"'Teddy Monster" tutorial
by "knittymarisa" Marisa Gibler
This was totally improvised as I knit it, but this is, to the best of my recollection, how it was done...
I knitted it with Andean Alpaca Regal on size 10 needles. I think (maybe) I cast on 30-40 stitches and knit in garter stitch until I had a rectangle that was a little fatter than a 2:1 ratio (If you fold it in half, it would make a square, and then knit a little longer). Then I switched to knitting with a strand of thinner $100\%$ alpaca and one strand of the “railroad' looking ribbon yarn- the kind with two thin threads that are connected by little bits of ribbon. I knit with that for a bit longer than I'd knit the top half, and then bound off. Fold the whole thing in half and stitch into a pouch shape. Then I picked up just a stitch or two less than half of the bottom stitches and knitted a long flap of garter stitch for each leg. Then I picked up some stitches near the edges of the pocket, just below where I'd switched to the novelty yarn, and made some arm flaps. Then I tossed it all into the washer on a low water setting with hot water and a pair of jeans to felt. Oh! But first, I added some bits of yarn, just threaded through and hanging loose around the top and sides of the head for hair. After felting, they ended up looking like tiny dreadlocks. I wish I'd done a lot more than what I did. Put a lot of hair on- it shrinks! :) So, after felting, then I embroidered the face while looking at "Where the Wild Things Are” and stuffed it (with my old baby blanket that was totally shredded but I couldn't throw it away..) and stitched the top shut. Itried to gather the corners of the head a little and shape them into horns or something, but they just ended up looking like little round ears. My husband calls it a teddy monster. :) for help, drop me a note at marisa.perdue(at)gmail.com
