Wizard

Wizard Knitting Pattern by Sachiyo Ishii

What is Being Made

This is a knitted doll pattern for creating a wizard character in two sizes: a 20cm tall large wizard and a 14cm tall small wizard. The pattern produces a three-dimensional stuffed toy figure suitable for display, play, or as a decorative accessory. The design falls under the dolls and doll accessories category and is created using fundamental knitting techniques combined with simple assembly and embellishment methods.

Techniques Used

The wizard pattern employs several core knitting techniques to construct the doll. Casting on begins the fabric creation process, with the pattern starting with 12 stitches for the body and head section. Increases are worked using the kfb (knit through front and back) technique to expand stitch counts where needed for shaping. Decreases are accomplished through k2tog (knit two together) and ssk (slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over) methods to shape the doll's form and create tapered sections. The pattern incorporates seaming using the mattress stitch technique, which is worked with the right side of the fabric facing for neat, invisible joins. Embellishment includes attaching safety eyes, wooden beads, and optional embroidered details using a chenille needle and crochet hook for finishing touches.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (St st) — the primary stitch throughout the pattern, creating a smooth, classic knit fabric with a V-pattern on the right side
• Knit (K) — fundamental stitch worked on right-side rows
• Purl (P) — fundamental stitch worked on wrong-side rows to create stocking stitch when alternated with knit rows
• Kfb (knit through front and back) — an increase technique that creates two stitches from one, used for shaping the doll
• K2tog (knit two together) — a decrease technique that combines two stitches into one
• Ssk (slip, slip, knit) — an alternative decrease technique for shaping

Materials and Specifications

The pattern uses DK weight yarn (also called light worsted or 8-ply), which is an ideal weight for creating small, detailed doll projects. The recommended yarn is Cygnet DK, with six color options provided: Cloud (A), Flash (B), Saxe (C), White (D), Sunshine (E), and Mocha (F). Only 1 ball of each color is required, making this an economical project. The pattern specifies 3.5mm straight needles for the main knitting work. The tension is measured at 24 stitches by 32 rows over 10 centimeters in stocking stitch, which is essential for achieving the correct finished doll size.

Additional supplies include 8mm and 6mm safety eyes for the wizard's face, 4 wooden beads for decorative details, toy stuffing to fill the knitted form, a chenille needle for sewing seams and attaching embellishments, a crochet hook for finishing, dark brown 4-ply (fingering weight) yarn as an oddment for fine details, fabric glue for securing elements, and pink pastel (likely for cheek details or embroidery). The pattern recommends leaving long ends at the beginning and end of knitting sections to facilitate sewing during assembly.

Difficulty Level

This pattern is rated as intermediate difficulty, making it suitable for knitters with some experience beyond absolute beginners. The pattern requires competency with basic increases and decreases, understanding of tension and gauge, ability to follow written instructions with abbreviations, and skill in seaming pieces together using mattress stitch. The three-dimensional construction and need to stuff and assemble multiple components add complexity beyond simple flat projects.