Blooregard "Bloo" Q. Kazoo

from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

Free PDF download of this pattern here

  

Materials:

-         Small amounts of blue, red, and black yarn (KnitPicks Cotlin DK)

-         Set of 4 double-pointed needles, US size 1

-         Stuffing material (Scrap yarn, polyester fiber-fil)

-         Yarn needle/Tapestry needle

-         Googly eyes

-         Tacky glue (Aleene’s Jewel-It Embellishing Glue)

-         (Optional) Crochet hook US size D

Instructions:

Body/Head:

Cast on 4 sts onto double-pointed needles

1.    kfb around (8 sts)

2.    kfb around (16 sts)

3.    k around (16)

1.    k around (16)

2.    kfb, k1 around (24)

3.    k around (24)

4.    kfb, k2 around (32)

5-28. k around (32)

29. k1, (k2tog, k3) three times, k1, (k2tog, k3) three times (26)

30. k around

31. k1, (k2tog, k2) three times, k1, (k2tog, k2) three times (20)

32. k around

33. k1, (k2tog, k1) three times, k1, (k2tog, k1) three times (14)

34. k around

35. k1, (k2tog) three times, k1, (k2tog) three times (8)

36. k2tog around (4)

Break yarn and pull through remaining sts

Mouth:

Approximately 10 rows below the last row, embroider in black as shown.

Tongue can be embroidered or crocheted. For the crochet version, cast on 3 sts, sc 2 rows, ch1 to start next row, sc2tog, break yarn with a long tail and pull through final st, and sew tongue two rows below top of mouth.

Arms:

Using the double-pointed needles, pick up 7 sts in a circle with the bottom two rows below and three sts from bottom of mouth.

1-9. k around (7 sts)

10. (k2tog) four times, k1 (5 sts)

Leaving a long tail, break yarn and pull through remaining sts.

Sew end of arm to corner of mouth.

Eyes:

Use tacky glue to attach googly eyes one row above mouth and two sts apart.

Stuffed Animal Yellowjacket

I held a yarn bombing at my school in October, and hung a few of these little guys on the trees

Materials:

Yellow, black, and white yarn

Double pointed needles

Poly-fil stuffing

Yarn needle

Since this is a stuffed animal, gauge doesn't matter.  Choose weight of yarn and size of needles so that the gauge is slightly tighter than usual, just so the stuffing doesn't show through.

Body:

(starts at tip of head)

In black, with CO 4 sts (leave a long tail – about 4”)

1.      join in the round, kfb around (8 sts)

2.      kfb around (16)

We sold these in a holiday sale, so I had to make tiny Santa hats for them

3.      k around (16)

4.      inc 2 this round (18)

5.      dec 2 this round (16)

6.      k around (16)

7.      dec 2 this round (14)

8.      k around (14)

9.      dec 4 this round (10)

10.  k around (10)

In yellow

11.  kfb around (20)

12.  k around (20)

STUFF HEAD

13.  k around (20)

14.  k around (20)

15.  inc 4 this round (24)

16.  k around (24)

In black

17.  k around (24)

18.  inc 4 this round (28)

19.  k around (28)

20.  k around (28)

21.  dec 4 this round (24)

22.  k around (24)

In yellow

23.  k around (24)

24.  dec 4 this round (20)

25.  k around (20)

26.  k around (20)

27.  dec 4 this round (16)

28.  k around (16)

In black

29.  k around (16)

30.  dec 4 this round (12)

31.  k around (12)

32.  k around (12)

33.  k2tog around (6)

STUFF BODY

34.  k2tog (3)

35.  work i-cord for 3 rounds

Cut yarn and pull through last three sts

Weave in end

Wings (make 2):

In white, CO 4 sts (leave a long tail – about 4”)

Work i-cord until piece measures about 6”

Cut yarn (again, leave a long tail) and pull through 

Finishing

• Antenna
• cut cast-on tail, weave leftover (attached) end into the yellowjacket
• find the side of the yellowjacket you want to be the top
• with a tapestry needle, thread cut piece of yarn down into the head, skip a few stitches, come up, do a backstitch into the head, then come up again
• for instance, if you start going into the right side of the head, bring yarn out about two and a half stitches to the left, go back in half a stitch to the right, come up two and a half stitches to the left
• make sure antennae are an even size, trimming them if necessary
•  Wings
• find center point of the top of the yellowjacket
• slightly to one side of that, take the tail of yarn from one end of the wing and use it to sew down about an inch of one side of the wing
• fold wing so it makes a loop on top of the yellowjacket
• use the tail from the second end to sew that end next to the first end
• sew about an inch of the second side so that it lies flat in a nice loop on the yellowjacket
• repeat with the second wing, making them as symmetrical as possible

Abbreviations:

- CO: cast on

- sts: stitches

- kfb: knit into the front and then the back of the next stitch

- k: knit

- inc: increase by knitting into the front and back of a stitch.  When it says increase by a certain number in the next round, spread out that number of increases as evenly as possible across the stitches you have.

- dec: decrease by knitting two together.  When it says decrease by a certain number, do the same as the increases.

- k2tog: knit two together.  Put left needle through two stitches and knit them as if they were one.

- i-cord: short for idiot cord, even though it should be short for impressive cord.  For a tutorial, check out this video à http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=700AG7Kvbhc