Skymoo Inspired Pattern

Skymoo Inspired Pattern by Ann Roots

Project Overview

The Skymoo Inspired Pattern is an intermediate-level knitted toy design created by designer Ann Roots. This downloadable PDF pattern produces a completed stuffed toy measuring approximately 41cm x 15cm. The project uses double knit yarn worked with two strands throughout, creating a sturdy fabric suitable for a plush toy that requires minimal finishing work.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a knitted toy inspired by Skymoo characters. The finished piece is a soft, stuffed animal toy that combines knitted fabric components with felt accents and decorative details. The toy is constructed using basic shaping techniques and includes embellishments such as antlers made from twisted yarn, felt squares for facial features, and colorwork details in black, pink, and white or fluffy wool.

Materials Required

• Yarn: 2 x 100 grams of blue Double Knit (DK) weight wool, knitted double throughout the project. Recommended brands include Hayfield Bonus Double Knit or James C Brett Top Value Double Knit in pale blue
• Needles: 4mm and 3.75mm straight needles for main body work, plus 4mm double-pointed (D/P) needles for Icord construction
• Stuffing: Approximately 125 grams of polyester or wool toy filling
• Embellishments: Small square of blue felt, small amounts of black, pink, and white or fluffy wool for facial features, and twisted yarn for antler details

Knitting Techniques Used

The Skymoo Inspired Pattern employs several fundamental knitting techniques appropriate for intermediate crafters. The pattern uses stocking stitch (s/s) as the primary fabric construction method, creating a smooth, uniform knit surface. Shaping is achieved through strategic increases and decreases positioned throughout the pattern to form the toy's three-dimensional structure.

Icord construction using double-pointed needles creates decorative cord elements, likely used for limbs, tails, or other linear details. This technique involves working stitches in the round on a small set of needles to produce a tubular cord. The pattern also incorporates two-strand knitting, where double knit yarn is worked with both strands held together simultaneously, doubling the yarn weight and creating a denser, more durable fabric ideal for toys that will be handled and played with.

Stitches and Abbreviations

The pattern uses standard knitting abbreviations and fundamental stitches:

• s/s (stocking stitch): Alternating knit and purl rows to create the smooth fabric base
• sts (stitches): Individual loops on the needle
• m1 (make one): An increase technique where the loop between two stitches is picked up and knitted through the back loop, adding one stitch
• k2tog (knit two together): A right-leaning decrease combining two stitches into one
• p2tog (purl two together): A decrease worked on purl rows
• s1k1psso (slip one, knit one, pass slip stitch over): A left-leaning decrease technique
• tbl (through back of stitch): Working into the back loop of a stitch for twisted effects or reinforcement

Yarn Weight and Tension

The pattern specifies Double Knit (DK) weight yarn worked with two strands held together. The tension is established as 18 stitches by 24 rows over a 4-inch (10cm) square when using two strands of yarn with 4mm needles. Achieving proper tension is essential for the toy to reach the intended finished size and to ensure the fabric has appropriate density for stuffing without gaps.

Pattern Structure

The pattern begins with a small cast-on of 3 stitches for the body section, with increases worked on alternate rows to gradually expand the fabric. Numbers in brackets throughout the pattern indicate the stitch count on the needle after each row, allowing crafters to verify they are following the shaping sequence correctly. This systematic approach makes the pattern suitable for intermediate knitters who are comfortable with basic increases, decreases, and reading row-by-row instructions.