Calcifer Knitting Pattern

I don’t know if you all know this about me, but I’m a huge fan of the Studio Ghibli movies and the books that inspired them. Calcifer, if you don’t already know, is an important character in the book and the movie Howl’s Moving Castle, which is one of my daughter’s favorites (though she did like the book better thanks to some changes that were made for the movie).

Whether you’ve got a Ghibli (or Diana Wynne Jones) fan in your house or you just want to knit a roaring fire to sit in your fireplace in the off season, the Calcifer Knitted Plushie from Kamila Hernandez Firl is here for you.

This irresistible pattern is super cute even if you aren’t familiar with the story (which I won’t spoil for you, but you should check it out!).

The pattern calls for DK weight yarn in eight different colors, for of which make the colors of the flame, two browns for the log and black and white for details. You’ll also need some black embroidery thread for finishing the details on the face. The project is worked in the round, with the flame and the log worked separately, stuffed and sewn together. The general instructions for the pattern are written, but the color changes (and some shaping on the flames) are shown in chart form, so you should have some familiarity with reading and following charts before you start this one.

It’s well worth learning how to do it if you know someone who loves Calcifer, or even just to make a pretend play “campfire” for your kiddos who aren’t old enough to know who Calcifer is yet. They’ll thank you later.

This pattern is free to download on Ravelry, so go check it out and get ready to stitch up some firey fun.

[Photo: Kamila Hernandez Firl]

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I don’t even know what to say about this amazing knitting pattern. The Bestiary Scarf from Monstra & Mirabilia is so full of details it’s a little intimidating to talk about.

It features, as the designer describes it, an “artistic encyclopaedia of Western mythical creatures.”

The pattern includes a dragon, harpy, Medusa, chimaera, centauress, phoneix, kraken, mermaid, sew serpent, cyclops, wyvern, Pegasus, amphiptere and amphibaena. (It’s a good thing there’s a photo of the proejct with everything labelled because I definitely didn’t know the names for everything.) It’s also designed like a landscape, with water and land creatures toward the bottom ends and sky creatures toward the top.

The dragon is at the center and is worked sideways so it will show as upright when you wear it.

The scarf is worked in double knitting, so the colorwork appears in the opposite colors on the other side.

It’s worked in light fingering weight yarn (on size 0 US or 2mm knitting needles) and the colorwork is shown in charts. The pattern also includes some video tutorials and written instructions to help you along. The designer says the pattern is for intermediate knitters, and “advanced beginners may succeed with patience and the help of the video tutorials.”

When I was an advanced beginner this kind of a pattern would have brought me to tears, but if you love a challenge, and a project that you’ll wear and get tons of astonished reactions every time, this is the project for you. And of course if you have a few double knitting projects under your belt and are comfortable reading charts, this project shouldn’t be hard, but that doesn’t mean it’s fast. But lots of great things take time, and that’s never stopped us before, right?

You can get a copy of this pattern from Monstra & Mirabilia on Ravelry.

[Photo: Monstra & Mirabilia ]

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