Happy New Year! I gave this one a very slow start as things have been crazy and I’m mostly taking it day-to-day so far. I imagine many people are feeling this way! Anyway, whatever day it is, it’s a good day for knitting something tiny and cute, so let’s knit tiny tigers together for the year of the tiger!
Just looking at these little guys, with their peppy stripes and friendly face fuzz, makes me happy. It’s a quick pattern that uses stranded color knitting, I-cord, and a smidge of picked up stitches for the tail. Great for yarn scraps, or I also have a kit that makes two yellow tigers, one for you and one for a friend!
I have Yuri from Eylul yarns in Osaka, Japan, to thank for motivating me to make this pattern. I spent one new year in Japan when I was an exchange student (many years ago now!), and it was such a wonderful time of family and friends and fancy foods and wishes for the new year. And I have Lora Kinberger to thank for her test knitting!
As for this design, I think this is the first time I’ve gone with this sort of side-facing look for the face—it’s something I’ve been doing in clay for a while, actually, and it only recently occurred to me to try it in knitting.
I like how you get to see the full face and body at the same time! It’s very illustrative, and although I’m not an illustrator, I’m trying to open my eyes more to the shapes and patterns that illustration can inspire.
Anyway, I hope you love the pattern, and I hope we all have many good things ahead in 2022!
Oh, and you can take 22% off most everything in my shop right now with the code HappyNewRawr!