Cuddles DK Bears in King Cole DK - 9017 - Downloadable PDF

Cuddles DK Bears – Knitted Toy Bear Pattern by King Cole (Pattern 9017)

The King Cole Cuddles DK Bears pattern (leaflet 9017) is a charming knitted toy bear pattern designed for intermediate knitters. Published by King Cole, this downloadable PDF guides you through constructing an adorable stuffed teddy bear, including all its individual components — body, head, ears, and muzzle — worked separately and then assembled. The pattern also features a multi-coloured bear design, allowing for creative use of contrast colours across different sections of the toy. A donation to the Pink Ribbon Foundation is made with every King Cole pattern purchased.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a knitted stuffed teddy bear — a classic soft toy suitable as a gift for children or as a display piece. The bear is constructed in separate sections including the body and head, ears, and muzzle, which are then sewn together and finished with embroidered or sewn eyes positioned just above the muzzle. The multi-coloured bear variant uses a yarn labelled A (and likely additional contrast colours) to create a distinctive, playful look across the different body parts.

Designs Included

Multi-Coloured Bear

The multi-coloured bear is the featured design in this leaflet. It is worked in sections using at least one named yarn colour (A), with the pattern indicating the use of multiple colours across the body, head, and ears. The construction begins with the body and head, cast on with 16 stitches and worked in stocking stitch, with shaping achieved through increases and decreases. The ears are made separately — two identical pieces, each cast on with 10 stitches. The muzzle is also worked as a separate piece and then attached to the face, with eyes positioned just above it.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Stocking stitch (Ss/ss) — the primary fabric stitch, worked by alternating a knit row and a purl row, used for the main body sections
• Garter stitch (Gs/gs) — knitting every row, used for selected sections to create a ridged, firm texture
• Shaping and increasing — the inc1 technique (knitting into the front and back of a stitch) is used to add stitches and build the rounded form of the bear
• Decreasing — both K2tog (knit two stitches together) and K2togtbl (knit two stitches together through the back loops) are used to reduce stitch counts and shape the body curves
• Slip stitch and pass slipped stitch over (sl1, psso) — a classic decrease technique used for neat, directional shaping
• Repeat brackets — instructions enclosed in brackets followed by a repeat count (e.g., [K1, K2tog] to end) are used throughout to simplify the pattern rows
• Seaming and assembly — individual pieces are sewn together after knitting, including attaching the muzzle and ears to the head
• Embellishment — eyes are added to the finished head, placed just above the muzzle

Stitches Used

• Knit (K) — the foundational stitch used throughout
• Purl (P) — used on wrong-side rows in stocking stitch sections
• K2tog — a right-leaning decrease: knit two stitches together
• K2togtbl — a left-leaning decrease: knit two stitches together through the back loops
• sl1, psso — slip one stitch, then pass it over the last worked stitch, forming a decrease
• inc1 — knit into the front and back of a stitch to increase by one

Tension

The pattern specifies two tension gauges