Okay Ravelers, here is my attempt to create a pattern for the kidney so many of you seek. 1 am not a professional pattern designer, just a knitter with an idea, so take this one for what it's worth. This is knitted in the round and stuffed as you go. The model is made from a partial ball of Cascade 220 Quattro, color 9433 - a cranberry red (honestly, probably a little too pink, but it was handy and I knew it would felt - a real kidney would be a little more brownish red). It took about 25 grams of yarn which is about 55 yards $+/-$ . I chose to simplify the anatomy a litle - there should be an artery in, a vein out, and a ureter out at the hilus, but there is only one on. my model for ease of knitting. If you wanted a non-felted version, I'm betting sock yarn at 7-8 sts per inch would get you a pretty close. Yarn: Cascade 220, approx $\%$ ball. Needles: Us $10\;\%$ dpns, set of 5. Gauge: to be felted, so it's not terribly important. Finished size: Approximately 9"x5" pre-felting; 5"x4" post-felting. Using Emily Ocker's beginning, cast on 8 stitches. Make a loop and use a crochet hook to single crochet the beginning stitches around the loop. Rnd 1: Increase in each stitch. 16 sts. Rnd 2 and all even rounds: Knit. Rnd 3: (K 1, kfb) 8 times. 24 sts. Rnd 5: (K 2, kfb) 8 times. 32 sts. Rnd 7: (K 3, kfb) 8 times. 40 sts. Rnd 9: (K 4, kfb) 8 times. 48 sts. Knit 5 rounds even on 48 sts. Begin short rows: Row 1: K 43, w&t. Row 2: P 40, w&t. Rnd 3: Knit. Repeat these three rows/rounds twice. Decrease section: Rnd 1: K 5, k2tog, K to last 7 sts, SSK, K 5. Rnd 2: Knit. Repeat these two rows 3 times. Knit 1 round even. Increase section: Rnd 1: K 5, kfb, K to last 7 sts, kfb, K 5. Rnd 2: Knit. Repeat these two rounds twice. Second short row section: Row 1: K 41, w&t. Row 2: P 38, w&t. Rnd 3: Knit. Repeat these 3 rows/rounds twice. Decrease rounds: Rnd 1: K 3, k2tog, (K 4, k2tog) 6 times, K 3, k2tog. Rnd 2 and all even rounds: Knit Rnd 3: K 2, k2tog tbl, (K 3, k2tog tbl) 6 times, K 2, k2tog tbl. Thisisagoodplacetopauseandstffthekidneyverylightly.Thestuffin willcompact as th kidney felts. Rnd 5: K 1, k2tog, (K 2, k2tog) 6 times, K 1, k2tog. Rnd 7: K 1, k2tog tbl, (K 1, k2tog tbl) 6 times, K 1, k2tog tbl. Rnd 9: k2tog around. 8 sts. Cut yarn and draw through 8 remaining stitches and pull tight. Ureter: Youllpick up stitches for the base, work short rows on the upper half of the stitches to make the bend in the tube, then decrease to make the rest of the tube. Pick up 20 stitches in an oval pattern at the hilus. The round starts at the bottom center of the oval. Knit 1 round. Short rows again: Row 1: K 11, w&t. Row 2: P 2, w&t. Row 3: K 3, w&t. Row 4: P 4, w&t. Row 5: K 5, w&t. Row 6: P 6, w&t. Row 7: K 7, w&t. Row 8: P 8, w&t. Rnd 9: K 15, (k2tog) 5 times. Rnd 10: K 10, k2tog, K 1, k2tog. Rnd 11: k2tog, K 6, ssk, K 3. Rnd 12: k2tog, K 4, ssk, K 3. Rnd 13: k2tog, K 4, ssk, K3. Rnd 14: Knit. Rnd 15: (K 1, k2tog) 3 times. Knit 10 rounds in 6 st I-cord. Bind off and weave in end. Felt. It tooktwo cycles, which is normal for this yarn and my washer. You may need to weight it a little as it dries to get the proper thickness/shape. Abbreviations: W8t: wrap and turn. Knit the wrap with the stitch it wraps on the next row or round. K2tog: knit two together. Tbl: through the back loop. Ssk: slip, slip, knit.
