A Pattern to Get You through the “Pandamonium” of the Holidays

If you’ve been around the knitting world much, you’ve probably seen the Baa-ble hat. Designed by Donna Smith for Shetland Wool Week 2015, it became hugely popular last year and, according to Ravelry, has been knit nearly 6,500 times.

It’s adorable, and, from what I hear, addictive (I haven’t knit one yet, but I want to).

But this one, which must have been inspired by the Baa-ble, might be even more dangerous.

Karin Michelle’s Pandamonium hat swaps the row of sheep for pandas, and it is so cute I can hardly stand it. I may have to rework the chart so I can make a smaller version for my daughter!

Have you knit a Baa-ble or a Pandamonium? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo by iknit2purl, via Ravelry.]

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It’s been well documented that I love a knitting pattern with a bit of whimsy, so when I saw the Mine! Pullover from Sarah L. Kelly recently I knew I had to share it with you.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to knit a sweater with a yoke full of seagulls? And another seagull at the waist? Chasing little crabs?

The story behind the sweater (and you knew there had to be one, right?) is that while Sarah was traveling around Europe there were a lot of cheeky seagulls about. They reminded her of the scene in Finding Nemo where the seagulls say “mine, mine, mine” and thus the Mine! series of patterns was born.

Oh yes, there’s a whole set. It was the sweater I saw first but there’s also a pair of socks (and the pattern says there’s a cowl, too, but I couldn’t find it as of this writing. If you see it let me know and I’ll add the link here!) so you can totally deck yourself out in pesky seabirds if you want.

But back to the sweater for now. This is worked in DK weight yarn from the top down in the round. The yoke and a section at the bottom are worked in stranded colorwork, with stripes on the body, though you could make the body a single color if you wanted. Details like the beaks and eyes are added with duplicate stitch to make the knitting a little easier.

The colorwork sections are charted. The pattern comes in 10 sizes, with a finished chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 80 to 170 cm.

The socks are worked in sock yarn and come in three sizes. There worked from the cuff down and change needle sizes to accommodate the less stretchy nature of stranded colorwork. You can choose from a side profile or a seagull that’s looking out from the sock. Make a matching pair or mix it up.

Both patterns are available on Ravelry: sweater and socks. If you make them I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sarah L. Kelly]

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