So the test knit worked! Cat basket in dove grey arm knitting yarn, hot off the needles and approved by Larry.
This yarn is acrylic, so it doesn’t have the woolly scent which attracts the furbags. So I placed the basket in a high status location – kitchen table – location is everything – and sprayed it with catnip spray. Took about 5 minutes for Larry to jump in it.
I’ve only knitted these in wool before, so wondered how the acrylic yarn would perform. Well, it was perfectly easy to knit with, a consistent thickness, and pretty strong. Like any yarn, you have to be careful not to split the fibres whilst working.
This particular basket was knitted from the top down, so the outer rim is the cast-on edge. I used the long tail cast on, to make the edge neat and flexible. Larry will stretch out in his sleep and flatten the sides, but this yarn is happy to be re-shaped afterwards and the sides hold up pretty well.
Really loving the dove grey colour and find it goes well with the decor in any room in the house. Grey is the new white!
I’ve listed the Giant Wool Cat Basket, and the pattern, on my website Knittingrev.com, and in my Etsy shop.
The pattern includes 2 sizes, and 2 methods. You can work top down, as in the grey basket, or from the centre outwards – see white basket below. If you work from the centre outwards, you start off with 6 stitches, and your cast-off edge is the outer rim. You might prefer the look of this.
For both methods, the basket is worked in the round, on circular needles, using the magic loop method. There is no seaming – hurrah! – and only 2 ends to weave in.
Arm knitting yarn and 25mm circular needles from Woolly Mahoosive. Many good suppliers for extreme knitting also on Etsy.