Way back in 2020, my girls were very interested in farm animals, so when it came time to start making Christmas gifts and whatnot, I wanted to make them something along those lines. Enter the Barnivore pattern by Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochi Land. I've made many of her patterns over the years, and when she released this one in 2019, I bought it for just this purpose. So having the pattern already in my stash, I started knitting in September and I just barely finished it the day before Christmas, lol. 2020 was a crazy time, amiright?
The pattern starts with making the barn. In the original pattern, she has the barn as a carnivorous building with teeth and eyes, and while this is way cute, I didn't figure that my 2.5 year olds would appreciate the building eating the animals, lol. So I just made a regular barn. This was a stash project, so I used Vanna's Choice in Scarlet, Silver Heather, and White.
The openings for the animals are basically pockets that you sew in before assembly. I outlined the openings and made windows with white yarn. Stuffing this building was a bit of a challenge because I've learned that if you don't stuff things well in the beginning, they flatten out and become floppy fairly quickly as they get played with and the stuffing compresses. I wanted my barn to be stuffed enough to stand up, so mine turned out a bit bulging. The only way I've found to combat this happening on straight pieces like this is to add plastic sheeting, which I didn't want to do on this since it was for toddlers and they would bend it anyway. So, it's a bit more rounded then I intended, but that's ok.
Once the barn was made up, I started work on the animals. This was what really came down to the wire. I originally wanted to make 2 of each animal because I have 2 kids and they fight about everything, but it just didn't happen. I wouldn't have been able to fit 2 of each in the barn anyway, lol. They just have to take turns with the animals. The pattern gives instructions to make a chicken, a cow, a pig, a horse, and a donkey. I used a mixture of the fingering weight yarns I have on hand for and they are all made up of Knit Picks Palette and Golden Sun Bamboo (an ebay purchase from China years ago). I'm particularly happy with the chicken - I used Palette in the Pumice Twist colorway to look like our own barred rock chicken, Yentl. She's my favorite, lol. I will confess that these tiny little guys were quite fiddly to make with the teeny legs and tails and embroidered spots and whatnot. Once I made them up and hit my deadline, I was happy to stop. I always love Anna's tiny patterns, but I don't love making a bunch back to back.
I will confess that this doesn't get played with as much as I hoped it would at the time, so I brought it back into my sewing room as a decoration. Now that they are older, I feel like they will probably play with it more. Even if they don't, I enjoy having it around as a bright spot in my room. I can definitely recommend this pattern along with all Anna's other patterns. They are so creative and well written. If you need a barn of your own, you should check her out :)
Summary:
Yarn: Vanna's Choice in Scarlet, Silver Heather, and White; Golden Sun Bamboo in White, Nude Pink, Brown, and Black; Knit Picks Palette in Serrano, Canary, Camel Heather, and Pumice Twist
Time: 3 months
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