Isn't he fabulous? The pattern is from Rebecca Danger's Big Book of Knitted Monsters
. This book is one of the most adored in my knitting collection. When I use the word "most" I mean adored by the most amount of people that I show it to, especially the non-knitters.This monster is heading for one of my nephews, who has a birthday in the next week or so. It is being hand delivered, but not by me. I wish I could see his face when he opens this gift, as I think he will be loved by the newly minted 9 year old who will receive him. Apparently, I have been informed by his mother, 9 is not too old for woolly creatures.
This knit was pretty straight forward and I loved putting this guy together. I got the felt for the mouth from Blooming Felt and when it arrived I could not believe the thickness of it.
The felt is 4mm thick and is proper wool felt. It's incredible quality and I think it gives the fangs a great 3D effect! I stitched the fangs on the opposite way up to the pictures in the book, and though it was accidental, I really like the way it makes Hugo look like he is smiling. I sewed the fangs on, rather than using glue, as suggested, as I enjoy the process, rather than from any worries about not sticking.
I used 12mm safety eyes for Hugo as he is quite a substantial chap and I thought 10mm was too small. The yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash, which I got from Nutty Knitting Supplies and I highly recommend. I bought a few skeins for toy making and I really like it. If I could afford it, I would make clothes from it. I know I would definitely use it for baby or children's clothes. It gives a lovely crisp and even knitted fabric, which looks very neat.
I was quite surprised at how neat the three needle bind off at the top of the toy looked.
I had thought that grafting would have looked better, but this looks fine. I was also surprised that the whip stitch that sewed the bottom of the toy together, after stuffing, looked so neat.
The only thing I would do differently for my next monster is to stuff the legs more. They do bend a bit when the monster is stood up. I must remember that where the limbs join the main body, that is the point where all the stuffing is needed, or it will just sink to the bottom of the limb, like in the picture at the top of this post.
I will definitely be knitting more monsters from this book as they are a simple and enjoyable knit which bring so much pleasure. I know there at least 3 more people who would love one of the monsters, so I should be able to work my way through the book quite quickly.
To look at other finished objects (with less fangs) click on the button!
