Tinsel Westie Style Dogs in King Cole Tinsel Chunky - 9056pdf - Downloadable PDF

Tinsel Westie Style Dogs Knitted in King Cole Tinsel Chunky – Pattern Summary

This delightful knitting pattern from King Cole, pattern number 9056, guides knitters through creating Westie style toy dogs worked in the sparkly, tactile King Cole Tinsel Chunky yarn. The finished dogs measure approximately 18–24 cm (7–9 inches) in height, making them a charming handmade gift, decorative accessory, or keepsake toy. 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 small, satisfying project with multiple components.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces Westie style dogs — knitted toy figures inspired by the West Highland White Terrier breed. The construction involves knitting separate pieces including the head and body sections, which are then assembled, stuffed, and finished to create a three-dimensional plush figure. Details such as an embroidered nose are added during the making-up stage to bring the character to life. The pattern references at least a small dog size, with shaping worked across the head and body to achieve the rounded, toy-like proportions characteristic of this style of knitted animal.

Materials Used

Yarn

• King Cole Tinsel Chunky is the primary yarn used throughout this pattern. This is a chunky weight novelty yarn with a distinctive sparkle or tinsel effect, giving the finished dogs a festive, glittery appearance that is particularly appealing as a seasonal or gift project.
• The pattern references a main colour (MC) and a contrast colour (CC), allowing knitters to introduce a second shade for detail areas. A yarn called Dollymix is also referenced for embroidering the nose, suggesting a finer or contrast yarn is used for surface embroidery details.
• The pattern also lists DK weight yarn in its attributes, which may be used for finer detail work or embroidery elements.

Needles

• 4.5 mm knitting needles are specified for working with King Cole Tinsel Chunky at the stated tension.

Additional Materials

• Toy stuffing is required to fill the finished pieces before assembly, giving the dogs their three-dimensional shape.

Tension

The pattern specifies a tension of 17 stitches and 25 rows to 10 cm measured over stocking stitch using 4.5 mm needles and King Cole Tinsel Chunky. Achieving the correct tension is important in toy making to ensure the finished size matches the stated measurements of 18–24 cm (7–9 inches) and that the fabric is firm enough to hold the stuffing securely without gaps.

Techniques Used

• Knitting in the round / flat knitting: Pieces are worked flat on straight needles in rows, with seaming used during making up to join row ends with right sides facing before turning right side out.
• Shaping: Both increasing and decreasing are used extensively to sculpt the three-dimensional form of the dog's head and body. Increases are worked in rounds of doubling stitches or gradual additions, and decreases are used to close and shape sections.
• Gathering: After completing certain sections, remaining stitches are pulled up tightly and fastened off — a classic technique in toy knitting used to close rounded ends such as the top of the head or base of the body.
• Seaming and assembly: Row ends are sewn together with right sides facing, then the piece is turned right side out before stuffing. Individual components such as the head are pinned into position before final sewing, allowing for adjustment of placement.
• Surface embroidery: The nose is embroidered onto the upper head area using Dollymix yarn, adding a lifelike detail to the finished toy.
• Colour work: A contrast colour (CC) is joined at a specific point in the pattern, introducing a second shade to create visual detail on the dog.

Stitches Used