Patterns, projects and techniques
It used to be that there were a lot of knitting and fiber related April Fools’ Day jokes, but the world has just not been that funny recently.
Lion Brand Yarn did get in on the fun of this silly holiday by announcing the launch of Left Ease, a variation of their Wool-Ease yarn made for left-handed knitters.
Check out all the made up details on their Facebook page.
If you see any other yarn related April Fools’ Day jokes, I’d love to hear about them!
[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn.]
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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