A very close friend of mine was recently diagnosed with dementia. I remember our many nature hikes with his dog, and decided to knit a twiddle muff to keep his active hands busy.
I used scraps of different weights and qualities and attached pictures of sample yarn strands and the felt dog pattern. I had lost most yarn bands and made my choices by colour and texture mostly, to make the muff most interesting to look at and to touch. I used yarn thicknesses reaching from DK to chunky and needle sizes of US 1 – 2 (metric 2.5 mm) , US 4 (metric 3.5 mm) and US 8 (metric 5 mm).
The pattern consists of knit and purl stitches, bobbles, stranded colour work, slipped stitches and yarn overs. The muff is knitted in the flat and the edges are joined after completion.
In my opinion, this pattern is suitable for intermediate knitters. Each step is explained here (I included stitch techniques and dog making and finishing instructions), and I am happy to help with any questions.
I hope you enjoy creating a similar muff, they are one-in-a-million pieces and will make someone you know very happy and much less anxious. For your free pattern download contact me or find it on Ravelry.
Enjoy and happy knitting!
Anja Sammon 