Hop

Hi Knitters,

Last May I designed and knitted a new bunny pattern for Blue Sky Alpacas. The pattern is now available and is called, Hop. Honestly, I had no idea what Hop would end up looking like when I started. I had a couple of ideas in mind when I began. One was that I wanted to knit the bunny in one piece with no seaming. The other idea was that the bunny should have a vintage feel. When I looked at some vintage toy images I gathered a couple of consistencies that ran throughout. Many of the fabric toys and dolls were long and many were flat. I liked this shape because a lot of the toys I design are round and chubby. This would be different and a fun challenge.

The image above is from the Blue Sky Alpacas photo shoot and it is the photo on the pattern. Isn't it beautiful? The photograph tells a story. The storybook quality is priceless. It's so moody. This photo tells more than a story, it could be the start of a novel.
The following photos tell the story of me in my living room with a finished bunny and a camera. It's not quite as intriguing. The bunny is knit in Blue Sky Hand Spun which is a huge treat. It is one of my favorites because of the homey hand spun feel. It is bumpy and sweet and organic and fantastically vintage-like in itself.

If you aren't sure how the construction works to knit a toy in one piece here it is kind of spelled out. You start knitting at the first toe and continue on to knit the leg. Set aside. Knit the second foot and leg. Join the legs together on the next round and begin to knit the body up to the underarms. Knit the arms separately starting at the hand. Join the arms to the body on the next round. Decrease for the shoulders and neck. Increase slightly for the head. Separate for each ear and knit to the top of the ear. You are done! There are only a couple of little gaps that will need closing up with a couple of quick stitches at the end.

What a fun little knit. You see the bunny come to life as you work.
I decided Hop could use a sporty sweater with a carrot applique and...
... a hole for the bunny tail to peek through. The sweater is knit in Blue Sky Skinny Dyed Cotton. It is knit in one piece as well, no seams.
I added some sweet whiskers to give Hop a distinguished look.
He looks sort of book smart to me and sort of soulful at the same time.
I love the over sized feet. Anyway, this pattern is an accomplishment for me. Creating Hop pushed my knitting in new ways. If you make Hop for yourself or a friend or loved one, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Here is the link for the Ravelry page for Hop.

You can find out all of the information for Hop here.

You can purchase the pattern here among many other online and local yarn shops.

You can purchase the yarn for Hop here and the yarn for the sweater here.

It's the perfect season for some serious bunny knitting with spring on the way soon. For some reason I love knitting bunnies. Here are some other bunny patterns I have made: Bunny, the free Rabbit pattern, the Oh, Bunny! washcloth, the easiest ever garter stitch square Bunny & Chick, the Organic Cotton Bunnies in One Skein Wonders, the Chubby Bunny, the Bunny Rattle, and the Bunny Tail Hat.

Phew! Maybe I should do a whole book of knitted bunnies. That would be fun.

Always remember that somebunny loves you, especially a knitted somebunny. (I'm such a nerd.)

best, susie