Knitting Mindy the Moggie in Knitting and Crochet mag

[goodjambadjar]

For some strange reason, I've decided it would be a good idea to knit this cat for my friend's imminent baby.

Although I'm a novice knitter and haven't even attempted a pattern or stripes before.

It's a stripy cat with chevron things, and it was so cute, and the colours are lovely, and I knew the stitches, and the wool came with the magazine, and what was I thinking?

I've done two rows of colour changes, 1knit, 1 purl. I've not cut the wool for each change, I've just carried it over, if that makes sense? Is this right? Am I being an idiot overly ambitious?

Please help!

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Damnit. Sorry!

www.ravelry.com/projects/Goodjambadjar/knitted-cat/photos

I hope that works. I'm on my phone so not sure if the link will convert.

I can't see your picture, but will try to answer. If you have lots of close together changes of colour for stripes then it is fine to carry the wool up the side, - if it's more than two rows, I wind the wool round the other colour as I go, and that keeps it neater and no dangly loops (hope I;ve explained that properly - just catch in the unused colour with the one you are using at the beginning of every knit row if you are doing stocking stitch.

I can;t see how complicated or otherwise the pattern is, but from what you say it is in stocking stitch, which you can obviously already do, and IME of making toys basically it is about shaping - so if you can increase and decrease then I think you will be fine.

www.ravelry.com/projects/Goodjambadjar/knitted-cat

I always cut my ends but then I'm rubbish at getting the tension right carrying colours up the side. But if it's working for you keep doing it

Oh - that's so cute
Now I've seen it, I think the shape looks reasonably straightforward (I was imagining a cat with legs etc, but your cat is a sort of cushiony cat by the looks of it) so I think you will be fine there.
With your stripes I can see that they don;t actually go to the end of the row - I think you will be fine carrying it over, - as Ninja says - be careful you don;t pull it too tight, but make sure you wrap the strands of wool (sort of cross them over each other) when you go from one colour to the next (i.e. from the red chevron to the stripes) otherwise you might get a little hole where you change colour.

I'm sure I'm not explaining this very well, but hope you get the gist.

Thanks for your replies, and for converting the link.

It's not working for me, I've never done stripes, and they're worked into the middle instead of the end, so I have tails and long threads, and now one of them has come into the right side.
I think I'll cut the ends to secure them and weave them in, as its affecting my tension and I can't get a real idea of how the piece is supposed to look.

Gah, idiot! Serves me right for trying something too ambitious! Too bloody minded to stop now

If I make it again, I'm either knitting it plain or missing the chevrons and just doing stripes by row!

Look up youtube videos on intarsia knitting - because it looks as if that is more or less what you are doing, and it will tell you how to carry your threads and twist your wool together to avoid holes.

Thanks KurriKurri I thought intarsia was for patterns in the middle, I didn't know it still counted this way!

Did i mention I'm a novice? who has only knitted plain scarves

Right, I bit the bullet and snipped the ends, as Ninja suggested. I figured as I'm only 4 (difficult) rows in, if it didn't work, I could start again. I've wrapped and tied the two coloured ends together where the colour change is. Its now sitting on the needle a lot better. What i didn't realise is that the ears are part of the body, not knitted and sewn on separately.

So, I'll be attempting to cast off some stitches while working others. Never done that either.

Gotta try sometime!

I'm glad you've sorted it - most of knitting is finding what works for you IME - there are no hard and fast rules.

With the ears, you will just probably have to knit a few stitches then cast off the central ones and knit the same number at the end. The you'll knit the first ear on the stitches at the point of your needle, cast it off, then reattach to the stitches you have left at the other end.

good on you for having a go - its the only way to learn stuff like this, to try it out

Thanks KurriKurri, you're right about learning things your own way. You wouldn't believe the trouble I got into trying to learn moss stitch! The youtube videos were so fast, and written instructions didn't help. I finally found a perfect very slow video which showed me how to move the yarn between stitches. You can imagine the mess, trying to purl from behind. It took me about a month to figure it out! and

My MiL keeps trying to correct my style because I use my whole hand to pass the wool over the needles instead if stretching my fingers. I just can't do it that way! I can't crochet either. Well, I can do a beautiful even chainstitch but I can't work back on myself. I get my loops mixed up! MiL has tried to teach me, but its one of those things where I get it wrong if she's not watching, and if she is, she takes it off of me in frustration to show me how to do it.

6 rows down, 70 to go!

sounds like you've got the hang of it I knit the same way you do, my nan taught me when I was about 8 and my hands weren't big enough to stretch my fingers to wind the yarn round and I've not mastered it since

Ninja, that's probably what it is! I only picked it up again about a year ago, but have taught myself to cast on and off, and a couple of different stitches that I didn't know before. The feeling of pride is ridiculous!

Is it the done thing for knitters to swear?

•^©|÷={_¶¥|!!!!!

I dropped a stitch in my 8th row. I tried to salvage it, but am not very good and created an extra stitch on the needle, so now have to knit 2tog to get back to the original pattern, and try to see if it leaves a massive hole. I've told myself this is the back of the cat, and that it's low enough down that I can sew the tail over it!

I'll knit 2Tog at the start of the row so it won't be too obvious, knit the row up to the drop and see what I can do.

I'm wondering if it really matters if I purl so its pretty one side. Would it look terrible if it was all garter? If I make another one, after this!

I think it would be fine all garter stitch, it's better you're confident with what you're doing and the little faults extra's to the pattern are what lets everyone know it's handmade with love stitched in

Thanks Ninja, oh wise one!

I figure the one done for the pics in the mag may have been tweaked to look perfect, plus the back view has a few faults, from a seasoned knitter, which is reassuring! I just figure I can work it up quicker if I just knit, as you say, it's a confidence thing. I'm glad I'm trying it though!

I think all garter will be fine too, - but bear in mind that garter stitch will come out shorter than stocking stitch so you might have to adjust the length with extra rows, or have it a bit shorter and fatter (It won't be a huge difference, and personally I'm all for cutomising - pattern is a guide, and doesn't have to be followed to the letter. You'll get a nice textured effect with garter stitch)

Am sure your friends baby will love her toy, - my mum knitted me a sort of doll when I was little - she wasn't the best knitter in the world, but his imperfections were part of his charm and made me love him all the more!

I haven't frogged the original project, I've just put it side until I'm more confident with dealing with the colour changes. I've started a new one using baby blue and navy blue yarns. I was thinking of doing a plain dark blue garter for the back panel.

Aw, thank you Kurri, that means so much to hear you say that. My friend loves thoughtful, homemade, individual gifts, so hopefully she'll love it. Well, I'll make her a Max moggie for her little boy!

I'll post pics of the finished project(s) in my ravelry folder. If I update, would you be able to let me know what you think please? That includes you too please Ninja, if that's OK?

I'm getting quite excited now, I've done 19 rows and its starting to take shape!

I'd love to see a picture when you've finished goodjambadjar

me too, I'm sure it'll be well loved

Hi

Has anyone got the knitting pattern for this? I've tried to find it online but can't :( love this cat pattern!