Will the Easter Bunny be visiting your house next weekend?
Easter is a great excuse to pick up your needles and hooks and whip up a few fun treats (in between eating chocolate eggs, of course!). A search for "Easter" on Ravelry brings up hundreds of patterns to choose from, including bunnies, eggs, chickens, and even a couple of Easter baskets.
Here is a shortlist of some of my favourites - where possible I have linked to their non-Ravelry sources, for those of you who might not be members yet.
- Bunny Nuggets, by Rebecca Danger (look for the link to the PDF in the right-hand sidebar) I made the these bunnies for an Easter swap several years ago. They're perfect for using up scraps, and can be stuffed with a bean bag to make them stand up on their own. These bunnies were an early version of the body-types Rebecca uses in her newest book 50 Yards of Fun.
- Big Cuddly Bunny, by Purl Soho You'll recognize this guy from our store, although we know him as Not Peter. If you can't find super bulky yarn, try using 2 or 3 strands
of worsted weight yarn held together as you knit. Just make sure to multiply your yardage amounts accordingly.
- Sunny Side Up hot pad/trivet by DROPS Design This one makes me laugh every time I look at it - how can you not love a hot pad that looks like a fried egg? This is crocheted, but is easy enough for beginners to make.
- Easter Chickens from DROPS Design Another pattern from DROPS, this time knit. The folks at DROPS (aka garnstudio.com) must love Easter knitting. Each year they have an Easter countdown calendar, the patterns from which are then added to their Easter Workshop collection. This is definitely worth checking out! :)
- Knit Easter Eggs by Precious Knits Studio This is the pattern I used to make the Easter Eggs that are in our store window this month. I used the pattern as a guide, picking random colours of yarn, and matching the needle sizes accordingly. Ideally, you want to use a smaller needle than usually recommended for your yarn, so that you create a firm knit fabric - otherwise, your stuffing is going to peek through the stitches!
- Miffy and Her Balloon by KnitterBees For me, this little rabbit is not just for Easter. I remember reading about Miffy when I was a child, in the brightly coloured picture books by Dutch author Dick Bruna. The simple stories are aimed at the preschool set, but I've always loved the minimalist aesthetic of Bruna's books, with their clean lines and bright, primary colours. Miffy now has a website, an iPad app, and a TV show, but I still think the books are the best way to meet her. :)
- Incognito by Emily Ivey (Sorry kids, this one is only available through Ravelry) Finally, we have a solution for all those stuffed creatures who long to be rabbits at this time of year. Emily Ivey, designer of some of the most adorable knitted things I've seen, has created a bunny costume for your knit and/or stuffed animals. Because who doesn't want a knit octopus wearing bunny ears for Easter?! (And yes, this octopus pattern is now available for purchase from Emily's Ravelry Store, along with equally amazing patterns for a pig, a hippo, a sheep, a vulture, and so many more. Oh, the cuteness - how can I choose which one to make first?!)