Three Bears in King Cole Moments DK & Big Value DK - 6000 - Downloadable PDF

Three Bears Knitting Pattern – King Cole Moments DK & Big Value DK (Pattern 6000)

This downloadable PDF knitting pattern from King Cole provides instructions for creating a charming set of three knitted teddy bears in three different sizes: a Large Bear, a Medium Size Bear, and a Small Size Bear. Each bear is a classic soft toy project, knitted in the round and flat using double knitting (DK) weight yarn, making them wonderful handmade gifts, nursery decorations, or keepsakes for children of all ages. The pattern is rated as intermediate in difficulty, making it well suited to knitters who are comfortable with basic shaping techniques and are ready to tackle a more structured toy construction.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a family of three stuffed knitted bears, each worked to a different scale. The three sizes allow knitters to create a complete set reminiscent of the classic Goldilocks and the Three Bears fairytale. Each bear is constructed in separate pieces — typically including the body, head, legs, arms, and ears — which are then sewn together and stuffed to create a three-dimensional soft toy. The finished bears make endearing toys and display pieces.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern uses two specific King Cole yarn lines worked together in combination to achieve the correct fabric texture and tension:

• King Cole Moments DK – a decorative DK yarn that adds a soft, textured quality to the fabric, giving the bears their characteristic tactile appeal.
• King Cole Big Value DK – a smooth, reliable DK yarn used both on its own and held together with Moments DK to build up the body of the bears.

For the Large Bear, yarn A is created by knitting one ball of Moments DK and one ball of Big Value DK held together, while yarn B consists of two balls of Big Value DK knitted together. This double-stranding technique creates a denser, firmer fabric ideal for toy making, and the combination of the two yarns produces a beautifully textured finish on the bear's outer surface.

Needle Sizes

Different needle sizes are specified for each bear to achieve the correct proportions and tension:

• Large Bear: 4.5mm needles throughout, with a tension of 14 stitches and 22 rows to 10cm over stocking stitch using yarn A.
• Medium Size Bear: 4mm needles, with a tension of 22 stitches and 28 rows to 10cm over stocking stitch using yarn A.
• Small Size Bear: 3.75mm needles, with a tension of 23 stitches and 30 rows to 10cm over stocking stitch using yarn A.

The pattern strongly emphasises the importance of checking tension before beginning, as achieving the correct stitch and row count is essential to producing bears of the intended size. Knitters are advised to work a tension square and adjust needle size accordingly — moving to finer needles if there are too few stitches to 10cm, or to larger needles if there are too many.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs a range of standard hand knitting techniques that are typical of intermediate-level toy construction:

• Stocking stitch (st-st) – the primary fabric used throughout, worked with the knit side as the right side. This creates a smooth, classic surface on the bears.
• Reversed stocking stitch (rev st-st) – used in selected sections, where the purl side becomes the right side, adding textural contrast to specific areas of the bear's construction.
• Increasing (inc) – used extensively to shape the rounded forms of the body, head, and limbs, including increasing in the first and last stitches of a row to widen sections gradually.
• Decreasing (dec / K2tog) – used to taper and close sections of the bear, such as the top of the head and the ends of the limbs, by knitting two stitches together.
• Slipping stitches (sl) – referenced in the abbreviations, used at various shaping points throughout the pattern.