My Wee Woodland Wuzzies pattern has long been a favourite, because all those tiny animals are so fun to knit, gift, and then play with. If you like those, then this pattern is perfect for you. Panda's are so cute, and these tiny ones would make a super gift for anyone who likes adorable animals! I've even designed a finger-puppet body. With a few simple modifications, you could also use this body to make finger-puppets of all the Wee Wuzzies (just substitute the correct colours for the animal you're making).
This pattern was originally published on my old blog, back in 2015. There are no significant changes to the original design. The photos were taken with my younger child, who was 4 at the time. I may replace these photos with newer, larger ones in the future.
Wee Panda Toy and Finger-Puppet
Materials: 10 g of white (MC) DK weight yarn, 10 g of black (CC) DK weight yarn, pair of 3.25 mm (US size 3) knitting needles, pair of black 6 mm safety eyes or beads, polyester stuffing, tapestry needle
Gauge: 5.5 sts and 8.5 rows = 2.5 cm (1") measured over st st
Size: 5.5 cm (2¼”). The finger puppet will fit a child's or small adult's hand.
Notes
Use a long-tail, or similar, cast on. Leaving a 25 cm (10”) yarn end when casting on will give you a convenient length of yarn for seaming and assembling the toy.
Intarsia colour changes are marked by the yarn colour preceding each set of stitches. Review this tutorial if you need assistance with this technique.
Use mattress stitch for seams, and whip stitch to assemble toy pieces.
To secure yarn ends, weave them through the stuffed pieces 2–3 times, then trim off any excess yarn. Or, weave the yarn ends through several stitches on the WS, then trim excess.
Toy Body
Begin at bottom. With MC, cast on 6 sts.
Row 1: Purl.
Row 2: K1, [m1, k1] to end. (11 sts)
Row 3: Purl.
Row 4: K1, [m1, k1] to end. (21 sts)
Row 5: MC p7, CC p1, MC p5, CC p1, MC p7.
Row 6: MC k7, CC mb, MC k5, CC mb, MC k7.
Continue in MC.
Row 7-12: Work 6 rows in st st.
Break off MC, change to CC.
Row 13: Purl.
Row 14: K7, mb, ssk, k1, k2tog, mb, k7. (19 sts)
Row 15: Purl.
Row 16: K2, [ssk] x 3, k3, [k2tog] x 3, k2. (13 sts)
Row 17: Purl.
Bind off. Sew down the edges of the bobbles with the yarn ends from working instaria. Then knot the yarn ends tightly together on the WS, and trim short. Sew together the cast-on edge, then sew up back seam, leaving bound-off edge open. Stuff body (you'll need to be careful when stuffing the body, so the black yarn ends from the bobbles don't show).
Finger Puppet Body
Begin at bottom. With MC, cast on 16 sts.
Row 1-2: Beginning with a P row, work 2 rows in st st.
Row 3: MC p5, CC p1, MC p4, CC p1, MC p5.
Row 4: MC k5, CC mb, MC k4, CC mb, MC k5.
Row 5-7: Work 3 rows in st st.
Row 8: K5, ssk, k2, k2tog, k5. (14 sts)
Row 9-10: Work 2 rows in st st.
Break off MC, change to CC.
Row 11: Purl.
Row 12: K4, mb, ssk, k2tog, mb, k4. (12 sts)
Row 13: Purl.
Bind off. Sew down the edges of the bobbles with the yarn ends from working instaria. Secure these yarn ends on the WS. Sew up the back seam, leaving the cast-on and bound-off edges open. Secure yarn ends.
Head
Begin at back of head. With MC, cast on 7 sts.
Row 1: Purl.
Row 2: K1, [m1, k1] x 5, k1. (12 sts)
Row 3: Purl.
Row 4: K1, [m1, k1] x 10, k1. (22 sts)
Row 5: MC p8, CC p1, MC p4, CC p1, MC p8.
Row 6: MC k8, CC kfbf, turn, p3, turn, s2kp, MC k4, CC kfbf, turn, p3, turn, s2kp, MC k8. (this rows makes tiny bobbles for the ears)
Continue in MC.
Row 7-9: Work 3 rows in st st.
Row 10: MC k6, CC k4, MC k2, CC k4, MC k6.
Row 11: MC p6, CC p4, MC p2, CC p4, MC p6.
Continue in MC.
Row 12: K2, [k2tog] x 4, k2, [ssk] x 4, k2. (14 sts)
Row 13-15: Work 3 rows in st st.
Row 16: [k2tog] x 7. (7 sts)
Cut yarn, thread end through loops of remaining sts, and pull tight to gather. Secure the yarn ends from the intarsia sections on the WS. Attach safety eyes or beads. Sew the seam towards the back of the head, leaving an opening. Stuff the head, smoothing and shaping as you stuff. Sew closed. Embroider a nose and mouth with black yarn. Sew the head to the open bound-off-edge of the toy or puppet body. Secure yarn ends.
Abbreviations
[ ] x N = repeat sequence in brackets N times ("to end" means to repeat until the end of the row)
K = knit
k2tog = decrease 1 stitch by knitting 2 together
kfbf: increase 2 stitches by knitting into front, then back, then front of next stitch
m1 = increase 1 by picking up loop between stitch just worked and next stitch, and knit into the back of this loop
mb = Make bobble: increase 5 sts into next st (knit, purl, knit, purl, knit into this stitch), turn. P5, turn. K5, turn. P5, turn. Ssk, k1, k2tog, then, one at a time, pass first 2 sts over the last st on your right-hand needle, to get 1 remaining stitch.
P = purl
RS = right side (knit in stockinette)
s2kp = decrease 2 by slipping 2 stitches as if to k2tog, knit the next stitch, then pass the 2 slipped stitches over the knit stitch
ssk = decrease 1 by slipping 2 stitches purl-wise from left to right-hand needle, slip both stitches back to left-hand needle, then knit slipped stitches together
st or sts = stitch or stitches
st st = stockinette stitch
WS = wrong side (purl in stockinette)
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