Peacock in Deramores Studio Baby Soft DK Acrylic - Downloadable PDF

Peacock Knitted Toy Pattern in Deramores Studio Baby Soft DK – Designed by Amanda Berry

This free downloadable PDF knitting pattern by designer Amanda Berry guides knitters through creating a beautifully detailed knitted peacock toy, complete with a sculpted body, beak, and dramatically spread tail feathers. Standing approximately 18cm tall with wings spanning 28cm wide, this decorative stuffed bird is a striking project that showcases colourwork and shaping techniques. The pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it ideal for knitters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to explore more advanced shaping and multi-part construction.

Amanda Berry is a celebrated knitwear designer based in Berkshire, England, who graduated from the London College of Fashion with First Class Honours in 2014. Her toy designs have been published in knitting magazines and created for charitable causes, and her patterns are available exclusively through Deramores. This peacock is a wonderful example of her signature style — charming, detailed stuffed animals brought to life with careful construction and a little fluff and fuzz inside.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a three-dimensional knitted peacock toy, worked in multiple separate pieces that are seamed together and stuffed to create a fully rounded, sculptural bird. The design includes a body, beak, and large decorative tail feathers that fan out dramatically behind the bird. The tail feathers are a particularly impressive feature, knitted across a large number of stitches to create the peacock's iconic spread display. Please note that this finished toy is not suitable for children under 3 years due to small parts.

Materials Used

The pattern uses Deramores Studio Baby Soft DK yarn, a soft acrylic DK-weight yarn that is gentle to work with and holds its shape well in toy construction. Five colourways are used across the design:

• Yarn A – Sea (1 x 100g): the primary body colour, a rich teal reminiscent of a peacock's iridescent plumage
• Yarn B – Sunshine (1 x 100g): a warm yellow accent used in the feather detailing
• Yarn C – Kiwi (1 x 100g): a fresh green used across the tail feathers
• Yarn D – Sapphire (1 x 100g): a deep blue used to echo the jewel tones of real peacock feathers
• Yarn E – Snow (1 x 100g): a crisp white used for contrast detailing

The combination of these five shades captures the multi-toned, iridescent quality of a real peacock's plumage in a beautifully stylised knitted form.

Needles and Tools

The pattern requires a pair of 2.75mm straight knitting needles for the majority of the construction, as well as a 2.75mm circular needle with a minimum length of 40cm. The circular needle is used specifically to accommodate the large number of stitches required for the tail feathers, though the knitting is worked back and forth in rows rather than in the round. Additional tools include a tapestry or yarn needle for seaming, approximately 150g of toy filling for stuffing, and two 6mm domed black buttons for the eyes.

Tension

The recommended tension is 28 stitches and 36 rows to 10cm x 10cm, measured over stockinette stitch using 2.75mm needles. Achieving the correct tension is particularly important in toy knitting, as it ensures the fabric is dense enough to contain the stuffing without gaps showing through, and that the finished toy matches the stated dimensions.

Techniques and Construction

This pattern is worked in multiple separate pieces that are then assembled using mattress stitch for neat, professional seams. The construction approach is typical of knitted toy making, where individual components — body, beak, tail sections — are each knitted separately and then joined. This method allows for precise shaping of each element before the final assembly.

The cast on method specified throughout is the long tail cast on, which produces a neat, elastic edge well suited to toy construction. Knitters should be comfortable working with multiple yarn colours