Deramores Charlie the Chihuahua Toy Knitting Pattern

Deramores Charlie the Chihuahua Knitted Toy

What is Being Made

Charlie the Chihuahua is a knitted stuffed toy designed by Amanda Berry. This intermediate knitting project creates a small decorative or play toy chihuahua figure that is constructed from multiple knitted pieces and assembled together. The finished toy is filled with soft toy stuffing to create a plush, three-dimensional character.

Knitting Techniques Used

This pattern employs fundamental knitting techniques suitable for intermediate-level crafters. The primary construction method uses stockinette stitch, which creates a smooth, classic knitted fabric by alternating knit rows on the right side with purl rows on the wrong side. The pattern incorporates essential shaping techniques including increases and decreases to form the toy's contours and body parts.

Increases are worked using the kfb (knit into the front and back) method, which adds stitches to expand sections of the knitting. Decreases are achieved through two methods: k2tog (knitting two stitches together) and ssk (slip, slip, knit), both of which reduce stitch counts to shape the toy. These shaping techniques allow the knitter to create the characteristic features of a chihuahua, including the head, body, and limbs.

Stitches and Stitch Abbreviations

• Stockinette Stitch (St st): The foundation stitch, created by knitting right-side rows and purling wrong-side rows to produce a smooth, flat fabric
• Knit (K): The basic knit stitch forming the primary texture
• Purl (P): The reverse of the knit stitch, used on wrong-side rows in stockinette
• Knit Two Together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease that reduces stitch count by one
• Slip, Slip, Knit (ssk): A left-leaning decrease created by slipping stitches and knitting them together
• Knit into Front and Back (kfb): An increase that adds one stitch by working into both the front and back loops of a single stitch

Materials and Tools Required

Yarn: The pattern calls for Deramores Studio DK yarn in three main colors totaling 300 grams:

• 1 x 100g in Oatmeal (Yarn A) for the primary body color
• 1 x 100g in Frost (Yarn B) for secondary coloring
• 1 x 100g in Ebony (Yarn C) for darker details

Additionally, less than 1 gram of DK acrylic yarn in Blue Haze is needed for the collar detail. DK (Double Knitting) yarn is a medium-weight yarn that provides good stitch definition for toy making.

Needles: A pair of 3.75mm straight knitting needles (US size 5) are required to work the fabric at the specified tension.

Finishing Supplies: The toy assembly requires toy stuffing to fill the knitted pieces and create dimension. Two 12mm toy safety eyes provide the finished chihuahua with its characteristic expression. A darning needle or tapestry needle is essential for sewing the individual knitted pieces together and weaving in yarn ends.

Tension and Gauge

The pattern specifies a tension of approximately 22 stitches by 28 rows over a 10 centimeter by 10 centimeter square when working stockinette stitch on 3.75mm needles. Achieving the correct tension is important for creating a toy of the intended size and ensuring that the stuffing sits appropriately within the finished piece.

Designer Information

This pattern was created by Amanda Berry, a knitwear designer based in Berkshire, England. Berry graduated from London College of Fashion with First Class Honours in 2014 and has since built a full-time career designing knitted toys. Her work has been published in magazines and created for charitable organizations. Additional patterns by Amanda Berry are available through her Designer Shop on Deramores and her website.