Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Why Not Knit Yourself a Pigeon?

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When it comes to adding whimsy to your knitting, nothing quite does it like knit amigurumi or otherwise knitting animals. And I haven’t seen anything (well, knitting patterns anyway) that made me smile recently like Bill the Pigeon did.

This pattern from Knit for Victory has a few stripes like a rock pigeon, but don’t be intimidated by his fancy looks. This pattern is actually really easy as it’s knot flat in pieces and sewn together when the knitting is done.

It calls for DK weight yarn, which makes a pigeon that’s about 12 cm/4.7 inches tall, perfect for perching in your hand. Of course you can also make it with worsted weight yarn to get a bigger bird if you want. And don’t feel the need to stick to nature’s color choices on this one. Use whatever little bits of yarn you have in your stash to make the stripes, or just leave them off if you’d rather.

The eyes are made with a bit of felt and black beads, but you can also embroider eyes on if you’re making this for a little kid.

The pattern is available on Etsy, or you can purchase a full kit to make your own knit pigeon direct from Knit for Victory. The kit includes the yarn, stuffing, felt, beads, thread and a Pigeon Club button. You’ll need to supply your own knitting needles and sewing needle but otherwise you’ll be all set to make your own cute knit pigeon. The kit comes in a cute box if you want to buy it to gift to someone else for them to make as well.

I hope you’ve been enjoying the funnier patterns I’ve been sharing this month. If you’re a designer who has some whimsical patterns, or there’s an off-the-wall design you’ve made and loved, you can share it in the comments or click on “suggest a DIY” at the top of the page and tell me all about it!

[Photo: Knit for Victory]

Have you read?

Learn a Flower Bobble Technique to Knit a Fun Shawl

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier. 

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project. 

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible. 

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge. 

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects. 

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy. 

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project. 

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Xandy Peters]