I have knit one lonely Christmas gift this year, and here it is.
Pattern: Owl Sweater. Now, I got my pattern from my local yarn store. It was free with the yarn purchase and when I asked who wrote it they said someone from the store transcribed it from a vintage pattern, whatever that means. You can buy an owl pattern by Penny Straker from the online store Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks (scroll down). From what I can tell by looking at the pattern picture of the Penny Straker design, it and my owl sweater are similarly constructed.
Yarn: Encore DK. Washable!
Knit for: Maggie. My pattern was only written for one size, and it has about a 24″ finished chest circumference.
Needles: US 3 for ribbing, US 4 for stockinette.
For such a little sweater, there was a lot to this project! It has aspects that I usually keep away from when I choose what I’m going to knit, the main thing is that it is knit in pieces and then sewn up. What a chore for someone who is so accustomed to knitting seamless sweaters! But I saw someone at my knitting group making this and I knew it was for Maggie.
So the sweater is knit in pieces. First you knit the fronts and back, then seam the shoulders, pick up stitches around the armhole and knit the sleeves flat to the cuff. That leaves the arms and body to be seamed. And then the buttons! Six for the band and 16 for the owl eyes!
I only made minor modifications. Instead of binding off the shoulder stitches, I kept them all live and joined the shoulders using a three-needle bind off when all the pieces were ready. I also kept the neck stitches for the collar live until I knit the neck band.
Aren’t the owls awesome? Hooters, if you will, and I think you might.
I sewed the owl’s eyes on with black thread as directed in the pattern. I used white thread for the rest of the buttons.
More Hooters on the back!
I’m so pleased with how this came together. I was dying, DYING, to sew the owl eyes on the instant I finished those little cables. But I told myself I wasn’t allowed to enjoy the eyes until the sweater was seamed. I stuck to my self-imposed rule and it paid off because now I have a beautiful little sweater for my gal. Modeled pictures after Christmas!!
Oh my gosh – that is one of the most adorable bebe knits I’ve ever seen!
Adorable!! What a great kid sweater!
Happy Holidays!
I love those little owls !!
Great job, Maggie will be cute in it !
That is SO cute! The owls are especially clever!
Adorable!
So Cute! those owls are perfect!
Wow what an amazing sweater for Maggie. I absolutely love the owls, and the black thread makes the eyes stand out so well doesnt it.
*swoon*
I am MAD for those owls. I knew this would be adorable from the WIP pics but WOW. Even sweeter than I imagined. Can’t wait to see modeled pics.
What a sweet sweater!
Whoooo…WHOOO…whooo…
Whoooo knew that there were Hooters on the BACK!!!!
I can’t stand how much I LOVE IT.
I love the cute owls! I love love love them!
Soooooo cute!
Oh. My. Goodness. I must make one now!
If you are going to only knit one thing for Christmas, what a WISE decision. Can’t wait to see this sweater on the model!
Ditto! It really does look great.
Squee! Those Owls are so darn cute! I have a wee intarsia owl sweater my grandmother knit for my brother long ago that’s equally cute. Wonder what is is about owls?
I don’t think I’d make one of these as a sweater, but imagine a little row of owls going round the brim of a hat or mittens… ok, now I need to make something owl-y.
I am totally in love with those owls! How precious.
I really can’t stand it!!
Oh! This is impossibly sweet. Great job. I LOVE the little owls.
wow wow. it is very cute. and she will be adorable in it. it is very weird. someone here in denmark has made a very similar pattern that i have been wanting to knit at some point. i actually don’t find neither seaming nor purling that big an ordeal. but all those owls must have been a big job.
in many countries people are very scared of owls. i think it is a western thing to have nice associations. strange.
Adorable owl sweater! In Norway and Denmark another sweater similar to this has been popular the last year- you can se it here
http://www.ausumlille.dk/ugler.jpg
And here is an owlsock too…
http://www.northtipton.com/owlsock.htm
Love you blog and the colours you choose for your knitwork!
This is, quite possibly, the cutest kid’s sweater ever. Hooters. You were right.
Hi friend! Finally had a minute to check in… LOVELY SWEATER! It’s amazing… I would have never thought to have made cable-owls. They’re exquisite!
Still not knitting on this end. Sewing A LOT though – my husband thinks I’ve left him for a Viking… my sewing machine, that is! Matching cord dresses for my sister and baby for Christmas… then matching purses, I Spy bags… th whole bit.
They’re going to look fabulous.
You asked for a photo update um… months ago.
So sorry! Here’s our flickr link – photos are as of yet unsorted… but they’re there. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluegrassybaby/
Merry Christmas and Happy Knitting!
[...] About ← Hooters for Maggie [...]
Absolutely adorable!!!
I love your blog and will be back to visit!
You are an awesome knitter!
With 25 comments on this post, I doubt you’re looking for mine to add. Yours must be the best read blog EVER!! But, I know why… and am only aching knowing all that I’ve missed. You know we’re back online (woohoo!) sortof, given that our solar battery system still means we can only click the thing on for about an hour or so a day, so, I’m sllllooooowwwwllllyyy catching up on all I’ve missed over the past six months or so. All that to say, Merry Christmas! And, I LOVE this sweater!
I cannot believe that you have the pattern for “The Owls”. My mother knit that for me when I was a tot, verrry loooong ago, haha…. I have looked all over for it so I could knit it for our great grandchild. Would you be willing to share the pattern?
Adorable! Absolutely adorable.