Bird in Schachenmayr Baby Smiles Lenja Soft - S9380 - Downloadable PDF

Bird Knitting Pattern – Schachenmayr Baby Smiles Lenja Soft (Design S9380)

This free downloadable PDF pattern from Schachenmayr guides knitters through creating an adorable stuffed toy bird, known in German as Vögelchen. The finished bird measures approximately 17 x 15 cm, making it a charming handmade gift or keepsake for babies and young children. The pattern is rated as suitable for knitters who are comfortable with short-row shaping and basic decreases, and it is offered completely free of charge as a Gratisanleitung (free pattern).

What Is Being Made

The project is a three-dimensional knitted stuffed bird toy. It is constructed in separate sections — the body and the head — which are worked individually and then assembled. The body is shaped using short rows to create a rounded, organic form, while the head is picked up directly from the body and shaped with increases and decreases to form a rounded head. Once complete, the bird is stuffed with polyester filling to give it a soft, plush appearance.

Materials Used

• Yarn: Schachenmayr Baby Smiles Lenja Soft — 25 g each in Rosa (shade 01035) and Grau (shade 01090). This yarn is 100% Polyester with a running length of 85 m per 25 g ball, placing it firmly in the worsted weight category. Its soft polyester composition makes it particularly gentle against delicate baby skin.
• Needles: Milward knitting needles, size 4 mm.
• Filling: 50 g polyester toy stuffing (Füllwatte) to stuff the finished bird.

Gauge

The pattern specifies a gauge of 20 stitches and 29 rows in stockinette stitch over 10 x 10 cm using 4 mm needles. Achieving the correct gauge is important for ensuring the finished bird reaches the intended dimensions of approximately 17 x 15 cm.

Techniques Used

• Short-row shaping (verkürzte Reihen) — The body of the bird is shaped entirely through a series of short rows. Rather than casting off and restarting, the knitter turns the work mid-row at progressively longer intervals, building up a curved, three-dimensional shape that mimics the rounded form of a bird's body. This technique is repeated a total of 12 times to form the complete body.
• Wrap and turn (Wende-Maschen) — At each turning point in the short rows, a wrap stitch is worked to prevent gaps or holes from forming at the turn. The wrapped stitch is counted as a double stitch and is later knitted together with its neighbour according to the pattern, keeping the fabric smooth and even.
• Picking up stitches — The head is not cast on separately; instead, 24 stitches are picked up directly from the narrower right-hand edge of the body. This creates a seamless join between the body and head sections.
• Increases — After an initial decrease row on the head, stitches are increased by knitting both a regular stitch and a twisted stitch from each stitch of the previous row, doubling the stitch count back to 24 stitches. This creates a neat, even increase without visible holes.
• Decreases — Both k2tog (knit two together) and skpo (slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over — 2 M überzogen zusammenstricken) are used to shape the head and reduce stitch counts at the appropriate points.
• Casting on and binding off — A standard cast-on of 20 stitches begins the body, and all stitches are bound off at the end of the body section before the head is picked up.

Stitches Used

• Garter stitch (Kraus rechts) — Every row is knitted on the right side; this stitch pattern is used for the body of the