Usually when a designer goes into a social media group asking for testers I usually seem to be way too late to the game. I couldn’t believe my incredible luck that I was one of the first to reply to this tester request and get the chance for my very first pattern testing gig!
My excitement just grew from there when I discovered that the designer, Tammy Ramsey, was also a published designer with Leisure Arts. My little still very much a beginner self was pretty tickled by working with someone that was already where I hope to myself be someday.
The photo pretty much speaks for itself. Simon is just one of the most adorable bunnies I have ever seen. And just to let you know, ALL of the testers in our group had the same results and we ranged from complete beginner to advanced.
Tammy does write with her own “language” but it’s still very easy to follow as it’s not far off from the Yarn Council standards. But even if you do get confused, she is super nice and very quick to reply so you could always just shoot her a message for help.
Her pattern, found here, does include a little bow tie option and a tiny basket and carrot pattern. I didn’t complete those parts because I love my Simon without the bow and I didn’t have any orange yarn on hand and no time to get any before I left for a month long trip to the other side of the planet. You do get so much with the pattern.
Now it’s time for my review. Since this was a testing gig, I followed the pattern exactly. Usually I read over instructions and change some parts just to make assembly easier in the end but I stayed true to the pattern this time. I even followed an optional portion to try out a neck support method I had never tried before. That’s actually a good place to start this discussion.
I really do see the value of adding a long neck post to insert up inside the head, but it absolutely does not work well for me and my style and I will not be doing it again. I crochet with incredibly tight tension so the neck hole in my head piece didn’t have much give to push the neck post in. Also, I tend to stuff very firmly so it was a chore to allow enough space for the post to fit in and still have the firm stuffing I like.
The other thing I didn’t personally like about following the neck support instructions (or the general body instructions without the neck post) was that I don’t always make the cleanest finish off closure on my rounds. If I were to follow this pattern as it is again, I would rewrite it beginning from the bottom and ending the body piece at the row where the stitches match up with the head’s neck opening to just close it by stitching the 2 seams together.
Another option I might even entertain for completing the body might be to work it in one piece, starting from the top of the head and then continuing the body at the row that matches the ending stitch count for the head.
I want to stress that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the pattern as it is written, but this is a review of my personal preferences and suggestions of what I would do if I were working it up on my own outside of a testing environment.
As testers, we suggested that Tammy classify this as a pattern suitable for adventurous beginners. The ONLY reason for it not being for absolute beginners is that there are several decreases all bunched together on the feet which is kind of tight to work with while keeping holes to a minimum. But those decreases are absolutely necessary to get that adorable look to the feet and there is absolutely no way around it so just take your time in that section and make sure you tighten up your tension or even try using the invisible decrease to tighten things up.
If I would have to give this a star rating I would give it a full 5 stars. The fact that it’s not in the typical written language doesn’t make it any less clear to follow. The fact that I would personally change how I would handle the body situation, but not the shape of the body at all, does not mean it is a bad design. It’s designed beautifully and in a very typical way, just not the way I prefer to work those parts.
Will I be making another Simon? Absolutely. And that says a lot because I’m usually a one and done kind of crocheter. Would I recommend this pattern to others? Absolutely. I can’t imagine anyone not being happy with the results and except for a few stitches in the feet, it’s a super easy pattern to follow.
