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by Marie-Christine Mahe
The pattern is simple to knit in that it's basically a long rectangle, with a few rows of
increases and decreases thrown in. It's knit in stockinette stitch so the naturally
rounded fabric helps achieve the desired effect. Since it's hard to see individual
stitches, make sure you keep track of which side you're working on [the purls curl to
the inside]. Most of the shaping, and the personality, come from the finishing. Since
this is a very fuzzy item, even minimal finishing skills are sufficient.
model: Betsy McCall photo: Susan Druding
MATERIALS
GAUGE
Body
Row 1: *k3 tog* 6 times, p1 [7 st total]
Row 2: *p1, inc1* 6 times, p1 [13 st]
Row 3: p13
Row 4: k1, inc1, k11, inc1, p1.
Row 5: p15 Work in st st till piece measures 22 inches from the butt.
You may consider making this body section a couple inches shorter or longer,
depending on your own overall body size.
Neck
Row 1: *k2tog* 7 times, p1. [8 st total]
Row 2: *p1, inc1* 7 times, p1. [15 st]
Ears
Break off the brown Fizz guard hair yarn.
Row 1: k15 Work in st st with the remaining yarns [undercoat merino and copper
Splash], till this flap measures 3 inches.
BO.
Face
[This part is slightly tricky.]
Using the undercoat merino only, and the #10.5 needles, pick up 8 stitches on the
underside [purl side] of the neck, below the ears. You can't go wrong here - it won't
show.
Row 1: *k1 inc1* 7 times, p1.
Row 2: p15
Work another flap in straight stockinette, still using only the merino.
Note: this stockinette faces the same way as the body and the ears - the purls must
be all on the same side.
When this flap reaches 5 inches, BO.
Paws
Use the merino alone with the #10.5 needles, as you did with the head.
This uses a technique called "idiot cord", so named by Elizabeth Zimmermann.
CO 4 stitches.
Slide them back to the other side of the needle without turning.
Knit them, tugging gently on the first stitch so as to take up the slack across the
back, forming a tube.
Slide the stitches back to the tip of the needle again, and so on.
Make 4 paws, each about 5 inches long.
Don't cast off, but leave fairly long tails.
Don't stress, the paws don't have to be either that length or even exactly the same.
FINISHING
Sew in the paws fairly loosely, catching each of the loose stitches with body stitches.
The attachments should be about 1" in from the edges: two about 1" up from the
butt and two about 1" below the neck.
To finish and shape the ears, take some of the Splash copper fringe threaded on the
yarn needle. Crunch down the top earflap in the middle, arrange it artistically, and
sew around it securely several times, perhaps over 1/2" or so. This should form 2
triangular ears which somewhat stand up.
For the head, start by finding the middle of the top edge of the merino flap, and fold
down the sides till they meet in the middle, origami style. Roll the edges in on both
sides, so that the muzzle is narrower than a straight fold would allow, and so that
muzzle is self-stuffed as well. Stitch along that length, which will be shorter than the
total length of the head flap.
Sew on the eyes. I found that putting them fairly close together gave it a goofy
expression that balances the overall glamour nicely, but you may feel otherwise. Just
experiment here. Use the merino to secure them
in place, pushing the shanks down to the back
first, and catching the adjacent stitches with
them. You may wish to use small felt pieces on
the wrong side to keep the eyes in place more
securely.
Finally, attach the clip to the underside edge of the neck and finish the face in one
tricky step. Take a fairly long length of merino and stitch one side of the clip securely
to the edge of the neck. Then thread the needle through the muzzle all the way to
the nose. Catch the end of the nose and thread back through the muzzle, then stitch
the other edge of the clip to the neck, pulling and adjusting so the chin comes flush
with the edge of the neck. This is what will give the face the jaw/forehead poof it
needs.
Keep working this way back and forth till the whole thing feels secure. During one of
these passes, thread the nose button on [this may require unthreading the needle
and working the yarn through the shank by whatever means, then re-threading]. You
may use a small bit of batting [or yarn ends] to stuff the head very lightly. Then
attach the other side of the clip to the underside of the neck.