Knitty: little purls of wisdom
letter from the editorfeatured articlesKnitty's fabulous pattern selectionarchive of back issuessee what others have made using Knitty patternstell us what you think of KnittyKnitty's favorite linkstake home something Knittyjoin the Knitty notifylistto find out how to support Knitty, click here!

my grandma's knitting needles. click me.
the Knitty FAQ

submission guidelines for designers and writers
the obligatory legal statement

the rabbit

© Knitty 2002-3. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. This means you.

 


.
.surf & turf.brisa.twins. eyelet . white trash . easybreezy
..lacecap.vintage . broadripple . jane . childHood
.daisy .tasha .aline.puppers . fairway.sigma.cleo

No, it's not a typo.

These cute little puppers* were inspired by a visit to Starbucks where I saw some candy canes with little felt animals on the top. Sitting at home with my needles I realized how easy it would be to make a whole family. This is a really simple pattern as each animal is the same basic shape, which requires no shaping, uses oddments of whatever yarn you have to hand and only takes about 30 minutes to make. I made 5 one rainy Sunday afternoon. Each one has different features added to make it more personal and the opportunities to experiment are endless! You could make little brightly colored people with different colored hair or a whole family of piggies or elephants. They are the right size for adult fingers to entertain children but also fit nicely onto child-size fingers. Hours of fun to be had both making these little fellows and also playing with them.

*okay, so it originally WAS a typo, but the editor liked it, so it stayed.

model: Brooke photo: Kerrie Rycroft

 
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
approx 3cm wide by 6cm tall
 

MATERIALS

Oddments of DK yarn. I used Rowan All Seasons Cotton for the pig and the elephant. Rowan Wool-Cotton and Kid Soft for the teddy bear. Sirdar Snowflake and Rowan Wool-Cotton for the rabbit. Rowan Cork and Wool-Cotton for the tiger.

1 set US #6/4mm straight needles
Pink bead or button for pig's nose.

 

GAUGE

Differs with each yarn. As long as the basic shape is the approximate size stated above gauge is not too important.

 
DIRECTIONS

Elephant

Body: CO 18 sts using #6 needles and Rowan All Seasons Cotton in gray. Work 18 rows in St st, then cut yarn and run through all sts, pulling together tightly.

Ears [make 2]: CO 8 sts using #6 needles and gray yarn.
Work 5 rows in St st.
Work 2 sts together at the end of each of the next 3 rows. 2 sts remaining. Work those 2 sts together and pull yarn through last st.
Make another ear in the same way.

Trunk: CO 13 sts using #6 needles and gray yarn. Work in garter stitch for 5 rows and then BO all. Join cast on and bound off edges together.

Making up: Join back seam of puppet using mattress stitch and turn right side out. Place trunk in center of puppet and attach firmly. Attach ears to each side of the top of the puppet with the wrong side facing. Using black cotton, sew 2 eyes above the trunk. [An alternative to this is to use toy eyes that you can buy from a craft shop and attach to puppet. These are not suitable for children under 3 years, so if you are making the puppets for young children it is best to sew on the eyes.]

Pig

Body: CO 18 stitches using #6 needles and pink. Work 18 rows in St st and then BO.

Ears [make 2]: Run a diagonal row of back stitch along the top corners of the pig to represent ears.

Nose: Sew a pink bead or button in the center of the pigs face for his nose.

Eyes: As for elephant.

Making up: Join back seam of puppet using mattress stitch. Do not join top seam. Turn right side out.

Tiger

Body: CO 18 sts using #6 needles and orange yarn.
Work 2 rows in St st and then join black yarn.
Work 1 row in black.
Repeat this pattern using 2 rows of orange followed by 1 row of black until 17 rows have been completed finishing with an orange row.
BO in orange.
Join back seam seam using mattress stitch - do not join top seam - and turn right side out.

Ears [make 2]: As for pig.

Eyes: As for elephant using blue cotton instead of black so that they show up on the stripes.

Making up: Join back seam of puppet using mattress stitch. Do not join top seam. Turn right side out.

Rabbit

Body: CO 14 sts using #6 needles and cream yarn and white held together.
Work 14 rows in St st, then cut yarn and run through all sts, pulling together tightly.

Ears [make 2]: CO 4 sts using #6 needles and cream and white yarns held together. Work 9 rows in St st, then cut yarn and run through all sts, pulling together tightly.

Eyes: As for elephant.

Nose: Sew a black line to represent the rabbit's nose in an appropriate place on the puppet.

Making up: Join back seam of puppet using mattress stitch and turn right side out. Attach ears to top of head and secure firmly.

Teddy Bear

Body: CO 18 sts using #6 needles and brown yarn.
Work 18 rows in St st, then cut yarn and run through all stitches, pulling together tightly.

Ears: CO 6 sts using #6 needles brown yarn.
Work 2 rows in St st.
Dec 1 st at each end of the next 2 rows -- 2 sts.
Inc 1 st at each end of the next 2 rows [6 sts].
Work 2 rows in St st.
BO.

Making up: Join back seam of puppet using mattress stitch and turn right side out.
Fold ears in half so that the cast on and bound off sides are together.
Attach ears to top of head and secure firmly.

Eyes: As for elephant.

Nose: Sew a black triangle with the point facing down in the center of the puppet. Sew a line coming down from the middle to represent the teddy bear's nose and mouth.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Kerrie lives in London, where she divides her time
between work, knitting and planning her wedding.

You can read all about her progress on her website.