Hello from the middle of the school summer holidays! This is a flying visit because free time is currently in short supply for me here but things are generally going well. Toby is being kept busy and the weather has been glorious, though a little hotter than we are used to. The reason I’m popping in today is to mention the two new patterns that I’ve released this morning. It has taken me so very long to finish these off – I’ve been working on them off and on for over 18 months. Originally I had designed the dungarees to go into the boy sheep pattern, but for various reasons decided against that. Then I was planning to dress the upcoming badgers in the dungarees and pinafore with T-shirts but decided against that too. It seems better that these clothes are stand alone patterns, as they will fit any of my animals. I had planned to launch them before the summer holidays started, but before they were completely finished life got in the way, as it is often apt to. Anyway, they are done at last, so here they are.

The first pattern includes a pair of dungarees (overalls), a pinafore dress and a little toy which fits perfectly into the pocket (bunny or bear). The garments are knitted flat in 5ply or 4ply yarn on 2.75mm (US 2) needles and the little toy is knitted flat in 4ply yarn on 2.25mm (US 1) needles.

The second pattern is a set of 3 sweaters. All are knitted top down with raglan sleeves and follow the same basic pattern with tweaks. The T shirt has narrow stripes, the long sleeve sweater has wider stripes and the cardigan is flared and knitted in one colour but you can switch those around if you prefer. There are instructions included for knitting them all flat with seams or in the round if preferred.

Here are links to the patterns on Ravelry:

Ravelry dungarees pattern, Ravelry trio of sweaters pattern

If you do give any of the patterns a go and use Ravelry please upload your pictures to the little cotton rabbits group so we can all admire them. It’s so exciting to see what others make from my patterns and I do hope you enjoy knitting them.

I hope to pop back soon with news of other knitting stuff and some pictures of what we’ve been up to here but in truth it might be another few weeks before I get the chance to, I look forward to catching up with you then.

 

We’re deep in the school Easter break here, and it’s a long 3 weeker as Toby and Amy’s separate schools have different 2 week holidays which only overlap in the middle, so we’re all out of kilter here.

Still, I have actually managed to get to a point I’m calling finished on a new pattern. I’ve been working on this for the best part of 2 years, slowly accruing a collection of different skirt designs, discarding some and testing out new ones to take their place. At a final count of 19 there are a few more than I’d originally planned but some are very simple so there are enough to suit all levels of knitting depending on whether you want something undemanding to knit while watching TV or something a bit more fiddly and involved for a little challenge. They are all based on textures, including raised purl work stitches, lace and cables and most are designed to be worked in a single colour, though you can jazz things up with a different coloured hem or bodice if you chose to. Also included in the pattern are 2 options for a full collar, one that is crochet and one that’s knitted.

The pattern is available via Ravelry or Etsy and will be up on Loveknitting shortly.

I’m really looking forward to seeing all of the projects that people make from these so if you do give the pattern a go please come and add it to the Little Cotton Rabbits ravelry group so that we can all admire it.

Well, I’m off to keep Toby busy and out of mischief. See you soon x

 

Just a quick note to mention that on February 9th at 9.15am UK time I published an update to both my boy and girl bunny patterns (if you’ve purchased since then you will already have an updated copy).

The original patterns are still perfectly usable (there are no pattern errors) and in fact the majority of changes I have made are only cosmetic and to do with the layout and look of the pages rather than the actual pattern instructions.

However I have added two new designs to the head and tweaked the shaping at the back of the head (all row and stitch counts are exactly the same but I’ve changed it in line with the shaping on all of the other animal patterns). No other patterns have been updated.

Hopefully if you’ve previously bought either of the bunny patterns from Ravelry or my website you will already have received an email with a link to download the new file/s from. If you previously purchased a copy of the pattern/s and have not received an email notice about the update but would like a new copy of the pattern please follow the instructions below.

Please note that I decided I’d like to do this update for free rather than at an additional cost for you. Updates are not normally included in the cost of my patterns but at entirely at my discretion, so please bear that in mind before you get antsy with me and email me in annoyance if you’ve not received an update 🙂

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If you have not already received an email about the update/s please follow these instructions carefully as I will not be able to search through all of my back-orders to find yours and if you do not supply me with the information that I need, then I’ll be unable to send you an update. 

 

1. Ravelry Purchases (from a Ravelry account):

If you have bought through your Ravelry account it is very easy to check for updates. If you have added the purchased patterns to your library there will be an ‘update available’ sticker on the pattern picture and clicking on that will allow you to download the new file. If you are a Ravelry user then adding all patterns that you’ve purchased to your library is worth doing for this reason alone.

If you are a Ravelry user and don’t use the fantastic library function then you can still download new/updated copies of patterns by going to your purchase history (see image below).

 

Here’s an article detailing 5 ways of downloading a new/updated copy of a pattern you’ve bought via Ravelry.

There is a useful tutorial about the menu options of your notebook on Ravelry here

(please don’t email me to ask how Ravelry works, I’m just a Ravelry user like you and they have all the info you’ll need over on their site)

 

2. Purchases via Ravelry or my website (without a Ravelry account)

Please send me an email (link over in the column on the right – towards the top). I don’t need to know the date that you purchased but I do need to know the email address that you used (this will be your paypal email address). If I cannot verify your purchase (because you’ve supplied an incorrect email address) I will not be able to forward you an updated pattern.

 

3. Purchases via Etsy

Unfortunately Etsy have no way for me to automatically give you access to any pattern updates (if you are a Ravelry user it is worth buying patterns via ravelry rather than Etsy so that you do automatically receive any future updates).

So if you’d like a copy of the update/s please

• log into your Etsy account,
• go to the little cotton rabbits shop page and
• click ‘contact shop owner’

This will bring up a message window and you can type me a message letting me know that you’d like an updated copy of the pattern. Because you are messaging me from within your account I will then be able to see your previous purchases (from my shop only) and I can then verify and email you an update.

 

4. Purchases via Loveknitting

If you’ve bought on Loveknitting then they tell me that you should be able to download an update from your purchase history on your account there. If you have any difficulty you will need to contact them as I cannot assist with purchases that are not made direct from me.

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If you do contact me by any of the above methods to request an update please be patient with me as it may take me a day or two to process. As long as you’ve supplied the required information you will receive a reply from me. I am not able to enter into correspondence about the updates or give you any personal instructions other than what is written above.

I really hope that you enjoy the updated patterns. Happy knitting x