Sand Dollars

Last week someone very cleverly managed to guess what my next knitting project is. Unfortunately they chose to remain anonymous, but well done anyway.

After I published my little collection of sea creatures back in the summer I had an email from Mary Ann on Ravelry, asking if I had thought of designing a sand dollar. 

Well you don't get sand dollars around the UK, and I had never heard of them, so I decided to do a bit of research, and found them really intriguing. The best website I can find for them is called Echinblog. 

Mary Ann's sister-in-law decorates her ocean house with sea creatures for Christmas, so she was hoping for a Christmas sand dollar decoration pattern. I thought that idea was so original. There are so many similar Christmas decorations, so why not go for something a bit alternative. (I do know Christmas is all about tradition, but why not start a few new traditions.) I think my starfish and minnows would also make nice Christmas ornaments.

So I started working on a pattern, but was finding it difficult to say the least. But when Mary Ann really kindly sent me a little collection of real sand dollars things seemed to fall into place.

Sand dollars are consider symbolic, and I found this poem, which explains the legend of the sand dollar.
 

The Legend of the Sand Dollar

That I would like to tell

Of the birth and death of Jesus

Found in this lovely shell.

If you will examine closely,

You'll see that you find here

Four nail holes a fifth one

Made by a Roman's spear.

On one side the Easter Lily,

It's center is the star

That appeared unto the shepherds

And led them from afar.

The Christmas Poinsettia

Etched on the other side

Reminds us of his birthday,

Our happy Christmas tide.

Now break the center open
And here you will release
The five white doves awaiting
To spread good will and peace
This simple little symbol,
Christ left for you and me.

So it does seem appropriate that they are used as Christmas decorations. The poem is slightly wrong, as they are not shells, but the internal skeleton of the sand dollar.  If you break one open you find what look like five small doves, (but are actually its jaws). We did break one open, but I slightly regret it, as they are so beautiful.  Many sand dollars do have five holes, but mine did not, so I have not included holes in my pattern.

I started off trying to design my sand dollars with a minimum of sewing up, and incorporating the five pointed star into the knitting. It is possible to knit a circle, starting with all your stitches on one needle, and decreasing at regular intervals. But when the real sand dollars arrived, I realized that an important part of what makes them sand dollars is that they are not round, and also that the shape of the star has to be just right. So in the end I resorted to knitting five sections which have to be sewn together, and making the star with wool embroidery. (Hubby kept asking me why I was sewing marijuana leaves. Sigh!) My favourite technique again, but it did seem to work well. I've knitted mine in a variety of light coloured wools to make them realistic, but I think they could be jazzed up a bit too, if you wanted to add some brighter colours.  My favourite ones are in a lovely wool called Echo Freedom. It is a recycled wool and has the feel of knitting with really nice string.

So some sand dollars are on their way to Mary Ann as a thank you, and the pattern to knit a Christmas Sand Dollar is available on Ravelry.