Pattern: Elijah, by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft Baby
Needles: US 2.5 (3 mm)
I have finished the sweetest little elephant. And he definitely has kid appeal, because the second I finished seaming the second ear, Ms. Z wanted to make him her own.
By now, I'm getting pretty accomplished with French knots -- and I almost feel good about how mine look. In the past, I've considered French knots to be my embroidery nemesis. I think I will be less concerned about them in the future.
Elijah, like Sophie and Otto, comes from a well written pattern. The only tricky bit, in my opinion, is picking up the stitches for the ears since there are no easy to follow guide stitches. My Elijah's ears are a bit off-center from each other, but I don't think the average toddler would notice, and I like to think it gives him a little extra charm.
Of the three patterns, I would rate the difficulty (from easiest to hardest) as Sophie, Elijah and Otto. Most of the difficulty has little to do with the knitting, and all to do with proper stuffing and the embroidery. That said, all of them are very approachable and knit up relatively quickly if you need a present for a special child in a hurry.
Here are my trio of toys enjoying a brief respite from the rain on my deck this afternoon. Soon they will be making their journey to Madison, WI where they will be keeping company with a sweet, tiny new person. What more could a toy ask for?
I'm pretty sure that I have enough yarn left to make at least one of these toys for Z. I've been thinking about doing Sophie in some kind of patchwork manner (I don't have enough of one color left to make a whole toy), but have to think about how to do it so that it comes out cute and not just rag-bag looking.
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft Baby
Needles: US 2.5 (3 mm)
I have finished the sweetest little elephant. And he definitely has kid appeal, because the second I finished seaming the second ear, Ms. Z wanted to make him her own.
By now, I'm getting pretty accomplished with French knots -- and I almost feel good about how mine look. In the past, I've considered French knots to be my embroidery nemesis. I think I will be less concerned about them in the future.
Elijah, like Sophie and Otto, comes from a well written pattern. The only tricky bit, in my opinion, is picking up the stitches for the ears since there are no easy to follow guide stitches. My Elijah's ears are a bit off-center from each other, but I don't think the average toddler would notice, and I like to think it gives him a little extra charm.
Of the three patterns, I would rate the difficulty (from easiest to hardest) as Sophie, Elijah and Otto. Most of the difficulty has little to do with the knitting, and all to do with proper stuffing and the embroidery. That said, all of them are very approachable and knit up relatively quickly if you need a present for a special child in a hurry.
Here are my trio of toys enjoying a brief respite from the rain on my deck this afternoon. Soon they will be making their journey to Madison, WI where they will be keeping company with a sweet, tiny new person. What more could a toy ask for?I'm pretty sure that I have enough yarn left to make at least one of these toys for Z. I've been thinking about doing Sophie in some kind of patchwork manner (I don't have enough of one color left to make a whole toy), but have to think about how to do it so that it comes out cute and not just rag-bag looking.
You could make a himalayan rabbit, with dark ears and paws. I think Elijah is my favorite of the bunch, but they are all precious!
Have you seen Gus Fink's Stitch Kitten, Patch? Yesterday I saw a really cute striped sock monkey--pastelly brights with the red mouth.
Very cute!
You could make the tips of the extremities one color (like all blue paws with a white body), which could be pretty cute and not too hard to execute. I should look at my toy patterns. I haven't made very many of them, but it might be worth taking another look at them.
Could you use the scraps for the new toy and knit it so that the toy looks like he/she has a t-shirt and shorts?
Just an idea.
My favorite part is the swirls on the bottoms of the feet!
Thanks for the good ideas on color use -- all are good. I especially like the T-shirt and shorts idea!
Your Elijah looks great, especially sitting with all his friends!
These look so cuddly. What a loving welcome to a new wee one.
PERFECT!!!!