A Christmas Tradition

My mother loves snowmen. Every Christmas for many years now I have gotten her a snowman ornament or small stuffed snowman toy. She has so many ornaments now that she actually has a separate tree to display them on.

This year, since I have learned crochet, for the first time ever I’m making a snowman for her. I’m nervous about it because I want it to come out perfect, because, jeez, it’s for my mom! I searched Ravelry and elsewhere high and low for the “perfect” pattern. I hope she will like it. :)

Pattern Notes - Option 1

The pattern has two variations: “Option 1” which is a snowman with a red toque and scarf, and “Option 2” which is a snowman dressed more like Santa. I went with Option 1. The pattern has a few things in it which I think could be improved:

• The end of multiple sections say to “finish” stuffing but no section notes when to start stuffing.
• Round 5 for the Head seems to be duplicated (it appears at the end of page 2 and at the start of page 3). I assumed I wasn’t supposed to do it twice.
• The Nose section might benefit from including a note about what round the top edge of the nose could be aligned to on the head in order to get the right look for the face.
• The Arms section says to “fold arms in half” which to me might mean literally folding the work in half, like folding a sock in half from cuff to toe, or in half lengthwise so the arm is half as thick. Neither of these options seems right. Based on the photos of the finished work, I assumed the pattern actually meant that the top (unstuffed) half of each arm should be flattened and the open end sewn closed. I also thought that sewing them closed first isn’t really needed if they are just going to be sewn onto the body anyway, and that might help avoid extra bulk at the seam.