Back in May, I set up a Knitting Scrapbook as a way of creating a physical record of some of my more ambitious and creative projects. Today’s post features the first of those projects: a Porcelain Sweater, made using the yarn from the 2025 Bridgerton Advent from Castle View Yarns! I figured this would be a great project to try out this new, weekly update approach because it’s a little more complicated than most of my other makes!

In this post, I’ll take you through my planning process for this sweater and chat a little bit about the yarn I’m using, how I set up the corresponding pages in my Knitting Scrapbook and, of course, the swatching stage!

Castle View Yarns: 2025 Bridgerton Advent

This project was definitely one that started from the yarn— I bought the yarn and chose the pattern for the yarn, not the other way around!

Because this yarn was an Advent collection, it is no longer available (which is a huge shame, because it is so, so beautiful!). However, Castle View Yarns has a large range of other beautiful yarns to choose from, so I’d definitely recommend checking out the shop anyway!

The Backstory

I was so thrilled that I managed to snatch up one of the leftover Merino DK versions of the 2025 Bridgerton Advent from Castle View Yarns last year, after I missed the cut off date for preorders. I had been intending to purchase the 4ply version, but it sold out immediately! Instead, I settled for the DK version and I’m actually really pleased now, because it led to this project.

The first time I heard about the Advent was through an Instagram post that was suggested to me the day after preorders closed (literally! The day after!), which was such bad luck. I was truly heartbroken because I felt like this product was just made for me: I mean, I love Bridgerton, I love yarn and I love Advent calendars! Even more so, I loved the concept colour palette for the collection: this gorgeous, muted rainbow gradient. Unable to admit defeat, I waited (kind of patiently, kind of obsessively) until Castle View Yarns announced when the leftover stock would be on sale, set multiple alarms and started refreshing the webpage from about 5 minutes before the release time. Honestly, I have not taken anything quite this seriously since I got my tickets for the Eras Tour!

At 6pm on the dot, on a dark evening in November, I was there, ready to go and get the yarn that I had been dreaming about ever since May. Unfortunately, I got lost on the webpage (no, seriously, I couldn’t figure out which listing was which and nearly purchased one of the Weekly Advents, which I’m sure was lovely, but wasn’t quite what I wanted!). Eventually, I found the right place, put the 4ply Daily Advent in my basket, went to check out and… it had been sold! Disaster!

In a haze, I went back to the listing and found that there were still a couple of the DK versions available. In that moment, I made a split second decision to go for it, despite having no idea what I’d use it for. I had come this far, though and was not about to be defeated!

My last-minute Advent arrived on the 1st December, which was super fast and meant I could open one yarn package each day, as intended. If you’ve been here for a while, you might remember that I was absolutely plagued by colds and illnesses last December, which was not fun at all, but opening up this Advent every day bought me so much joy— it was so special! I loved seeing all the colours in person, seeing the Bridgerton inspiration in their names and shades and watching the gradient form during the course of the month.

The Yarn

The 2025 Bridgerton Advent that I purchased included 24 x 20g mini skeins of Soft Merino DK (a 100% superwash merino, 225m/100g yarn). The shades form a soft, muted rainbow gradient, beginning and ending in the golden-orange shades. All of the shades had specific inspirations from the Bridgerton Series (up to Season 3, because Season 4 had not yet been released at that point!).

The yarns came individually wrapped and numbered in a velvety grey sack (like, a fancy sack, not a sack sack). A wax-sealed (!) envelope was enclosed, which contained a list of all of the yarn names, day-by-day. Also, there was a little glass bee stitch marker wrapped into the Day 1 package, along with the yarn, which was a fun surprise! My only problem was that, inside of the packages, the yarn itself was not labelled, so I used some card and safety pins to label it myself, in case I got all of the shades mixed up (which, honestly, might still have happened at some point— I wouldn’t be able to tell!).

I paid £145 for the Advent, along with £3.95 in shipping, bringing my total to £148.95. I know that this is a lot of money, though it is actually pretty reasonable for hand-dyed yarn from a one-woman business, I think! Nevertheless, I specifically saved for this product, knowing how much joy it would bring me and considering it a super special, Christmas present to myself.

Deciding What to Make with the Yarn

I spent a long time deciding what to make with this yarn. There are lots of patterns designed for 4ply Advent yarns, but not quite so many for DK Advent yarns. I spent a lot of time scrolling through Ravelry, looking for inspiration, obsessively checking the meterage of each project and just being generally indecisive and unsure.

Time ticked by (which is why I’m only just working with my 2025 Advent yarn now, in August 2026!), until I suddenly stumbled upon the perfect project. It was a pattern that was already in my favourites, that I knew I wanted to make at some point but hadn’t yet contemplated super seriously. It was, of course, the ever-popular Porcelain Sweater by LE KNIT by Lene Holme Samsøe!

Porcelain Sweater

The Porcelain Sweater is an incredibly popular, knitted jumper pattern. It’s typically made with just two colours: a main colour, which forms the bulk of the sweater, and a contrast colour, which is used to work three horizontal bands of colourwork. My idea was to use a classic, cream shade for the main colour, but to use the Advent yarns as the contrast colour, working my way through the gradient as I worked my way down through the colourwork

bands. To help myself visualise this, I sketched (read: I traced, your girl is not an artist) out what I had in mind on my iPad and, in doing so, convinced myself to go for it!

The suggested yarn for the Porcelain Sweater is a fingering weight yarn, held together with a mohair to give a DK-ish weight. I’m not a huge fan of mohair anyway, so I was happy to replace those two yarns with a single strand of DK. The next challenge was finding a cream yarn that was similar to the Advent yarn base that I could use as the main colour, which meant that, ideally, I wanted the yarn to fit the following conditions:

• Superwash
• Merino
• 225m/100g
• Not too pricey (because I’d already spent so much on the Advent itself!)

Eventually, I settled on DROPS Merino Extra Fine. This is a superwash, merino yarn that I have used before and isn’t too expensive (£3.50 per ball). It’s ever so slightly thicker than the Advent yarn (105m/50g, compared to 225m/100g), which isn’t ideal, but it worked out fine when I swatched it. You can feel the difference in the two yarns slightly when you’re knitting, but you can’t tell just by looking at the knitted fabric.

Knitting Scrapbook

Once I’d made all of those big decisions, it was time to get out my Knitting Scrapbook and christen it with its first project! I was so excited for this part— I really wanted the pages to reflect my vision for the finished project and add an extra level of fun and creativity to the whole process!

This project will have 3 x double-page spreads: a Mood Board, a Notes/Progress Tracker and, finally, a spread dedicated to Photos of the final product!

Mood Board

I wanted my mood board to have lots of colour, to reflect all of the colours in the finished jumper! I really leaned into the scrapbooking style and layered up patterned papers, printed photos, stickers and stamped designs to encapsulate everything that had been swirling around in my mind since I dreamed this project up.

I included my mockup of the finished jumper, as well as the original pattern photo from LE KNIT and a still from the show of Violet Bridgerton drinking from a porcelain cup (because it felt very fitting).

I also included images of the yarns I would be using: photos of the Advent yarns that I had taken, as well as images of the DROPS yarn that I found online and the original graphic for the Advent too.

Notes/Progress Tracker

This spread is a little less busy, because its main purpose is to provide a space for me to jot down any important information about the project as I knit it up.

On the left-hand page, I have labelled the space ‘Notes’: this will be where I can write down any significant changes I’ve made, or any otherwise important information that I need to remember (needle size, yarn amounts etc.).

On the right-hand page, there’s a space for keeping track of my progress. This isn’t as useful as the notes section but, seeing as this scrapbook is supposed to be part-useful journal, part-memento, I think it will be a nice page to come back to in the future and see how long the project took me and what order I did everything in.

Gauge Swatching

The Porcelain Jumper is knit both flat and in the round at different points throughout the process. In both sections, some of the work is plain, using only one colour, and some of the work is worked with two strands of yarn to form the colourwork. Because of this, it was hard to know which way to work the gauge swatch: I usually swatch in the round, because the majority of a jumper is usually knitted that way, but it is one of my absolute least favourite things to do.

In the end, I began the swatching journey with a flat swatch of just the DROPS yarn on 4.0mm needles. I then worked a swatch in the round using the same yarn and needles, so that I could compare my tensions. My tension in the round was a little looser, so I tried making the flat swatch again using a 4.5mm needle. I blocked my swatches, checked my tensions and decided that the yarn would work for the pattern and the suggested 4mm needle was best, both flat and in the round (either the flat swatch loosened out a little or the round swatch tightened up— who knows, but they were pretty similar in the end!).

The next stage was to swatch the colourwork. I decided to swatch the colourwork flat, because I knew it was going to be a complicated enough process without introducing the whole working-in-the-fake-round thing. I opted to knit a single row of each of the 24 colours of yarn in the swatch so that, when I blocked it, I could see whether any of the colours would run, which was one of my biggest concerns with this project. The charts in the pattern each contain 17-19 rows of colourwork, so I had to extend one of them a little to fit all 24 colours in (which was no matter— it’s just a swatch after all!).

Amazingly, none of the colours ran, despite the fact that there are some quite deep-toned reds and purples, along with some quite strong greens. I was thrilled! I was also absolutely in love with the swatch: just like my mockup of the finished Porcelain Sweater, the colourwork swatch definitely gave me that “I’m on the right track!” feeling.

Final Thoughts

And with that, I was ready to begin! I planned this Porcelain Sweater x Bridgerton Advent pretty thoroughly, because I knew it was a little out of the ordinary for me. At the end of the day though, I did just want to get going so, once the DROPS yarn arrived, I got started! I haven’t made a whole lot of sweaters, so I was slightly daunted, but I was also so excited to see how the project worked up.

As I mentioned, I’m going to be trying something a little new with this project by posting weekly updates. I’ll be showing you how far I’ve got, chatting about any changes/choices I’ve made and sharing my mid-knit thoughts with you as we go. I hope I’ll see you back here next week, for another WIP Wednesday!

If you're interested...

You can purchase the Porcelain Sweater pattern by LE KNIT by Lene Holme Samsøe on Ravelry here.

