Brightly Burning

This was a deeply satisfying project. I've had the pattern bookmarked for quite a while, and when I realized I had a Christmas recipient all lined up, I ordered the yarn. I made it with worsted weight instead of DK, and on 5s instead of 3s (the yarn is held double throughout). I had 6s on hand when I cast on, in case the fabric turned out too stiff, but it was perfect on 5s, soft but dense, so that no stuffing shows through. I sewed it up with the yarn held double as well.

 

I nearly gave up on the project when I read the first line of the instructions: cast on 10 stitches. That doesn't sound alarming, does it? I knew I was starting with a leg, and not the body, but I was imagining that this piece would be folded in half, and I could see for myself in the photos that there were more stitches than that in the leg. I took a look at other people's efforts on Ravelry, and was alarmed that there were so few of them. And of those, hardly any looked like the original pattern. Now deeply alarmed, I read through everyone's notes. One photo cleared up the mystery of how the thing is constructed, and a quick re-read of the instructions showed what I had missed. You start at the front of the legs, knit up the body, over the top of the head, and back down to the legs again. Arms happen by magic at some point. And the whole thing is sewed together at the sides. I could see where others had strayed from the designer's intent, and I thought I could avoid the pitfalls. First and foremost, NKD's earliest doll was knit in garter stitch, and she delighted in giving him "growing lessons" until he was quite  a lanky fellow. So I knew that I had to stuff carefully so that the tiger filled out instead of just growing taller.

Getting the face right on toys and dolls is immensely important. The face in the original pattern was perfect, so I zoomed in and counted stitches and placed markers, all to make sure it had the personality it deserved.

 

I nearly forgot the tail, but the entire household kept reminding me.

 

 

Needles: US 5 (3.5 mm)

Yarn: Knit Picks Mighty Stitch in Satsuma, White, and Black

Pattern: Lyn Livingston's Tiger in Garter Stitch

How much did I love this pattern? So much that without pausing, I cast on the leftover black and white yarn for another friend (who didn't need a tail):