Not Martha

to make: vegan fox

This is my version of the Vegan Fox pattern by Marie-Christine Mahe in the first issue of Knitty magazine. It was a Christmas present for my mother, who is a storyteller. I meant to follow the Vegan Fox pattern exactly, but when I went to the yarn store I kept finding great yarns I wanted to try it out with.
the yarns I used:

Fizz, Crystal Palace Yarns, color 7342 dark brown
Dacapo, Schachenmayr, color 0014 light brown
Apart, GGH, color 11 orange
Vamos, GGH, color 02 browns
The Baroness, Tawny, color 2063 brown
Zap, Berroco, color 3501 crema

yarns:

tail – I started out with the Zap and switched to The Baroness and Apart together.
body – I used Apart, Fizz and Vamos together
paws – Apart and Vamos together
head – Apartash and Dacapo together
ears – The Baroness, Apart and Vamos together, Zap underneath

I followed the Vegan Fox pattern almost exactly except for where I combined yarns. I think I did more gradual increases for the tail, and didn’t follow the increases for the head exactly. As you can see, the fox I made doesn’t have as much shape as the one the pattern calls for, but I do like the way the tail turned out.
To show the length. I made the front paws much shorter than the front paws because I ran out of yarn, ack. The I-cord technique took some getting used to.
As you can see, these yarns don’t have the same body as the ones the pattern calls for
I ended up using a small hair clip which sort of blends in.
I used some stuffed animal eyes and nose parts I found at Joann’s, they had a rod on the back and snapped on. I backed them with a bit of orange felt with a hole punched into it for support.
The picture of The Baroness yarn doesn’t do this yarn justice. If knit alone it looks like a lush mink, it has strands of slightly different dark brown yarn, making it appear to have a lot of depth. It’s very impressive yarn. I have a bit left, I’ll take pictures a little bit later

14 Comments

14 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Moira // Feb 4, 2007 at 5:06 pm

    This is a must have. My Grannie had a real fox fur when I was knee high but I couldn’t possibly wear real fur myself. Now I need to find equivalent yarn somewhere in Scotland. Pure dead brilliant

  • 2 cindi // Feb 4, 2007 at 5:34 pm

    hi i just wanted to tell you that this is just great i wish that i could make this one

  • 3 Rachael // Feb 9, 2007 at 11:32 am

    This is awesome!!! Being an animal lover I think it speaks to people who wear those idiotic fur wraps…who needs those disgusting things when you can wear something this ADORABLE!

  • 4 jennifer // Jun 28, 2007 at 5:40 pm

    I love this one much better than the original. not sure about the whole I Cord. I couldn’t find it on the page but I plan on making my own fox soon!

  • 5 Faux Fox // Jul 22, 2007 at 6:41 am

    […] Hat tip on this to not martha, who did her own variation on the pattern to make a faux-y fox stole for her mother (who is a storyteller; and how cool is that?). You might also like:Handpainted Trunk o’ Dreams Guild artists Ingela Noren and Daniel Grant interpret a Scandinavian folk-craft tradition of faux finishes with a fine contemporary eye… which is t…Napkin BlingWho doesn’t love a good visual pun? And these gaudy big faux-diamond napkin rings are just too much fun. Set of four metal and glass rings comes wi… […]

  • 6 Doxhoont // Feb 8, 2008 at 8:13 pm

    OMG I am dead jealous!!! I have had the Vegan Fox pattern saved for ages but haven’t attempted it! I love your variation and it has given me the courage to adapt the Vegan Fox pattern into a Vegan Dachshund! YOU ROCK!!!
    I-cord is easy so don’t be intimidated by it!

  • 7 Riley Burton // Feb 22, 2008 at 8:02 pm

    This is cute. I love Nature and this is perfect. I don’t know how you made this but it is awesome.
    Keep up the good ideas
    Nature needs all the help it can get.

  • 8 Kellie // Apr 1, 2008 at 6:12 am

    I love you color combinations, so I’ve been trying to find the exact yarns you list, but I’ve had trouble with a couple.

    Specifically, the Dacapo, Schachenmayr (which only comes up in German whenever I google it), and the Tawny Baronesss (which I have found on eBay, but not in any good colors). Do you have any suggestions either as to where I might find these yarns or what I might substitute?

    Thanks!

  • 9 megan // Apr 1, 2008 at 8:21 am

    Kellie – I’m sorry, I don’t know where to find these. I bought these at a shop in Menlo Park, CA years ago and have moved to Washington since. I don’t know many eyelash yarns these days, but you might have luck at more generic craft shops like Joann and Michaels.

  • 10 Marianne // Apr 10, 2008 at 12:35 pm

    I am busting out laughing at this. So funny. Great job.

  • 11 sarah // Sep 6, 2009 at 12:43 pm

    so fabulous! nice job, you inspire me! i must make this too… :D

  • 12 marion // Nov 10, 2010 at 1:02 am

    Hi, i love this fox scarf and am about to make one for my animal lover daughter. I wasnt sure what the hair clasp is for?

  • 13 marion // Nov 10, 2010 at 1:05 am

    Oh, Ive got it now, its to grip the tail!

  • 14 megan // Nov 10, 2010 at 10:12 am

    Marion – Yes, that is why. At the time I was unable to find a clip with little teeth, that would have helped a lot.

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