As we all are, Rosie is a sucker for new yarn. As soon as something unusual comes in she's sat there, plotting what she will make first with it.
When we got this new chainette yarn in, she pretty quickly decided on a crochet animal. So, meet Benji the Rabbit.
THE YARN
The yarn Rosie was itching to play with is the brand new Baby Cloud Aran by DY Choice. A machine washable viscose/polyester blend chainette yarn, its silky soft feel and sheen, super strength and versatility make it the perfect choice for pretty much anything for a special little one. It comes in a range of lovely soft colours, and is really light but feels quite substantial.
THE PATTERN
Ok, who likes rabbits? Well, as far as I can tell, loads of people do. Rabbits have been popping up all over the place for generations; from Watership Down to Peter Rabbit, and from Roger Rabbit to the Easter Bunny. So when Rosie decided to design a crochet toy pattern for you all the most obvious choice was the much-loved bunny rabbit.
To give you a little background, this isn't the first crochet toy pattern Rosie has written. In fact, she already has a collection of almost 30 Adorable Little Animal Friends under her Built By Boo name. This little one, however, is very different both in size and form.
The initial design was easy enough to work out. Basically, Rosie asked me to sketch her a cute cartoon-style rabbit and she devised the pattern from there. She wanted to keep the stitches nice and easy so that even a relative novice could give it a go, so all you need to be able to do is a magic circle, single crochet, increase and decrease. However, to keep things interesting she included colour changing and loop stitch.
The sewing up (always my job) was actually a pleasure to do because of this yarn's durability and softness. So for all of you crocheters out there who can't abide the sewing up, you have my word that this yarn is lovely to work with!
The end result is a truly gorgeous, lovable bunny toy suitable for anyone from birth to those of us who were born last century. You can get the pattern in our store here.
Enjoy, and be sure to show us what you make!
Debbie
