I’m forever making bobbles

Around this time last year, bobble stitches absolutely petrified me. I mean, turning a single stitch into a round three-dimensional ball? Witchcraft.

It probably didn’t help that there are about four (that I know of) different ways to complete the bobble, leaving me overwhelmed and intimidated. I put off any and all patterns with that elusive “mb [make bobble]” until further notice.

And that further notice has arrived!

My first successful bobbling was during Stephen West’s Mystery Knit-a-long for Shawlography. I’m a very tactile and visual learner, so watching Stephen’s video tutorials with their detailed narration was exactly what I needed to help me figure out the technique more efficiently than reading written instructions. Turns out that bobbles are pretty easy — and fun!

Breathing that sigh of relief, I grew hungry for more texture-filled knits, and in the following few months I’ve gone on to complete two more bobbly projects.

Speaking of witchcraft, The Spellman Sweater created by Trysten Molina of Dragon Hoard Designs boasts a series of bobbles and cables along the shoulders and down each sleeve. It’s one of those projects where you’re genuinely excited to work the sleeves, rather than being relegated to Sleeve Island like so many sweaters before it. Granted, I decided to make quarter-length sleeves instead of full-length, so it didn’t take terribly long regardless.

It’s a cropped sweater made with fingering and lace weight held together, so it’s light but also warm and fuzzy. I used a reddish-brown alpaca blend for the fingering yarn and white mohair leftovers from my Abandoned Bus Sweater for the lace. At first, I was worried that the colour combo resembled that of raw beef, but those fears dissipated as the yarns harmonized through the completion of the project.

My second bobbly masterpiece is yet another entry from Knitted Animal Friends by Louise Crowther, a mainstay of my blog and project queue that readers will no doubt recognize. It’s also worth repeating that for every Louise Crowther pattern I’ve followed, I’ve used a slightly bigger needle than she does (3.50mm instead of 2.75mm) as that’s the smallest needle I had at the time, but I truly enjoy the slightly blown-up look that my larger gauge gives these dolls, so much so that I haven’t gone back.

Harry the Ram is especially popular on the r/Knitting subreddit, and I think he stands out for the unique texture and design elements he’s got, compared to the other critters in the book. His whole torso and most of his head are made up of bobbles.

This wasn’t my first attempt at Harry (who I’ve since named Ramses), I’d tried about a year ago, giving up when the bobble method went way over my head. It’s a triumphant feeling to be able to not only try again with a fresh understanding but to finish. I ran out of the yarn I was using halfway through his second horn, so until my order arrives from the store Ramses is a one-horned wonder.

In all, this year so far has been one of experimentation and learning new methods. It takes me longer to finish projects and put them on the blog, but I am in love with the results. I wonder if I’m ready for brioche.