Knitting: Dickensian Party Mouse, Cook

This is a pattern by Alan Dart from the Dickensian Party Mice collection. There are 9 mice to this series and a Christmas tree. This is the cook (baker?) mouse.

I started her about 3 weeks ago. She is a fairly easy knit since she is not knit in the round. I did have to look up a few stitches. Also, the directions for putting together the parts were not the most clear. I think this is mostly due for the need of a side shot of one of the mice to get a better idea more than the text. But she came together!

The pattern calls for Sidar, DK yarn. I cannot find this yarn around here so I used a sport weight yarn and smaller needles (size 2 US, 2.75mm). This yarn and needle size worked out well. The colors are similar, though not exact. The mouse is slightly smaller because of the lighter yarn but I like it. The yarn was mostly Bernat Satin Sport. There is probably enough yarn in the main color to knit another mouse and plenty more yarn of the other colors. Colors I will list as soon as I find the tags.

The only other modifications I did was to move the cake to the side. I felt her nose was going to be in it if she held it to the front. I kind of like it better this way though. I also put a cherry on top instead of holly berries so she did not have to be just for Christmas.

When you put her together, I would like to suggest putting her feet on last. This way you can adjust for the weight of the cake pulling her forward.

Also, when you knit her parts, do not do like me and store them all in the main (not stuffed) body to keep them together. Or at least look first before stuffing her. I think I stuffed the first set of feet I knit inside. Oops. Oh well, I knit new ones. 🙂

I knit another one just like this. To see how she turned out go to this post. She looks a little different in the head, but otherwise is much the same. At the time of writing this sentence, I am working on the maid. Watch out for that one if you come back through (Jan 1, 09).

You can purchase this pattern for very reasonable at Alan Dart’s website at http://www.alandart.co.uk/products/product/26

It is a pdf, paid by Paypal. It will convert currency before you pay. It arrives very fast in your email. A note of caution: Do not try to open the pattern from the link provided. Just save the file first. You only have one click on that link before it inactivates. There are several other cute patterns at this site as well.

NOTE: Please do not post or email me asking for this pattern. It is inexpensive and very easy to get from his site. Lets support the artist so he continues to be kind enough to make these patterns available online in this way. Thanks.