Shazam choc orange cover / toy

Shazam Chocolate Orange Cover or 15cm Toy by Andrew Lucas

What Is Being Made

This is a beginner-friendly knitted cover designed to fit a chocolate orange or function as a standalone 15-centimeter stuffed toy. The project creates a colorful character piece using simple knitting techniques and basic stitch work, making it an accessible introduction to toy knitting for crafters of all skill levels.

Craft and Technique Overview

This is a knitting project worked flat on straight needles using fundamental knitting methods. The design employs color changes throughout the construction to create visual interest and character definition. The toy is built in sections—body, shoulders, and head—with strategic shaping created through increases and decreases to form a three-dimensional form. Once knitting is complete, the piece is finished using the bind and tie method to close stitches, then stuffed lightly to create dimension.

Stitches and Techniques Used

• Stocking stitch – The primary stitch throughout, created by alternating knit rows and purl rows to produce a smooth, classic fabric
• Garter stitch – Knit every row for textured sections
• Increases – Worked to expand stitch counts, particularly for shaping the head and initial body expansion
• Decreases – Including knit 2 together (k2 tog) and slip, knit, pass slip stitch over (skpo) to reduce stitches and create shaping
• Yarn forward – Used for decorative or structural elements
• Bind and tie method – Threading yarn through remaining stitches on the needle with a tapestry needle, drawing them closed, and securing with a knot to finish edges

Materials Required

This project uses 3.25mm needles and double knitting wool in five colors: red, yellow, beige, black, and white. Only small oddments of each color are needed, making this an excellent stash-busting project. A small amount of stuffing is required to fill the toy form and create structure.

Construction Details

The body begins with 25 cast-on stitches that are increased in every stitch of the first row to create 50 stitches, forming the base width. Stocking stitch is worked in red wool for several rows, then the yarn is changed to yellow for a contrasting band, followed by a return to red for the main body section. The shoulders are shaped by knitting 2 stitches together across the entire row, reducing to 25 stitches. The head section begins with increases worked across a row to expand to 37 stitches, setting up the larger circumference needed for the character's head.