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Forget Penguin Jumpers, Knit a Marsupial Pouch!

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Knit pouches for orphaned marsupials.I don’t know how great a demand there really is for handknit marsupial pouches, or if it really is like the sweaters for penguins thing that comes around every couple of years when in fact sweaters for penguins are not really needed (charities sell them on stuffed penguins, so they do help, but not in the way you might think).

So I was a little skeptical when a link talking about knitting pouches for marsupials appeared in my Facebook feed, but it looks like there are a few wildlife rehabilitation places in Australia that use the bags to keep babies warm.

Take this, for example, from WIRES Northern Rivers‘ donation site:

Having joeys in care not only takes time with chores such as feeding many times throughout the night and day, cleaning enclosures, making bottles etc etc. Each joey be that a possum, glider, macropod or tiny Bandicoot needs a pouch.

and

The size of pouches vary greatly depending on the stage of development of the joey in need and unfortunately with washing regularly, the life span of a pouch is not unlimited and as such the need for pouches is always great for marsupial carers.

While they say they have dedicated sewers and knitters who regularly provide pouches, more are always needed. The Kangaloola Wildlife Shelter also mentions pouches (though their patterns are for the fleece lining only).

If you want to knit a pouch for a joey, they like 100 percent wool outer parts lined with washable fleece or cotton. You can find more information here. They like them just in garter stitch, so knitters of any skill level can help.

[Photo via WIRES.]

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Comments

  1. There was a need for penguin jumpers after an oil spill. To clean it off they have to use detergent and it removes the natural oil that coats their feathers keeping them water-proof and cold repellant. Joeys pouches (all marsupial animals grow in a pouch) are needed by all kinds of rescue groups in Australia

Have you read?

Knit a Little Scarf Full of Luxury

I guess the trend of little scarves and bandanas isn’t going away, and there’s a good reason for that. These little projects are fast, and they’re good for beginners because of the low commitment and they make something that doesn’t necessarily look like a beginner made it. 

And when you can combine a simple pattern with some super luxurious yarn, it’s a little treat that even more experienced knitters can get behind. 

The Little Dot Bandana from Purl Soho (designed by Gianna Mueller) is a project like that. It’s a simple eyelet triangle, worked from the long side down to the point, so there’s a lot of decreasing happening but it’s a really easy project. 

It calls for a hank of silk yarn and one that’s silk mohair, which gives the project a fuzziness and a little bit of a silky glow. 

Of course you can use different yarn to get a different look. A linen yarn would be fun for a summer kerchief, or combine wool and mohair for a warm and cozy kerchief for cold mornings. 

The pattern comes in two sizes, so you can stitch up a kerchief or a simple triangle shawl. The stitch multiple is 8 plus 23 stitches, so you can use that to make a triangle of any size you like, or you can use a heavier weight of yarn to make a different size if you prefer. The two strands held together as called for in the pattern makes a sport weight gauge, so you could try DK or worsted for a bigger and warmer project if you want. 

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho, or check out the pattern notes on Ravelry to find how other people made this project. 

And if you need more options for kerchiefs to knit, check out this collection of kerchief knitting patterns.

[Photo: Purl Soho]