Don't mess with my knitty!

This really is going to be a crafting post, I promise! But first, to set the tone, this is Scooter, our 9 1/2 pound Chihuahua that rules the neighborhood. You're right -- I know he's adorable, and so does he! Notice that little green corkscrewy-looking thing there that Scooter is definitely guarding? That is one of Scooter's most favorite kinds of toys to play with, and is known to him as his "knitty". I know it's crocheted and not knitted, but please don't tell Scooter, cuz I'm sure it would truly upset him!

Scooter loves his knitty so much that I frequently have to make new ones for him to play with. They're the perfect sized toy for my little boy, being smaller for his little mouth. It's so much fun to watch him flip one up in the air and catch it, and run around the house with one in his mouth trying to keep from getting caught, as that might end up in "upping the knitty".

These are crocheted using the corkscrew pattern, which is basically, make a chain whatever length you want to make. Then in the third chain from hook do 3 dc or hdc, and repeat until the end of the chain. This causes your work to turn, or corkscrew. I do different variations though, depending on my mood and the yarn I'm using. I'll do more dc or hdc in each chain if my yarn is lighter weight. I just find it corkscrews better that way. Oh, and since these knittys shown here are for Scooter's pleasure, I don't bother sewing in the ends. He actually prefers I don't, so a little game of tug can be enjoyed.

Not into making knittys for pets? There are other things you can use the corkscrews for also. Such as this corkscrew crocheted scarf shown here. The free pattern can be found Crystal Palace Yarns. You can also use them to create a fringe for a scarf, or add them to a child's hat for a cute curly ponytail look. I saw the most incredible scarf on a lady while I was in Michaels one day at the end of last winter. It was so bright and colorful, and it was made of probably a hundred or so knittys! Very unlike the scarf shown here, I'm thinking probably a base scarf was used, perhaps like a filet crochet type of thing, and then all these colorful knittys were attached to it. Oh man, was it amazing! I just don't know if I could make enough knittys that I could keep away from Scooter to make such a scarf for myself, but with the weather now turning chillier I'm thinking I may give it a whirl.

In the meantime, I'll be sure to have Scooter well stocked in his own knittys!

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