Happy Tuesday, everyone! And I have a very special new Beastie for you all to meet today…
I called this little woolly dude “Lucky Guy Beastie”, because he was made for the winner of the prize draw I ran on my market stall just before Christmas. The magic randomiser picked out Ismail’s name from the hat… and then I felt like I’D hit the jackpot, because not only did he already have a good idea of what he wanted, he even provided me with sketches!
After that, it was just a case of me getting on with making his Beastie double… First thing’s first, a miniature version of his favourite jacket, complete with put-up-able hood!
The jacket is also removable, of course!
Next, he needed a backpack… and I snuck a tasty cheese sandwich in here, in case this little monster gets hungry on his travels!
Finally, I completed his kit with a Beastie-sized watch…
… And he was ready to go!
That said, Ismail thought that his Beastie might get lonely all by himself… So he asked if I could make him a companion. Done and done!
While Ismail is here in Dublin studying, his girlfriend is still at home in Indonesia. Fortunately, her Beastie counterpart was ready just in time to be shared via videochat on her birthday!
(And DOUBLE fortunately, I didn’t take the video, so I don’t have to include it here! :D)
This is the first time I’ve made a Beastie in hijab, and it took a good bit of research (and a couple of failed attempts!) to get the shape and fabrics right. The trickiest part was working with a Beastie – rather than human – body shape… It turns out that having a neck and a chin is really helpful when it comes to securing the fabric discreetly! In the end, I went with a felt “under-hijab”, with a light floaty chiffon on top to get the right amount of draping.
You might also have noticed her nice little knitted cardigan, which can be taken off on hot days…
… And which is my second top-down knitted garment! (My first was the “first draft” of this, which turned out a little too big after blocking and was subsequently pinched by Explorer Beastie. I’m starting to wonder if he maybe had a hand paw in making it turn out that way…)
Incidentally, I owe a big thank you to Shirley at Handmade Habit and Melissa at Knitting the Stash, for inspiring me to try top-down knitting techniques for my Beastie sweaters. I’m now in the process of redoing my plain and Aran sweater patterns, and I’m loving the results so far!
But, back to the Beasties in hand! Here they are, all kitted out and ready to go!
Congratulations again to Ismail, and I hope you like your new monster friends!
We’ll be back with more Beastie antics next week! In the meantime, why not have a go at making a bee? I was delighted when The Snail of Happiness shared a picture of her make on Twitter over the weekend… and she was able to confirm that the pattern works, too!
