Yarn review: DMC Top This!

I'm always on the look out for last-minute knits for friends' children, and when I saw DMC Top This! in my local yarn store, I knew I wanted to try it out (especially as my daughter requested that I bought the ball with the owl hat topper; she's pretty irresistible when she requests something).

DMC Top This! is a ball of self-striping chunky weight yarn that comes with a small stuffed toy that can be used as the pom pom for a hat; there's even a little label featuring washing instructions, which you can stitch into the finished hat. The yarn comes with instructions to knit a hat, and instructions on how to attach the pom pom. All you need to supply are knitting needles and a darning needle to weave in the ends (you'll also need sewing thread and a sharp needle if you want to sew the label in).

Working at a gauge of 15 sts to 10 cm, the yarn knits up really quickly, and the self-striping nature of the yarn keeps it interesting. The different colour sections also have different textures - some regions are smooth while others are more like chenille. The yarn has a chainette construction, and the different sections are very securely joined to one another. The yarn is rather synthetic, but not unpleasant to work with (but you may wish to avoid it if you dislike velvet textures - the chenille region is very similar).

Easy enough to knit whilst reading a book!

The pattern is clearly written and comes in a range of sizes from child to small adult. I knitted an intermediate size and had plenty of yarn left over. My ball came with two sets of instructions, one for knitting in the round and another for knitting flat, which gives you plenty of options.

Attaching the pom pom was easy: the yarn comes with a foam button to put underneath the pom pom to stop it pulling through the fabric, and the pom pom itself has ribbons on the underside to tie the pom pom in place.

I gifted the hat I made to a two year old last weekend, and she was delighted with it. She did, however, find the ribbons a bit tickly, so if your child is sensitive to such things, you may wish to stitch the pom pom in place instead.

I have another of these to knit for my daughter (the owl I mentioned earlier), and would definitely recommend these if you need a last minute gift. You might even have time to knit one for this Christmas if you order now!

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Christmas countdown 2016: Days seven and eight

Day seven

Pre-Christmas panic has started to set in, so while I've done the shopping aspect of presents, the making aspect still has a way to go. Yesterday I decided to tackle this, and whipped up a hat for my friend's daughter. Handily there were no specific requests, so I decided to try out a ball of DMC Top This!, which is a yarn and pom pom set, but the pom pom is actually a tiny soft toy. I enjoyed knitting the hat, and will post a review of the yarn in the next few days.

The Christmas tree went up yesterday, much to my children's delight. We have previously had two trees, with one featuring the precious ornaments, and a second for the more generic ornaments. This year I have gone for one tree with all the decorations, and it looks lovely.

The advent calendars keep on giving, and I really like yesterday's offerings from the Opal and Paintbox yarns calendars.

Day eight

This morning I started on a hat for a friend's son. The request was very specific: a dragon hat in red, green, blue and turquoise. I am following the Dragon Hat pattern by BriAbby, which fits the bill perfectly. I need a hat by the end of today and it must be finished by the end of tomorrow. I have swatched and used five hooks and two different yarns before hitting gauge, which doesn't bode well. Fingers crossed I have something to show you by Saturday...

The advent calendar yarns today clash spectacularly. Which had to happen eventually!

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