I cannot deny it . . . this is a futzy little knit.

But it’s also really stinkin’ cute!

And it was actually pretty quick to knit, too (2 TV nights). It’s top-down and stuff-as-you-go; no seaming at all. You start at the tip of the hat with some i-cord, and then eventually switch to knitting in the round on double-points. (The beginning of the Musselburgh hat is far futzier. Just sayin.)

There are clever little features . . .

 

 

  • a “wonky” elf hat (thanks to a few clever little short rows)
  • a “faux thumb” on the mittens (just a perfectly placed increase/pass stitches over)
  • a freakin’ heel gusset on the elf shoes (from a 3-stitch heel flap)
  • and tiny ears (just 2 little rows and a bind-off)

I will admit that when I looked at the pattern and read the words “heel flap” and “turn the heel” I almost didn’t start. But . . . the directions are super clear and it was much easier than I anticipated. (And now I figure my knitting-life can be complete . . . having turned a tiny elf-shoe heel, y’know?) (His scarf, by the way, is fabric. You could knit a scarf if you wanted, but the pattern calls for a piece of fabric. Mine is a scrap of wool flannel.)

He’s a bit . . . rustic looking, but that suits me just fine! He’s made himself perfectly comfortable, just hanging out there in my “Christmas forest tableau.” (I think I’ll let him stay there.)

I had planned to just make that one elf. But now that I’ve completed that first one, I just know the next one would be (will be?) easier and even quicker. (My second elf shoe is much neater than my first, for example.)

It’s a sign that I’m in trouble with this elf thing . . . because I brought my whole scrap basket up to my knitting chair. Y’know. In case I decide to start another one . . .

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How about you? What are you working on this week?