Woodland Walk Hot Water Bottle Cover

I've been working on this pattern for some weeks, but first got in a bit of a muddle with the sizing, and then somehow as usual life has got in the way. My other Hot Water Bottle Cover pattern - The Cottage Garden, is possibly a bit summery, so I thought I would try to design one with more of an autumnal feel. 

I love going on an woodland walk in autumn - golden, yellow and red leaves on the trees and ground, hunting for and trying to identify the many toadstools, and perhaps catching a glimpse of a fox or rabbit. So I have incorporated all these motifs into my cover.

Like my other bottle cover I hope this is a good introduction to fair isle knitting. Only the fox has three colours, but with all the other motifs you are working with just two strands of wool. It is also a nice small project, possibly a bit easier than embarking on a garment if you are new to the technique. You could alter the colours of wool used, or the order of the motifs. If you do this, or even if you don't, I would love to see your finished project.

There is some embroidery on each motif, and I particularly enjoyed this part of the project. Suddenly the whole cover seemed to come to life. Embroidering with wool on wool is quite forgiving, and I have some tutorials in Embroidery Corner on this blog, if you need help with any of the stitches. 

The pattern uses 4mm needles, and DK wool. I knitted the back in plain stripes, but you could knit the back with the same motifs as the front. This would only take a little more wool.

I enjoyed this design so much that I thinking of some ideas for a wintery cover design.  

The pattern will be available on Ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting as soon as I have uploaded it.