RugBee

RugBee Knitted Toy

What Is Being Made

RugBee is a knitted toy design created by Vicki Stewart for Hillandbenz. This project produces a small, soft stuffed toy suitable for children, combining a main body piece with a separate head component. The finished toy is designed to be washable and safe for play, making it an ideal handmade gift or keepsake.

Craft and Primary Technique

This is a knitting project classified as intermediate difficulty. The design employs fundamental knitting techniques combined with shaping methods to create a three-dimensional toy form. The construction method involves knitting flat pieces that are subsequently stuffed and assembled, a common approach in toy knitting that allows for manageable construction while achieving a finished, dimensional result.

Stitches and Shaping Methods Used

The pattern utilizes essential knitting stitches and decreasing techniques to shape the toy:

• Stocking stitch (st-st) – the primary stitch structure for both the body and head pieces, created by alternating knit and purl rows to produce a smooth, finished fabric
• Knit (K) and purl (P) stitches – the foundational stitches throughout the pattern
• Increases (incr) – used to expand stitch counts during the early shaping phases to build the toy's width and form
• Decreases – including skpo (slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over), k2tog (knit 2 together), and p2tog (purl 2 together) – employed systematically to reduce stitches and taper the toy toward completion
• Slip stitch (sl) and psso (pass slipped stitch over) – advanced decrease techniques used for precise shaping in the final rows

Materials Required

The RugBee pattern calls for specific materials to complete the toy:

• Yarn: 50 meters of 8ply yarn in black and 50 meters of 8ply yarn in white – totaling 100 meters of DK weight yarn for the complete project
• Needles: 3.25mm double pointed needles, essential for working in the round and managing the small circumference required for toy knitting
• Notions: 2 tiny black buttons for eyes, 2 small ruby ball-shaped buttons for wheel hubs, and washable toy stuffing for filling the knitted pieces

Pattern Structure and Assembly

The pattern is organized into distinct components. The body section begins with a cast-on of 18 stitches and progresses through multiple increase rounds to reach 30 stitches at its widest point, followed by systematic decreases that narrow the piece back to 6 stitches for casting off. The head component, worked in black yarn, begins separately with a cast-on of 9 stitches and follows its own shaping sequence. This modular approach allows knitters to complete each piece independently before assembly with stuffing and button embellishments.