Hoppy New Year!
OK, OK, the new year started 15 days ago. And I have plenty of other stuff to write about (including my recent forays into the world of gluten-free cooking and baking), but I thought it might be good to start with bunnies.
For those of you who are proud bunny parents who also knit, you may want to give this a try. Bird parents might also want to give it a go.
Here are some things I learned while doing this project:
Wear gloves.
Seriously. Seagrass is not soft and pliable, like yarn. It has give, and you can knit it. But you can’t twine it through your fingers like you might with regular yarn. Your knitting will also go much slower than you may be accustomed to when knitting with actual yarn. But it’s possible, just as much as knitting with wire is possible.
What kind of gloves? I used some nitrile ones we have in the garage for doing mechanic stuff, such as oil changes or anything else particularly dirty. I would imagine latex would work as well. Anything that’s very fitted and will hold up to some abuse. Also, you can’t care whether or not they get ripped up, because they will get ripped up while you knit. You may go through multiple gloves if you make a larger project.
Use metal circular needles.
Don’t use wood, or anything else that might get damaged by knitting with something rough. Also, it doesn’t matter if you’re planning to knit in the round or not. Circulars make it a lot easier to handle the stiffness of the finished project. What length of circular you use will depend on what size project you want to make, of course. Use your best judgment.
Have a vacuum cleaner ready.
Seagrass sheds. A lot. You’ll need to vacuum yourself, your workspace, anything you sit on, and the entire area where you’ve been sitting when you’re done.
It’s rough going.
I can’t speak for anyone else who knits, but you need strong hands to do this for any length of time. For myself, I don’t just knit and type — I also bake bread professionally, and am kneading bread with my hands almost every day. I’m fairly certain that made this project easier for me than it might be if I didn’t knead bread every day. You may need several sessions to make what you want for your pets.
Is it worth it?
I think so. So far, Sabine seems to like her new toy. I need to make another one for Jutta, our other rabbit. She’s very fond of those unpeeled willow balls that a lot of house rabbit toy specialists sell, so hopefully she’ll like it if I make her one of these. I’ll report back once I do.
