Follow That Dinosaur!
There are times when it can be fun to flout the rules, but when knitting from a pattern isn’t one of them!
I enjoy knitting. It’s calming, it keeps my hands busy and out of the biscuit barrel (most of the time) and there is something so satisfying in producing something useful like a blanket or garment.
That’s why I was excited to see the pattern for a dinosaur hoodie in the “Friend” recently. It was fun, practical and – what clinched it for me – it was described as easy.
Not that I can’t tackle cable stitches and the like, but I have a big failing – I don’t always follow the pattern. An exciting scene comes on the TV screen; I sit in too little light and guess stitch counts; I fret the item is coming up too big and start trying to adapt it to fit . . .
All knitting sins, and I can almost feel the draught of air from readers out there shaking their heads at me. And with reason – I once tried four times to knit gloves from a 1937 “People’s Friend” and ended up with four left-handed gloves each time I sewed them up! Even our very talented, VERY patient Craft Editor, Liz, couldn’t work out how I managed that.
So Liz drummed it in to me. I must, must, must follow the pattern exactly. I listened and obeyed. And here is the result: a cosy, colourful dinosaur hoodie for my great-nephew Archie. Though I suspect it’s too big for him, his mummy and daddy can put it by till he’s older. I’m so pleased, I may try to make another in the smallest size.
Or I might even attempt the pretty little cardigan on page 73 of the “Friend” this week. “Little Charmer” looks adorable, and I’m sure I can knit it . . . as long as I stick to the pattern!
