Butterfly & Cocoon ~ Making Issue 2: Fauna

Photo by Carrie Bostick Hoge

Hi, Knitters,

I am sitting in the airport in Vancouver with a bit of time to kill so I thought I would write a brief post about my latest pattern release. I am proud to announce that the next issue of Carrie Bostick Hoge's Making Magazine is now available for pre-order. 

Click here to find out more about Making Magazine Issue 2: Fauna! Issue 1 sold out quickly, you can pre-order a copy. The magazine has seventeen knitting patterns but there is so much more like sewing, embroidery, baking and more.

My new design that is in the magazine is called Butterfly and Cocoon. The pattern is only available in the print magazine at this time. In March the pattern will be available for download in my Ravelry pattern shop.

Click here to find out more information about Butterfly and Cocoon!

Click here to see all of the knit projects in Making Magazine: Fauna!

The other knit designers include Melanie Berg, Norah Gaughan, Carrie Bostick Hoge, Karen Templer, Ashley Yousling, Mary Jane Mucklestone, Carol Sunday, Cal Patch, Jenny Gordy, Bristol Ivy, Cecily Glowik-McDonald and Beatrice Dahlen. 

It's quite a line up. 

Photo by Carrie Bostick Hoge

Here is my introduction to the pattern:

Late summer into early fall is a completely magical time here in Wisconsin. On my daily hikes through the prairies with grasses towering over my head, and around nearby ponds surrounded by milkweed, the terrain is intoxicating. These natural habitats offer a huge variety of fauna-watching including wild turkeys, deer, chipmunks, herons, cranes, birds galore and my favorite, the butterflies. Oh the butterflies! To see their beautiful, airy wings flitting about in abundance from plant to plant has added so much to my daily excursions. Each walk in the fading heat of the season is a heady experience.

Butterfly and Cocoon is a knitted tribute to these beautiful, delicate creatures. The sweet Butterfly and Cocoon are both worked seamlessly from the bottom-up, picking up stitches for the wings and antennae after the body is knitted. This makes for a slick and fun knit. Children will love to tuck the winged friend into its very own cocoon for a rest or nap and take it out again when it’s time to fly! The loop on the top of the cocoon hood is perfect for hanging on a hook, backpack or most definitely on a little finger for toting along on adventures in the wild. 

Photo by Carrie Bostick Hoge

Butterfly and Cocoon

 Making No. 2 / FAUNA

Craft

Knitting

Category

Softies → Animal

Published

October 2016

Suggested yarn

Quince & Co. Chickadee

Yarn weight

Sport / 5 ply (12 wpi) ?

Gauge

6 stitches = 1 inch
in stockinette stitch

Needle size

US 3 - 3.25 mm

US 5 - 3.75 mm

Yardage

200 yards (183 m)

Sizes available

5½" tall

• 3-dimensional
• bottom-up
• icord
• in-the-round
• kitchener
• one-piece
• seamless
• stripes-colorwork
• written-pattern

Finished measurements
5½” (14 cm) tall

Yarn
Chickadee by Quince & Co.
(100% American wool; 50 grams / 181 yards)
• 1 skein each (only small amounts of each color are used) in the following color ways:
Sample 1: Kumlien’s Gull (A), Egret (B), Shell (C), Split Pea (D)
Sample 2: Clay (A), Chanterelle (B), Aleutian (C), Honey (D)
Sample 3: Iceland (A), Petal (B), Lupine (C), Pomegranate (D)
OR
50 yards (46 meters) or less of each color in sport weight yarn

Notions
• Tapestry needle
• Removable stitch markers
• Fiberfill
• Safety eyes, size 4.5 mm (see Notes)
• Black embroidery floss
• Waste yarn

Gauge
6½ sts = 1” (2.5 cm) in stockinette stitch with smaller needles
6 sts = 1” (2.5 cm) in stockinette stitch with larger needles

Notes
Butterfly is worked in the round from the bottom up and stuffed as you go. Face detail, wings, and antennae are added after. Cocoon is worked from the bottom up in the round, then bound off at beginning of hood and continued in garter stitch. Top of hood is grafted, with stitches kept live at center of hood to make I-cord loop.
Warning: Safety eyes are considered a choking hazard for young children and infants. Embroider eyes if this is a concern.

For more information, see: https://makingzine.com/

Photo by Carrie Bostick Hoge

This is one of my all-time favorite toy designs. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

The following photos are my early shots of the Butterfly and Cocoon. 

I was so excited about the finished design that I had to quickly knit up two more versions!

The beautiful Quince & Co. Chickadee yarn never fails. It's so beautiful. Finding four colors to combine is so easy with the Quince colorways. 

Love the hood with the loop for hooking on a little finger.

The entire project is knit from the bottom-up and in one piece. The wings and antennae are picked up and knit on to the body. 

Click here for the Butterfly and Cocoon project on Ravelry! I am really happy with this one.

Going home is always a good feeling. I'll be back soon with more.

xo ~ susan