Having a pants week!

I never dreamed this time last week that I would spend the next few days knitting pants. I know that doesn't translate well around the world. When we say 'pants' in the UK we really mean underpants. That explains why our cousins from across the pond hear sniggers when mentioning pants in the UK. Completely different images are flitting through their minds and our minds!

Why would anyone want to knit pants? Cue: visions of horrific swimming costumes knitted by well-meaning mothers! Never fear; mine were for the worry monsters that I knit for Knit-for-Nowt. We are supporting the NSPCC's Let's Talk PANTS campaign. There is more information HERE. Therapists requested pants that the children could use to dress and undress the monsters. It seemed an obvious thing for us to help with.

They are super simple to knit. There is a link to various pants patterns HERE. If that link doesn't work, click on https://www.knitfornowt.org/worry-puppet-patterns and scroll down to "If you'd like to knit some pants for your monster".

​

I wrote the pattern that produced the pants in the above photo. It wasn't easy! I took my lead from the pattern that was already on the website. But I wanted to knit the pants as one piece to reduce the number of seams to sew up. I knitted several versions before I was happy to release the pattern to other knitters. I now have a bag of prototype pants. They won't go to waste. I'll include them in my next parcel as monsters come in all shapes and sizes. 

My pattern is quite addictive and I can easily knit one or two per day. If any clever crocheters could translate the pants patterns into crochet patterns, I'm sure Clare who runs Knit-for-Nowt would love to hear from you.

In a week in which I heard that one of my favourite knitting charities is closing down, it was cheering to receive the latest newsletter from the vibrant Knit-for-Nowt. It is full of requests for knitted, crocheted and sewn items. There is a waiting list of therapists who need monsters and puppets. The Knit-for-Nowt GALLERY has lots of inspiring photos. 

So if you are up to making a monster or glove puppet, please consider Knit-for-Nowt. Even if you only have time for knitting pants, that would be wonderful.

Two-faced puppets...

This is a knitting/crochet/sewing blog and there are enough problems in my own country. So, I wouldn't waste column inches on a political rant; or would I?

Joking apart, it was a strange coincidence that I finished these two-faced puppets this week.

There are only 3 puppets. But they have 2 faces each and collectively portray fright, sadness, confusion, anger, happiness and worry. I have just posted them off to Knit-for-Nowt from where Clare will allocate them to a therapist who works with traumatised children.

Knitting the glove puppet part was very easy. Getting the faces right took longer. The shape of the eyebrows and spacing of the eyes were key to showing different expressions. I took my time when I had no other distractions. The perfectionist in me even made me move the eyes on one of the faces before I was happy with it. But, now, I'm pleased with how they turned out.

The heat wave is carrying on relentlessly here. We were promised thunder storms yesterday and I had all my buckets out in the garden ready to catch the rain. I think I felt a butterfly spit in my eye. Apart from that, everything is still bone dry. It doesn't make holding wool very appealing; so I have nothing on my needles at the moment. But I'm sure that won't last long!

Free knitting pattern for a dog glove puppet...

Here is a pattern that I wrote for Knit-for-Nowt. 

Clare, who runs everything, likes to include a dog puppet when she sends families of puppets to the therapists. Children will often say things to their dogs that they won't say to adults.

PATTERN FOR A KNITTED DOG HAND PUPPET

You will need

28g dk yarn

4mm knitting needles

Felt or buttons for eyes

Wool or embroidery thread for nose and mouth

Body

Cast on 20 stitches

Rows 1 – 4 are garter stitch

Then work 24 rows – (stocking stitch, commencing with a garter stitch row and ending with a purl row)

Arms

Cast on 10 stitches at beginning of next 2 rows (you will have 40 stitches on the needle)

Work 10 rows – (stocking stitch, commencing with a garter stitch row and ending with a purl row)

Cast off 10 stitches at beginning of next 2 rows (you will have 20 stitches on the needle)

Head

Work 50 rows – (stocking stitch, commencing with a garter stitch row and ending with a purl row)

Arms

Cast on 10 stitches at beginning of next 2 rows (you will have 40 stitches on the needle)

Work 10 rows – (stocking stitch, commencing with a garter stitch row and ending with a purl row)

Cast off 10 stitches at beginning of next 2 rows (you will have 20 stitches on the needle)

Body

Work 24 rows – (stocking stitch, commencing with a garter stitch row and ending with a purl row)

Work 4 rows garter stitch

Cast off

Ears (make 2)

Cast on 6 stitches

Rows 1 - 11 (stocking stitch, commencing with a garter stitch row and ending with a garter stitch row)

You will increase one stitch at both ends of rows 3, 7, and 11 until you have 12 stitches on the needle

Rows 12 - 16 (stocking stitch, commencing with a purl row and ending with a purl row)

