Bunny!

Project specs

Pattern: Bunny Egg Cosy from Little Cotton Rabbits

Wool: Scraps of Jo Sharp Classic DK wool in Heath and scraps of Cleckheaton Country Silk 8 ply in pink and raspberry.

Needles: I went up a size as I wanted a larger egg cosy to fit on our big easter eggs, so used 4mm instead of the 2.75mm specified.

Notions: black wool for embroidery; toy stuffing

I must say I am completely enarmoured with this rabbit! I had originally planned on making three - one for each member of my wee family - to cover our chocolate eggs on Easter morning but remembered too late that I am supposed to be knitting two flower girl cardigans for a wedding at the beginning of May, and alas, Easter egg cosy bunnies would have to wait.

Never mind. I had more than enough fun knitting this little girl rabbit, thanks in part to the superbly written pattern. One of the things I dislike about knitting toys is the hours of tedious sewing at the end, trying to make all the oddly-shaped bitty pieces of knitted fabric come together in a coherent and well-made whole. This pattern, however, cleverly does away with that hassle by instructing you to sew pieces together as you finish them. Not only does it make the bunny come together far more quickly, but it means less ends to weave in at the end and you have a very neat finish to the toy. 10 out of 10 for pattern writing skills, I say!

Another excellent thing about this pattern is that it's a fabulous way to use of scraps of yarn. I'm not sure if your odds and ends yarn basket is anything like mine (I'd post a pic, but I'm far to embarassed about it's size) but I could well and truly do with an easy and enjoyable knit that uses up lots of ends. That way I get a cute new toy at the end, without having to justify spending any extra moolah on yarn. Bravo, recession-busting bunny!

Seriously, if you're in the market for a cute toy pattern, you really can't go wrong with this one. The pattern instructions are clear and easy to follow, you don't need much yarn, it's ideal for beginners wanting to learn some new skills (like colour changes, making stitches, increases, decreases, different stitch patterns i.e. stocking stitch and moss stitch) without being tremedously difficult. It also only takes a couple of hours from whoa to go. Now if only I could get those pesky flower girl cardigans finished, I could knit up some more bunnies.

*Clasping hands together in glee at the very thought of it!* Bunnies, bunnies, bunnies!