Baby Bunny Blanket Buddy

These blanket buddies are super soft and easy for little hands to grab and have such a cute face. They're one of those things that sometimes comes with a newborn layette set. They are tiny enough that they are safe to put in baby's crib, without being a suffocation hazard.Babies love to cuddle them to get to sleep. These would make awesome Christmas present for new baby or baby shower gifts, and are really really quick to make. Two hours maybe at the most.!

SIZE
One size

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Width: 5-7 inches
Length: 11-12 inches

MATERIALS

1 Skein baby soft boucle type yarn
Knitting Needles - Size 10.5 [6.5 mm]
Knitting Needles- Size 8 [5 mm]
Additional Materials
1. Small amount black worsted weight yarn
2. Small amount fiberfill stuffing


 This cuddly toy is worked in one piece. Gauge is not important for this project.
BLANKET BUDDY
With larger needles, cast on 1 st.
Rows 1-6 Knit into front and back of first st, knit to end of row – 7 sts at end of row 6.
Rows 7-39 K 3, yo, knit to end of row – 40 sts at end of row 39.
Rows 40-41 Cast on 12 sts for Paws, knit to end of row – 64 sts.
Rows 42-47 Knit.
Rows 48-49 Bind off 12 sts, knit to end of row – 40 sts.
Rows 50-61 K 2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, knit to end of row – 28 sts.
Shape Head
Change to smaller needles.
Row 62 K2tog across row – 14 sts.
Row 63 Knit into front and back of each st across row – 28 sts.
Row 64 *P 1, sl 1, rep from * across row.
Rep Row 64 until Head measures 3½in [9 cm].  The Head should be
worked tightly enough to hold the stuffing.

Shape Ears
Row 1 P3tog, return st to left needle, cast on 17 sts, p3tog, p 15 – 16 sts on right needle, 25 sts on left needle.
Row 2 Turn and p 14, p2tog – 40 sts.
Row 3 Turn and p 16.
Row 4 Turn and p 12.
Row 5 Turn and p 14.
Row 6 Turn and p 16, p2tog – 39 sts.
Row 7 Turn and p 18.
Row 8 Turn and p 16, p2tog – 38 sts.
Row 9 Turn and bind off 18 sts, p 1, *sl 1, p 1; rep from * across row – 20 sts.
Turn and rep Rows 1-9 for 2nd Ear. At end of 2nd Ear, 12 sts remain.

FINISHING
Cut a long length of yarn. With large-eyed blunt needle, thread yarn
through every other st on needle, then back through remaining sts. Remove knitting
needle and stuff Head. Pull yarn tightly to close top of Head and secure.
 Embroider face using black yarn and straight sts.
Weave in ends. Tie a knot in each Paw.

You can easily change the type of animal by changing the shape of the ears.


Happy Knitting!

No Knit Knitted Soft Toys

I decided to do something a little different for this post. This is a knitted soft toy without any knitting!
There is a craft book I've had for sometime, but hadn't got around to attempting anything from it until this week when i decided to give it a go. The book is called Happy Gloves and is by Miyako Kanamori. She has created the most beautiful, cleanly designed and easy to follow instructions for making soft toys out of gloves. Although the book only has 21 items to make (actually, that's quite a lot really isn't it ?), it gives you the instructions in such a way that you can easily take off with the idea and make many more variations of your own.

Here is the Elephant that i made for my granddaughter, for this you actually need two gloves but there are many in the book that only require one glove these are ideal and fun projects to do when you've lost one glove, and are too attached to the other to throw it away.    

Happy Gloves is different from most of the other craft books out there. This book begins like a children's storybook with a photos of every project and a little story about a fat chipmunk.

After a short story that includes photos of the various projects, there's a sewing overview that explains the different stitches you'll need to know, what sort of gloves to use, how to stuff and knot, etc. The hand-drawn illustrations that accompany this section are adorable!

Next comes the step-by-step how-tos. There is a clear set of chronological photos on how to make the chipmunk. From then on, you use those basic steps to complete the other projects. There is a set of illustrated instructions that show you the pattern (where to cut the glove) and specific variations for each project. The diagrams and instructions are extremely easy to follow! The book ends with instructions on how to stitch on the faces.

I'm loving the simplicity of both the book and the projects. My favorite projects are the elephant, the tiger, the rabbit, and the banana (yes, I did say banana)! Oh, and the teapot and cup are pretty cute too. The photos and illustrations are lovely, making this a good coffee table book. Alternatively, the story-telling makes this book appealing for children. Speaking of children, I bet they'd enjoy making their own glove animals and the projects are simple enough that they could do it with a little help.

These softies are cute and sweet and cost nearly nothing to make! All the gloves used in the book are solid color, which works well in showing shapes and details such as fabric appliques and embroidery. And once you master the techniques, you can branch out and use all sorts of gloves. I can already picture old Fair Isle or other colorful gloves used in creative ways.

This is a great book Because who doesn't have a few odd gloves lying around-and who couldn't use another quietly cheerful little friend?