You can find the Ravelry project page for my Porcelain Sweater here.

Gemma

xxx

It’s been a while since my latest instalment of this series (since my last post of any sort, truthfully!). It’s the age-old story: life got slightly busier, I got significantly more tired as a result, which made life feel even busier, which made me even more tired and, alas, I’ve been going round in that loop for most of 2026! I’ve really missed sharing all of my crafty endeavours with you though, so I’ve been working hard to come back to this space and here I am! I have some super exciting projects that I’ve been working on that I cannot wait to show you all.

First up, we’re going back into my personal archives with a knitting project that I made a while ago (read: like… nearly 2 years ago), then promptly forgot to share with you: the Mist Sleeves by Helene Beba (Garnogslikt). I’ve been following Garnogslikt on Instagram for a while now and, when I first saw these sleeves, I fell in LOVE with them: they’re not like anything I’ve ever seen before, but they’re just so pretty! I remember waiting so impatiently for the release of the pattern (which was literally in September 2024… that’s how long ago we’re talking!), so it feels very full circle to have them as a wearable garment now.

I decided to make myself a pair of these sleeves to bring to my brother’s wedding (last year…), just in case I got chilly in the evening. Naturally, I never actually wore these at the wedding because, by the time I needed them, I was simply too tired to walk to the car and get them, but it was nice knowing they were there all the same. Since then, I have worn them over camisoles (like in the photos) a good few times and every single time I’ve worn them I’ve received such lovely compliments— it’s really made me love them even more!

The Pattern

This is a really simple design. I won’t lie, both my brother and my dad told me on separate occasions that they were waiting for me to knit the body, so I don’t think they quite understood the ✨vision✨, but I fell in love with the concept immediately, so I just ignored their bewilderment. I made a size 1, which is the smallest size provided (this is a bit unusual for me— I’m typically in the middle-ish size section, so definitely pay close attention to the Size Guide in the pattern if you plan to make these yourself).

The design is worked sideways, so you start at one shoulder, work all the way across the chest and down the opposite sleeve, then come back to the cast on and knit the second sleeve. The pattern switches between being worked flat (the shoulders/front & back twist sections) and in the round (the sleeves). The ends of the sleeves are finished with an i-cord edge.

I have to say, I absolutely LOVED making this pattern! It was so simple, easy and quick to make, but I think it makes for such a stunning, classic, yet unusual piece. Also, even with such a simple design, there were still some techniques used that were new to me, so I was still learning as I went!

The Yarn

The pattern lists two options for yarn: you can either use a standard mohair yarn, holding 3 strands together, or you can use a chunky mohair yarn with one strand. I originally planned to use 3 strands of mohair together, but I ran into a few problems with that…

Firstly, I struggled to find a mohair that I liked that wasn’t crazy expensive (especially given that I would need so much of it as a result of the whole 3-strands-together business). I was super excited to try out the (relatively new, at the time) Yarnsmiths Kid Mohair Silk, but… I really didn’t like it?! It was very scratchy and the mohair fibres were in these tufty patches along the central thread, which I didn’t love.

The second problem was the look of the knitted fabric: I think because these sleeves are knit at such a loose gauge to keep them nice and drape-y (and, well, misty), I just felt that a lot of the fine mohair options gave quite a messy finish? I tried DROPS Kid Silk too (another slightly more affordable option for a mohair), but again, I just didn’t like how it looked!

My mum had some leftover Filcolana Tilia from another project, so I gave that a go too. I held it doubled to get gauge, and it looked lovely and felt really soft, but the yarn was just too expensive for a project like this, especially when I wasn’t sure if I’d get a huge amount of wear out of it.

In the end, I went back to the drawing board and started looking at chunky mohairs instead. I got a few balls of DROPS Melody to check out the colours, knitted a swatch and decided that was definitely the way to go: knitting with the chunkier yarn is a much more affordable option (and easier, too, because you don’t have to worry about getting all 3 strands of the yarn each time you knit a stitch!). I did use a slightly larger needle size to get gauge though: a 6.5mm instead of a 6.0mm.

Also, the Melody was surprisingly soft, which was a happy bonus! It’s a chunky weight yarn (140m/50g) made up of 71% alpaca, 25% wool and 4% polyamide. I do find that the sleeves shed a little when I’m wearing them, but I think that’s pretty unavoidable with a yarn as fluffy as this. The other downside of this yarn is that it doesn’t have the biggest shade range: it’s great for the neutrals and there are a few brighter colours, but there are very few of the more autumnal shades that I’m typically drawn to. Overall though, I think this yarn was the perfect choice for this particular project!

The Colour

As I said, I bought a few balls of DROPS Melody to check out the colours before I committed myself to one shade. My dress for the wedding was an ever-so-slightly-dusky green colour, so I wanted something that would go with that. I was desperately trying to get away from whites/creams, because I was worried it might be inappropriate for the wedding, but cream really was the only colour that worked (plus, my dress was green as green anyway, so I don’t think anyone would be mistaking me for a bride (especially given that the groom was my brother!)— but I obviously ran it past my now sister-in-law anyway ahead of time)!

The three colours that I tried were: Off White (01), a cream shade; Rosewater (23) a very pale, dusky pink shade; and Marzipan (24), a neutral shade. In the end, I decided to go with Off White: Rosewater was just a bit too much with the green and the Marzipan shade was weirdly grey-toned (as a marzipan/almond paste lover, I must ask: what horrifying kind of marzipan is grey?).

One big plus side to using the Off White shade was that it made the sleeves very neutral, so they can be worn with lots of different colour tops/dresses, which I feel makes me more likely to reach for the sleeves, despite the fact that they’re a slightly unusual garment.

The Knitting Process

Honestly, this was one of the simplest, fastest knits I’ve made (it took me less than two weeks, and I was super busy with other, wedding/cake-related stuff during that time!), but (naturally…) that does not mean that it was a completely hassle-free experience!

Judy’s Magic Cast On

I’d never heard of Judy’s Magic Cast On before making these sleeves, so I did have to watch the video linked in the pattern to get to grips with it. This cast on essentially a ‘two-sided’ cast on, where you can knit off both sides of the cast on from the get-go. It’s often used when making toe-up socks.

I did find this cast-on a bit fiddly and it definitely wouldn’t be my favourite cast on, but I also think it’s very necessary to get the seamless look of the design right, so I don’t think it’s avoidable? Then again, I have since made a project using the Turkish Cast On, which (I think?) gives a very similar effect. I found the Turkish Cast On much easier and more intuitive than Judy’s Magic Cast On, so I wonder if I could use it for this pattern in the future?

A Lesson in Reading the Pattern

In hindsight, the instructions after the cast on very clearly state to start on the right side with a knit row. I think I must still have been swirling in the whole new-cast-on experience, though, because I started on the wrong side, with a purl row, which meant I had to do a little bit of extra thinking and fudging later on to make sure that the sleeves were an equal length.

The Twists

The twisted detail on both the front and the back is the main design feature of these sleeves and I think they make the garment look so pretty and elegant. I was a little worried about the twisting process at first, just because I had never done something like that before, but it was so much more straightforward than I expected! It’s just a case of repositioning the fabric a little, then knitting straight across it. That’s all! It was much less scary than I had anticipated.

Barber Cords Everywhere

I’ve mentioned The Knitting Barber Silicone Cords before here on the blog, so you know about my love for them, but this was definitely a pattern that really benefitted from using them: there’s a lot of leaving live stitches hanging around, so it’s handy to have somewhere to put them where you don’t have to worry about them sliding off!

Sleeve Length

The sleeves in the pattern are designed to be long, ‘hitting the middle of the palm’. I didn’t want mine quite that long, so I decided from the start to make them a little shorter. However, my arms are quite long, so the suggested 50cm length actually worked out pretty perfect for me (also it worked out as exactly 100 rows by my count, which was a very delicious round number that I very much appreciated).

I-cord Edge

An i-cord edge is added to the end of both sleeves, where they hit your wrist (or the middle of the palm, if you’re following the pattern!). It takes a little while (lots of slipping back and forth), but there aren’t that many stitches and it makes a nice, clean edge, so it’s definitely worth it.

The cuffs are actually the only places where the knitted fabric is ‘finished’— all of the other edges (i.e. the neckline, the twists and the opening across the chest/under the arms) are all left ‘unfinished’, with the raw edges of the knitting visible. This isn’t something I’ve come across a lot in patterns, but I think here it really helps to preserve the visual flow and softness of the garment (plus, the yarn’s super fluffy, so you can barely tell!).

New Techniques

Despite the simplicity of the pattern, there were still a few techniques used that were new to me, as well as some opportunities to practise a couple of techniques that I’ve tried before (as always, previously encountered techniques are marked with an *):

• Judy’s Magic Cast-On
• Dividing stitches to make a twist
• I-cord edging*
• Grafting stitches*

Final Thoughts

I’m SO happy with how these sleeves turned out and I really loved the process of making them— after the pretty complex and labour intensive Braidy Loop Sweater that I made before them, this felt like a super relaxing and peaceful knit!

Admittedly, the sleeves are a little unusual as knitted garments go, but I think that’s what makes them so special. Plus, I think they’re actually a really great staple piece: I live in the UK and (despite the insane heatwaves we’ve been having this summer), the temperature is usually pretty mild, so it’s nice to have something you can throw on over all the summer dresses and strappy tops, so that you can wear them for a slightly longer period each year!

I’d definitely make these sleeves again, but I think I’d have to plan the colour carefully so that I could be sure that I had multiple tops/outfits to wear with them. One of the samples made by Helene Beba is made in this gorgeous burgundy colour and is slightly more opaque than the other ones. In the notes, it says that this sample was knitted with one strand of Knitting for Olive Merino in the shade Bordeaux (the same yarn I used for the Braidy Loop Sweater) and two strands of Knitting for Olive Soft Silk Mohair (also in Bordeaux). It would be a pricier project, but the sample is very beautiful… maybe one day?

If you're interested...

You can purchase the Mist Sleeves pattern by Helene Beba (Garnogslikt) on Ravelry here.

You can find the Ravelry project page for my Mist Sleeves here.

