Let’s celebrate with a new pattern for sale, yes?

Ella Funt is a cardigan for babies, named in honor of Ramona Quimby’s stuffed elephant in Beverly Cleary’s beloved Ramona books.

The body and sleeves are knit separately from the bottom up, then joined in one piece for the yoke. If elephants aren’t your cup of tea, the pattern also includes blank yoke charts that can be customized with the creature or motif of your choice.

SIZES: Finished chest circumference = 19 (21.75, 24, 26.75) inches
to fit ages 3–6 (6–12, 12–18, 18–24) months

GAUGE: 25 sts and 34 rows per 4 inches in stockinette stitch

MATERIALS:

• 300 (400, 525, 625) yards of sport or heavy fingering-weight yarn in main color (MC)
• small amounts of coordinating yarn in 3 other colors (colors B, C, and D)
• US 4 (3.5mm) circular & double-pointed needles, or size to get gauge
• 6 (6, 7, 7) buttons, 3/8 inch in diameter
• 2 stitch markers
• scrap yarn

Big thanks to Minty, Ashley, Carrie, Julia, Kelly, and Sarah for test knitting and editing help!

Cost: $6 US

And in case you doubted that generosity begets more generosity, I’m thrilled to report that all the attention paid to Willie has also bumped up sales of the wurstwärmer pattern. Today I made my second monthly donation of wurstwärmer proceeds to the Michigan Animal Rescue League: $105, for a total of $235. That buys a whole lot of food for shelter animals while they wait for new homes.

Crush is doing just fine — thanks to everyone who’s asked about her recovery and sent their good wishes. Her leg was put back together with pins and wires, but the result is delicate. The hard part comes now, when she doesn’t get to play or run or jump or tug or go for walks for the next 6-8 weeks. Needless to say, I am VERY OPEN to suggestions of activities that will wear her out in other ways.

I’m working on several different patterns during all this quiet rest time, including something extra-specially-gruesome for Halloween. (Yes, Halloween. I start planning that shit on November 1, friend.)

Before the gruesome, though, let us have more cute. Another baby sweater was at the test-knitting stage when it was bumped aside so I could work on Willie. This little number is coming soon:

Remember Crush? Also known as The Crushinator? My badass puppy and the muse who inspired the wurstwärmer pattern?

Well, on Thursday night, Crush’s favorite puppy sitter took her to the store and had her chillin in a shopping cart when, like a puppy, she jumped out.

And broke her leg.

Badly.

Today, Crush had some pretty complicated surgery to stabilize a pretty complicated fracture (it went through the growth plate, which on a 9 month old puppy, is still all squishy and vulnerable). Did I say the surgery was complicated? I meant to say it was EXPENSIVE.

And so while Crusher was grogged out on morphine waiting for her moment on the operating table, I spent the weekend working like a dog to whip up a wiener-themed pattern to put a drop in the Puppy Surgery Fund bucket.

I give you … Willie!

Willie is a round-yoked cardigan for babies and kids, with a lovable wiener dog that wraps around the lower body. The body and sleeves are knit separately, then joined in one piece for the yoke. If you don’t love dogs, Willie also looks fetching in stripes and solids. Worked up quickly in chunky yarn, this cardigan makes a handy last-minute gift, and a fun introduction to intarsia knitting.

SIZES:
Chest circumference 20 (21.5, 23, 24, 26, 28) inches, to fit ages 6m (12m, 18m, 2y, 4y, 6y)

MATERIALS:

• YARN: Louet Riverstone Chunky (100% wool, 165 yds) or other chunky weight yarn 1 (2, 2, 2, 3, 3) skeins main color (MC); 1 skein contrast color (CC); 1 skein Willie color (WC)
• US 9 (5.5mm) circular & double-pointed needles, or size to get gauge
• 6 (6, 6, 6, 7, 7) buttons, 1/2 inch in diameter
• 2 stitch markers
• scrap yarn for holding stitches and embroidering dog collar
• tapestry needle

The pattern includes instructions and charts for sizes from 6 months to 6 years. If you haven’t tried intarsia knitting before (that’s the kind of colorwork where you have large chunks of color — like argyle! or a wiener dog!), this is a great first intarsia project. KnittingHelp.com has an excellent video explaining the technique.

Cost: $6 US

Thanks everyone for your generosity! 

And, as an extra thank-you, please enjoy this new free scarf pattern!

This scarf offers all the élan of a feather boa, but none of the social or professional consequences of wearing one to work. Leda is as light as a feather, with the lofty warmth of alpaca. (For a Spring or Fall scarf, just substitute a less toasty fingering-weight yarn.)

Suitable for a first lace project, the stitch pattern should also hold the attention of more experienced laceknitters. The pattern includes written instructions and two charts. The lace pattern only appears in chart form–there are no written lace instructions included.

MATERIALS:
−    1 skein (450 yards) Classic Elite Alpaca Sox or other fingering-weight yarn
–    US 4 (3.5mm) circular needle, or size needed to get gauge
–    2 stitch markers
–    tapestry needle

DOWNLOAD LEDA NOW

*with many thanks to Mary-Heather for coming up with the perfect name.

