This pattern is retired and not usually available. However, I make many of my retired patterns available for a few days twice a year, and this is one of those times! It will be available from now through some time on Monday, December 2. Then it will go away again.

In the summer of 2022, I realized that I found maintaining a back catalog of hundreds of patterns overwhelming. I couldn’t do it and still release new things. So I took my old patterns down so I could keep doing new work.

A few favorites have come back, and lots of new things have come out! But the vast majority of the old patterns are retired and are no longer generally available.

However, enough folks have asked about old favorites that I make many of the retired patterns available for a few days twice a year (usually in early summer and around Thanksgiving).

• If you see the buy buttons on this page, you’ve caught it on one of the days it’s available!
• If you don’t see the buy buttons on this page, then it’s not currently available.
• If you want to hear when the retired patterns are available, subscribe to the mailing list or patreon, or keep an eye on my instagram.

Foxed adjective deceived or tricked

The residents of Our Fair Village are a fairly eclectic and opinionated lot. Finding the perfect hats to suit them might seem like a daunting task (what with the wide variety of ears and feathers and horns and antlers involved). But luckily, Fawkes and Foxanne are up to the task. Their haberdashery and millinery shop offers the finest hats (and no end of delightful notions to spruce up older pieces you might have in the back of the closet) to fit and flatter all kinds of creatures.

And please, pay no attention to any scurrilous rumors about the provenance of the feathers on some of their jauntier pieces. Fawkes and Foxanne would never do anything untoward to any of our feathered friends. In fact, they’ve recently started a new program so that any of the residents of Our Fair Village can bring any feathers (or antlers or other bits) they’ve recently shed and trade them in for store credit, thus ensuring a steady supply of ethically sourced fancies for all their marvelous creations.

Do stop in the next time you find yourself in need of a fetching cap!

Look, I am not even going to try and convince you that you need these. You either looked at them, fell instantly in love, and began spinning out a whole complicated tale for them (and all their other woodland friends)…or you’re a normal, respectable adult who is not susceptible to such nonsense.

Either way is cool, and we can still totally be friends even if you’re not as easily distracted by the absurd and adorable as I am.

But if you are easily distracted? If you do feel a sudden longing to know what the foxes get up to when no one is around? If you’re pretty convinced they’re having tea with the owls and going on adventures with the raccoons? Well then you’re my kind of people and I think you’ll love these as much as I do (which is…um…a lot…a whole damn lot).

And I think we’re going to have a marvelous time together!

The pattern is tremendously detailed and holds your hand every step of the way. The hardest decision will be what colors to use for your little buddy!

The knitting is easy, and each fox has about as many stitches as the foot of an adult’s sock. It’s mostly stockinette in the round with just a few carefully placed increases and decreases. A bit of duplicate stitch at the end makes the belly and face.

You don’t need any special equipment to make them, just yarn, whatever needles you like for working in the round (circs or dpns as you prefer), and something to stuff them with (I used weighted pellets, but stuffing works great too). I’ve got a big blog post over here with links to all the things I used (including info about the glue in eyes and noses I used, as well as some thoughts on what to use instead if you’re making these for children or animals, since the glue in eyes and noses I used aren’t safe for anyone who can’t be trusted not to put things in their mouths).

And just in case you’re feeling a bit nervous, the pattern includes a lengthy photo tutorial to walk you through every step of the process (seriously, there are pages of step by step photos, it holds your hand the whole way through). There are all sorts of helpful tips on everything from how to cast on to what to fill them with to how to block them to when to weave in your ends. It’s almost absurdly detailed, but it really does mean you can totally make them!

Just to be super clear, this pattern includes instructions for the fox. The owl that appears in some of the photos is a companion pattern and you can find it here.

These are perfect for you if:

• You want to help Fawkes and Foxanne find the perfect hat for everyone
• You’re absolutely convinced that the secret to happiness is indulging your inner seven year old as often as possible (or possibly you have an actual seven year old in your life you wish to indulge instead)

These are not for you if:

• You’re looking for a somber, serious project
• You don’t like charts (the pattern uses charts)