a knitted bunny rabbit - for beginners !

This little bunny is so easy to make, it is a perfect beginners project !

All you have to do is knit a square.  Here I cast on 30 stiches with ndl 3 mm
and I knitted until I had a square.

The magic is in the sewing !  Use a blunt needle, it will pass through the fabric easier.

Here you see where you have to sew.  You must form a triangle, begin with a straight line in the middle, then mark the middle of the top with a pin. I used contrasting coloured yarn so you can see it better.

 These green stiches are big to show you where to stich.
When you do it, use the wool that you knitted with, and make the stiches a bit smaller.  Just go up and down through the fabric.

Here  I used a magazine to form a straight line, you can use a ruler too.

 just go up and down with the needle.  Make small stiches.

 Now, gently pull the thread, hold both ends, and you will see the form of the ears and the head appear.

 You will need some stuffing material too.

 See the head appear ?  Put some stuffing in the little head, and close the gap with a few stiches.

 

 Now continue along the upper part of the body.  Close this with small stiches.
when you use the same thread the stiches will be pretty invisible.

 Stuff this also.

 Now to close the rear end: go around the gap with your needle, go up and down through the fabric.
when you are back at the beginning, gently pull and the circular gap will close.

add a few stiches to make sure it is close. cut off thread.

 Now add 2 tiny stiches at the base of the ears, to make them stand up more. This is not really necessary, if you don't want to do that, the bunny will be cute without it too.

 for the tail, you can add a little pompom, a button, or needlefelt some mohair as I did here.

You might want to add a face : just sew in 2 little black pearls, for the mouth just sew an 'x' in pink.  Give it a good push, so that the stuffing finds its place and forms a flat area so that the bunny can sit up straight without tumbling over. 

Have fun making this !

a knitted bird house

What can one do with all the samples one has knitted ?  I have a pile of  little odd squares, in all kinds of stiches and colours. 

When I visited the local book store the other day, I noticed a little construction kit for children : make your own bird house. 

Put 2 and 2 together and this is the result :

reading a groundplan....

just a little touch of red needed for the roof

sewing together the sides

et voilà - the coziest birdhouse in the village !

seen from the back

and from the top

Now I must find a quiet and dry spot to hang it , where my cats can't reach....

a felted bag

Last friday, I spent a day at Mieke Recour's atelier, making a felted bag.  I really enjoyed this, although it was pretty hard work.  We started from scratch : first we made a design,  then we choose our colours and worked our way through the many layers of wool, with the aid of soap, and hot water.

It was funny to see that we all had a different bag in the end.

this is how mine ended up.

our hands were sooo soft afterwards !

with an orange inside

Mieke came to help with the details

pretty in pink

everything is felted

a wonderful bag this is !

in black 'n white

with curly endings

this finishing touch !

accents in real sheeps wool

rolling and hitting the felt

and more soap...

Mieke at her table

so, what do you think ?

the black beauty

artistic !

nearly finished !

this one is ready, pffff - now it has to dry

We enjoyed the day very much, it was well organised and we were all proud to go home with the great bags !