Preserves

Look, I cannot explain the appeal. Either you look at these, struggle to contain a tiny gasp of delight, and run to your scraps bin to find the perfect strawberry colors. Or you…don’t. And I get it! They will not be everyone’s cup of tea!

But if you have my kind of brain, the kind of brain that often finds itself going “hmm, I wonder what would happen if…” and then you give it a try and then a few hours later you’re holding a tiny little treasure in your hands and marveling at what you made, then I think you might absolutely adore these. I know I do!

Plus they’ll never, ever, ever go furry in the back of your refrigerator (admittedly, more likely to happen to spinach than to strawberries, but somehow I still mess that up sometimes). Maybe if I make enough of them, I’ll earn amnesty for whatever horror show is happening in my produce drawer right now. Or maybe, just maybe, they’ll inspire me to make something delicious the next time the berries look good at the market.

General information

This 24-page pattern is tremendously detailed and holds your hand every step of the way. There are pages and pages of step-by-step photos to show you exactly what to expect as you work. The pattern is full of helpful tips on everything from casting on, dealing with beads, stuffing your strawberry, and managing your ends.

It’s almost absurdly detailed, but it really does mean you can totally make these, even if you’ve never knit a project like this before!

Skills & scope

Each strawberry fits in the palm of your hand and takes very little time to knit. The knitting is delightfully mellow, almost entirely stockinette in the round with just a few increases and decreases to give it shape.

The pattern uses charts so you will need to know how to follow a knitting chart.

Yarn, gauge & sizing

The pattern comes in four sizes, and you can make them in anything from teeny tiny (about the size of a small real strawberry) up to something about the size of your fist.

I made mine in fingering, sport, dk, and worsted-weight yarns, but you can make them in any weight of yarn, and the finished size will change depending on what yarn you use. You don’t need to match any particular gauge, but you do need to knit tightly enough to make a firm fabric so your filling doesn’t show through.

You can absolutely use scrap yarn for this.

The strawberries in the pictures took less than 50 yards of each color of yarn.

Tools & supplies

You’ll need needles that let you work in the round (circulars or DPNs) in whatever size lets you get a firm fabric with your chosen yarn plus the general knitting tools you need for most projects (scissors to cut your yarn, a darning needle to weave in ends, the occasional stitch marker or bit of scrap yarn to hold stitches).

You’ll also need beads (I used size 6 seed beads, somewhere between 30 and 45 of them per strawberry), and some way to get beads on your knitting (I do it with a crochet hook, but if you prefer a different method, that's totally cool) for your seeds, and a foot or two of flexible wire (I just used the stuff they sell at the craft store) for the cap. Those are both optional though (it's not a good idea to give anything with beads or wire in it to kids or animals), and I do list a alternatives in the pattern if you don't want to use them. You’ll also need something to fill your strawberries with. I have a page here with information about the supplies I use in my projects.