This Pattern is Retired…but you can (probably) get it in November

I have a lot of patterns! But I also get overwhelmed if I have to deal with them all at once. So I’ve picked 12 of my favorites (the Core Collection) to keep around. Then every few months, I decide on a theme or a technique and make a handful of related patterns (the Rotating Collection) available for a little while (then they go away again).

The other patterns are retired and are not generally available. However, because I know some folks will want them, I make many of the retired patterns available for a few weeks every November. If you want me to tell you when they’re back, subscribe to the mailing list or patreon, and I’ll let you know!

• If you see the buy buttons on this page, you’ve caught it on one of the days it’s available!
• If you don’t see the buy buttons on this page, it’s not currently available.
• If you want to hear when the retired patterns are available (most likely in November), subscribe to the mailing list or patreon, or keep an eye on my instagram.

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There really are only two responses to these. Either you’re thinking ‘huh, folks sure do knit some odd things’ or you’re thinking ‘holy smokes, get out of my way, I must make some of those right this very second.’

If you’re in that first group, I get it, go find whatever knitting makes you happiest and do that instead. But, if you’re in that second group…we should totally talk!

Before we start, I should warn you, these are hard to put down. Both in the sense that they’re hard to stop knitting and in the sense that they’re hard to stop holding once you’ve knit a few. They really are more charming than they have any right to be!

What to do with the sweet, silly little things:

• Knit a whole bunch of just the leaves and make them into a wreath or a garland
• Hide them where someone who could use a smile will find them
• Give one to your favorite kiddo and see what sort of clever games they come up with (just make sure you’re only giving it to folks who won’t put them in their mouths!)
• Use them as party favors or place card holders at your next party
• Use them as table decorations for you holiday table
• Use the leftover yarn from a baby sweater to make a toy the kiddo won’t grow out of

Your imagination is the limit here. I suspect you already have a whole host of ideas for exactly how you could use a few of these!

The pattern is tremendously detailed and gives you lots of possible variations to experiment with. You can make the leaf in two different sizes and two different textures, and there are three different cape shapes and three ways to finish the tip of the hood.

It’s quick knitting (each leaf or cape takes a few hours). And it’s almost all stockinette or ribbing with just a little bit of shaping to make them dangerously cute.

The only special equipment you’ll need is the peg dolls, and you can find them at most any craft store (and at a lot of toy stores). Mine are between two and three inches tall. You may also want some pipe cleaners if you want to hold the stems or the points of the hoods in just the right shape.

And just in case you’re feeling a bit nervous, the pattern includes a lengthy photo tutorial to walk you through every step of the process. There are all sorts of helpful tips on everything from where to get the peg dolls to how to block the pieces to how and when to weave in your ends. It’s almost absurdly detailed, but it really does mean you can totally make these!