Seahorse

Seahorse Knitting Pattern by Ginny Sturdy

What Is Being Made

This is a downloadable knitting pattern for creating a Seahorse toy, designed by independent designer Ginny Sturdy. The finished project is a small, three-dimensional knitted toy suitable for intermediate-level knitters.

Craft and Technique Overview

The Seahorse is created using knitting as the primary craft method. The pattern employs several intermediate techniques to shape and construct the toy, including strategic increases, decreases, and short-row shaping to create the seahorse's distinctive curved body and dimensional form.

Stitches and Techniques Used

• Kfb (Knit Front and Back) – an increase technique that creates an extra stitch by knitting into both the front and back of a single stitch
• Kbf (Knit Back and Front) – an alternative increase method working in reverse order from the Kfb technique
• K2tog (Knit Two Together) – a decrease stitch that combines two stitches into one
• Pfb (Purl Front and Back) – a purl-based increase technique mirroring the Kfb method on purl rows
• Short Rows with Wrap Stitches – an advanced shaping technique using Wrap 1K and Wrap 1P methods to create curves and contours without cutting yarn or creating holes in the fabric

Short Row Wrapping Technique Details

The pattern utilizes short-row shaping to achieve the seahorse's curved body structure. The wrapping technique prevents gaps that would otherwise appear when turning work mid-row. For Wrap 1K (on knit rows), the yarn is brought to the front, the next stitch is slipped purlwise to the right needle, yarn returns to the back, and the stitch is slipped back to the left needle before turning. For Wrap 1P (on purl rows), the process reverses: yarn goes to the back, stitch slips purlwise, yarn returns to front, stitch returns to left needle, then turn with yarn positioned to purl the next row. This wrapping technique ensures the yarn encircles the wrap stitch, maintaining fabric integrity throughout the shaping process.

Materials Required

• Needles: Double point needles in size 2.25mm
• Yarn: 4ply wool, approximately 5 grams total

Difficulty Level

This pattern is rated as intermediate difficulty, making it suitable for knitters who have mastered basic stitches and are ready to tackle shaping techniques like increases, decreases, and short-row construction.