This Pattern is Retired

I have a lot of patterns! But I also tend to get overwhelmed if I have to deal with them all at once. So I’ve picked 12 of my favorites (the Core Collection) that will usually be available. And every few months, I decide on a theme or a technique and make a handful of related patterns (the Rotating Collection) available for a little while (then they go away again).

The other patterns are retired and are not generally available. However, because I know some folks will want them, I make many the retired patterns available for a few weeks every November. If you want me to tell you when they’re back, subscribe to the mailing list or patreon, and I’ll be sure to let you know!

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

They’re not for anything. No really, they’re not. There is no intent. There is no purpose. There is no function. There is no clever plan. They’re not for anything…they’re just fun. They’re fun to pose. They’re fun to hold. They’re fun to play with. And that’s enough!

You start with a pipe cleaner and a tiny little bit of scrap yarn, you spend an hour or two doing some fairly soothing knitting (even less if you use an i-cord machine for the bit in the middle), and you end up with a tiny little love token that you can slip in to a card or a pocket or a backpack or a lunch box. Because sometimes someone’s day is going to be better if they come across something soft and fuzzy and cute to keep them company. And this is an easy way to make that happen.

Now could you come up with things to do with them? Yes, I’m sure you could! I’ve heard of plans to use them as book marks or hair ties or as bows on little gift boxes or as ties to hold your plants in place or even as fetching scarves for various little knitted owls and snowmen and other critters. And I wholeheartedly encourage you to come up with (and tell me about) all sorts of clever things to do with them!

But I firmly maintain that they are just for fun. Because sometimes, that’s exactly what you need.

General information

This 30-page pattern is tremendously detailed and holds your hand every step of the way. There are pages and pages of step-by-step photos to show you exactly what to expect as you work. It walks you through everything from cast on to making those adorable swirly tips, to blocking, to wrangling everything into just the right shape.

The pattern is almost absurdly detailed, but it really does mean you can totally make these, even if you’ve never knit a project like this before!

Skills & scope

These are dangerously quick. Dangerous, because the chances of making just one is…low. There’s nothing terribly complicated going on here (it’s very nearly all stockinette in the round), but there are a couple of clever little bits (mostly stuff you do with your tails so that you don’t have any extra ends to weave in) and lots of options for variations.

The pattern uses charts, so you will need to know how to follow a knitting chart.

Yarn, gauge & sizing

These are small enough that I don’t have you do a gauge swatch. Instead, I have check that you’re getting a fabric that you like (and that fits around your pipe cleaner).

Each piece takes less than 75 yards of yarn (the smallest quite a bit less).

You can absolutely use scrap yarn for this.

Tools & supplies

You’ll need needles that let you work in the round (circulars or DPNs) in whatever size lets you get a fabric you like with your chosen yarn plus the general knitting tools you need for most projects (scissors to cut your yarn, a darning needle to weave in ends, the occasional stitch marker or bit of scrap yarn to hold stitches).

You’ll also want a pipe cleaner or other bendable wire.