Knit a Sweater Covered in Dancing Cats

I fear that my preference for cats over dogs is reflected in how often I write about knitting patterns that include cats (fairly often, including a vest, a stack of nesting cats, a set of cat socks with matching sweater, a different sweater, a pair of mittens, all in the past six years or so) than I do about dogs (there’s hats for dogs, and mittens with dogs, but that post is from 2014).

And here it is again, as I write about the Crazy Cats Pullover from Maschenwunder Manja Vogelsang.

But how could I resist it? Are these silly cats dancing? Falling down? Performing some sort of ritual? Who can say?

Do I also very much want to knit one of these sweaters for myself? Yes, I do. Or for my cat-loving daughter. Or both.

I don’t know why this pattern popped up in the popular patterns on Ravelry again a couple of years after it was first published, but I’m glad it did!

The sweater is worked from the top down in one piece with a circular yoke covered in cats. It calls for sport weight yarn and there are seven available sizes.

The actual chest measurement of the finished sweater ranges from 35 to 58.5 inches, or 89 to 149 cm. Since that smallest size is billed as extra small, it’s clear there is meant to be a good bit of positive ease in the design, but the pattern notes don’t say exactly how much.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry, where it is available in English, French and German. Because it’s been out for a while there are lots of good projects to look at, including lots of different colors, a cardigan conversion and more. Though this neon version from the designer is pretty great, too.

[Photo: Maschenwunder Manja Vogelsang]

A few years ago I wrote a post that was full of patterns for knit mushrooms, but I don’t think I ever did a post that was knitting patterns with mushrooms on them, so today’s the day.

I love the Fungi Beanie from Jacki Bean, which calls for worsted weight yarn and uses duplicate stitch to add the mushrooms and other details. I think the colors she used for the design are tonal/multicolor so it doesn’t use as many colors as it looks like, but you can use whatever red, green, brown and white yarn you have in your stash for those details.

How about some mushroom socks? The Magic Toadstool sock form Stone Knits includes a ring of mushrooms around the leg, contrasting heel and toe and a little more colorwork at the toe for extra cuteness. As shown it uses four colors and comes in three sizes.

Or there’s the Fairy Ring Socks from Katie Green, which have mushrooms of two sizes on the legs, plus a bit of wavy grass. They have a contrasting cuff, heel and toe and some colorwork flecks in the body of the sock as well. This one is available in eight sizes to fit everyone from a baby to an XL adult.

This trippy cowl from Hunt Hand Knits looks like a lot of fun to knit. The Fungus Among Us Cowl is shown using four colors of DK weight yarn, though you can do it with as few as two if you’d rather.

Stitch some mushroom mittens with this cute pattern from Holly C Watson. This design uses three colors, and it’s shown with a self-striping yarn on the mushroom caps, which makes the colors change without you having to do any work. The pattern is charted but it’s a pretty easy repeat. The mittens are one size.

If you don’t feel like knitting mushrooms but still want to give your project a touch of the forest, the Toadstools Cardigan from Julie Taylor may be what you’re looking for. It’s stitched as a plain cardigan worked in DK weight yarn and sized for newborns up to 4 years old. The mushrooms are added with embroidery and the pattern includes the design, which you can trace onto water soluble stabilizer to stitch the mushrooms onto your sweater. Or anything else you want. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

Have you read?