Away in a Manger

Away in a Manger Knitted Nativity Decorations

Project Overview

Away in a Manger is a beginner-friendly knitting pattern designed by Pretty Little Sheep for creating a charming nativity scene decoration. This downloadable PDF pattern guides crafters through constructing soft, stuffed knitted figures including Mary and Joseph, perfect for holiday displays or seasonal decorating.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a collection of nativity character decorations, specifically featuring Mary and Joseph as the primary figures. Each character is constructed as a three-dimensional stuffed toy with a distinct head and body, allowing for display as a complete nativity scene. The decorative pieces are designed to be small, portable ornaments suitable for shelves, trees, or festive arrangements.

Knitting Techniques Used

The Away in a Manger pattern employs fundamental knitting techniques appropriate for beginners:

• Increases: Kfb (knit forward and back) technique is used to expand stitch counts, particularly in the early rounds of the head and body sections to create the rounded, three-dimensional shaping needed for stuffed figures
• Decreases: K2tog (knit two stitches together) and P2tog (purl two stitches together) techniques are applied to close off sections and reduce stitch counts, essential for finishing the head crown and tapering body sections
• Seaming: Mattress stitch is employed to join seams invisibly, creating neat, professional-looking edges where body parts connect
• Stuffing and Finishing: The pattern incorporates strategic openings at the neck edge to allow for proper stuffing before final closure, ensuring firm, well-shaped figures

Stitches Used

The pattern utilizes essential knitting stitches suitable for beginners:

• Knit (K): The fundamental knit stitch forms the primary fabric structure
• Purl (P): Purl stitches are worked on wrong-side rows to create stockinette stitch
• Stockinette Stitch (St st): This classic stitch pattern, created by alternating knit and purl rows, forms the smooth, flat fabric base for the nativity figures
• Kfb (Knit Forward and Back): This increase stitch doubles stitches to expand the fabric for shaping rounded head and body forms
• K2tog and P2tog: These decrease stitches reduce stitch counts to close off sections and create tapered shaping

Materials Required

The Away in a Manger pattern specifies DK weight yarn in multiple colors to distinguish different characters and details:

• DK Yarn: Flesh tone (color of crafter's choice) for heads, white for accents, blue for Mary's body, camel for Joseph's body, and brown for additional details
• Needles: 3mm straight needles are used throughout the pattern for working the small-scale stitches appropriate to DK yarn weight
• Notions: Toy stuffing is essential for filling the head and body sections to create firm, three-dimensional figures; a tapestry needle facilitates seaming with mattress stitch and threading yarn tails; scissors are needed for cutting yarn
• Optional Embellishment: A 1cm gold hoop may be added for decorative detail, such as a halo effect

Difficulty Level

This pattern is classified as beginner-friendly, making it accessible to knitters new to the craft. The straightforward construction focuses on basic increases and decreases, simple shaping through row-by-row adjustments, and fundamental finishing techniques. The modular design—working separate head and body pieces before assembly—allows beginners to practice core skills in manageable sections.

Pattern Format

Away in a Manger is provided as a downloadable PDF document, offering convenient digital access to the complete pattern instructions, abbreviations, and materials list for reference during crafting.