It all started in February 2014 with a designer’s call and subsequent stash diving. With a history of designing and hand knitting baby items for finished item sale, I had yet to publish a pattern in the “baby” category. But then I saw Storey’s call for 101 One Skein Wonders for Babies and couldn’t resist any longer.
©Geneve Hoffman Photography.
A gem of a discovery awaiting in my stash – a single unused skein of Classic Elite Yarns Seedling that I’d picked up at Mary’s Yarn (sadly now closed) in my home town of Unionville, Ontario. What could be more appropriate than designing my first “for sale” baby pattern than designing it with yarn purchased from my own birthplace!
For design inspiration, the little grey cells were stuck on ruffles. I’ve used ruffles before on a baby hat, but I couldn’t explain my deep seeded fascination with the technique.
Finally the conscious delved deep into the dark spaces of my memory and at last I knew where my love of ruffles originated! I remembered seeing a picture of me as a two-year old in a bikini with my Gedo (grandfather) at the pool. The teal green bikini with white polka-dots was covered all over in the same colored ruffles! The subconscious tie between baby items being adorned with ruffles finally made itself known! Sadly if only I still had that picture, it’d be posted below. Instead, here’s a couple of shots of Ruffle Bumpkin I took before sending off the sample to Storey Publishing.
Once I’d determined the technique and special effects, the yarn told me it wanted to be a diaper cover. Classic Elites Seedling, available in both solids and variegated colors, becomes a fun hand knit piece to match your little one’s favorite dress(es) and her sweet or sassy nature! Seriously, what’s better than colorful ruffles peaking out beneath the dress of your cutie?
Three rows of ruffles waiting to be seen!
©Geneve Hoffman Photography.
Ready to ship off for submission, one aspect remained unsolved. A fitting title for the precious diaper cover. After several attempts – “Ruffle Butt,” “Ruffle Booty,” and “Diaper Cover” (so inspired, I know) – nothing seemed to fit. Time was crunching down when mom came to the rescue. “Ruffle Bumpkin,” she exclaimed when seeing the finished piece & it was perfect. Just like me, this little number was named by my mom in the eleventh hour. Thanks mom!
After acceptance, I was thrilled beyond words to get to work with Edie Eckman for the tech editing. Having taken Edie’s Craftsy course, How to Say It: Pattern Writing for Knitters, it was an honor to have her TE my design! We worked together to fine tune the design for publication. With the final edit to the pattern, truncating it to just Preemie and Newborn sizes to fit within the one skein parameters of the book, this little cutie was put to bed.
Ruffle Bumpkin is pages 108-109 in Storey Publishing’s
One-Skein Wonders for Babies
101 Knitting Projects for Infants & Toddlers
Judith Durant (editor)
Available on Amazon (print and kindle), Barnes & Nobles (print and nook), Powell’s, and IndieBound or just click the image to the left! Book reviews on Goodreads.
November 2015 update – Ruffle Bumpkin is now available as an individual pattern in 15 sizes from Knit Eco Chic!