I love Charlie Brown.
When I was a kid and my dad and I would be the only ones awake on Sunday morning, he'd go out to the mailbox, get the newspaper, we'd have breakfast together and he'd hand me the comics. I'd flip quickly to Peanuts, read it first, then make my way through the rest of the section.
I think everyone can find a character in Peanuts that they can relate to. The messy kid, the bossy kid, the intellect, the brat, the kid with security issues, the musician… I often felt akin to Charlie Brown himself and learned a lot of life lessons from reading Charles Schultz's cartoons each Sunday morning at the table with my dad. A few of my favorite quotes:
“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, 'Where have I gone wrong'. Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.”
“I think I've discovered the secret of life -- you just hang around until you get used to it.”
"Stop worrying about the world ending today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."
"In the Book of Life, the answers aren't in the back."
Pretty deep stuff coming from a comic strip. To this day, I cannot walk by, flip by or see a Peanuts comic without stopping to read it. Charlie Brown feels like an old friend, coming in and out of my life, offering up words of advice that always seem apropos to the situation I find myself in. In honor of Charlie, I've designed a "modern-day" version of his classic zig zag shirt.
Knit in Cascade's 220 Superwash Aran, this is an incredibly soft pullover meant to keep the wearer snug and philosophical. As always, I love to knit in superwash yarn when knitting for a child. After all, Charlie Brown himself stated that, “All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.” A pullover covered in chocolate can be thrown easily into the wash on cool, then put in the dryer for endless wear when knit in this yummy yarn. I like this particular yarn especially because it screams "KNIT CUDDLY GARMENTS WITH ME THAT WILL LAST AND WASH UP WELL!!!" I think I found my new go-to yarn for snuggly knits. I'll admit to being a little jealous that I can't fit into this pullover.
Coming in over 40 shades of plied goodness, 220 Superwash Aran is a hearty 150 yards per hank, economical, washable and one of my favorite things about Cascade's yarns - they offer a color for everyone. The stitch definition for the fair isle pattern is perfect and when my young model friend, Brynna put it on, she squealed in delight at both the squish factor of the yarn and the color combination.
A simple top-down raglan construction knit in the round with a placket opening, garter details and simple Fair Isle patterning on the body and sleeves is a wardrobe staple for any Peanuts fan. You only need 4 hanks of the yarn and with all the colors, have your wearer "help" by choosing colors. I learned how to knit when I was 8, just about the same size as this pullover is designed for (28" chest circumference). Why not get an extra hank and begin teaching the recipient how to knit?
I feel like Charlie Brown himself would have said something like "It's never too early to learn how to knit. Let's grab some needles and some yarn, go find Snoopy and get to work."
Free Charlie Pullover pattern available here.