Happy Birthday to my Little Big Girl!
My daughter Ellie is going to be 3 years old tomorrow, and so I wanted to make her a little keepsake present. This little knitted cupcake (or more like a large muffin) also fit her criteria - When asked what she wants for her birthday she told us 'pink'. She also loves playing tea-sets with her toy kitchen and so I felt a cake would integrate nicely. And to be honest, who doesn't like cake.
Although kiddies might like these yummy knitted cakes, admittedly they probably don't make the best toys and may well be better on their unreachable shelf, as a knitted decorative piece; a keepsake for mummy or daddy, or one for the child to keep for memories. They may quite easily be squished out of shape or the cardboard base bent. And so unfortunately with little hands they probably wouldn't look yummy for long.
The Icing on the Cake...
Once you have your basic cake you can decorate it as you would any cupcake. I've chosen to add a little patch of icing and some sprinkles, and of course those three little birthday candles. Make it personalised and unique by experimenting with your toppings - be as extravagant or artistic as you like - sugar unicorns and rainbows would be Ellie's pick, but I chickened out of that one! You could pick another little knitted shape such as knitted flowers, knitted hearts or other small knitted pieces from other knitting patterns - you can just mix and match. If giving your cake as a gift to a grown-up and you haven't seen this before - have a look at the knitted tea cosy to accompany it - nothing pairs better than tea and cake!
I quite like the idea of giving a different cake for each birthday, or maybe sewing on (or gifting!) an extra candle each year, to add on. Not sure how many you can squeeze on - perhaps stop at 18?! I'll have a think and we'll see what I end up doing next year...
Something a Bit Different...
And definitely not one for the kiddies! After pinning out all my shapes and getting paranoid about leaving any pins lying around (for the little ones to come running to me with...) I thought that the rubbish little pin bag could be replaced with a nice pin cushion, making the pin heads turn into to sprinkles on the cake. The cardboard base at the bottom of the cake adds extra support and protection from pricking at the bottom. I don't recommend your children sort them out but thanks Caitlin for the pretty arrangement!
A bit of trial and Error...!
The first cake I made definitely went a little bit wrong, but I've included it on here as it still shows another option and hopefully encourage others to just give things a go, see what works and make improvements along the way.
I thought making the cake as one knitted piece would make things a lot quicker. However, stuffing it made it completely squish out of shape and simply sewing along just next to the nice edging didn't quite have the right effect.
So I moved onto attempt number two - as a two-piece. Much better! As well as looking more realistic, it also keeps it's shape a bit better. We'll see how it goes down!
Check back in a couple of weeks in the updates here to see new creations, or email me to get the updated patterns straight to you. Hopefully not much longer but I'm working on a slightly different pattern for a knitted cherry bakewell at the moment - my favourite!
Happy knitting!
Ali 🙂
How to Knit A Cupcake
Total time 2 Hours 40 Minutes (as Shown)
Made from one knitted case, the cake top piece, a piece of knitted icing with sprinkles and some finger knitted candles.
Adjust the colour according to your favourite, and change the number of candles to suit the particular occasion...
Perfect unique handmade gift and keepsake!
Knit Your Own Cupcake...
Get some ideas, see what you will need and follow the patterns to learn exactly how you can make your own...