Pretty Emily Rabbit

Emily-Cute Crochet Animals-Emma-Varnam

Pretty Emily Rabbit, she is so enchanting. In recent weeks I thought it might be fun to return to my crochet pattern of Emily Rabbit and try two new things. All of the animals in Cute Crochet Animals use Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. This is a quality yarn with a soft finish and a vast array of colour choice. I thought it would be intriguing if I made Emily in larger weight yarn and compare the size with the animals made in the original 5ply cashmerino.

Emily-Cute Crochet Animals-Emma-VarnamClothes

Secondly all the clothes designed for the book are crocheted. There is good reason for this. It does mean that if you can crochet, you can complete all the projects. However I do like a little bit of sewing and I also enjoy my knitting and the different texture it creates. I had in mind that I would like to sew her a pretty skirt, use the crochet pattern in the book to create her cardigan and then finally knit her a delicate keyhole scarf.

Returning to a pattern

It is not often that I return to my original designs. Once I have made and written the patterns, I am done. This seems especially true of the patterns I write for books. There is quite a gap between the making and the final reveal of publication. All that time, the projects must remain a secret. So it seems better not to return to those patterns during that period.

Bigger scale

For Emily’s head and body I used Rowan Pure Wool Worsted in a light cream colour. Her knickers use a random pink aran yarn I had in my stash. This Emily is certainly a much bigger bunny in comparison and I was pleased that I had some larger safety eyes in stock.

Emily-Cute Crochet Animals-Emma-Varnam

The skirt was fairly easy to whip up on thew sewing machine. I made a basic short rectangle and just gathered the skirt at the waist with elastic. I used less than the ‘fat quarter’ bought from my local craft shop.

The keyhole scarf uses beautifully fine Debbie Bliss Rialto 4ply in Ecru. I used the standard formula for this pattern and just kept adding to the length until I thought the scarf would fit.

Emily-Cute Crochet Animals-Emma-Varnam

Making the larger Emily was slow burn project. I gradually added new elements to her as weeks past. Because such a long time had elapsed since I created the original animals, I felt like I was playing with my own designs. By the time she was finished a new owner for Emily had been identified. I very rarely accept a making commission, it feels like an added pressure I need to avoid. But as a special favour for a friend, I was happy for this precious rabbit to find a loving owner. Will I make another of my designs? I am sure I will – but it will always be for fun and there will always be a little bit of play and accessorising on the way.

The beautiful photographs of Emily were taken by the very talent Lucy from Smith Imagining.

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3 thoughts on “Pretty Emily Rabbit”

  1. Hi Emma,

    I’ve bought your book of cute crocheted animals, and am working away on emily rabbit currently. However, I just can’t figure our the underwear instructions! I gather the first instruction is to work 20dc around the top of one leg, but I can’t figure out about the next 20 to add the second leg… Any chance you could explain in detail??
    Many thanks!
    Stephanie

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