Knitting

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All About Knitting for Australia’s Animals (and Other Crafts, too)

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Since the wildfires in Australia began, it’s been reported that as many as a billion animals may have died, and countless others have been injured in the fires or fleeing the flames.

This tragedy presents an opportunity for crafters to use some of their materials for a good cause. Wildlife rescue organizations use all sorts of handcrafted items in their work, from tiny crocheted birds nests to joey pouches and bat slings.

Not all of these items can be knit, of course, but there are ways we knitters can help.

The Animal Rescue Craft Guild has the latest information on what needs there are and how crafters can help. As of this writing the items in highest need were joey pouches, hanging pouches and animal beds.

Crafty efforts in the United States are being coordinated by American Rescue Crafters Connect, which has a closed Facebook page you can like for the full details, including all sorts of patterns, people in your region who are collecting items to be mailed in bulk, and general discussion and support.

In their files you will find knitting patterns for joey pouches, micropouches and nests, as well as information about what kinds of materials to use (nests are typically made with acrylic yarn, while pouches use natural fibers and are lined with fabric such as T-shirt material. There are also patterns for loom knitting, crochet and sewing all sorts of projects if you like other crafts as well.

The need is great and will be ongoing, so if you’re interested in crafting for a cause this is something to check out. You can also donate funds to defray shipping costs; check the page for details.

[Photo via American Rescue Crafters Connect.]

Comments

  1. Word is– don’t send them to Australia right now! “…If you are a member of a global craft guild page that isn’t this page you are on here with this big red image. It is highly likely that we don’t have anything to do with it. It is also highly likely that you or they will end up with a large amount of your products wasted and sitting in your lounge room or shed. Or thrown in the bin.
    – The supply is very high, we need to keep managing this centrally. Here with this team.
    – We are not taking on the coordination of the inbounds from these new global teams. We already have enough to do. They need to work WITH us to check on supply and demand, not MAKE more work for us.”

  2. I think it’s fine to keep making them, just hold on sending them, yes. But it’s also changing from day to day so checking in on those Facebook groups is a good plan.

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.