Knit Armigurumi Bunny

Knit Amigurumi Bunny by Jackie Ehman

What is Being Made

This is a knitted amigurumi bunny designed by Jackie Ehman as a small stuffed toy doll. The finished bunny measures approximately 4½ inches tall from the tip of the ears to the feet, making it an ideal size for a decorative keepsake, gift, or collection piece. The design falls under the dolls and doll accessories category and is suitable for crafters with intermediate knitting experience.

Knitting Techniques Used

This amigurumi bunny pattern employs several fundamental knitting techniques to create its three-dimensional, stuffed form. The construction relies on increases and decreases to shape individual body parts, which are then sewn together to form the complete toy. The pattern uses double-pointed needles (DPNs) to work in the round, a common method for creating seamless, tubular pieces ideal for amigurumi construction. Crafters will need to understand how to stuff pieces firmly with polyester fiberfill as they work, and then seam pieces together using a yarn needle. The design also incorporates embellishment techniques such as sewing on seed beads for eyes and adding embroidered details for the mouth using black sewing thread.

Stitches Used

The pattern utilizes essential knitting stitches appropriate for amigurumi work:

• Knit (K) – the basic knit stitch forming the foundation of the fabric
• Purl (P) – the reverse of the knit stitch, used as needed in the pattern
• Kfb (Knit into front and back) – an increase stitch that creates two stitches from one, used to expand sections for shaping body parts
• Ssk (Slip, slip, knit) – a left-leaning decrease stitch that reduces stitch count for shaping
• K2tog (Knit 2 together) – a right-leaning decrease stitch also used for reducing stitches and creating shape

Materials and Tools

The bunny is designed to work with DK weight yarn (#3), requiring approximately 80 yards or less of total yarn. The original sample was created using Stylecraft Special yarn in the colors Candy Floss, Fondant, and Aspen, combined with Bernat Softee Baby yarn in Antique White. However, the pattern is flexible and can be adapted to any DK weight yarn of your choice. When substituting yarn, the designer recommends going down 1–2 needle sizes from the yarn's standard recommendation to create a tighter knit that better contains the polyester stuffing and supports facial features.

The pattern calls for Size 2.75mm (US 2) double-pointed needles (DPNs) to work the pieces in the round. Additional supplies include polyester fiberfill stuffing for filling the bunny, Size 8/0 or 6/0 black seed beads for eyes, black sewing thread for attaching the beads and embroidering the mouth, a yarn needle for seaming pieces together, pins for positioning components before sewing, scissors, and an optional pom pom maker for creating any pom pom accents. The gauge for this pattern is 7 stitches = 1 inch, though the designer notes that gauge is not critical for amigurumi projects, as the focus is on creating a properly stuffed, shapely toy rather than achieving precise fabric dimensions.