Toft Presents a Stash-Busting Design Competition

Our friends at the British yarn company Toft Alpaca (remember you have until the end of the month to enter to win a jumper kit if you’re a British knitter!) are holding a contest to see who comes up with the best idea for using a little bit of yarn.

Knitters may design whatever they like so long as their project falls within the project limitations, which are:

Fine: 20g
Dk weight: 30g
Aran: 40g
Chunky: 60g

Originality is key, so think outside the yarn box! Photographs of entries must be emailed to admin@thetoftalpacashop.co.uk with the subject line “Design Competition” by Sept. 30. Ten finalists will be chosen, and the winner will get yarn valued up to £150 (the other finalists will get £50 of yarn each).

If you enter, I’d love to hear what you make!

[Photo via Toft Alpaca.]

Next 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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