Knit an Adorable Tiny Shrew

I’m going to admit up front here that all this time I thought a shrew was a bird. It’s actually a mole-like mammal that wort of looks like a mouse, but it isn’t a rodent. They live most places in the world (other than New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and South America, thanks, Wikipedia!) and, at 385 known species they are the fourth-most species-diverse mammal family.

They’re also really cute.

Claire Garland reports that she had a shrew visiting her garden throughout the summer, and while it was too quick to photograph, it could be immortalized in knitting.

The real one probably didn’t have a tiny striped sweater, but I’ll allow it.

Claire says the design is “a little fiddly” as its worked in several tiny pieces (which are joined as you go) on the smallest knitting needles she could find (US 00, or 1.75 mm). The completed creature only stands about 3 inches/8 cm tall.

The good news is you might have stash yarn you can use to make this little one, as it only takes about 50 yards total.

She used tiny glue-in eyes, but you can embroider eyes instead (with French knots or just a little stitch). The sweater pattern is included in the pattern for the shrew.

The pattern is available for free on Ravelry but you really need to check out the Instagram Reel she shared when the pattern was released, because it’s super cute and tells a bit more of the story of the shrew in the garden.

Claire’s patterns are so sweet and this would be a great addition to or start of a collection of tiny woodland creatures to knit and create a little world for.

In the meantime, does anyone know what kind of bird I was thinking of when I was sure a shrew was a bird? That’s going to keep me confused for a while.

[Photo: Claire Garland]

When I first saw Orofino, a cute summer top from Berroco, I thought it was crocheted. Something about those shifting blocks of eyelets made me think of crochet but on closer inspection it is knit, so let’s take a closer look.

This project alternates blocks of simple eyelet lace and garter stitch to make a boxy tee with a bit of air flow and a lot of texture.

The project is worked from the bottom up mostly in rounds (which does mean a fair bit of purling to do that garter stitch in the round, but the effect is worth it). When you divide for the armholes, the back and front are worked separately and flat to the end of the project.

That leaves you a little seam at the top of the shoulder, and there’s a tiny bit of finishing (literally picking up stitches, purling a round and binding off) at the neckline and armholes.

It calls for a worsted weight cotton yarn, but this would also be nice worked in linen or a blend.

The pattern includes both written and charted instructions, but the key on the charts is a little confusing in how it describes working flat versus in the round, so you can always double check with the written instructions if you need help.

There are six sizes available, ranging from a finished bust circumference of 38 to 71.5 inches, or 95 to 179 cm. It’s meant to be worn with 6 to 12 inches (or 15 to 30 cm) of positive ease.

It is rated as an intermediate knitting project, but if you have a little experience with lace knitting and potentially reading a chart if you want to use them, it shouldn’t be difficult for you.

The pattern is available to download for free on the Berroco website. You can also learn more about it on Ravelry.

[Photo: Berroco]

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