Behind the Scenes with a Knitting Consultant

Sometimes people are cast into roles in plays or movies that require them to act out knitting even though they are not knitters themselves. There used to be a time when people could just hold the knitting on screen and kind of pretend to knit and get away with it, but I think because so many people knit these days and are aware of it (and would be vocally critical if it weren’t portrayed properly) non-knitters are often coached in the basics so they can act the part properly.

So it was for Georgia Engel, who recently played the role of Marina in a New York City production of Uncle Vanya. It required her to knit, so a consultant –Rita Bobry, owner of Downtown Yarns — was brought in to teach her.

Bobry said in an interview with the Times-Union that she was pegged because her yarn shop is closest to where the play was being rehearsed. She said she only taught Engel the knit stitch, and during the play she worked with Lamb’s Pride Bulky on size 10.5 needles. The actress said the hardest part was knitting and talking at the same time, and though she has no plans to keep up the craft, she is planning to knit something for the director’s new child, with Bobry’s help.

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I’ve been enjoying knit amigurumi animal patterns lately (see also: this adorable knit pigeon) and of course being a knitter I love llamas.

So when I saw this little llama pattern I knew I had to share it.

The appropriately named Llama patter from Annie Ahn calls for fingering weight yarn, and it uses two colors for the body and three for the little blanket. The pompom can be made to match or in another color. All of these parts take tiny amounts of yarn so you can use whatever scraps you have left over from socks or other projects and change colors whenever you need to.

It might also be fun to use some mohair or other fuzzy or textured yarn on this one to give your llama a different look. In all the project uses between 100 and 150 yards, or 91-137 m, of yarn and the llama comes out about 10 cm/4 inches tall.

The body of the llama is worked in one piece, so this project is suited to intermediate knitters or those who have comfort working in the round and with all those little pieces.

This one is made to be small so you can carry it around with you (it would be super cute on a keychain or as a zipper pull) but I think it would be a lot of fun to knit this in larger yarn, too, to make a bigger llama. You could even make a whole family in different sizes just by using different weights of yarn and corresponding needles.

The details are so cute, from the shaggy hair to its little accessories, but you could make it plain or change it up by knitting a tiny scarf or even working a little fair isle pattern on the legs or body. So many fun possibilities!

The pattern is available on Ravelry in English and Korean.

[Photo: Annie Ahn]

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