Row 17 Join new colour (garter stitch row)

Rows 18 - 20 (stocking stitch, commencing with a purl row and ending with a purl row)

Rows 21 - 29 (stocking stitch, commencing with a garter stitch row and ending with a garter stitch row)

You will decrease one stitch at both ends of rows 21, 25, and 29 until you have 6 stitches on the needle

Row 30 (purl row)

Row 31 (garter stitch row)

Cast off

Fold in half, right sides together, and sew the 2 long side seams

Turn right side out

Making up:

Embroider facial features as desired

Fold in half, right sides together, and sew the seam

Turn right side out and attach the ears, taking care to close the top seam of each ear

The inspiration for this pattern came from the BASIC PATTERN FOR A WORRY PUPPET by Diane Fenney

If you feel like knitting, crocheting or sewing some worry monsters or worry puppetsfor Knit-for-Nowt, there is currently a competition to win a wool voucher on their website HERE.  There will be four winners and everyone has an equal chance as the winners will be selected at random by a senior social worker. The closing date is May 25th.

Therapy puppets and a project bag...

Following my last blog post about worry puppets, I have just finished sewing two therapy puppets. These are for the same organisation Knit-for-Nowt.  They are used, as before, by therapists, social workers and teachers, but differ slightly from the worry puppets. The therapists have requested that these puppets should have a sad face on one side and a happy face on the other side. This makes them useful in role play and discussions about emotions. They also do not have a pocket for the written worry. 

The pattern I used is on this page. It is the basic (unstuffed) hand puppet. I thought it would be quicker than knitting a worry puppet. It was a VERY easy pattern. But there was such a lot of hand-sewing involved that it actually took as long (or longer) than the knitted puppets. That wasn't a problem as I like sewing by hand. The main body can be sewn by machine. But the hair, facial features and fiddly hemming have to be done by hand. As requested, both my puppets have a sad face and a happy face. 

I deliberately chose a hair colour that is not natural so that children wouldn't have any problems identifying with the puppets. I remember completely rejecting a doll when I was about 6 because it had blonde hair. The irony is that photos show I also had fair hair at the age. My parents had dark hair and I just assumed I did too.

The material came from a discarded sweatshirt, seen here:

I cut off both sleeves, then cut the pattern pieces. One of the puppets came from lower down the sleeves, hence the cuff effect. The rest of the sleeves became the heads and second puppet. I was a bit surprised that I had only enough material for two puppets. Of course, I could have made a few more from the body of the sweatshirt. But I needed a project bag to replace the tatty, plastic carrier bag that was sitting on my sofa with knitting needles poking out at dangerous angles. This is what I made:

It probably took less than an hour to make. I simply cut across the chest of the sweatshirt and sewed the cut edge with a double seam for strength. I rounded the corners slightly to avoid the Mary-Poppins-carpetbag effect. The top of the bag didn't need any hemming as it is the lower ribbing of the sweatshirt. I sewed on two handles that I removed and saved from a fancy Christmas gift bag. It is a very wide bag simply because the sweatshirt was large. But it is perfect for holding balls of wool and long needles. Anyone getting rid of children's outgrown sweatshirts could use this same method to make little bags for holding toys etc.

I have already started my next project. I am making more worry puppets, but this time I'm amending a double knit pattern to suit Aran yarn. That isn't as straightforward as it sounds. The brain cells are definitely having to work overtime....

Worry puppets...

2017 was a  year I will be happy to forget for lots of reasons. By December I felt just about ready to knit something daft but useful. I don't often knit toys. But a charity I have knitted for in the past (Knit for Nowt) has changed its focus from hats and blankets to therapy puppets and worry monsters. These are used by social workers, therapists and teachers all over the UK who are helping children through various traumas. The idea is that the child writes down a worry and posts it into a pocket on the puppet. This acts as an ice-breaker which, hopefully, leads to discussion and eventual help for the child.

There are lots of patterns ranging from knitting to crocheting and sewing available on the Knit for Nowt website. The pattern I chose is on this page. It is the seventh pattern in the list and is called "Another Worry Puppet". Clicking on the link brings up a word document containing the pattern. Your imagination can run riot when making these puppets. I think my imagination was only strolling along as my puppets are very plain compared to some of the other wonders on the website. I simply gave mine blue jeans, a cream jumper and a big red pocket for a mouth.

But I think I have now caught the bug. There are lots of good ideas on the Knit for Nowt website and their latest newsletter shows just how much these puppets are used and appreciated. It even mentions that there is a high demand for finger puppets. I know some people love to make these; but I'm not one of them! They are far too fiddly for me. However, Hubby finished with a perfectly good cotton jumper today and I just saved it from the bin. I'm intending to print off some sewing patterns for glove puppets from this page. Watch this space...