George & Hubert Knit Bird in Red Heart Amigurumi - LM6296 - Downloadable PDF

George & Hubert Knit Bird in Red Heart Amigurumi (LM6296) – Free Downloadable Knitting Pattern by Michele Wilcox

This charming free downloadable PDF pattern by designer Michele Wilcox for Red Heart guides knitters through creating George and Hubert, a pair of adorable amigurumi-style knitted birds. Each finished bird measures approximately 3½ inches (9 cm) tall, making them perfectly petite decorative toys or accessories. The pattern is rated beginner difficulty, making it an ideal introduction to knitting in the round and basic amigurumi construction techniques.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces two small stuffed knitted birds worked in the amigurumi style — a craft tradition of creating tiny, stuffed figures using knit or crochet techniques. Each bird features a combined body and head worked as a single seamless piece, plus a decorative top tuft detail. The birds are designed with two distinct colorways, allowing knitters to customize the look of each finished figure. The result is a pair of whimsical, gift-worthy knitted toys suitable for display or gentle play.

Colorway Options

The pattern offers two named colorways, each specifying exactly when to switch yarn colors during construction:

• Colorway #1: Work Rows 1–9 with color D, then Rows 10–23 and the top tuft with color A.
• Colorway #2: Work Rows 1–9 with color D, then Rows 10–23 and the top tuft with color B.

Knitters are instructed to choose their preferred colorway before casting on and to refer to the colorway lists throughout construction to ensure color changes happen at the correct rows. This structured approach to color changing makes the pattern very approachable for beginners who may be new to working with multiple yarn colors.

Techniques Used

This pattern introduces and reinforces several foundational knitting and amigurumi-making techniques:

• Casting on a small number of stitches (6 stitches) to begin working from the bottom of the bird upward
• Increasing stitches using the kfb (knit front and back) method to shape the rounded body of the bird
• Flat knitting in rows, alternating right-side and wrong-side rows
• Color changing at specified row intervals to create the two-tone bird body
• Yarn preparation — the pattern includes detailed notes on how to separate the different color sections of the yarn ball before beginning, including how to gently pop out the center color, find color-change points, cut the yarn, and wind each color into a separate ball to prevent tangling during knitting
• Top tuft construction as a finishing embellishment detail

Stitches Used

• Knit stitch (K) — the foundational stitch used throughout the right-side rows
• Purl stitch (P) — used on wrong-side rows to create a smooth stockinette fabric
• Kfb (knit front and back) — the primary increase stitch used to expand the stitch count and shape the bird's rounded body; for example, Row 1 works [Kfb] 6 times to double the cast-on stitches from 6 to 12, and Row 3 works [K1, kfb] 6 times to increase to 18 stitches

Materials – Yarn, Needles, and Notions

This pattern is designed for use with Red Heart brand yarn in a 4-ply (worsted weight) yarn, consistent with the brand's widely available yarn lines. The pattern works with multiple color sections of yarn, and knitters are guided through a specific preparation process for separating yarn colors from a single multi-color ball before beginning. As a knitting pattern, knitting needles appropriate for the yarn weight are required. Additional notions typical for amigurumi projects — such as stuffing, a tapestry needle for seaming,