Mr Tumble

Mr Tumble Knitted Toy by Andrew Lucas

What is Being Made

Mr Tumble is a beginner-friendly knitted doll designed as a small toy measuring approximately 14 centimeters in height. This downloadable knitting pattern creates a charming stuffed figure with distinct body sections including a body, shoulders, and head, constructed using basic knitting techniques and finished with colorful double knitting wool in multiple vibrant shades.

Techniques Used

The Mr Tumble pattern employs fundamental knitting techniques suitable for beginners. The construction method involves casting on to establish the initial stitches, followed by strategic increases to expand the fabric width for shaping different body sections. Decreases are used to taper and shape areas such as the shoulders and head. The pattern demonstrates how to change yarn colors between sections to create visual definition and character details. The finishing technique involves binding and tying off by threading the wool end through remaining stitches using a tapestry needle, drawing up the stitches, and securing them to complete the toy.

Stitches Used

• Stocking Stitch (st st) – The primary stitch used throughout the pattern, created by alternating knit rows and purl rows to produce a smooth, classic fabric texture
• Garter Stitch (gs) – A knit-only stitch mentioned in the abbreviations, creating a ridged, textured fabric
• Knit (k) – The fundamental stitch that forms the basis of all knitted fabric
• Purl (p) – The reverse of the knit stitch, used in combination with knit stitches to create stocking stitch
• Increase (inc) – Used to add stitches and expand the fabric, particularly for shaping the head and body sections
• Knit Two Together (k2tog) – A decrease technique that reduces stitch count by combining two stitches into one, used for shaping shoulders and head
• Purl Two Together (p2tog) – A decrease technique worked on purl rows to reduce stitches
• Slip (sl) – A stitch technique referenced in the abbreviations for moving stitches without working them

Materials Required

The Mr Tumble pattern requires 3.25mm knitting needles as the primary tool. The yarn consists of double knitting wool in multiple colors, provided as oddments (small leftover quantities). The color palette includes red, yellow, orange, beige, brown, blue, black, green, and pink, allowing crafters to use up yarn scraps while creating a multi-colored, characterful toy. A tapestry needle is needed for the finishing process of binding off and securing the final stitches.

Pattern Structure

The pattern is organized by body section. The body begins with casting on 25 stitches using yellow wool, followed by increases in every stitch to create 50 stitches for width. Stocking stitch is worked for 9 rows before changing to orange wool and continuing for 14 rows. The shoulders are shaped using knit two together decreases to reduce back to 25 stitches. The head section begins with increases to expand to 37 stitches, then stocking stitch continues for 17 rows before decreasing back to 25 stitches, and finally further decreases complete the shaping.