Gemma

xxx

However, I’ve been seeing loads of scrapbook-style bullet journal spreads around recently and it got me wanting to make my own. I suddenly thought: maybe I could tie the two things together and make a… Knitting Scrapbook. Imagine, if you will, a scrapbook-style, memory bank of knitting projects, from conception to cast-off. No rules, lots of paper and glue and fun patterns: just pure, creative, knitting-inspired scrapbooking.

Today, I’m setting up the first few pages of my new Knitting Scrapbook and talking you through all of my plans for this new journal!

My Knitting Scrapbook Plans

My rough plan is to allocate approximately 3 double-page spreads to each project (and I’ll probably only use this journal for my bigger, more intricate undertakings).

The first spread will be a mood board for the project: colour palette, design, vibe— that kind of thing. One thing you should know about me is that I love to make moodboards. Truly: give me the briefest spark of an idea and I will spend hours turning it into a moodboard that absolutely nobody asked for. It brings me so much joy, so this feels like a good use of a spread!

The second spread will be a big, empty space (with some decoration, but not too much) for any notes, assorted project-making memories and possibly some figures/statistics? I want to make these spreads messy, but also kind of aesthetic in their messiness!

The third and final spread will be a collage of pictures of the finished project, kind like a retrospective mood board, if you will!

At least, all of that is the aim! I think it’s nice to have a vague structure like this in my head, because it means that I can make the mood board page for the next project before finishing the last (I’ll just count three spreads forward). I want this project to be really relaxed: a no-pressure, messy, creative outlet that ends up as a satisfying album of yarn-y memories and knitting accomplishments. I think that keeping everything as relaxed and easygoing as possible will really help me to maintain this project, rather than thinking of it as just another thing to fill out/keep up with.

The Notebook

For my Knitting Scrapbook, I used an empty journal that I already had: this A5 Dot Grid Journal from Tiefossi. Admittedly, my scrapbook vibes don’t quite match this moody, green, red and gold cover, but maybe some of my projects will tie in with that aesthetic in the future?

Nevertheless, this journal has super high quality, dot grid paper (and the pages are numbered, which is great for this project, because it means I can navigate through it more easily), gilded edges, two ribbon bookmarks, a back pocket, an elastic closure and a pen loop, which is quite literally everything I want in a journal!

Equipment

To make this setup, I used the following equipment:

• Patterned paper (I used this pack from The Works, but I think it’s out of stock now 🙁 … ).
• Brown sticky notes (I used the plain ones from this pack on Amazon, but you could also use regular kraft paper for this).
• Pastel lined paper (I used this pack from Filofax on Amazon).
• Sakura Gelly Roll: 10 Bold, white.
• Tombow ABT Dual Brush Pen: 990 Light Sand.
• Uni Pin Fine Line pen: 0.5, sepia.
• Assorted stickers (these pastel ones were from Søstrene Grene).
• Glue stick.
• Scissors.

The Initial Pages

I’ve kept the initial pages in this journal to an absolute minimum, because I didn’t want loads of different spreads and trackers that I’d need to keep up with, or an endless list of pages I needed to create. I admit, I’m not usually one for restraint (read: I’m almost never one for restraint), but, in the interest of preserving my creativity with this project, I thought it was an important approach to take!

I did, however, want these pages to be really colourful, cheery and, well, scrapbook-y, to set the right tone for the rest of the journal. I had great fun tearing up patterned paper, sticking in pastel stickers and trying desperately to think of lots of different fonts to create these spreads!

Cover Page

For the Cover Page, I went all out with the scrapbooking theme. I made the title (do scrapbooks have titles? They do, right?) by cutting the brown sticky notes into smaller pieces, then writing one letter on each with my white gel pen, trying my best to vary the fonts as much as possible! I was aiming for the whole magazine letters/ransom note vibe, but with a simpler colour palette (and less ransoming) to make sure that the heading really stood out against all the colours of the background. I also added a drop shadow to each piece of kraft paper that sat on the white background, using my Tombow brush pen.

Contents Page

Next up is the Contents Page. Because I wanted this scrapbook to be spontaneous and not follow too much of a strict order or layout, I thought a contents page would be a good thing to include, so that I can navigate between projects later on more easily. Helpfully, this journal has numbered pages, which is perfect for this!

I made the heading and decoration for this page in exactly the same way as the Cover Page, but I added one sheet of pastel lined paper on each page to write down the contents themselves. Not only does this add a little more colour and dimension to the spread, the lines on this Filofax paper are narrower than that of the journal pages’ dot grids, so it gives me a little more room!

Knitting & Crochet Timelines

Finally, we have my Knitting & Crochet Timelines. I went back and forth about including this spread, because I wasn’t sure if it was a necessary addition, but I ultimately decided that it would be nice to look back on and see what I was knitting and crocheting over this period, even if the projects weren’t intricate enough to warrant a full mood board setup in this scrapbook.

The setup for this spread was super similar to the Contents page, with the two pieces of lined paper to give me plenty of room to fill in all of my projects/dates. On the left-hand page, I’ll keep track of what I’m knitting (‘On My Needles’), while on the right-hand page, I’ll keep track of what I’m crocheting (‘On My Hook’).

Final Thoughts

I’m really excited about this new journal— I’ve been taking a little break from my usual bullet journalling and I do miss it, so this feels like a nice, creative outlet that scratches that itch without feeling too pressurised and time-dependent.

I’m also excited to see how my knitting projects develop from initial idea to finished works! I meant it when I said that I love a mood board and this scrapbook is basically just an excuse to mood board my little heart out, while simultaneously planning out and documenting my knits. What could be better?

I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about this new project! I’m super excited to get going with it.

Gemma

xxx

The Ovis Socks by saskie&co are a super popular design in the knitting sphere: they feature a simple, sheep-inspired colourwork pattern that runs across both socks, despite the colours being inverted to make a ‘mismatched’ pair. I’ve wanted to make them for a while, but they’re knitted with a fingering weight yarn held together with a mohair yarn and I don’t love the feel of mohair (in general, really, but particularly on my feet!). Luckily, my mum loves a cosy, fluffy sock (and a sheep motif, she is a knitter after all), so I figured she would be the perfect person to make these socks for!

Full disclosure: these socks took me a while to finish, not because the knitting itself requires a lot of time/effort (they’re actually pretty quick to work up!), but because I ran into so many problems with gauge/fit/trying to knit them without my mum knowing. I started them in early summer and I finished them… in the New Year. Poor Mum had to open a single sock on Christmas Day (and the ends weren’t even sewn in…)!

In this post, as always with my 'Making a...' series, I'll be chatting about my experience making this pattern, as well as detailing any changes/adaptations I made. If you want to make your own Ovis Socks, you can purchase the pattern from saskie&co on Ravelry here!

The Pattern

The pattern for the Ovis Socks is super clear & concise, without being too brief (I’ve talked before about how I like to be spoon-fed when it comes to knitting patterns!). Each section has a little subheading (e.g. ‘TOE’ or ‘AFTERTHOUGHT HEEL’), which makes it super easy to navigate your way through the instructions— it’s a small thing, but it made a big difference for me!

My favourite thing about this pattern is the design: I think the colourwork pattern is simple, but so effective and I really like the whole mismatched vibe. Not only does switching the colours balance out your yarn usage of each colour (yay for saving money!), but I also just think it’s a really fun, unusual feature. I think saskie&co does this for all of their sock patterns, which I love!

In terms of the construction itself, the socks are knitted cuff-down with an afterthought heel. This was my first time knitting an afterthought heel and I actually quite enjoyed it! The socks are pretty short on the leg: if I made them again, I’d be tempted to make them slightly longer so that they can be worn comfortably with hiking boots (I just feel like they’re hiking socks?!). Luckily, that would be super easy to do with this pattern: you’d just knit more repeats of the colourwork chart!

My only real issue with the pattern was the recommended needle size. The pattern instructs you to use 2.25mm needles, which seems pretty small for what is essentially a DK weight sock (especially one with colourwork!). For the first sock I made, I used the suggested needles for the ribbed cuff, toe and heel, then used a 2.5mm needle for the colourwork (because I just couldn’t bring myself to use a 2.25mm needle for that too). I made the whole sock (at great cost to my fingers, which, let me tell you, were SORE from fighting the yarn) and… it didn’t fit on my mum’s foot. Admittedly, this may have been my fault (the main problem area was the stripe of 3-colour stranded colourwork, so maybe my floats were too tight?), but the fabric was so stiff that it was a) no fun at all to make and b) just didn’t give me the right vibe for a sock (socks are supposed to be soft and cosy, right?!).

Ultimately, I decided to switch to using 3.00mm needles for the whole of the next sock (cuff, heel, toe, leg AND foot) and it was much better: the socks fit perfectly and my fingers were (slightly) less sore. I don’t have a particularly tight tension typically, so I don’t think that was the problem here, but no matter, it worked out! Naturally, because mohair is a menace to frog, I opted to just make a third sock instead of trying to rip back the first one, so, if anyone can think of a use for a lone, almost unwearable, but very beautiful Ovis Sock, let me know!

The Yarn

I decided to make things a little easier for myself by using the same main yarn as the one used in the pattern: Istex Einband (in the shades Almond Heather (9076) and Light Ash Heather (1026)). I get most of my wool from Wool Warehouse, but they don’t stock this particular brand, so I bought it from LindeHobby instead.

This was my first time using Icelandic wool and I have to say, it was a pretty different experience! Usually, I knit socks in wool/nylon blend yarns, so they’re soft and stretchy, but still hardwearing. This yarn is not at all stretchy and not overly soft (I did find it a little hard on my hands!), but it made a really great pair of socks that I know will last for a long time (plus, the mohair softens up the fabric, so it works out). I do like how natural this yarn feels though and I really love the two neutral shades used in the pattern.

The mohair yarn suggested by the pattern (Ritual Dyes Fae) was a bit out of my price range, so I opted to use a cheaper mohair that I knew pretty well already: DROPS Kid Silk. My mum had actually used this particular yarn for mohair socks before and really liked it, so I figured it was a safe bet. It’s very soft and it has a pretty extensive shade range, so I was easily able to find shades that matched the Einband ones (Off White (01) and Toffee (51)). It does tangle pretty easily, but I think that’s a bit of a classic feature of mohair yarns, so I won’t hold it against it.

