For Easter, we thought we’d bring back this adorable post from 2014. My friends and I didn’t enter this year–we thought someone else deserved a chance to shine. Also, if anyone wants to buy a lightly used Peeps diorama, we might consider selling. It would make great yarn shop decor.
On Monday, I asked: Do Penguins Need Sweaters? Answer: Not really.
But my friends Joanna, Kate, and I thought penguin sweaters were perfect for the Washington Post Peeps Diorama Contest. Our entry:
Sweaters for Peepguins
After the bunny peeps read on Peepbook that peepguins in the Southern Hemisphere needed sweaters, they met up at their local yarn store to pitch in.
Their instructor, in the dark blue shawl, shows them how to get started.
What’s that in the corner behind the bunny in the blue and white sweater?
For the knitters: That cuddly peep was knitted in the round on very small needles–size 000, I think.
Also knitted on tiny needles: these hats.
Note how the peepguin in the poster is sad before it gets a sweater, but happy after. That’s the power of knitwear. The yarn balls were wound on toothpicks using the nøstepinde technique.
These bunnies aren’t beginners; they’re knitting sophisticated sweaters in a variety of stitch patterns.
This knitter is working seed stitch with her toothpick needles and the quirky Japanese yarn brand Noro.
Knit One Peep Two is a modern yarn shop, with an iPad instead of a cash register.
Behind the counter, a hand-painted poster reminds the knitters of the plight of the peepguins.
The magazines cover important issues for marshmallow knitters, with tips for knitting without arms and keeping needles sugar-free. They also offer patterns, like the two-eared hat sported by the cashier.
A sophisticated bunny does her shopping in a hand-knitted cape.
What a joy, to be crafting with your friends.
Produced by me, Helen Fields (knitting of eccentric items, winding of tiny yarn balls); fellow science writer Kate Ramsayer (knitting of sweaters and hats, winding of tiny yarn balls); and museum curator Joanna Church (painting of posters, building of dollhouse furniture, constructing and papering the diorama, winding of tiny yarn balls).
photos: Helen Fields, except the overview, which is by Kate Ramsayer