Penguin Pillow
Finished
March 22, 2014
May 17, 2014

Penguin Pillow

Project info
Penguin Pillow by Whitney Webster
Knitting
Pillow
Álvaro
30x30
Needles & yarn
1,048 yards
Katia Merino Classic
1 skein = 262.0 yards (239.6 meters), 100 grams
49379A
Red
Derecho y Revés in Valencia, Valenciana
March 21, 2014
Lanas Stop Extra Merino
1 skein = 262.0 yards (239.6 meters), 100 grams
3001674
White
Derecho y Revés in Valencia, Valenciana
March 21, 2014
Lanas Stop Extra Merino
2 skeins = 524.0 yards (479.1 meters), 200 grams
301966
Black
Derecho y Revés in Valencia, Valenciana
March 21, 2014
Notes

Lovely penguin pillow, so cute.. It turned out very nice. I had a hard time with the yarn during washing and blocking, as the black colour bleeded and left me with a grey front side.. I had blocked a swatch before starting, but not of both colours together. So I had to wash out the dye from the white side several times, using chemical products sold at the grocery, careful not to decolour the black side, then immersed the white side in water tinted blue with a drop of ink. The result is fine, the white colour restored and the black unaffected. Next time I knit this project, or any other black-white combo, I will first wash and colour proof the black yarn before starting to knit, lesson learned.

My modifications to the pattern were not design-related, but rather technical. I made it a bit smaller, so 12x12”, as it was a gift for a one-year-old tiny guy..

  • I started the front side with a black stripe of about 5cm, which is later folded to the back side once finished. This is to allow an opening to take out the pillow for washing.

  • Knitting of the body is made using Intarsia in the round to avoid seams at the sides.

  • Top of the body is closed using Kitchener stitch while stiches were still live on the needles, to avoid a seam at the top. Now the transition from front to back is completely unnoticeable.

  • Wings are knit two-at-a-time, using Judy Becker’s Magic Cast-On, on a long circular needle.

  • Feet are also started with Judy’s MCO method, two at a time, untill the toes are reached. I knit each toe one by one (an alternative would have been making 6 mini-skeins for each toe and knitting them all at the same time).

  • I sew snaps on the bottom side to allow the cushion to be taken out easily. I flapped back the black strip I had started with and attached snaps. The result looks good and is very practical.

Photos coming up soon..

viewed 35 times
Finished
March 22, 2014
May 17, 2014
 
About this pattern
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About this yarn
by Lanas Stop
DK
52% Merino, 48% Acrylic
262 yards / 100 grams

589 projects

stashed 244 times

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About this yarn
by Katia
DK
52% Merino, 48% Acrylic
262 yards / 100 grams

1394 projects

stashed 755 times

yuccasanz's star rating
  • Project created: March 22, 2014
  • Updated: August 23, 2014
  • Progress updates: 3 updates