I made the 5th size and bought two balls of each colour in each yarn (which, in hindsight, was a ridiculous amount of yarn? If only I could explain the actions of past Gemma but, alas, I have no idea what was going through my head…). After making 3 socks (2 with the brown shade as the main colour, 1 with the grey shade as the main colour), I had approximately 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 balls of each leftover. Yes, I know, I know: mistakes were made. The required yardage listed for both shades/yarns in the pattern was 251m and the Istex yarn comes in 50g/250m balls, while the DROPS yarn comes in 25g/210m balls. I guess I must have been very worried about running out? Whatever the case, I am writing this realising I have all of this leftover yarn and will, inevitably, have to make another pair of hard-on-the-fingers socks. Sigh. Maybe I’ll try one of saskie&co’s other sock patterns? Or maybe even… the Ovis Mitts?! I do have some dreams of an Ovis Gnome too… urgh, someone restrain me!

The Knitting Process

This pair of socks posed a lot of new challenges for me: it was my first time making socks with no-stretch yarn, making mohair socks, working an afterthought heel, making a DK weight sock AND making mismatched socks! When I think about that, it’s no surprise that I encountered a few issues throughout the process: that’s a lot of first times for one pair of socks!

Cast-On

The pattern calls for using ‘your choice of stretchy cast-on method’, so I opted to use the German Twisted Cast On, because I’d been using it a lot for my various gnomes at this point. However, I have been finding that it hasn’t been working up super neatly for me recently (can you see the slightly uneven edge on the grey sock?), so I wonder if Alternating Cable might have been a slightly better fit here?

Colourwork

I’ve been working on my colourwork technique over the past year (previously, my technique was, quite literally, dropping and picking up the yarns as needed, which wreaked havoc on my tension!) and have started using a two-handed approach, which I first saw on this Instagram video, by @engineeringloops. I’ve been loving this method! It works so well for two colours, but I haven’t found a way to make it work with three colours, so, whenever there are three-colour sections (like the sheep in this design), I revert back to my drop-and-pick-up method of old.

The main colourwork pattern that repeats throughout the leg and foot of the sock is super simple and easy to remember, which makes the knitting process that bit quicker. I love the subtle, rustic effect the design gives the socks.

The sheep that sit along the top of the sock are a little more complicated, because they contain a third colour. I was so careful with my floats, making sure they weren’t too tight, but I think just having that extra yarn in there really tightens up this section, which definitely affects the fit of the socks. I can see why some knitters opted to duplicate stitch on the heads/legs of the sheep, but it just felt like too much of an extra step at the time! Luckily, on the larger needle size the socks actually go over my mum’s heel, so all’s well that ends well!

Afterthought Heel

As I mentioned, this was my first time working an afterthought heel and it was so much simpler than I expected! I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’m a convert (I am loyal to my beloved Shadow Wrap Heel!), but I can see that there is a time and a place for an afterthought one (that time and place being a sock featuring intense colourwork!).

It’s a little bit of a drag to have to go back and work the heel after finishing the toe, and it does feel pretty odd essentially knitting a… second toe? I did also have to look up a separate tutorial for picking up the stitches for the heel (apparently, the rule is you always go into the right leg of the stitch, in case you’re wondering too!), but, once I knew that, I was absolutely fine!

Toe

The toe shaping in the pattern is really easy to work, but the finished result is ever so slightly too pointy for my taste: it’s not bad by any means, but I am a big fan of a more rounded toe, so I think I’ll stick to my usual method with future socks.

Blocking

Once I’d made both of the (correctly sized) socks, I wet-blocked them and left them to dry on sock forms (which make the process so much simpler!) to really even out the colourwork and make the knitting (and, by extension, the socks) look super neat! I definitely felt this was necessary, especially with my slightly looser gauge on the 3.00mm needles, which looked a little less neat than the smaller gauge had (but also, you know, actually fit and felt like a sock!). Once blocked though, both sock sizes looked just as neat as each other, so I’m happy.

Final Thoughts

I’m so happy with these Ovis Socks: I’d definitely make them again… for the finished product, not necessarily for the process. If I’m being honest, the yarn hurt my fingers (rip) and the 3-colour section was a bit of a sticking point for me, but I love the design and I really enjoyed learning the new heel technique.

My biggest problem that I ran into with this project was definitely the gauge (and it’s subsequent effect on the fit of the socks). If I did make them again, I do think I would use the 3.00mm needles again: it does make the finished socks ever so slightly less neat, but the fabric is much better (and more sock-suitable!) and it didn’t destroy my fingers in the same way that using the 2.50mm needles did!).

Also, most importantly, my mum (who now finally has her finished Christmas socks!) loves them, which is all that really matters in the end!

If you're interested...

You can buy the Ovis Socks pattern on Ravelry here.

You can find my Ovis Socks project page on Ravelry here.

Gemma

xxx

Fear not, though, because I am back now and intent on bringing you as much joyful, creative deliciousness as possible this year. There’s a lot of horrible stuff going on in the world right now and, sometimes, I feel like posting about my cakes and crafts is a bit… silly? Or just unhelpful? Or maybe even inappropriate? However, I saw a post on Instagram recently that said it’s important to allow space for both outrage towards the big issues (of which there are many) and appreciation for the small joys of everyday life (of which there are also many). It really resonated with me: I feel that the small joys allow us to maintain hope for better times, while the outrage spurs us to help bring those better times about. So, I will continue to share my small joys with you, in the hope that some of them can become your small joys and we can maintain hope for a happier, less hateful world together.

With that, it’s time to get back to what I do best: unhinged creativity by the bucketload. First on the blog for 2026: my annual fusion of bullet journalling and knitting… the Knitting Journal!

Every year, I make my mum a Knitting Journal, where she can plan out her upcoming projects and make notes on her current knits. This journal is purely for planning: I’ve seen some amazing journals where people make these gorgeous, scrapbook-style spreads for their finished projects (and I’m OBSESSED), but that’s not what we’re going for here (truly, that would just be time away from knitting for Mum, which is never her aim!).

I’ve shared her previous two Knitting Journals here on the blog: you can find the 2024 version here and the 2025 version here, if you want to check them out. Today’s post, though, is all about the updated 2026 version!

Journal

I’m trying a different notebook brand for my journals this year: Tiefossi. For my mum’s Knitting Journal, she picked the Moonlight Melody notebook in the Light Blue shade.

It’s always a risk trying out a new notebook (I’m specific about what I like!), but I really loved using this one! The dot-grid pages are thick (and numbered!), the notebook has an elastic closure, pen holder and back pocket AND the design of the cover is so lovely. The best thing about the notebook, though, is that the centre of each page is (discreetly) marked with a +, while the centre of each side is marked with a short line. I was a little suspicious of these markings at first, because I was worried that they would be too visible on the finished spreads, but they really disappear into the designs (even the simple ones, like I’ve done here) and I can’t even BEGIN to explain how HELPFUL they are. They really sped up the whole setup process for this journal and it was so luxurious not having to constantly measure/count as I went. I did notice, however, that one of the other Tiefossi journals (the purple version of the Gold Vintage Dot Grid Notebook) I purchased did not contain these markings, so maybe this is only a feature in certain notebooks?

The Brief

My personal, bullet journal style tends to include lots of decoration and lots of designated sections for organising all of my thoughts. My mum, on the other hand, prefers to be less restricted by small boxes and detailed tables. Her knitting journal is, first and foremost, meant to be practical, so I’ve kept the decoration to a minimum. In fact, the main decorative feature (using a different colour for each month) is also a practical choice, because it helps her to navigate through the journal super easily (though, of course, it also looks nice, so really it’s a win-win!).

The journal is split into monthly sections, with a few more general spreads at the beginning for overall planning/notes. Each monthly section contains a Project Overview, a Calendar (not strictly knitting-centric, but useful nonetheless!), a blank page and 3 pages of Project Notes (with each page split into 3 sections, for a possible total of 9 projects overall).

Equipment

I decided to use coloured pencils to create this setup to make the whole thing feel really fun and creative. For each month, I picked two similar shades of coloured pencils in rainbow order (so January was two shades of red, February was two shades of orange etc.).

The only places that I didn’t use coloured pencils were the Monthly Calendars. For these, I used my Sakura Pigma Micron 05, in the shade Black. This was just because the calendars are quite small and I wanted to make sure they were super clear and functional, so I needed finer, crisper lines (and numbers!). Everywhere else, I used coloured pencils for the decorations, lines and lettering.

Initial Pages: General Planning

To differentiate the initial, more general pages from the monthly sections, I used a select rainbow of coloured pencils (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink) in all of the spreads.

Cover Page

The Cover Page is super simple, but it really sets the vibe for the rest of the setup: I’ve gone for a simple, block capital font with an uneven baseline (for fun! For whimsy!), along with some little heart and star doodles (again, for fun and for whimsy!).

Project Ideas

Next up, we have a Project Ideas spread, which I’ve split into three sections: Sweaters, Gifts & Other. If this were me, I’d have this spread split up into an extensive, comprehensive list of categories (you guys have seen my wish list spreads, right?!), but the more minimal, open vibe with fewer categories is what works best for my mum!

I’ve used these two-line wavy borders all throughout the setup (always using two different colours/shades for each border). Not only does this look pretty fun and add a little extra decoration, it’s actually pretty quick to set up, because you don’t have to get a ruler out!

Yarns to Try

The next spread is the Yarns to Try spread, where Mum can keep track of any yarns that she’s interested in and would like to try knitting something with at some point. I’ve split this spread up into 4 sections: Fingering weight, DK weight, Worsted weight and Other (i.e. the three yarn weights Mum uses most, plus a space for all the other weights, just in case!).

Stash-Busting

Like all knitters, Mum has an extensive stash of yarn leftover from previous projects (and purchased yarn that is yet to be knitted into new projects!), so reducing that is always one of her goals (because, obviously, that means she can buy more yarn!). I’ve left this Stash-Busting page really open, with just a border around the edge of the spread, so she can jot down any notes/ideas she has on the topic of stash-busting in whatever arrangement she feels like.