The wiener dog body poses a number of challenges for handknitters—just ask any dachshund owner who’s watched her dog walk right out of a sweater. There’s the obvious length issue, of course–these are long, long dogs. Plus, the dachshund’s superwide chest means that most sweaters’ sleeves are too close together. Sweater necks are rarely long enough, and their sleeves are almost always too long (these two things are largely responsible for most dachshunds being able to escape their sweaters in the blink of an eye). And few dog sweaters are designed to cover that soft, hairless underbelly on a short-haired wiener.

Wurstwärmer is designed to address all of these issues. Short rows add extra material to accommodate a dachshund’s barrel chest. A long, ribbed, generously-sized turtleneck gently hugs the neck and allows for a wide range of neck and chest shapes and sizes. A long body covers the belly, and more short rows curve the sweater over the rump. Short, wide-set triangular sleeves will stay on even the wiggliest pups.

I strongly recommend taking a few measurements (listed in the pattern) and trying the sweater on as you go to make it truly custom-fit, but standard sizes are provided for gift-knitters and those whose dogs refuse to cooperate with measurings or fittings.

Wurstwärmer is knit in the round, with the exception of the short rows, which are knit back-and-forth. If you haven’t knit short rows before, don’t be intimidated. If you can knit and purl in the round, pick up stitches, increase, and decrease, you can knit this sweater.

Cost: $3 US.

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF THIS PATTERN WILL BE DONATED TO THE MICHIGAN ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE. IF YOU DON’T HAVE A DACHSHUND TO KNIT FOR, YOU MIGHT KNIT THE PATTERN AND DONATE IT TO A LOCAL DACHSHUND RESCUE ORGANIZATION. OR VISIT THE M.A.R.L. WEB SITE TO MAKE A DONATION ON YOUR OWN.

SIZING: XS (S, M, L, XL), to fit chest circumference of 11-13 (14-16, 17-19, 20-21, 22-23) inches.

MATERIALS: 
–  YARN:
• 2 (2, 2, 2, 3) skeins Hello Yarn Fat Sock (shown in Olive), OR
• 1 (1, 1, 2, 2) skeins Miss Babs Yummy Sport (shown in Teal), OR
• approximately 200-500 yards sport weight wool
–  4mm 16″ circular needle (or size to get gauge)
–  4mm double-pointed needles (or size to get gauge)
–  3 stitch markers
–  tapestry needle
–  scrap yarn

Lauren wrote lucky comment #17 (chosen by the Random Number Generator), and is the winner of a $20 gift certificate to the A Verb for Keeping Warm online store.

ITEM 2: In other news, sales of Pickadilly and Elinor’s Mittens generated a whopping $279 for Partners in Health and Doctors Without Borders. I chipped in a few more dollars, and sent a $150 donation to each organization. Big thanks to everyone who bought a pattern to support relief efforts in Haiti. There’s still so much to be done, even though Ravelry’s “help Haiti” promotion has ended. If you want to keep giving by knitting, check out Elinor Brown’s beautiful Helping Hands Mittens, as well as her thoughtful notes about giving and getting.

ITEM 3: Finally, I have a new pattern out in the March/April 2010 issue of Crochet Today magazine.

picture from Crochet Today

pattern: Natty Neck Ruff, by Pamela Wynne
yarn: Debbie Stoller Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe
[raveled]

Because who doesn’t need an Elizabethan neck ruff? In fact, I’m pretty sure Crush needs one asap.

This issue of Crochet Today (which is on shelves right now, people) is worth buying for lots of awesome–and much more functional than a neck ruff–designs. Maryse’s potholders and Lauren’s pillows are fanTAStic.

I was excited to work with the new Debbie Stoller Stitch Nation yarn. I like the idea of high quality yarn being affordable and widely available, and the bold colors of the new Stitch Nation line stand out pretty fabulously from the usual hunter greens and variegated pastels of the big box craft store yarn aisle.

The Bamboo Ewe (55% viscose from Bamboo, 45% Wool) was easy on my fingers, and has a subtle sheen from the bamboo viscose. The viscose content softens up the rough wool and makes it totally pleasant to crochet with.

picture from Crochet Today

Clara Parkes, my and everyone else’s favorite Yarn Whisperer, wrote a preview of the yarn line in which she mentions the new Federal Trade Commission standards for labeling fibers made from bamboo-derived viscose. Those fabrics and yarns, the FTC says, are really rayon, not bamboo. While this does raise, as Clara notes, some real questions about the Stitch Nation marketing campaign advertising Bamboo Ewe as “100% natural,” it’s also what makes the yarn so affordable (because, clearly, real mechanically-processed bamboo yarn is not gonna be widely available for $5/ball). And the viscose content in Bamboo Ewe does its job, adding softness and lustre to inexpensive wool.

What’s more, while the viscose process is usually toxic and not especially “green,” at least it’s a petroleum-free alternative to the oil-based acrylic fiber that softens most craft store yarns.

