The Owls got thumbs & a bath last night! Today they’re resting peacefully while they dry.
The pattern is Ruru by Kylie Bates. It’s a free Ravelry download and well written! It’s got full written instructions, none of the ‘reverse shaping for second mitt’ nonsense! And as I ably demonstrated, you can easily adjust the finished sized by adjusting your gauge and going up a needle size. I missed the toddler mark (the pattern is written in two sizes, one toddler and one child) but these will fit the toddler mama I’ve got in mind, so we’ll go for the mommy & me set of mitts next week with a second attempt at toddler size!
In the meanwhile, it’s time for the next phase of the Rhinebeck Sweater: zipper installation.
This method came to me via Eunny Jang and this Interweave video. As I re-watch it again, I see Eunny credit’s the TechKnitter, which totally makes sense because she has awesome alternative techniques to just about everything! The basic idea is to add yarn to the zipper tape so it becomes something knitters are much more familiar with. I’ve used this method successfully before on kids garments. This is the first time I’m doing it for myself though. It’s kind of a pain. I was gung-ho early this morning. I did about four inches and then decided vacuuming was a better idea?!?! Bizarre. I leave for Rhinebeck four weeks from today…pretty sure I’ll manage to get it done by then. And if my apartment gets cleaned in the process, that’s not a bad thing either!!
FogKnits 
That is a brilliant idea for the zipper!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The execution is still kind of tedious but whatever…I’m gonna have a real knit hoodie with a zipper at the end!! Totally worth it!
LikeLiked by 2 people
TECHKnitter is such a genius! Even if it’s tedious, it beats sewing it on. I bet it will sit really well once it’s placed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
TechKnitter is pretty much genius every time! It does take some care to keep it from puckering, but that’s no different than sewing or picking up a button band, really attaching any two pieces. The suggestion is to match your row gauge, then it’s easy to sew row for row, I can’t get my zipper stitches that tight, so I’ll have to do some easing. It may take two tries to get it right, but I’ve got time :)
LikeLiked by 1 person
what a great idea!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s almost so simple you wonder why it’s not more common!
LikeLike
That’s a really cool technique :) Thanks for sharing :)
I also totally did not just wonder over to Raverly and add that too my queue….. nope… not me ;)
LikeLiked by 1 person
If your queue is anything like mine, you’ll barely notice it’s there ;)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cool idea, but I think I prefer the idea of buttons for knitted things :)
LikeLike
If I had known they were going to turn out adult size, I would have preferred buttons too. I was thinking the beads would be more secure/less of a choking hazard for a kid. Better luck next time :)
LikeLike