Totoro Bean Plushie

Pattern/Technique: Grey Totoro Amigurumi Pattern by Lucy Collin

Modifications: Left off tail, arms, and embroidery on tummy

Materials: Knitpicks Swish DK in Marble Heather (3 skeins), Coal (1 skein), White (1 skein)

US E (3.5 mm) crochet hook

9mm safety eyes

New skills: n/a

Lessons/Notes: A pretty straightforward project. I don’t love seaming and was running out of grey yarn, so I simplified and left off a bunch of little details like the tummy embroidery and arms/tail, but the finished project is still Totoro, albeit a minimalist version.

Past Lauren didn’t add much stuffing in the main body, so I unpicked the woven-in ends and poked in a bunch more poly fill to make it more rigid. I’m mainly worried about it compacting and getting lumpy/floppy with use, so the extra filling should help prevent that.

I’m really happy with how the nose turned out: I embroidered a bunch of horizontal stitches, making them longer in the middle and slightly shorter at the top/bottom and layering multiple stitches to get a 3D tapered nose.

What I'd do differently: I think I might have ended up with slightly different length ears and slightly off axis placement of the eyes, both of which I’ll chalk up as “proof of hand”.

Care: Hand wash, dry flat

Purl Soho Lightweight Raglan Sweater

Pattern/Technique: Lightweight Raglan Sweater by Purl Soho in size 48.

Modifications: No mods, but used the following measurements:

Sleeve:

  • Cord stitch: picked up purl bumps from above

  • Knit until sleeve measured 1” from cast on edge: 7 rows

  • Knit until 17 3/4” long: 27 rows

Body:

  • Armpit to waist distance - 12”

  • Difference between middle & side seam length - 2.5”

  • Therefore knit until center is 14.5” from CO edge

Materials: 3 skeins Purl Soho Linen Quill in Green Turquoise

US 4 circular needles

New skills: n/a

Lessons: I started knitting a year+ before I learned about the importance of gauge or intended ease (Jacqui Cieslak’s Sweater & Knitting Math for Curves classes were both fantastic resources) in obtaining a desired fit—I didn’t knit a gauge swatch for this sweater and basically winged it. What I did learn in Jacqui’s class is that row gauge—in particular the ratio between row and stitch gauge—is actually quite important for raglan sweaters due to the diagonal “seam” where the sleeves are joined to the body and decreases create the chest and shoulder shaping.

What I'd do differently: Despite my lack of fitting knowledge I managed to avoid any massive pitfalls (no sleeves 9” too long ;) but the fit ended up being more oversized than I what prefer to wear, and I wasn’t a fan of the curved bottom hemline given that I prefer to wear bottoms that hit me at my natural waist (and tend toward more cropped silhouettes on tops). I also noticed that the hemline construction resulted in a hem that tended to curl upward (something pretty common with stockinette stitch, and why many sweaters have ribbing along the hems).

Given what I’ve learned about sweater fit and my personal style since knitting this, I don’t think I’ll remake this particular pattern (I ended up giving this FO to my mom), but I’m excited to try another raglan sweater (e.g. Cozy Classic Raglan by Jessie Mae) with different hem design elements.

Care: Hand wash, dry flat.