Very hungry Caterpillar - Rupsje nooit genoeg
Back in the days when I was a child, I loved the book "a very hungry caterpillar" or more precisely the Dutch version“Rupsje Nooit Genoeg"! My mother read it to us a hundred times, or even more. Now I'm a mother myself and I thought it would be wonderful to have this little caterpillar to play with my little daughter, so I designed one. Hope you guys like it, too. Have fun with it! I didn't design the food, as there are many patterns available on Ravelry, but you can check my notes for the links to the patterns.
Needles: 4 mm/ US 6 and 3,5 mm/ US 4 Yarn: Aran weight, red and two or three shades of green and a bit yellow for the eyes, Material: Stuffing material Technique: knitted in one piece, in the round Gauge: the gauge isn't essential in this project, however you should keep in mind to go one needle size down which your yarn asks for, to prevent the stuffing from coming out
Abbreviations:
St= stitches K= knit Kfb = knit into the front and back of the stitch, whereby you create an extra stitch K2tog = knit two together, decrease one stitch repeat till end
To start:
With red yarn and 4 mm/ US 6 needles, cast on 10 stitches divide them on three needles and join for knitting in the round, be careful not to twist. Row 1: knit all stitches Row 2: kfb each stitch (you now have 20 st) Row 3,5, 7,9, 11, 13, 15, 17,19: knit all stitches Row 4: kfb each stitch (you now have 40 st) Row 6,8, 10, 12, 14: knit all stitches Row 16: increase 4 st evenly through round while knitting all st (you now have 44 st) Row 18: knit all stitches Now, after row 19 (while keeping your work on the needles!) seam the cast on tail and close the little hole.
Now, like in the picture, start the embroidery: For the eyes I first did the yellow and then for the inner of the eye light green I did the nose in dark green with one cross stitch And the mouth with yellow Make sure to attach the yarn well and leave no lose ends, as it is a toy You also may want to place a marker now at the beginning of the round, to make it easier to count and to remember when you finished a round. (I placed one between the first and the second st on the first needle, but of course it is up to you, you could also continue without) You can start to stuff the head now; the other stuffing is done during the knitting and I won't refer to it any further. But be sure to stuff it firmly, as it will become softer after a while, especially if played with. Row 20: k 2 st, then (k1, k2tog ) x 14 times (you now have 30 st) Row 21: (k1, k2tog) x 10 times (you now have 20 st) Row 22: (k2tog) x 10 (you now have 10 st) Row 23: knit Switch to light green and 3,5 mm needles (wave in the ends of your yarn or use a firm knot) Row 1: knit al st (you should have 10 st) Row 2: kfb each stitch (20 st) Row 3: knit all stitches Row 4: kfb each stitch (40 st) Row 5- 15: knit all stitches Row 16: increase 4 st evenly through round while knitting all st (you now have 44 st) Row 17& 18: knit all stitches (Now you can start stuffing) Row 19: k 2 st, then (k1, k2tog ) x 14 times (you now have 30 st) Row 20: (k1, k2tog ) x10 times (you now have 20 st) Row 21: (k2tog) x10 (you now have 10 st) Row 22: knit Now switch to dark green (wave in the ends of your yarn or use a firm knot) Row 1: knit al st (you should have 10 st) Row 2: kfb each stitch (you now have 20 st) Row 3: knit all stitches Row 4: kfb each stitch (you now have 40 st) Row 5- 15: knit all stitches Row 16: increase 4 st evenly through round while knitting allst (you now have 44 st) Row 17& 18: knit all stitches (Now you can start stuffing) Row 19: k 2 st, then (k1, k2tog) x 14 times (you now have 30 st) ① Marjolein Loomans Row 20: (k1, k2tog ) x 10 times (you now have 20 st) Row 21: (k2tog) x 10 (you now have 10 st) Row 22: knit Row 1: knit al st (you should have 10 st) Row 2: kfb each stitch (you now have 20 st) Row 3: knit all stitches Row 4: kfb each stitch (you now have 40 st) Row 5- 12: knit all stitches Row 13: increase 4 st evenly through round while knitting all st (you now have 44 st) Row 14& 15:knit all stitches (Now you can start stuffing) Row 16: k 2 st, then (k1, k2tog ) x 14 times (you now have 30 st) Row 17: (k1, k2tog ) x 10 times (you now have 20 st) Row 18: (k2tog) x 10 (you now have 10 st) Row 19: knit Cut yarn, leaving a long tail and with a needle pull yarn through remaining stitches, pullthight and wave in end Antennae/ Voelsprieten
Now with dark green and 3,5 mm needles pick up three stitches at the left side of the head Knit an i-cord for approximately 2,5 cm or 1" Then k1, kfb, k1 continue the icord for 4 rows then bind-off, weave the end Make another one on the right side of the head Happy knitting!
