Knitters Raise Funds to Aid Joplin, Thanks to a 9-Year-Old

A nine-year-old girl in Kentucky who had never heard of Joplin, Mo., before an EF-5 tornado hit there last year has raised more than $10,000 to aid rebuilding efforts, and she added to that total thanks to a trip to Stitches Midwest last weekend.

Cee Cee Creech has been knitting elephants and other little critters to raise money for Homes of Hope for the last 14 months, and at the yarn industry convention she sold 78 kits at $25 each to people wanting to make their own elephants. Combine that with $1,600 raised in an auction of elephants at the event and it was a good weekend for the organization.

They also raised money by raffling off some of the critters at the McAllister’s Deli in Joplin. Cee Cee says she doesn’t know when her efforts for Joplin will stop, and her mom notes that as long as people still want the elephants they’ll keep making them. You can follow her efforts and find out how you can help at the Elephants Remember Joplin Facebook page.

[Photo by Roger Normer/Joplin Globe.]

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Not too long ago my daughter and I had a discussion about what a chestnut really looks like. The nut itself is small and brown, of course, but on the tree they’re covered with this weird kind of spiky, kind of fuzzy shell. It’s a wonder anyone ever figured out they were edible.

If you didn’t know that, you might wonder why this project is call Chestnut balaclava, but now you know.

This fun design from Yevheniia Pyroh is covered with spikes just like a chestnut shell, and is even the same color, though of course you can make yours whatever color you like. It uses two strands of fingering weight yarn held together (which it says is fingering weight but you could try a light/DK yarn and see if you get gauge with it if you’d rather).

There are two different design options in the pattern. One is a more fitted balaclava style hat (it doesn’t cover the face but does go around the neck) and a looser fit hood.

It’s worked primarily in garter stitch, with shaping done by knitting and purling in the same stitch and through various decreases (including a knit 3 together).

The pattern is charted but also explained in words. It’s worked flat to the size you want, and then joined into a hood shape with ribbing at the neck. The opening for the face is finished with I-cord.

This hood/balaclava would definitely be a conversation starter and in different colors it might read more dinosaur than chestnut, which could also be fun. The sizing is totally custom so you can make it fit whatever head you’re stitching for.

If you want to try it for yourself (and I’d love to hear about it if you do!) you can download the free pattern from Ravelry.

[Photo: Yevheniia Pyroh]

Balaclava Knitting Patterns

Colorwork Balaclava Knitting Pattern [Knitting]

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