anna knits - penguin jumper

Process pics:

As you may have surmised from my lack of posts, the last few weeks have been very busy for me. More to come on that soon, but first I wanted to share that I have in fact finished the penguin jumper I started a few months ago. It is a very quick project -- I am just slow with the posting :).

As I blogged a few months ago, in order to care for penguins caught in oil spills, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at Phillip Island Nature Parks dresses penguins in knit jumpers so that they do not ingest deadly chemicals when attempting to clean themselves. They have a worldwide call out for knitters to send jumpers to the Centre. You can read more about the penguins and their knitted jumpers here.

You can find the pattern to knit a penguin jumper, as well as where to send the garment, here.

After a recent call went out, there was some controversy surrounding the Centre and its jumpers. You can read more about that here. 

For the jumper I made, I used Bernat Softee Baby yarn in Flannel with US5 needles, and a little bit of Kambgarn yarn in Rosebloom for the embellishment. Some people get really creative with their embellishments, but for an intermediate knitter looking for a meditative project, a monotone jumper like mine is the perfect pick!

knitting, etc. - penguin jumpers

 

A few friends shared this story with me, and it is so cute I had to repost. I have heard of knitters making penguin jumpers before, but this article from ABC Melbourne reminded me of the cause. Basically, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at Phillip Island Nature Parks takes care of sick and injured penguins. When a penguin is caught in an oil spill, the Rehabilitation Centre dresses the penguin in a knit jumper so that the bird does not ingest the deadly chemicals when attempting to clean him/herself. You can read more about the penguins and their knitted jumpers here. 

The jumpers are for little penguins, which, as you can see from the pictures, are quite small. The pattern calls for D.K./Sport/Worsted yarn on US5 needles. While I have not yet made one, it looks like it would be pretty quick to knit. I might take materials with me this weekend, so that I can make one on my upcoming plane ride (I'm going to Hawaii - woot!)

You can find the pattern to knit a penguin jumper, as well as where to send the garment, here.