New design: Unicorn of the Sea Sweater

Last year, I Like Knitting magazine put out a call for submissions for designs featuring cute creatures and mythical beasts, and this is what I came up with, my Unicorn of the Sea Sweater,* which features a cheeky-looking narwhal. Narwhals are my favourite of the 'mythical' beasts, mostly because they are real - I love that they are so implausible!

The Unicorn of the Sea Sweater is knitted flat from the bottom up in sections that are seamed before adding the neckline in the round. The jumper is knitted in stocking stitch with 2 x 2 ribbing for the cuffs, hem and neckline and the narwhal motif is added using the intarsia technique. The pattern is written in 5 sizes: 2 (4, 6, 8, 10) years and is designed to fit with 5 cm [2 inches] of positive ease.

The jumper is knitted in Stylecraft Life DK,* which is one of my favourite basic yarns. The yarn is 75% acrylic and 25% wool, and is machine washable, so you don't need to be precious about the jumper getting washed and worn over and over again.

The pattern in available in the February 2018 issue of I Like Knitting magazine. I Like Knitting is an e-magazine and is available via a subscription service. For full details, head to the I Like Knitting website.*

Want to queue the pattern on Ravelry? Click here.

*Affiliate link.

 All images copyright I Like Knitting magazine.

New designs: Can't Catch Me! and Waddle

Vikki Bird Designs has been in overdrive for the past few months, and today I'm launching two new patterns with a festive theme.*

First we have, Can't Catch Me!; this jumper's star is a smiley gingerbread man. This jumper was inspired by a cuddly ginerbread man towelling bath toy I bought for my son a few years ago, which was a surprise hit. My son loved the cuddly gingerbread man and took him to bed with him every night, so it seemed appropriate that I should design and knit a gingerbread man jumper. I named the pattern Can't Catch Me! after the children's fairy tale The Gingerbread Man.

The jumper is knitted in DK weight yarn, making it perfect as a layering piece over the festive season. The sample is knitted in Stylecraft Life DK** (75% premium acrylic, 25% wool, 298 m [325 yds] per 100 g ball) in Navy (2313, MC), Copper (2312, CC1), Cream (2305, CC2) and Fern (2311, CC3).

Can't Catch Me! is written in six sizes: 2 (4, 6, 8, 10, 12) years, to fit chest sizes 53 cm [20.75 in], 58.5 cm [23 in], 63.5 cm [25 in], 67 cm [26.5 in], 71 cm [28 in], 76 cm [30 in] with 5 cm [2 in] positive ease. The sample shown is knitted in size 4 years.

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Second up is Waddle, an aran weight jumper knitted featuring a cute and cuddly penguin. This jumper was designed for my daughter, who loves to have things knitted for her. Penguins are one of my favourite Christmas motifs, so it seemed obvious to include one on a jumper.

The jumper is knitted in aran weight yarn, and has a casual fit with 7.5 cm [3 in] positive ease, making it perfect as a cosy extra layer over the festive season. The sample is made from MillaMia Naturally Soft Aran** (100% merino wool, 80 m [87 yds] per 50 g ball) in Sky Blue (226, MC, blue version), Ochre (240, CC1), Slate (200, CC2) and Ivory (221, CC3).

Waddle is written for the same six sizes as Can't Catch Me!, but has a more relaxed fit, with 7.5 cm [3 in] positive ease.

Both jumpers are knitted in pieces from the bottom up, and the neckline is knitted on in the round after seaming the shoulders of the jumper. The motifs are added using the intarsia technique; the pattern for the intarsia section is provided both as a chart and as written instructions.

Introductory offer

As a special introductory offer, you can purchase either of these patterns from my Ravelry store with a 15% discount by using the code FESTIVE. This code is valid until 11.59pm BST, Sunday 15th October 2017.

Christmas KAL

Both of these jumpers can be knitted as part of the Vikki Bird Designs' Christmas KAL, which I am hosting in my Ravelry group. If these aren't your cup of tea, why not check out my other festive designs.

*These patterns were originally featured in Knit Now magazine. The self-published versions have a wider size range and some shaping details have been altered.

**Affiliate link.

New design: The Cat's Whiskers

My Instagram feed features an awful lot of knitting and yarn, and every now and again an adorable kitten or cat; it turns out cats are remarkably photogenic (and who wouldn't want to be a cat? I am a big fan of being able to curl up in the sun and while away the day). Inspired by this, a few months ago I decided to design a children's jumper featuring a cat's face: The Cat's Whiskers.

The Cat's Whiskers. Image copyright Practical Publishing.

This jumper would make an excellent first intarsia piece: the cat's face is mostly a single block of colour with the more complex colourwork coming much later in the chart, by which time you'll be pretty experienced in the colour changes! The project is also sufficiently small that it needn't be a daunting task.

The sweater is knitted in Lana Gatto Super Soft, which is an excellent value DK weight 100% merino yarn that comes in lots of lovely colours. I hadn't come across this yarn before I used it for this design, but would definitely recommend it; if you can't get hold of the recommended yarn, the design would work in any wool or wool blend DK. If you fancy making a cheap and cheerful version I often use Paintbox Yarns DK* for children's knits as it wears really well and comes in 60 colours - you could even use colours to match your own cats!

The Cat's Whiskers. Image copyright Practical Publishing.

The Cat's Whiskers is knitted flat in pieces from the bottom up, and the neckline is knitted on in the round after the body and shoulders have been seamed. The cat's face is incorporated using the intarsia technique, and the mouth is embroidered in upside-down duplicate stitch so that the sewn stitches sit between the knitted stitches. The pattern is written in five sizes: 2 (4, 6, 8 and 10) years, to fit chest sizes 53 (58.5, 63.5, 67, 71) cm [21 (23, 25, 26.5, 28) inches]; the sample shown is in the age 4 size.

The Cat's Whiskers is published in issue 72 of Knit Now magazine, which is available in all the usual places (newsagents and supermarkets) now. If you can't get hold of a copy locally, head over to the More Mags website to get a copy delivered to your door; alternatively you can order a digital copy of the magazine here and get started right away.

*Affiliate link; see the Disclaimers and Policies page for more information.