Saturday, October 8, 2011

Indy's Ball (A Knit Dog Toy)


I welcomed Indiana with a knit puppy ribbon, but I wanted to design something for him that he could actually play with. I am therefore pleased to present Indy's Knit Toy Ball! *Note: With all handmade dog toys, please supervise your pet while he plays with them.

Update October, 2012:  There is now a new design of Indy's Knit Puppy Toy - Check out the Jack-o-lantern version!

Materials

  • Knitting Needles: 4 dpn Size 7
  • Yarn: Misc. scraps of KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in 3 colors
  • Gauge: Not important for the completed project
  • Misc: yarn needle, polyfill stuffing and materials for hand felting.
  • Finished Size: ~2.5" diameter (unfelted) ~2" diameter felted.



Knitting Instructions
Row 1: Cas on 6 stitches. Join to knit in the round
Row 2: Kfb across (12 sts)
Row 3: *K1, Kfb* across the row (18 sts)
Row 4: K across
Row 5: *K2, Kfb* across (24 sts)
Row 6: K across
Row 7: *K3, Kfb* across (30 sts)
Row 8: K across
Row 9: *K4, Kfb* across (36 sts)
Rows 10-15: Work the 6 rows of the chart, knitting across.


The "flat" space on the ball for design is 36 sts x 6 rows.
Row 16: K across
Row 17: *K4, K2tog* across (30 sts)
Row 18: K across
Row 19: *K3, K2tog* across (24 sts)
Row 20: K across
Row 21: *K2, K2tog* across (18 sts)
Row 22: K across
Row 23: *K1, K2tog* across (12 sts)
Row 24: K2tog across (6 sts)
Stuff the ball, cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches. Weave in loose ends. Felt (if desired).

How to felt Indy's Ball in the Sink:


Indy's knit ball - before and after felting.



A 2D rendition of the ball. Of course, with the increases and decreases, this is not how a ball cut flat would work, but it was useful for me when I was considering my design.



The ball before it has been stuffed, laying on top of my original design. I think it's pretty cool that the size of the stitches are really close to my graph paper!

Indy with the unfelted ball


My initial sketch for the pattern on the ball. I love the way it came out! I have provided a blank ball chart so you can make your own design.

Indy playing with the unfelted ball:



Indy playing with the felted ball:


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Abbreviations Used in this pattern:
Kfb - increase by knitting into the front and back of a single stitch.
M1 (Make 1)- increase stitch by picking up yarn between two stitches, twisting and knitting.
K - knit
P - purl
I-cord - knit stitches on dpn's without ever turning the needle (effectively knitting in the round with a small number of stitches.)
SSK - decrease by slipping two stitches then knitting them together. Alternatively, you could slip one stitch, knit one stitch and pass slipped stitch over.
K2tog - decrease by knitting two stitches together.

These knitting pattern was created by ChemKnits for your personal or charity use. You are not to sell, distribute or reprint this pattern without the permission of ChemKnits. © 2011 ChemKnits