Little Blue Bunny

Little Blue Bunny Knitted Toy

What is Being Made

The Little Blue Bunny is a small knitted stuffed toy designed by Claire Garland, known professionally as Dot Pebbles. This finished toy measures 20cm (8 inches) tall measured to the tip of the ears, making it a compact decorative or play piece. The bunny is constructed as a three-dimensional figure using knitting techniques and is completed with toy filling and safety features including plastic or metal washer-backed toy eyes.

Yarn and Materials

This project requires a single 25g ball of DK or 4-ply weight yarn. The designer used Drops Brushed Alpaca Silk in shade 15 for the main bunny, with a tiny amount of white yarn in a lighter shade for the tail detail. The pattern notes that shade 14 creates an alternative lighter-colored bunny variation. Additional materials include toy filling for stuffing, 6mm black toy eyes with plastic or metal washer backs, black sewing thread, and a sewing needle for embroidering the nose detail. Locking-type stitch markers are recommended to track stitches throughout construction.

Needles and Tension

The Little Blue Bunny is worked on a pair of 3mm straight knitting needles. The pattern specifies a tension of 19 rows and 16 stitches over 5cm (approximately 2 inches) when working with 3mm needles. Achieving this tension is important for the toy to reach the intended finished size of 20cm tall.

Knitting Techniques and Stitches

This intermediate-level knitting project employs specialized short-row shaping techniques to create the three-dimensional form of the bunny. The pattern uses two key special instructions for shaping:

• W+Tk (Wrap and Turn Knit): This technique involves bringing the working yarn to the front of the work, slipping the next stitch knit-wise onto the right-hand needle, taking the working yarn to the back, slipping the stitch back onto the left-hand needle, and then turning the knitting. This creates wrapped stitches that help form curves and contours.
• W+Tp (Wrap and Turn Purl): A similar short-row shaping technique performed on purl rows, where the working yarn is taken to the back, the next stitch is slipped purl-wise onto the right-hand needle, the yarn is brought to the front, the stitch is slipped back to the left-hand needle, and the work is turned.

These wrap-and-turn techniques are fundamental to creating the bunny's shaped body, head, and ear sections without cutting yarn or using multiple pieces. The combination of knit and purl short rows allows the designer to build dimensional form within a single continuous knitted piece.

Difficulty Level and Suitability

The Little Blue Bunny is rated as an intermediate knitting project, suitable for knitters with foundational skills who are ready to tackle short-row shaping and toy construction. The pattern includes an important safety note: due to the small toy eyes and delicate yarn type, this bunny is not suitable for young children and should be kept away from infants and toddlers.