The Emotional Support Banana

On the fourth WIP of Knitmas....

Sure, this one took its sweet time to show up.

I had it all penned down and ready to roll back in December, but since it was a gift, I had to keep it under wraps until it was safely in the hands of its new owner before I could unleash it to the world.

Just about every knitter I know, and a fair number of crochet friends, have made or at least heard of the Emotional Support Chicken. I even watched one of my favourite YouTubers create an Emotional Support Duck from a 1940s pattern. But how about an Emotional Support Banana.

Now that it's being squashed and adored by its new owner, let me spill the beans on the banana!

The Banana-tastic Backstory

There's a bit of a backstory to this one. It's not quite as slippery as a banana peel but has its moments.

In the early 90s, I took a short break between jobs to stay at home with our two young children who were not yet in school. Picture this: a tired parent, two energetic kids, and a TV blaring the delightful chaos of "Bananas in Pyjamas." Our eldest daughter was an avid fan of the show, which featured short 10-minute episodes. These days they're all CGI but back in the 90s it was two actors dressed as bananas (B1 and B2) who engaged in some playful activities of questionable safety standards and went on adventures. I mean, who doesn’t want to watch bananas wearing striped prison pajamas? It’s like a dream come true for fruit lovers! They frolicked with a shopkeeping rat—because apparently, even rats have entrepreneurial dreams—and a family of three bears. Yes, three bears! I guess the producers thought one bear was too mainstream. And yes, there was an episode where they ate porridge but they much preferred yummy honey cakes. I mean, who doesn't?

So when the ABC dropped a book full of knitted toys starring our toddlers' beloved fruity pals, it was an obvious choice... the book was snapped up, and Banana (B1) was knitted.

Not the original B1 this is Mr Banana the second (aka B2)

Little did I realise how crucial that squishy tube of yellow, blue, and white yarn would become in our lives!

B1 swiftly turned into the ultimate bedtime buddy, the park's top playdate, and even a wedding partner extraordinaire. He was the keeper of endless toddler secrets, the master of giggles, healer of boo-boos, and the bravest warrior against all things scary!

A snap of our little girl aged 2 and a half with B1 at a wedding reception.

He had his own chair at the dining table, his own seat on the sofa and was very partial, I was told, to Grandma's Jam Drop biscuits. He was also best friend and confidant through some tough family times, resulting in an emotional relocation across states.

Then one day our little girl was suddenly a big girl and B1 was put on a shelf at the back of the cupboard and forgotten.... or was he?

The Making of B2

We've moved house at least a dozen times since the original B1 days and it's only recently that we settled in what we think will be our forever home. So we cancelled our storage shed and Mr Vintage spent two days lugging all the boxes containing a lifetime of memories, and a fair whack of junk into the house. A lot of it belonging to our four eldest, who have all flown the proverbial parental coup. While none of them contained B1 (I'm not sure where or when he went), one did contain a pile of old knitting books from when the big kids were little and among them, The Book of Knitted Toys from 1992.

Looking through, I knew I just had to make a replacement (B2) for our big girl who now has a small boy of her own. The book is out of print now and I can't shared the actual pattern due to copyright, but I have seen copies floating about on Ebay and Etsy recently. I'm sure a bit of online snooping would turn up a copy or two.

The book like the knitted characters in it, is bright and colourful and the instructions clear enough for any advanced beginner to easily follow.

The main portion of B2 is knitted in two pieces, front and back. It's quite clever, and cuts out some additional sewing up. You knit his trousers first, sideways in garter stitch stripes. Then you pick up along his waistband to knit his belly, arms and head. His little brown stalk is knitted separately and you crochet two little discs in yellow for his feet (although you could just leave these out if you wanted too. His legs are long enough that I don't think anyone would notice.

The pattern suggests button eyes, I went for little black safety eyes, but I would embroider them if making for a child under 3 or one that has a habit of chewing on their toys (it does happen).

The main part of his coat is knit from side to side in one piece. The sleeves are just two little garter stripe rectangles. You add a little roll collar and some buttons and he's done (you can omit the buttons, perhaps securely stitch on some little crochet circles instead).

I must admit, this has been one of my top-notch Knitmas finales!

I won't be adding these to my online shop (pretty sure I'd need to get licencing from the ABC to do that) but will happily make more as gifts for family and friends if requested. I recently also remade the Johnson (pink elephant on the cover) for the youngest Vintage and I may even recreate the Mr Squiggle (this pencil nosed alien is still a favourite from my own childhood) for myself.