Sugarless Panoramic Egg and Egg Box

SugarlessPanoramicEggandEggBox
by Anita M. Wheeless
Originally published by Popknits online, Spring 2009 edition, http://www.popknits.com, under the Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
3.0. Once free, always free!
R
emember those gorgeous sugar eggs you’d find in your basket on Easter morning? I could spend
hours peering into the little scene inside. Squinting, I’d stare at the tiny, perfectly formed sugar
rabbit resting serenely on green-icing grass or watch the little, yellow sugar ducks silently swimming on a lake of
sparkling sugar. I’d save my eggs for weeks (if not years!), always wondering what a taste of one might be like,
but never daring to actually take a nibble. Sugar eggs are becoming harder and harder to find in stores these
days. Here is a sugarless version that will last forever and never get stale!
The large egg and egg box both measure approximately 5 in. tall by 3 ½ in. wide. The small egg measures approximately 3 ½ in. tall by 2 in. wide. The medium-sized egg measures approximately 3 in. tall by 4 in. wide.
Materials
1 ball of 100% wool yarn. Recommended yarns are:
Ella Rae Classic [100% wool, 219yd / 200m per 100g skein]; color: 01; 1 skein.
Paton’s Classic Wool Merino [100% wool, 223yd / 205m per 100g skein]; color: Aran; 1 skein.
Reynolds Lite Lopi [100% Virgin Wool, 109yd / 100m per 50g skein]; color: 051; 1 skein.
US 8 / 5.0 mm (double-pointed needles, 7” length recommended) for the egg box and the large panoramic egg.
US 6 / 4.0 mm (double-pointed needles, 7” length recommended) for both the medium-sized and the small egg.
1 stitch marker
Oddments of colored wool yarn for decorations
Optional grosgrain ribbons, ric-rac, braid, novelty yarn, wool roving, pre-made felt squares, etc., for decorations
Tapestry needle, yarn needle, sewing needle
Matching thread
Directions
(Popknits uses knittinghelp.com's standard abbreviations)
PatternInstructionsforLargeEggandEggBox
Using size 8 (5.00 mm) double-pointed needles you will:
Row 1: Use two needles and start by knitting back and forth. Cast on one stitch.
Row 2: k1, p1, k1 in this one stitch. You now have three stitches.
Row 3: knit into the front and back of each stitch. You now have 6 stitches.
Row 4: Knit.
Row 5: Knit into the front and back of each again for a total of 12 stitches.
Divide these 12 stitches evenly onto three double-pointed needles by knitting four stitches onto each needle.
Round 1: Place a stitch marker at your first needle and use the working yarn, which is now coming from needle three,
to join the stitches and begin knitting in the round. Go ahead and knit (work) this round.
Round 2: Increase in each stitch again. You now have 8 stitches on each needle.
Round 3: Work this round.
Round 4: Increase in each again for a total of 16 stitches on each needle.
Round 5: Work 5 rounds.
Round 10: Increase in the first stitch on each needle, then k2, increase, k2, increase, k2, increase, k2, increase, k2,
increase in last (22 stitches).
Rounds 11-40: Work these 30 rounds.
Round 41: k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog (16 stitches).
Round 42: Work this round.
Round 43: k2tog on each needle (8 stitches on each).
Round 44: Work this round.
Round 45: k2tog all the way again. (4 stitches on each).
Leaving a tail, cut yarn and thread yarn tail through a yarn needle. Gather remaining stitches onto the yarn and pull
tightly. Knot off. Weave in loose end.
Proceed to felting!
MediumEgg
Follow pattern exactly as written above for large egg, only use size
US 6 (4.0 mm) double-pointed needles.
SmallEgg
Use size 6 (4.0 mm) double-pointed needles and follow the rounds
above for large egg until Round 4 (not row 4, but ROUND 4). Once
you have 16 stitches on each needle, continue to knit for 30 rounds.
Then you will begin your decrease rounds for shaping the top of the
egg.
Decrease Round 1: k2tog all the way around on each needle (8
stitches on each).
Round 2: Knit all the way around on each needle.
Decrease Round 3: k2tog all the way (4 stitches on each).
Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread tail through a yarn needle and
gather remaining stitches onto it. Pull tightly and knot off, then weave
in loose end.
Proceed to felting!
Felting
After knitting, place the egg in a zippered lingerie bag and throw it in your washing machine. I usually add a pair of
white jeans to help with agitation. The bumping around helps to make the scales on the wool break down faster,
speeding up the felting time.
I set my washer for the smallest load, using the hottest water, and add a sprinkle of laundry detergent, but you could
use wool wash, if you like.
Set your timer for about 5-10 minutes and check your egg. Each washing machine is different, so keep checking. If it’s
not finished, simply throw it back in and check again in another 5 or 10 minutes. In my experience, the Ella Rae Classic
merino yarn felts the fastest. Paton’s Classic Merino felts nearly as fast. The Lite Lopi takes a little longer. It took my
eggs about 45 minutes to felt to my liking; however, depending on your water temperature, agitation, etc., your eggs
may felt faster or slower. Please be careful and check! When no stitch marks remain, and the egg looks like one piece
of seamless fabric, it’s finished! Take it out of the washing machine and pat it dry in a towel.
Assemble
For the Egg Box:
After felting, stretch the egg into shape and then carefully cut the egg in half lengthwise so you have a top and a bottom
for your box. Stretch the pieces into egg shapes again. If you have an egg-shaped form, you could use it to help keep
the shape while the piece dries. You may cut such a shape from a piece of foam. If you do not have any foam handy,
simply stuff the bottom with plastic bags or stuffing and then stretch the egg box top over this. Let the pieces dry.
Decorating Ideas:
Measure around the hole and cut a strip of grosgrain ribbon that’s about an inch or two longer than this measurement.
Starting from the inside edge, stitch the ribbon along the inside first, then fold it over and stitch it to the outside edge as
well. Use a dab of craft glue to keep the cut ends from fraying. You could also use a bit of dyed wool roving and needlefelt it to the outside edge of the hole to look like frosting. Textured and novelty yarns also make interesting trims, as do
braids and ric-rac.
For the inside of the egg, you could use Easter grass, excelsior, or even dyed wool roving for the background to display
your little scene.
For the Panoramic Egg:
You will need to stretch the felted piece into an egg shape. Before proceeding, make sure your gathered end is the top
and the end where you began to knit is at the bottom of the egg. While still damp, pinch the middle of the egg together
and, taking a scissors, cut an oval shape out of the center of the egg. Start by cutting only a small hole. You can always
make your hole bigger, but you can’t make it smaller once you’ve cut it out! Use your own discretion as to how large or
small you want this window into the egg to be. I like to leave a nice-sized margin of white at the top and bottom of my
egg for decorating. Once the hole is cut, pull your egg into shape and set it aside to dry. Keep the part of the egg that
you removed. If you’d like, you may use this piece to cut a small rabbit, duck, butterfly, etc. to later place inside the egg
or to attach to the outside of the egg for decoration. Let the egg dry completely. This may take a day or two.
Ideas for figures:
Porcelain, stuffed or felt figures work well. You could use pre-made felt squares or felt a few different colored swatches
to cut out the figures you’d like inside your egg. Tiny paper or dried flowers, can also add a whimsical touch. For more
decorating ideas, take a look at real sugar eggs.
Don’t forget! If you run into any bumps or trouble spots, please
email me: [email protected] and be sure to check out:
http://www.thepatternbox.com for more fun patterns!