I am SO excited to now offer my original design in pattern form!  Now you can knit your own "Budgie Bloomers"!  (Pattern will be emailed to you in PDF form!)

 

 

This is an "intermediate" pattern, but will be a GREAT challenge for beginner's and a super fun new project for advanced knitters!  It is 17 pages long and comes in PDF form!

 

"Budgie Bloomers" started as an idea I had to make a fun pair of longies that resembled my favorite ragdoll that I owned as a child!  BUT it has ended up being even MORE!  My "original idea" has ended up to be more of an "American Spirit" design...

 

 

And since the pattern is so flexible, I've gotten many wonderful ideas from people I knit customs for!  You can either keep your "Budgie Bloomers" simple with 2 colors:

 

 

Get daring and add a third...

 

 

Or go wild and crazy and add a BUNCH!!!! (and a fun design!) ...

 

 

Loads of time and energy went into this pattern, and with help from my friends (who have been knitting by my directions and editing along with me!), this is a very detailed and informative pattern!  AND it's VERY flexible!  You can knit "Budgie Bloomers" in long pants style (longies), leave off the striping and knit them as "Budgie Bloomer" shorties or capris, leave off the skirt and knit shorties OR longies!   The possibilities are endless and you can let you imagination go wild! 

 

NEEDLES: 

16" circulars - US Size 5

16" circulars - US Size 8

12" circulars - US Size 8 (OR Size 8 double pointed needles)

Size 2 double pointed needles (or whichever size you prefer for knitting your i-cord!)

 

(if you have a hard time finding the 12" circulars, especially if you live outside of the US, please let me know and I could get one from my local yarn shop (they are Addi Turbos and AWESOME!!!), then I would send you a "request payment" through Paypal and send it off to you!  I would charge actual cost of needle, actual cost of shipping, and then a bit more just for gas for driving to the shop!)

 

My yarn of choice is "O-wool" 100% Organic Merino Wool (which I recommend in my pattern) but you can use any yarn of your choice that will work up at the same gauge (5 stitches & 7 rows = 1" on size 8 needles)  Wool, being a natural fiber that contains lanolin, is great for cloth diapering because it is waterproof & breathable when used as a diaper cover, but it's also great for any child since it's cool in the warm weather and warm in the cool weather!  But... it's totally your preference, and as long as you love the yarn and it knits up at the same gauge then you can't go wrong! 

 

Included are size guidelines for 0-3, 3-6, 6-12, 12-18 and 18-24 months but I also explain how to do the math for any child's exact measurements!

 

Techniques used:
Long Tail Cast-on, Basic "knit" and "purl" stitches knit "in the round", short rows (I show the most invisible short rows I've been able to find!  I got frustrated with the "wrapped" stitch method and Japanese Short Rows!) "make one right" and "make one left", the "jogless jog" (to keep stripes as straight as possible when knitting in the round), kitchener stitch (for grafting) and i-cords!  And "duplicate stitching" is an option to apply designs after your Budgie Bloomers are finished!

 

**Since this is an "intermediate" pattern, I don't explain every single technique BUT I provide many photos and diagrams!  I also will be offering some of my own tutorials and links to some of my favorites on my blog AND you can email me ANYTIME and I'll lead you in the right direction for online video and photo tutorials!  (contact info. on the pattern!)  That last few pages of the pattern are certain detailed instructions AND the last page is a fun coloring section for you to sketch out color ideas for your Budgie Bloomers!

 

 

Thanks a bunch!  :) Bridget

 

Budgie Bloomers™

© 2009 Bridget McKenzie

The East Side