file, so you can have that right away. If you don't knit, I will include a surprise with the pincushion.

Thanks so much to everyone who left me a nice comment! I hope you all continue to enjoy reading my little blog.

imagining monsters

I was reading blogs today, and came across another softie maker mentioned on the PlushYou! blog. I thought her monsters were so great, I wanted to blog about them too, even if I am a day late for monster-related stuff. I really wanted to use a picture of one of her toys to go with the post, so I checked on Flickr, but nobody will let me use one! It's not like I'm trying to steal the pictures, or anything nefarious like that. Maybe if I had taken the time to write to the toy maker, and ask her for a photo to go with the post, she would be been okay with it. But there would go any spontaneity in my writing.

So you will just have to imagine these monsters: cool, multi-coloured, small to huge, big buggy eyes, jagged teeth, claws and all. It has planted the seed of cute, knitted monsters of my own. Maybe someday...



If you want to have a look at her stuff, rather than imagining it, you can go to her website.