Today I'm posting about something rather unusual. Unusual because:
- I made something for myself
- I actually followed a pattern (*gasp*) made by someone else (*gasp!*) for once
- I used so called stranded knitting (or Fair Isle knitting)
First of all, have you seen My Neighbor Totoro? If not, go see it! Go see it now!
Today's post is about Totoro himself, that adorable giant spirit of the forest. Or rather, how one can depict him in the form of knitted mittens. A friend of mine mentioned she was working on a pair of Totoro mittens and as soon as I saw pictures on Ravelry, I just had to try making a pair for myself!
I say "try", because stranded knitting is not something I have used very much. One could say this was a learning experience. To be honest I had to unravel my first attempt and start again, because the mitten turned out too tiny. I got there in the end, though!
I used a blend of alpaca, wool and acrylic; one of my favourite yarns at the moment, both to knit with and to wear. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, but boy, I definitely need to practice stranded knitting!
So, now I'm all set for winter to roll in, my hands protected by warm and fuzzy Totoros. If you want to make a pair of Totoro mittens for yourself, then check out brella's pattern on Ravelry!