Well, Ravelry responded, with a special “help for Haiti” tag on patterns. Designers are donating a portion of their pattern sales to various organizations that are providing aid in Haiti. You can browse through the participating patterns, and even search for patterns already in your queue that are helping out. Each pattern will have text in the description telling you how much will be donated, and to what organizations.

For my small part, from now until January 31, 2010, 50% of the price of my Elinor’s Mittens and Pickadilly pattern downloads will be donated to Partners in Health and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders. Thank you!

Oh, and because someone once told me that all blog posts need photos, please enjoy this picture of my sleeping puppy.

Fact: As of 4:46pm on January 14, there are 7,767 February Lady Sweater project pages on Ravelry and many more unRaveled FLSs roaming free out in the world (eep!).

PLUS

Fact: As I’ve said before, that pattern has plenty of flaws. It was my first real try at sizing a sweater. I wrote it up quickly (and, stupidly, without the expert help of any editors or designers with more knowledge and experience than I have). It’s no gem, but folks have used it as a launching pad and worked with it to make many pretty things.

EQUALS

Every one of those thousands of people who have knit a February Lady Sweater has experience with and insight into modifying the original pattern to make it what they wanted to knit and wear. Increases have been altered! Sleeves have been narrowed! Yokes have been tweaked! Unfortunately, that knowledge is spread out over countless online forums and knitting groups and classes and yarn shops and individual knitter brains.

So let’s gather it up!

I’m issuing a call for anyone who’s made the February Lady Sweater (and I mean anyone, whether it was your first sweater project or you used it to teach your hundredth knitting class) to share their expertise. What modifications did you make? What issues/problems did you encounter, and how did you fix them? Let’s talk fit, obviously, but also design, technique, yarn choice, whatever. In a month or so, I’ll go through the comments here, gather up all the input, synthesize the information, and barf it out into some kind of organized clearinghouse of tips and tricks as a resource for future FLS knitters.

Plus? a commenter chosen at random on February 14 will receive a $20 coupon to the A Verb for Keeping Warm online store. Equals? awesome.

So pass on your knowledge and experience, and pass this call on to your friends and fellow knitters. Future knitters will thank you!

Hey, you know what babies love? Garter stitch, that’s what.

Now, you might be thinking, “Oh, Pam. Why would I listen to someone like yourself, a childless maiden aunt who doesn’t know crap about babies?” But take a moment to consider: garter stitch is squishy (like babies are); it’s simple (like babies are); and it stretches like mad as the baby grows bigger (as I’m told babies often do).

Plus, my opinion is backed up by a wealth of evidence, in the form of manymany patterns–most of which were designed by people who DO know crap about babies–for knitted babies’ things done up in garter stitch.

See, for instance:

pattern: Magic Slippers by Caroline Dlugy-Hegwer
yarn: Socks that Rock mediumweight, in Farmhouse
[raveled]

Or…

pattern: Mary Jane Booties by Lucie Sinkler
yarn: Hello Yarn Fat Sock, in Lorikeet
[raveled]

Or, my personal favorite:

pattern: Snug, by Hinke
yarn: Berroco Comfort chunky
[raveled]

This Snug? A vast improvement over the Snuggie (which my BFF tested and reviewed last year, with sexy/hilarious/gravy-stained results). Also, it occurs to me that the Adult Tomten might be a grown-up cousin to this garment. Also, the Berroco Comfort chunky is incredibly cozy. I’ve knit with the worsted-weight version before, and wasn’t impressed, but the chunky is totally snugglable. Would definitely not mind a Pam-sized Tomten in this yarn.

To sum up: You should probably knit some babies’ things in garter stitch. I did, and it’s pretty sweet.

Fuck yes, Allison. I surely can.

12 months later,  I give you: Elf Shoes.

[ravelry link]

Liberate your inner pixie, sprite, jester, imp or grinch! These puckish slippers are knit in the round and fulled to fit. They feature turn-down cuffs, short-row heels, and a curly elfin toe shaped with short rows and i-cord (Yvon of Storm in the Attic invented this super-clever toe construction, which can be applied to any sock or slipper).

The pattern comes in sizes from infant to adult wide. Foot length and cuff height are customizable.

Baby Elf Shoe - photo ©Adrian Bizilia

MATERIALS:

• 1 skein Cascade 220 (100% wool, 220 yards) in Main Color (MC) (Larger adult sizes may require a second skein)
• ½ skein Cascade 220 (100% wool, 220 yards) in Contrasting Color (CC)
• Set of five US size 10.5 (6.5mm) double-pointed needles
• tapestry needle

Would you like to make Elf Shoes for yourself and/or your loved ones?
DOWNLOAD THE FREE PATTERN!

Adult Elf Shoe - photo ©Adrian Bizilia

Big, big, heartfelt thanks to the knitters who tested this pattern and provided valuable feedback; to Adrian for her sweet stump shots and for figuring out the infant math; and most of all to Yvon for her badass toe innovation.