Present Ideas

Just like with the last page, I’ve left the Present Ideas spread super open, so Mum can use it in whatever way she would like. Here, she can keep her notes on knits she would like to make for specific people. This will be particularly useful around Christmas (always a busy knitting season!), but also throughout the year, as friends and family celebrate their birthdays.

Monthly Spreads

Into the Monthly Spreads now and I won’t show you every page because, aside from the colour/calendar changes, every monthly setup is identical! Instead, you can see the rainbow progression of colours in the image above and I’ll use January to show you the individual pages in each monthly section.

Project Overview + Monthly Calendar

The first double-page spread in each monthly section is the Project Overview + Monthly Calendar. The right-hand page features the monthly heading (so, here, that’s January) and a (pretty small, but as big as possible!) grid-format calendar. As I mentioned earlier, the calendar’s not a strictly knitting-centric addition, but it’s helpful nonetheless!

The left-hand page is split into three sections: Ongoing Projects, Projects to Start and Miscellaneous Notes. It’s nice to have some space to map out the (knitting) month ahead, so that’s what this is.

Project Notes

Each monthly section contains a further two double-page spreads, featuring a single, blank page at the start (for assorted notes, sketches, reminders etc.) and three pages for Project Notes.

Each Project Notes page is split into three sections horizontally. Each section corresponds to a different project. This is where Mum plans out individual projects: here, she’ll write out yarn ideas, needle sizes, which pattern size she plans to knit and any notes on her gauge. She fills these sections out ahead of time, so she always has a bank of projects all figured out, ready to knit immediately. This way, she’s never left with nothing on her needles!

Christmas Planning

In the December monthly section, right at the end of the journal, there’s an extra Christmas spread (because Christmas always requires a lot of planning!). For this spread, I used red and green as my two coloured pencil shades (because what’s more festive than that?). This festive spread is split into two sections: Christmas Presents and Christmas Cards.

Both sections are laid out in a rough table format: in both tables, the left-hand column is for the name of the recipient. Then, in the Christmas Presents table, the right-hand column is for the present Mum intends to give, while, in the Christmas Cards table, it’s for the address the card needs to be sent to.

Final Thoughts

As the years go by and I make more of these for my Mum, I’m definitely getting a better idea of how her mind works and how she likes to organise things (which is very different to how my mind works and how I like to organise things, I’ve discovered!).

My goal this year was to keep everything as minimal as possible, not in terms of decoration, but it terms of layout: while I prefer lots of specifically-labelled boxes to slot my thoughts into, Mum prefers a big, open space to write down all of her thoughts. I think I achieved that pretty well this time around!

I think the coloured pencil theme I went for brings a lot of fun and whimsy to an otherwise pretty minimal setup. I love using coloured pencils in my bullet journal because there’s no chance of them bleeding through the paper (though, they do, unfortunately, sometimes transfer a little to the opposite page…). Using coloured pencils also meant I had a huge range of shades at my disposal, which really helped me to add dimension to the spreads by using a two-tone colour palette each month.

It’s a bit of a labour of love to set up a whole year’s worth of a journal at once, but it makes me very happy to help Mum plan the hobby that brings her so much joy and peace, so it’s definitely worth it!

All in all, I’m really pleased with how this Knitting Journal turned out!

Gemma

xxx

Anyway, as it turns out, knitting clothes for babies is very similar to knitting clothes for adults: just smaller (and cuter). I’ve been following Ann-Kathrin Stoll on Instagram for a while now and I’ve been working up the courage to try out one of her adult designs (not that they all seem crazy challenging or anything— I’m just bad at committing to large projects!) and when I saw her design for the Babybearsweater, I fell in love, so this felt like the perfect opportunity to give it a go!

In this post, as always with my 'Making a...' series, I'll be chatting about my experience making this pattern, as well as detailing any changes/adaptations I made. If you want to make your own Babybearsweater, you can purchase the pattern from Ann-Kathrin Stoll on Ravelry here!

The Pattern

The Babybearsweater is a sweet little jumper, knitted in two colours and featuring ribbed cuffs/hems, a double-knitted button band and, as the name suggests, the CUTEST bear design!

I made the 6-9 months size, because I figured then the baby could grow into it over time and hopefully get a little more wear out of it? I won’t lie though, it seems quite… large? Then again, I don’t have much experience with 6-9 month old babies (read: I have no experience with 6-9 month old babies)…

To create the bear design, you use a combination of intarsia in the round (something I didn’t actually think was possible, but the technique is explained really well in this pattern!), embroidery/duplicate stitch and some partly-double-knitted ears, which give the bear face more of a 3D effect.

There were loads of different, new-to-me techniques in this jumper, but it still felt really fun and not too overwhelming to knit. It was a great project to challenge myself a little, learn some new techniques and practise some old ones! I really enjoyed it.

The Yarn

I used DROPS Baby Merino for this project, in the shades Wheat (59) and Beige (17) and met gauge with the suggested needles (3.00mm).

The Beige shade was exactly the shade I was looking for: a warm, but not-too-warm, soft brown colour. The Wheat shade, on the other hand, was not what I was hoping for: it was a much cooler tone than I had hoped (which I thought was kind of odd, given that it was called wheat? I mean, wheat is golden, right?), so I think I might have been better off going for the shade Off White (02), instead.

DROPS Baby Merino: Mini Review

DROPS Baby Merino is a sport-weight, 100% wool yarn that is sold in 50g balls. As is usually the case with DROPS, it’s pretty affordable, so I figured it was a good choice for a baby jumper!

Apart from the aforementioned colour-naming issues (I’m still stewing about the whole ‘Wheat‘ thing), I actually really like this yarn. It’s soft (though, admittedly, not the softest) without being overly fluffy, which is something I really like in a yarn. That does mean, however, that there isn’t really anything to hide behind: slightly uneven stitches/colourwork sections do show up with this yarn! My jumper’s pretty neat, but I think it could be even neater if I knitted it in a slightly less smooth yarn?

The yarn is really nice to knit with: very smooth and not at all hard on the hands. I’d definitely use it again!

Other Materials

As well as the two shades of yarn, you also need 2 x 10mm buttons (for the button band on the shoulder), some scrap, black yarn for embroidering the face and some thread for sewing on the buttons.

Like many knitters/crafters/humans, we have a miscellaneous button box in our house, so I just rifled through that until I found these little coconut shell buttons. I wanted something quite rustic, to match the brown bear, and I thought these were perfect. It wasn’t at all tricky to find a thread colour that matched the Wheat yarn (I already had one on hand!).

We also have copious amounts of scrap yarn in this house, so it wasn’t too tricky to find a sport-weight black yarn for the bear’s face.

The Knitting Process

Into the knitting of the jumper itself now and, I have to say, I actually really loved knitting this project! I did run into a few problems here and there, and there were times when I struggled to understand the pattern, but, on the whole, I really enjoyed the process and it was a fun, semi-challenging project to take on.

Cast-On

The pattern doesn’t specify what kind of cast-on to use, which is not a huge deal, but, as I’ve mentioned before, I do like to be spoon-fed when it comes to knitting patterns (I get major decision anxiety and I’m still not confident enough in my cast-on repertoire to know what’s the best fit for which project!).

Ultimately, I just used a regular, cable cast-on for all of the casting-on throughout the pattern and it worked well, so I’m just running with that.

Edge Stitches

Okay, this was something that really confused me about this pattern: there’s a whole instruction for ‘edge stitches’, but, from what I can tell, it’s no different from just knitting/purling the first/last stitches on the knit/purl rows? There isn’t really any textured knitting going on in the pattern, other than the ribbed hems/cuffs, so the whole time I was making this jumper, I was waiting for the penny to drop so that I could FINALLY understand what this instruction was for but it just… never did?

This might just be a knitting convention that I’ve never seen before, but I don’t think it was a necessary addition to this pattern and, honestly, it just made the pattern more confusing for me!

Intarsia in the Round

This was the most significant new technique in this project for me: partly because I didn’t even know this was possible and partly because the instructions for the intarsia section are… long. I’m talking pages of row-by-row pattern, which, although slightly overwhelming at first, was actually quite nice to work from (as I said, I like to be spoon-fed my patterns).

I did try to read through the pattern ahead of time and visualise what was going on, but I eventually just decided that I’d have to try it to understand it, which worked much better! Going in blind was a bit scary, but the instructions were so detailed that I could just follow them and watch it all work out.

I did get into a little bit of a pickle towards the end of the intarsia, which my mum (very kindly and rather painstakingly) managed to pretty much fix for me, but it did require a little bit of fudging at the sewing up stage to even it out. I’d tell you what I did, but, honestly, I have no idea, so I think I’ll just have to work through the last few rows of the intarsia very slowly if I make this again!

I did enjoy this colourwork method: I think it’s very effective and, despite the complicated instructions, was deceptively simple. The only thing I’m not 100% about is the fact that, on my jumper, at least, you can see some of the muzzle colour in the brown section to the right of the muzzle, which makes it look a little messy there. Maybe that’s something I could avoid with more practice? Or perhaps that’s just another downside to using such a smooth yarn?

Italian Bind-Off

This was my first time working an Italian Bind-Off and I really liked it! Especially after the tedious amount of tubular binding-off I had to do for my Braidy Loop Sweater, which I really didn’t enjoy, this version felt much less laborious (even though, as bind-offs go, it still takes a bit of effort).

The pattern suggests a YouTube video tutorial for the Italian Bind-Off, but I tend to prefer working from written tutorials (just personal preference!), so I found this one online that I found really helpful:

https://www.interweave.com/article/knitting/how-to-italian-bind-off-ribbing-brioche/

Ears

The bear’s ears are knit directly onto the jumper, which I think gives a super neat (and secure, which is important for a baby sweater!) finish. The pattern includes a super helpful schematic that shows you exactly wear to work the ears which really satisfied my aforementioned spoon-feeding preferences.

