Sweet Animal Knitting Patterns

Knitting animals as toys or for display is a lot of fun, and they make great gifts for people of all ages. Last summer I made two sets of bears for my daughter’s teacher who was having her second set of twins — two boys and two girls!

Even if you don’t have a bunch of little ones to knit for, these fun little projects are great stash busters and fun to donate.

This little elephant from Clare Garland (Ravelry) is so cute, and his little onesie makes him look even more like a sweet little baby.

A knitted lion from Lion Brand Yarn (of course!) would be sweet to knit for a baby’s nursery or to give to an animal-loving kiddo.

DotPebblesKnits has a really realistic looking cat pattern (Etsy) that would be fun to give to someone who loves cats but can’t have a live one, or just for a little one to snuggle.

The bears I made were from a pattern by Little Cotton Rabbits, who has a ton of adorable little animals with clothing ensembles to knit. I love her little dog in a dress pattern too (Etsy).

It’s hard to tell from the picture but this knit octopus from Yarnspirations is not really a small project. It’s worked in Bernat Blanket using size 10.5 knitting needles, and the head is about 12 inches tall and 15 inches in diameter, with 18-inch-long tentacles. So fun!

And maybe my favorite (though they are all my favorite when I’m looking at them!) is this sweet little duck from Knit Picks. Designed by Barbara McIntyre, it’s 7 inches tall and only uses about 80 yards of yarn, so it’s a great little last minute project when a little one is coming to visit.

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When I first started knitting again after a long absence from the craft (which has now been almost 25 years ago!) I really didn’t like garter stitch that much. I found it super boring, somehow even more boring than knitting stockinette stitch in the round, even though it’s exactly the same thing.

Over the years I’ve softened my opinion, and even grown to like garter stitch. There’s nothing wrong with being plain, and actually the texture of garter stitch is more interesting than stockinette.

Also there are fun things you can do with garter stitch to make it more interesting if you want to, such as adding stripes, working on the bias, or doing fun effects to change the look.

That’s the way with the Bernat Twist My Way Garter Knit Blanket. Using combinations of casting on and binding off creates what they call a Swiss cheese effect along two sides of the blanket. This is a lot of fun in the self-striping ombre yarn they chose for the pattern, but it would also be fun in a solid color or making your own stripes.

Despite the dramatic effect, this pattern is rated easy. It’s worked from side to side (if you consider the “cheesy” edges the top and bottom) and has an eight-row repeat that involves binding off and then casting on again to make the holes. They’re kind of like giant buttonholes.

Once you get the hang of it it’s a pretty easy repeat to remember, and it will be smooth knitting as big as you want to make it.

You can download this pattern from the Yarnspirations website for free, or you can buy a kit direct from them that includes the yarn you need (and knitting needles if you need those, too). Bernat Sport Ombre Twist, which is what is used in the pattern, comes in 12 self patterning colors and is a DK weight acrylic yarn.

[Photo: Yarnspirations]

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