A while ago I was in contact with Wolletje Bol because I was looking for a chunky knitted plaid for the couch. I searched all over the internet, but actually only came to one address where I thought I could order a nice plaid. Wolletje Bol (that name alone is fantastic;) ).
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When looking for a chunky knit throw, there were two important aspects for me. First of all, I really wanted that coarse variant that you regularly see in the magazines, I think it's so beautiful! And secondly, I was also looking for a plaid made of special material, in connection with our pets. Because yes, all those beautiful coarse plaids in the magazines and on Pinterest can be found in equally beautiful living rooms and bedrooms where it almost seems as if they are uninhabited. So neat!
Unfortunately, this does not apply to our household. With an adolescent, a teenager, a dog and three cats in the house, our house is far from 'the perfect picture'. On top of that, I'm always busy with work and don't spend as much time cleaning as I should. A chunky knitted plaid of real merino wool doesn't seem like a good idea in our household.
But at Wolletje Bol I found such a coarse knitted plaid, made of cotton. A lot more practical, especially with pets. There was only one problem… I couldn't order such a plaid from this website. After I got in touch with owner Trijntje, I found out that the plaids themselves cannot be ordered because she makes them to order. And you will of course understand that I am not the only one with a wish for such a knitted plaid on the couch. So she is very busy making all those orders.
In the end I could have read it myself on the website, in the green bar above it clearly states that the webshop is closed, except for DIY. This is how it works:the webshop every 1 st of the month. They (fortunately Trijntje doesn't get rid of all those orders on her own 😉) are then open for orders of plaids until the planning for that month is full. After that you can only buy the balls of cotton to do it yourself.
So she informed me by email that I could order the balls of cotton to make myself a coarse knitted plaid for the couch. And an ottoman, because I see that in my living room too. I doubted for a while. Can I? But I thought that -if I can provide a table with concrete cire- I can also knit a plaid and a pouf myself. With the right patterns, yes. No sooner said than done. I chose the color sage green and the balls of cotton tubes were delivered in a large box so that I could get started myself.
The difference between Merino wool and the cotton tubes for a chunky knit plaid is not that complicated. A cotton plaid is heavier and a bit more difficult to style. However, it is more user-friendly than merino wool, especially if you get started yourself. If you follow a pattern, but do something wrong for a while, you can easily 'take out' the coarse knitted plaid and make it again. And I speak from experience . I hadn't done the finishing of my plaid quite right and that bothered me. Although I liked the plaid, I still wanted that 'perfection' and so I took that part apart and finished it again. That went great!
Merino wool is more fluffy, softer and more flexible. You can see that when you want to style the plaid, and you can feel it when you lie underneath it. However, if you are not into wool (like Frank), then the cotton version is a lot nicer. In the photos above you can clearly see that the merino wool plaid is a bit more flexible.
In my case I am very satisfied with the cotton version. It is still a chunky knitted plaid with the same appearance, but it is a bit more resistant to teenagers and animals. I can even wash the cotton plaid if I want!
If you order the 'wool' to make a plaid yourself, you can order the pattern for a coarse plaid with it. Doesn't cost you anything extra. The download of the pattern explains very clearly how you can make a chunky knit plaid yourself. Not only in text, but also with clear photos.
In addition to my plaid for the sofa, I also made an ottoman 'myself' (with the pattern of Wolletje bol and an inner ottoman) and with the remaining wool I eventually upholstered a stool myself. I'm actually most proud of that last one, because I didn't have a pattern for it 😉 . So you see that -if you practice a bit- you quickly learn how it works.
Just for your imagination:the plaid, pouf and the coarsely upholstered stool are knitted by hand. So you don't use knitting needles or anything like that, but you just make it on your kitchen table with the merino wool or cotton tubes and your hands. Wonderfully relaxed to do and ready in an evening.
I spent about 1.5 hours with the plaid (a fairly large size and the first thing I started working on), with the ottoman about 2 hours. I made that last one again. The first time I didn't look closely and it turned out to be inside out, stupid stupid stupid.
I finally made the stool in an hour. And then everything was just right! How do you like my self-made coarse knitted plaid, pouf and stool? I'm a big fan and I'm also going to get started for the bedroom for a white plaid and ottoman! happy me.
If you are not sure whether you can do this yourself, I hope my blog has given you more clarity about this. It's really good to do it yourself. Besides the fact that Trijntje just sometimes doesn't have time to do this for you in the crowds, it is of course also cheaper to make it yourself (you only have to buy the cotton balls and do not pay labor). And last but not least… it's super fun to do and you get a lot of compliments about it!