The ears were a little fiddly to work up (you start by double-knitting them, then split them onto two needles and work them in the round), but that’s mainly because they’re so small. They look super neat when they’re finished, so I definitely think they’re worth it!

Neckband

The neckband is just worked in regular rib, so it was pretty standard! The only problem I ran into here was the suggested pick-up rate, which I found wasn’t quite right for my size.

In the end, I picked up 1 st out of 2 rows for the left front slant and 2 sts out of 3 rows for the right front slant to get the necessary stitch count.

I also showed my inexperience and started picking up at the wrong place, so it took me a couple of attempts to get this right (sigh). I still haven’t quite got to grips with the whole left/right side ‘as the jumper is worn’ convention, which is unfortunate, given it is an extremely common one!

Button Band

I’ve actually never knitted a button band before, so this was another first for me! I thought the method for attaching the band to the knitted piece was SO clever, so I really enjoyed this part of the process (and, as an added bonus, because it’s so small it went super quickly, which was extra fun!).

My only problem with the button band was that it ended up with a lot of yarn ends to darn in, which actually filled me with terror and led to me putting off sewing in the ends and finishing this project for weeks. In the end, it wasn’t as bad as I expected, but I still wonder if there is a less end-heavy method to making a button band?

When it came time to sew the buttons on, I used sewing thread, so that I could make it really neat and secure. I laid the button bands over each other, as they would be once closed, and marked where the buttons needed to go, to ensure everything would fit together perfectly. I sewed through the holes of the buttons a number of times, then wrapped the thread around the base of the button a good few times to form a ‘shaft’ for extra strength, before pushing the needle through that shaft and sewing in the end. This was a technique my mum showed me and the buttons do feel very secure, so I think it’s a good one!

Sleeves

The sleeves were pretty simple, with basic decreases, which was a nice break after the more complex button band.

However, I do think there is an error in the pattern at this point: in the paragraph after Round 2, for the third size (which I made), it states that 63 rows should have been worked, but I think this number should be 56 (I think the number for the second size might also be wrong?). It doesn’t really matter, but it did throw me for a loop for a second there!

Embroidering the Face

Embroidering the face was actually a really simple experience: mainly because of how clear and detailed the instructions were. My aforementioned love of spoon-feeding really came into its own here: the pattern explains exactly where to stitch on the eyes and nose, as well as how to position the mouth. It doesn’t specify using duplicate stitch, but I think that is what is used for the eyes/nose. I used a regular back stitch for the mouth.

The mouth was probably the trickiest part (just getting the right curve— I was going for cute, not Joker), but even that wasn’t too difficult (even if the mouth here is giving me major vibes of this emoji: 😏).

Sewing in the ends of the embroidery section was a bit fiddly, mainly because I wanted to keep the black ends super neat, because they stand out against the cream/brown yarn so much! I think I probably could have done a better job, but, at the same time, it’s on the inside, so I guess it doesn’t really matter!

Final Thoughts

I can definitely see myself making this pattern again, even without the bear intarsia pattern, just as a plain jumper (though the bear is, obviously, the cutest thing in the whole wide world)!

I thought the pattern as a whole was very clear and, as I said, I really enjoyed working from it and making this project. It was on the more challenging side for me, but it was an achievable challenge that I really enjoyed. In particular, I found the schematics at the end of the pattern very helpful, especially for the ear/face placement (once I realised there were different schematics for the different sizes, anyway…). I also think the finished product is SO CUTE, which is all I really wanted anyway!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my experience making this Babybearsweater! Have you ever worked intarsia in the round? Let me know in the comments below!

If you're interested...

You can buy the Babybearsweater pattern on Ravelry here.

You can find my Baby Bear Sweater project page on Ravelry here.

Gemma

xxx

My brother and his wife (they got married last weekend!) recently moved into their new house and, as a housewarming present, I offered to make them a set of gnomes! They both picked their favourite gnome from my copy of The Gnomes of Grimblewood and, so, I set about making them their very own versions of Gnicole (the cabled gnome) and Gnatalia (the colourwork gnome).

Gnicole is a self-proclaimed instant noodle connoisseur and maintains that spicier noodles are always better. While the curly, ramen-style noodles are her favourite, she does also enjoy some nice spaghetti. In fact, she always carries a stash of dried spaghetti with her, under her hat, in case of emergencies (hence why her hat is so outrageously tall). Of course, she stole that idea from Paddington, but she doesn’t think he’ll mind: imitation is, after all, the sincerest form of flattery.

Gnatalia loves ballroom dancing: she very much enjoys a classic waltz, but her favourite dance is the tango, because she likes the drama. Because she only has feet (no knees), she can’t dance the Argentine tango, which is a source of great sadness to her. Unfortunately, Gnicole is too top-heavy (as a result of her spaghetti-stuffed hat) to be a suitable dance partner, so Gnatalia is in the market for a someone new (her first choice is Anton Du Beke, but she is willing to settle for someone else if necessary).

Yarn Choices

As with all of the gnomes in my Year of Gnomes undertaking, I made both of these gnomes using leftover fingering weight yarn that I had already had on hand. In general, I tried to stick as closely as possible to the colours in the inspiration photos (both in The Gnomes of Grimblewood book), though, obviously, I did have to make a few changes here and there where I didn’t have exact matches.

Even though the two gnomes are very different from each other, I still wanted them to feel like a set. I opted to use the same colour for both Gnicole‘s hat and one of the accent colours on Gnatalia‘s hat (the brim/horizontal stripe colour). I also gave Gnicole a grey beard (as opposed to a white beard), so that Gnatalia wouldn’t look dirty next to her, with her grey beard and hat. Both gnome designs already had tassels, so I think, along with the colour choices, this version of Gnicole and Gnatalia look like a nice, matching-but-not-too-matchy pair.

Little note here: I’ve never worked with teal yarn before, so I wasn’t expecting this, but MY GOODNESS did my hands look a MESS after knitting Gnicole. The dye on the yarn just seemed determined to get all over me, which did make the experience slightly less enjoyable. Sometimes the dye washed off, sometimes it didn’t, but it definitely turned me off knitting with teal again for the foreseeable future!

Thoughts on the Patterns/Gnome-Making Process

As I’ve mentioned multiple times in my Year of Gnomes series, I absolutely love following Sarah Schira‘s gnome patterns: they’re SO clear and easy to follow and understand, which makes knitting up even the fiddlier parts of the gnomes seem super doable and not at all overwhelming.

This was, however, my first time making both Gnatalia and Gnicole, so I thought I’d share my initial thoughts on those specific patterns here.

Gnatalia

Gnatalia is quite different to the other gnomes I have made: not only does she have the whole folded hat thing going on, she is also a much rounder shape. Furthermore, she has the most complex colourwork I’ve done in a gnome (the only other gnome-based colourwork I’ve tried was Gnolan‘s stripes, which doesn’t really compare at all).

I was dreading the colourwork element of Gnatalia a little bit, but it actually wasn’t too bad! I did end up with a lot of ends to tie off and darn in (though the darning probably wasn’t completely necessary— I could have just left them as stuffing additions), which was sad, but kind of a given with colourwork. My work is pretty neat everywhere except the beginning of the round, where everything gets a little loose and, well, less neat, so that’s definitely something for me to work on next time around.

Weirdly, I was also very nervous about folding over and sewing down the hat, but it was genuinely super simple and easy to do. Yet again, Schira’s instructions make even the overwhelming tasks feel approachable and I am so very grateful for that.

I really enjoyed making the more rounded body shape for Gnatalia, but I did find it a little trickier to stuff than the other gnomes. Gnatalia is quite a stable gnome, so I didn’t find that it was necessary to leave 1/3 of the body for weighted stuffing (I ended up only filling about 1/4 to 1/5 instead).

Gnicole

My first thing to say about Gnicole is that she is MUCH bigger than I expected? I don’t know how, but I was genuinely shocked by the size of her once I’d finished her main body piece. She’s a TALL girl (though, to be honest, it’s mainly hat). Because of her size, there is quite a lot of knitting in her and her hat also features a lot of cables, which adds to the total knitting time too. She wasn’t the most complicated gnome, but she definitely took longer to work up than most of the other gnomes I have made!

This was my first time making a curly beard and I could not, for the life of me, visualise how it was going to work. In the end, I just trusted the process, went for it and got to witness it just, well, happen (I find that’s usually the way with knitting). I love the effect of the curly beard, but I do think the shape of it is a little off— mine just feels a bit wider/more trapezoid-y than ones in the photos? More on that later.

Similarly to Gnatalia, I found stuffing Gnicole quite challenging. The pattern warns you that her hat is super stretchy, so you need to be careful not to over-stuff it. I tried my best, but I still feel she’s a little bit over-stuffed, though this could also be because the brim of the hat is quite tight and pulls Gnicole in where her hat meets her body.

Changes/Adaptations

For Gnicole, I followed the pattern pretty much exactly. The only slight change I made was that I blocked the tassel of the hat, because it was looking pretty limp and sparse when I first made it. Blocking worked wonders though: the tassel looks much thicker and all-round prettier now, so I’ll definitely be carrying that technique forward in my gnome making journey! In fact, I was able to carry it forward almost immediately, because Gnatalia also has a tassel, so it worked out well.

As I mentioned, I’m not 100% happy with Gnicole‘s beard. It’s quite… unruly at the edges— the outer ‘curls’ have a tendency to stick upwards and outwards, which kind of overwhelms Gnicole‘s little body. I folded the outer sections of the beard under the rest of it, then used the arms to hold it in gently in place, and I much prefer it that way. Perhaps next time I’ll try making the beard slightly less wide? But it would still stick out, surely, so I’m not sure…

For Gnatalia, I made two, small changes: firstly, I added feet, which the original pattern does not include, but the worsted weight sample (which I was basing my Gnatalia on) does. The feet are a bit fiddly to make, but they’re so cute and I haven’t made any since Gnorri (my very first gnome!), so I thought it was about time to make some more.

The second change I made was also a result of trying to mimic the style of the worsted weight sample as much as possible: for Chart 2, I used Yarn A in the place of Yarn B (and vice versa). It’s just a little alteration, but I’m pretty sure it’s what’s done in the sample, so I did it too.

