Easy Knit Amigurumi

This is about as simple as amigurumi gets. It's just a knit rectangle, no increasing, decreasing, or shaping in the knitting part. The shaping is all done with sewing to create ears and feet. It's perfect for beginner knitters, or a project you could work on with your kid—they could knit the rectangle, then you either do the sewing or assist them with it.

The pattern is basic, it could become a cat, or a bear, or even a monster, depending on how much you shape the ears and what kind of face you put on it. It's your stuffed critter, make it whatever you want it to be.

• Yarn (the example is worsted weight, but other weights could be used to make larger or smaller critters)
• Needles, size appropriate for the yarn (it's best to have a firmly knit fabric)—I always use circular needles, but straights would work, too
• An extra needle in the same size (for the three-needle bind-off)
• Yarn or tapestry needle
• Scissors
• Small amount of stuffing (or fabric scraps or cotton balls)
• Scraps of yarn or felt for the face
• Safety pins are handy for marking your sewing lines

Warning: You could put safety eyes on your critter, but DO NOT use safety eyes for toys intended for very young children or babies, they can pull out of knitting too easily.

Cast on 40 stitches.

Knit in stockinette (knit 1 row, purl 1 row, repeat) for 40 rows.

Pretty easy so far, right?

1. Using a third needle, go through the first stitch on each needle knitwise, yarn over, then draw the loop back through both stitches and drop them from their needles—you're basically knitting both stitches together.
2. Do this a second time so you have two loops on the third needle, then draw the first loop over the second and drop it off the needle.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 until all stitches are worked. Cut the yarn and pull it through the final stitch.

Turn the piece right side out again, with the seam you just created to the inside.

Note: If you don't like doing a three-needle bind-off, you could just do a regular bind-off and sew the edge together.

Sew the long edge closed using mattress stitch, or just whip-stitch it closed.

Fold the top edge into thirds and mark with safety pins.

Fold down the ears (like dog-earing a page) and mark the side edge with a safety pin.

Tip: I like to turn the piece inside out and attach the yarn from the inside, just to make it really easy to tie a knot that won't be seen.

Sew a running stitch diagonally from the pin on the top edge to the pin on the side edge.

Pull the yarn to gather the corner, adjusting it to the desired tension—pulling it tighter will make the ear a little more rounded. Tie off firmly.

Repeat for the second ear.

If you're going to add safety eyes, do it before stuffing the body, but remember NOT to use safety eyes for toys meant for babies and very small children, they're a choking hazard.

Stuff, leaving empty space in the bottom corners for the feet. I used cotton balls, which is kind of shredded a little so they wouldn't be too chunky or lumpy.

Sew bottom edge closed. I just whip-stitched rather than fuss with mattress stitch at this point.

Mark the the long side edges about an inch up from each bottom corner.

Attach a length of yarn in the middle of the bottom edge—leave it long enough on both ends so you can use each length to sew each foot.

Sew a running stitch from the center point to the marker on one side edge, then duplicate that with the second foot.

Pull the yarn to gather the corners, testing both to get them about the same. Tie off the yarns firmly.

Fold the center point of the bottom edge up to the belly—this is the tricky part, you may need to squash around your critter a bit to get the shaping just right.

Once you've got it, tack the center point to the body to hold it in place.

Now all you need to do is add a face. Gluing on felt pieces and googly eyes is easy (remember these could be easily pulled off and swallowed by babies and toddlers).

For this example, I used black worsted yarn. The eyes are french knots, the nose is just a few satin stitches, and the rest is all back stitches.

And there you have it! Have fun with your new critter pal!