Charmander Pokemon

Charmander Pokemon Knitted Toy by Andrew Lucas

What Is Being Made

This is a beginner-friendly knitted toy pattern for Charmander, the iconic Fire-type Pokémon character. The finished toy measures approximately 13 centimeters in height, making it a small, portable plush companion. The design captures Charmander's distinctive features through colorwork and shaping, creating a three-dimensional stuffed figure suitable for play or display.

Knitting Techniques Used

The Charmander toy employs fundamental knitting techniques that make it accessible to beginners while building essential skills. The pattern uses increases and decreases to shape the body and head, creating the toy's dimensional form. Stocking stitch (alternating knit and purl rows) forms the primary fabric surface, providing a smooth, finished appearance. Garter stitch (knitting every row) is incorporated for textured areas. The pattern demonstrates color changes using different yarn colors to represent Charmander's burnt orange body, yellow belly, red accents, and other distinctive markings. Seaming techniques join row ends together to create the three-dimensional structure, and the bind and tie method securely closes off stitches by threading yarn through remaining stitches on the needle and drawing them tight.

Stitches and Abbreviations

The pattern uses standard knitting abbreviations and fundamental stitches:

• K – knit stitch
• P – purl stitch
• Inc – increase (adding stitches to expand fabric width)
• Dec – decrease (reducing stitches to narrow fabric)
• K2tog – knit two stitches together (a common decrease method)
• P2tog – purl two stitches together
• St st – stocking stitch (the primary fabric structure alternating knit and purl rows)
• Gs – garter stitch (knit every row for textured areas)
• B and T – bind and tie method for securing stitches
• Alt – alternate (used in pattern repeats)

Materials and Tools

This project requires minimal materials, making it economical for crafters. The pattern calls for 3.25mm knitting needles, a standard size suitable for double knitting weight yarn. Double knitting wool in multiple colors provides the necessary yarn weight and workability for a beginner project. Specific colors needed include burnt orange (primary body color), lemon yellow, red, yellow, black, white, and green for creating Charmander's characteristic markings and features. A small amount of polyester stuffing fills the toy to create its three-dimensional shape and structure. A tapestry needle is used for the bind and tie finishing technique and for seaming pieces together.

Pattern Structure

The Charmander toy is constructed in separate pieces that are then assembled. The body section begins by casting on 25 stitches in burnt orange, then increasing in every stitch on the first row to create 50 stitches. The fabric is worked in stocking stitch for 21 rows, then systematically decreased using knit two together techniques to shape the body and create the proper proportions. The head section starts with 9 stitches cast on in burnt orange, with increases worked knitwise to expand to 17 stitches, then continues in stocking stitch with increases at each end of alternating rows to build dimension. Row ends are stitched together to form three-dimensional pieces, and stuffing is added before final closure using the bind and tie method.