Halloween, Keith was collecting some pumpkins. Here is another little fellow I made to join his crew. The pattern is available for a free ravelry download (you just need to create a free account). I knit with US size 3 double pointed needles and remnants of Orange and avocado wool of the andes yarn.I knit this pattern in the round, not flat as instructed. I suppose that flat makes sense if you don't have a bunch of dpn's laying around, but it saved a lot of seaming to knit in the round!
In the end, the arms were 2" long and the legs 5" long (not including mittens or shoes!)
Adjustments
- I knit all pieces in the round (except for the leaf which was flat.) The patterns were easily adaptable to round knitting.
- In the head, I only did 8 repeats of the ribbing (16 rows) rather than 12 repeats (24 rows).
- On the mittens, I increased the rounds in the palm to 7 from 4.
I overstuffed the head so it would be wider than it is tall. It actually makes a really fun ball.
The pieces are all ready... now some magic is needed to bring them to life!
When twisting arms and legs, I tied a not at the end with a scrap of orange yarn to help me make them the same length (and so I wouldn't risk loosing my twist!)
Arms and legs looking like straw.
One arm is attached.
The vine pipe cleaner was pretty fun to make. I inserted the pine cleaner and secured it in the stalk before I wrapped it with the green yarn. With wrapping, I did it such that both ends of the yarn ended up inside the stalk. The yarn was on the verge of easily slipping off the pipe cleaner, so I dabbed some glue over the outside to secure it (after twisting).
Inserting the pipe cleaner before I start wrapping the vine.
To connect the arms and legs to the body, I used a yarn needle to pull the excess limb the body until I got the length I wanted. The twisted cord was thick enough that it was quite stable without needing too much reinforcement.
AHHH Faceless pumpkin! Run!
I didn't have any felt so I used black construction paper for the nose and mouth. The length of the arms and legs in the pattern was too big for my guy.
Keith, here's the latest member of your posse!