I think, if I were making Gnatalia again (maybe even any gnome, given my problems with Gnicole too?), I’d use a stretchier cast-on for the brim of her hat. I’ve been struggling with the brim being too tight on my most recent gnomes and I think a stretchier cast-on would help with that.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’m super happy with how Gnicole and Gnatalia turned out and I think they’ll make the perfect Gnomewarming gift for my brother and his wife. I didn’t experiment too much with the colour choices for these two, because I wanted these gnomes to be pretty accurate representations of the ones in the book. Both of these gnomes felt quite different to the gnomes I’ve already made, so it was fun to branch out a little bit and introduce some new techniques to my gnome arsenal.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my Gnomewarming project! I’ll be back next month with 2 (!!) more instalments of my Year of Gnomes series (April and May), so stay tuned for that!

If you're interested...

You can buy The Gnomes of Grimblewood on Amazon here.

You can find the pattern for Gnicole the Cabled Gnome on Ravelry here.

You can find the pattern for Gnatalia the Colourwork Gnome on Ravelry here.

You can find my Ravelry project page for Gnomewarming here. 

Gemma

xxx

Gnarley the First!

Gnarley the First is a renowned interior designer, best known for her cutting-edge work with throw pillows and cushions. She’s not a big talker, but no other gnome can furnish a tree the way she can. She tries to cultivate a mysterious persona, in order to establish herself as a true ‘artiste’, but her creative idol is Edna Mode and her favourite song is ‘Raspberry Beret’, so make of that what you will...

Choosing March’s Gnome

After two relatively… pointy gnomes, I was craving a bit of a shape change for this month’s gnome. Gnarley is the only square-hatted gnome in The Gnomes of Grimblewood (the book by Sarah Schira, which contains the patterns for all three of the gnomes I’ve made so far), so he seemed like a good choice! I was also quite excited to try knitting his textured body, which is unlike anything I’d ever knitted before.

The Yarn

For this knitalong, I’m aiming to use up leftover yarn scraps from my mum’s extensive stash (and my own, not quite so extensive stash). While this does mean that I typically won’t be able to identify the specific yarns I’m using, I actually do know what the pink tweed yarn I’ve used here is! It’s Slubby Sock by Ainsworth & Prin, in the shade Mallow. Unfortunately, according to Ravelry, this yarn has been discontinued, which is a shame, because I really liked working with it.

A tweed-y yarn possibly wasn’t the best choice for Gnarley, just because it does obscure the wavy pattern she’s got going on on her body a little bit… You can still see it, but you just have to look a little closer than you would have to with a more basic yarn. I half suspected this going in, but I just really loved the colour and fancied making a pink gnome this month, so I rolled with it anyway.

I wasn’t sure how much yarn Gnarley would use up, because her whole body and hat are made using the same yarn, so I made sure to pick a yarn scrap that I had a good amount of, just in case. I wish I’d weighed it beforehand though, because I don’t think it used as much as I expected! Note to self: start weighing all gnome yarn before gnome-ing.

For Gnarley‘s beard, I really wanted to branch out from the cream colour I used for the past two gnomes, so I decided to use a grey shade, instead. However… I did run into a number of problems with this: Gnarley‘s quite a simple gnome, for one, and the grey shades did leave her looking a little… flat? Also, because the Mallow yarn is quite a deep shade, if I went too dark with the grey Gnarley started looking very ominous and gloomy, which wasn’t quite the vibe I was looking for… Finally, because my other two gnomes have such bright, cream beards, I was a bit worried about Gnarley looking a bit… mucky next to them.

In the end, after many, many, trials of different colours (and even different beard/nose combinations!), I settled on pale, warm-toned grey shade for both the beard and the nose. By herself, Gnarley looks great, but she does look a little drab compared to the other two gnomes in my collection. I’m hoping that, as the year goes on and I make more gnomes with darker/greyer beards, Gnarley will fit right into place!

Thoughts on the Pattern

My love for Sarah Schira’s patterns continues: they’re so clear, concise (without being too brief) and always work up perfectly. This was my first time following the pattern for Gnarley the Wavy Gnome though, so I thought I’d share some more specific thoughts on this pattern in particular.

Overall, I loved making Gnarley. I’d never worked left/right twists before (like, ever!), so this was an entirely new concept to me and, with the help of Schira’s instructions, I slipped right into an easy rhythm with it. Gnarley worked up SO quickly: in part because of the simplicity of the shape (that square hat was a dream after the struggle that was Gnolan‘s hat last month!), but also because there was something strangely addictive about knitting the textured body— there must just be the perfect amount of rows between the increases and the twists, because it really flew off my needles!

Much like with Gnolan, Gnarley has very few additional elements that need to be sewn onto the main body (in fact, Gnarley has even fewer: just a beard and a nose— no arms in sight!), which made knitting her even quicker and easier. Long story short, I had a lot of fun making my Gnarley!

Changes/Adaptations

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m still getting to grips with the whole gnome-making process, so, much like with the previous two gnomes, I opted to keep things simple and follow the pattern for Gnarley to the letter, instead of trying to make any of my own adaptations.

I do think, however, that if I made Gnarley again, I would make the brim on the hat ever so slightly longer, just to help it sit better over the beard/nose, and differentiate between the hat and the body a little more. Does this mean I’m finally building up the courage to start adding my own little touches to my gnomes?!

Things I Loved!

There are a lot of things I loved about making Gnarley:

• I loved the simplicity of the hat. Both of the previous two gnome hats I have made have been conical (or, at least, vaguely conical), which I love the effect of, but does include a little more shaping and faffery to create. Gnarley’s hat was SO straightforward, making it just felt like a little treat to myself.
• I loved working the twisted stitches. As I mentioned, this is a technique I’ve never used/encountered before, but it was so simple and easy to do, I found myself really enjoying the process!
• I loved the effect of the three-needle bind off on Gnarley‘s hat. I love a three-needle bind off and I think it is just the perfect finish for the top of the square hat!

Things I Didn’t Quite Love…

There were, however, a couple parts of the Gnarley-making process that I wasn’t quite so keen on…

• As I mentioned, I feel like the brim of Gnarley‘s hat is a little too short. This is very possibly due to my stitch-picking up inabilities (more on that in a sec), but I do think I’d consider increasing the length of the rib by 1-2 rows if I made Gnarley again!
• I do not enjoy picking up stitches from 3×3 rib. Why is it so much harder to stay in a straight line?! Not a fun time (but also, why did I find 3×3 rib so much harder to pick up from than the 1×1 rib on Gnorri‘s hat?! I don’t understand…).

Final Thoughts

I loved making Gnarley (especially if we ignore the aforementioned rib-picking-up-struggles)— I definitely think she was the most enjoyable of the three gnomes to make, but I do feel like the other two gnomes (Gnorri and Gnolan), just have a little more presence about them? Gnarley is quite one-dimensional in comparison and, while part of that is my fault for using a tweed yarn and giving her a grey beard/nose, I do think it will take a few more gnomes for her to feel at home in my collection. Truly, though, she was so much fun to make— I can see myself making many more Gnarleys, just for the fun of the process.

So that’s all the intel on Gnarley the First, my March entry for the Year of Gnomes 2025! Next month, I’m planning to follow along with the April mystery gnome, Professor Fungi, so I won’t be posting that one on here until the knitalong has completely finished in May (to preserve the fun of the mystery gnome!). Soooo, there’ll be two instalments of my Year of Gnomes 2025 series in May, and none in April (sad face, but not too sad face because I’m still hoping to get a bit of gnome-ing into the blog next month anyway…!).

If you're interested...

You can buy The Gnomes of Grimblewood on Amazon here.

You can find the pattern for Gnarley the Wavy Gnome on Ravelry here.

You can find my Ravelry project page for Gnarley the First here. 

Gemma

xxx

Let me introduce you to… Gnolan the First!

Gnolan the First has long dreamed of being the next Santa Claus, delivering toys to children and soaring over the seas in his sleigh. However, the Council of Legendary Figures has repeatedly informed Gnolan that he is not nearly portly enough for the job, so Gnolan has been on a strict, self-imposed diet of sugar cookies and mince pies, in a desperate attempt to plump out his tum…

Choosing February’s Gnome

I mentioned in my last Year of Gnomes post that I had initially planned to make Gnolan the Swirly Gnome first, since he was my favourite gnome from the Gnome Bible (i.e. The Gnomes of Grimblewood, Schira’s book). However, in the end, I opted to go for a slightly more straightforward gnome for January (Gnorri the Pocket-Bearded Gnome, to be exact), just to ease myself into the gnome-making process a little.

This month, I decided I was ready for the slightly more challenging Gnolan. With his twirly, swirly hat and beard, I have been enamoured with Gnolan since I first saw him, so he felt like a fitting gnome for February (after all, it is the month of love!).

The Yarn

For this knitalong, I’m aiming to use up leftover yarn scraps from my mum’s extensive stash (and my own, not quite so extensive stash). While this does mean that I typically won’t be able to identify the specific yarns I’m using, I actually can identify two of the yarns I’ve used for Gnolan the First! They are:

• Drops Baby Merino, in the shade Peanut (55).
• Drops Fabel, in the shade Ruby Red (113).

I also used the same, plain, cream-y/white shade for Gnolan’s nose, beard & hands that I used for Gnorri the First (though, unfortunately, I’m not quite sure on the provenance of that yarn).

I was absolutely set on making Gnolan the First in a similar, red-and-gold colour scheme to the sample Gnolan in the book (for maximum Santa Claus vibes). I realise that means I’ve made both of my gnomes in very similar colour ways to the ones suggested inbythe book, so I’m hoping to expand my shade horizons over the next few months and try out some new, gnome-y colour combos!

Thoughts on the Pattern

I waxed lyrical in my last Year of Gnomes post about how much I love Sarah Schira’s patterns— they’re just so clear and easy to follow! Anyhow, I won’t bore you with that spiel again (just know that all of my previous thoughts and statements still stand). This time, I’ll focus a little more on the Gnolan pattern specifically…

I have to say, I am glad that I made a slightly simpler gnome before making this one— while Gnolan is by no means tricky to make, he does have a few extra techniques and elements that make him slightly more challenging than Gnorri. The shaping of his hat/beard, as well as the i-cord elements, both paired with the striped colourwork details just make Gnolan a little more complex than Gnorri, and, while all of the techniques are super clearly explained, I definitely noticed that added layer of complexity while making him.

