In Scots, a whigmaleerie is: “a decorative or fanciful object, a piece of ornamentation …a knick-knack, gew-gaw, bauble, fantastic contrivance, or contraption.” (Dictionary of the Scots Language). In other words, a whigmaleerie is a wee thingumajig, of the kind folk often like to hang on trees at this festive time of year. Why not whip up several whigmaleeries to decorate your tree?

Yarn
Buachaille (100% Scottish Wool; 110m / 120yds per 50g skein)
MC: Yaffle 1 x 50g skein
CC: Highland Coo 1 x 50g skein
Sample used 10g / 22m / 24yds of MC and 5g / 11m / 12yds of CC.

Size
Length: 13.5cm / 5½in (not including i-cord loop)
Circumference: 22cm / 8½in

Needles and notions
Gauge-size needle(s) of your preferred type for working small circumferences
Stitch marker
Tapestry needle
Small quantity of wool fibre with which to stuff your Whigmaleerie (we used Shetland tops from Jamieson & Smith)

Gauge
26 sts and 29 rounds to 10cm / 4in over plain and striped stockinette stitch using gauge-sized needles. This was achieved using size 3.5mm (UK 10-9 / US 4) needles.
Gauge is not desperately important for this project - tighter and looser gauges will make smaller and larger Whigmaleeries, but bear in mind that the fabric needs to be dense enough to prevent the stuffing from poking through the stitches.

Special techniques
All special techniques are described in the pattern instructions. If you require some extra assistance, this excellent online tutorial may help:
i-Cord