Bellyphant

July 2011

When I was a kid I was a little bit obsessed with elephants, and I still think they're very cool animals. So I really couldn't resist this pattern, especially when I noticed it was called "Bellyphant" on account of the tiny elephants being positioned around the waist band. I'm going so soft in my old age.

I modified this pattern by making the section above the elephants plain rather than striped, and by lowering the neckline by a couple of rows. Jennifer Little comes up with THE cutest colour motifs, but at the risk of being very critical, it does feel a little bit like the design process runs out of steam a bit at that point. The shape of this is virtually identical to her sheep yoke cardigan, and I couldn't help but think it might have been nice to see a different neckline, or a garter stitch trim or... well... something...

I'm not sure about the wisdom of making baby clothes from Felted Tweed - it is machine washable in theory, but I've had one or two bad experiences on that front already, and so I'm going to have to be very careful with it.

It can also grow quite a bit if you handwash it. These pictures were taken after just a gentle steam block, but I'll try and remember to come back and give the before and after measurements when I wash it.

Pattern: Bellyphant by Jennifer Little

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed

Amount: 2 skeins MC, 0.5 skeins CC

Colourway: 170 Seafarer MC, 165 Scree CC

Needles: 3.25mm

Size: Smallest

On ravelry: here