Luckily, Gnolan has very few additional elements that need to be attached to his gnome-self after knitting (for reference, Gnorri had 8 separate elements (1 nose, 1 beard, 2 arms, 2 pockets and 2 feet), while Gnolan has only 4 (1 nose, 1 beard and 2 arms), so the increased complexity of his body is balanced out (a little) by his minimal sewing-up requirements. You win some and you lose some, I guess.

Changes/Adaptations

I’m still getting to grips with the whole gnome-making process, so, much like with Gnorri the First, I opted to keep things simple and follow the pattern for Gnolan to the letter. I’m looking forward to switching things up a little and making my own, gnome adaptations in the future, but, for now, I think I need to focus on just getting used to the gnome-y techniques!

Things I Loved!

• This is weird, but I love the shape of Gnolan‘s body? He’s a tall gnome, and the subtle striped pattern, paired with the rich red and gold colour scheme just make him look so regal. Such an elegant gnome.
• The lack of feet. This was a surprise to me, because I was actually quite disappointed not to be making more lil’ feet this time around (and practising the three needle bind-off that I’m suddenly obsessed with). However, without feet, Gnolan looks like he’s kind of gliding around, which makes him feel extra wizard-y and robe-y, so I kind of love it.

• Gnolan‘s arms. I think I did a neater job of the arms this time around, and, because Gnolan is so tall, they’re much longer arms than the ones I made for Gnorri, so I think they look very smooth and elegant.

• The shape of Gnolan‘s hat. I didn’t love the process of this (so. much. slipping. of. stitches.) but the curve is giving me definite Grinch-y, Christmas tree vibes, so I kind of love it. Also, how clever is the pattern to create that shape? I’m obsessed.

• The fact that Gnolan‘s base is worked in the contrast colour. I was a bit surprised when I saw this, but I just think it adds a lil’ something something (even though you can’t even see it when he’s upright…).

• The way you can tuck Gnolan’s hand into the little loop of his beard so he can carry it around. Like… how did Schira think of that and why is it the best thing in the whole wide world?!

Things I Didn’t Quite Love…

• The. Striped. I-cord. That last bit of the hat was ridiculously infuriating and I’m not entirely happy even now with how it’s sitting (even after blocking!)…
• The aforementioned slip-stitch process to shape the hat. It wasn’t the worst, but it also wasn’t crazy fun, so I’m putting it here.

• Gnolan‘s beard. Don’t get me wrong— I LOVE the whole hat-swirling-one-way, beard-swirling-the-other-way vibe Gnolan‘s got going on (it scratches an itch in my BRAIN), but I feel I could have knitted the beard a little more… neatly? I love the method used in the pattern to give the beard a clean edge, but I think maybe I didn’t execute it very well, because mine looks a lot messier than the sample Gnolans from the book? Maybe that’s something to work on with Gnolan the Second?

• The jog. I know, I know, jog is kind of inevitable when you’re knitting colourwork in the round, but it still kind of… upsets me?

Final Thoughts

I admit, while I was making Gnolan, I started to have some doubts… I think I was just so excited about the prospect of making him that, when he was a little more challenging than my previous gnome, I panicked and worried that he wouldn’t quite live up to my expectations. However, the second that I finished sewing on his final details, I set him on the mantelpiece next to Gnorri the First and realised… he’s pretty darn cool.

I do think I could improve the beard, but I’m optimistic that with a little more gnome-making practise, that is a perfectly attainable goal for the future. Overall, I’m really happy with Gnolan the First. He’s not perfect, but he’s pretty close for a first attempt! Also, I love how festive he looks— I think he’s going to be the perfect, Christmastime decoration (and Christmastime decorations are my favourite decorations, so it all works out).

Make sure to check back in next month for my March Gnome! I can’t WAIT to make another one.

If you're interested...

You can buy The Gnomes of Grimblewood on Amazon here.

You can find the pattern for Gnolan the Swirly Gnome on Ravelry here.

You can find my Ravelry project page for Gnolan the First here. 

Gemma

xxx

And, after making my first ever gnome, I can tell you: boy, was I right!

Let me introduce you, then, to my January gnome: Gnorri the First.

Gnorri the First has perpetually chilly hands, so his pockets come in, well, handy. He can be a little grumpy and prefers gnot to speak too much (he’s more of a grunter), but you’ll see his wild side if you ever take him line dancing— he loves a good ol’ hoedown throwdown!

Choosing January’s Gnome

For my January gnome, I wanted to keep things relatively simple. I have the The Gnomes of Grimblewood book (or the Gnome Bible, as I like to think of it), which is written by Sarah Schira (the mastermind behind Imagined Landscapes) and features 8 different gnome patterns (though the elements of the gnomes can be mixed and matched to your heart’s content!), so I decided to pick a gnome from the book to make this month.

At first, I planned to make Gnolan the Swirly Gnome, because I very much enjoy his Santa Claus/wizard-esque vibe, but, ultimately, I decided to start with something a little more straightforward, just to ease myself into the gnome-making process. Enter: Gnorri the Pocket-Beard Gnome. I think the beard pockets are SO cute and Gnorri‘s basic, gnome body seemed pretty simple, so he felt like the perfect starting point.

The Yarn

After many years of knitting, my mum has acquired a multitude of leftover yarn, particularly in the fingering weight category. I’m viewing this Year of Gnomes as a stash-busting project for those yarn scraps, so I won’t be buying any new yarns for this knitalong (she says, hopefully). Unfortunately, that does mean I have no idea what brands/shades any of the yarns are, but I guess that’s just part of the fun?

So, I went yarn-diving, hoping to find the perfect combination of yarns for Gnorri the First. After much deliberation, I settled on a slightly moody, autumnal colour palette: a auburn-y, coppery brown for the hat/pockets, a variegated charcoal grey for the body and a plain ol’, natural, cream-y white shade for the beard, nose and hands.

I used the recommended needle sizes for my fingering weight yarn (2.25mm and 2.50mm). I opted to make this gnome using the magic loop method, so I used circular needles (as opposed to DPNs) for most of the pieces. I did, however, use DPNs for the I-cord arms (and one extra DPN needle for the 3-needle bind-off, though a regular, straight needle would have worked too).

Thoughts on the Pattern

I… LOVED working from this pattern. I’m someone who likes to be walked through every step of a project super clearly, which is fine, but a lot of knitting patterns tend to assume a lot of knowledge/aren’t necessarily catered to the less confident, so I always find myself getting frustrated (and making completely incorrect assumptions, which seem very logical to me, but are apparently completely nonsensical). This pattern, on the other hand, is SO clearly explained, SO nicely written and SO detailed (especially when it comes to the sewing up instructions, which I particularly appreciated), without being overly wordy. Exact stitch placements are given! Every step is noted, even briefly! And the best part? It’s all done in a way that is brief and chilled, so it doesn’t feel overwhelming, but is still super clear and easy to follow. It’s a HUGE thumbs up from me!

I’ve mentioned on here before that I think the sign of a good knitted/crocheted toy pattern is that the finished product looks good. I always get a little panicky just before sewing up any yarn-y toy, because there’s always a chance it could end up looking a bit… cursed? However, the instructions for sewing up this gnome were so clear, it really took the stress out of the whole process. Plus, even when you don’t follow those instructions perfectly (I, for example, believe I attached the feet a little too far out from the centre of the beard, somehow), the gnome still looks SUPER CUTE. I’m so proud of my first gnome, which I think is a huge testament to the pattern.

Changes/Adaptations

Aside from the aforementioned, unintentionally far-apart feet, I didn’t make any changes to this pattern as I worked it up. This was partly because this was my first ever gnome, so I had no idea what it was going to look like, how it was going to go or what I would even like to adapt, but it was also partly because I just really wanted to follow the pattern exactly. I spend a lot of time thinking of new ideas, trying to put fun twists on things and be creative, but sometimes it’s really nice to let someone else be creative for you, while you just enjoy the process of making the item.

Gnorri the First, then, is exactly as Gnorri the Pocket-Bearded Gnome should be!

Things I Loved!

• The pockets! I’m obsessed with the pockets!
• The 3-needle bind off on the feet— I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually done a 3-needle bind off before (I had to google how to do it…), but I love the effect it gives and it was so simple to do!
• How absolutely adorable this gnome is and how perfect he looks even though I know he isn’t actually perfect, which almost makes him more perfect.

Things I Didn’t Quite Love…

• Sewing the gnose onto the body (it wasn’t even that tricky, but it was the hardest bit of the whole process, so it felt very irritating at the time).
• Stuffing the gnome (WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG?! I think I got into the swing of it with the fluffy stuffing by the end, particularly after getting through the tricky, skinny bit at the top of the hat. However, putting in the little weighted stuffing pellets was a bit fiddly and vaguely infuriating, so that made me miffed all over again…)
• I’d like to do a better job of hiding the threads inside the I-cord arms: I feel there’s a few places where the hand colour pokes through in the sleeve, which isn’t quite the vibe.

(Sorry, Gnorri).

Final Thoughts

In case you hadn’t quite figured it out yet, I’m obsessed with Gnorri the First, I’m obsessed with the Gnome-Making World and I’m obsessed with Imagined Landscapes (aka Sarah Schira) and all of her iconic, gnome puns. Truly, I think I would knit any of her patterns, as long as there is a silent ‘g’ in the title.

I think Gnorri the First was a great, first gnome for me to make. I also like how he’s ever so slightly dreary, but also has a bit of fun to him— I think it pretty accurately reflects the general vibe of January, so he was a the perfect pick for my January gnome!

Here’s to more gnoming over the next 11 months!

If you're interested...

You can buy The Gnomes of Grimblewood on Amazon here.

You can find the pattern for Gnorri the Pocket-Bearded Gnome on Ravelry here.

You can find my Ravelry project page for Gnorri the First here. 

Gemma

xxx