Liam's Beaver
Liam's Beaver is a loveable, huggable toy knit in the round. Although the body is knit in stockinette, the tail utilizes linen stitch to create a dense, sturdy fabric. Eyes, nose, and teeth can be embroidered on, or made with buttons, fabric, felt, etc. Finished size is 16 inches long from nose to tip of tail, and 6 inches tall from top of head to floor. A photo tutorial on one way to make the teeth can be found on my blog at: http://rabbitholekints.blogspot.com/2012/06/beaver-teeth-photo-tutorial.html
Materials Required
Worsted weight yarn - app. 150 yards Size 4doublepointed needles Size 4 circular needle (optional) Darning needle Stuffing Embroidery thread, buttons, felt, or other embellishment for eyes, nose and teeth
Abbreviations
CO - cast on dpn - double pointed needles K -knit P-purl Kfb - knit in the front and the back of the next stitch st - stitch sts - stitches K2tog - knit two stitches together PU - pick up (create) a new stitch from existing work SSK - slip next two stitches knit-wise, place them back onto left needle, and then knit them together through the back loop s1 wyif - slip one stitch purl wise with the yarn held in front of the work LS - linen stitch
Special Notes
Pattern is written to be knitted using four double pointed needles. Each needle is separated within the rounds by a long dash (--). If using a circular needle instead of dpns, please use stitch markers to mark the places where the dpns would begin. It is especially important to maintain the point between the beginning of the 1't needle, and the end of the 3'd needle. Linen stitch in the round is worked by repeating the following two rounds: 1) (K1, s1 wyif) repeat to end of round 2) (s1 wyif, K1) repeat to end of round
Begin at beaver's neck
CO 44 sts onto 3 dpns (16 - 12 - 16) and work the following rounds: 1-3) K all sts 4) K1, Kfb, (K2, Kfb) three times, Kto end of dpn - K allsts -Kto 11 sts before end, (Kfb, K2) three times, Kfb, K1 5-7) K all sts Repeat last 4 rounds until there are a total of 84 sts (36 - 12 - 36). (You may want to switch to a circular needle temporarily at some point during this section due to the number of stitches.) K all sts for 12 additional rounds, then work the following rounds: 1) K1, K2tog, (K2, K2tog) three times, K to end of dpn - K all sts - K to 15 sts before end, (K2tog, K2) three times, K2tog, K1 2-4) K allsts Repeat last 4 rounds until there are a total of 36 sts (12 - 12 - 12), then work the following rounds: 1) K1, K2tog, (K2, K2tog) two times, K1 - K allsts - K1, K2tog, (K2, K2tog) two times, K1 2-4) K all sts 5) K1, K2tog, K2, K2tog, K2 - K all sts - K2, K2tog, K2, K2tog, K1 6-8) K all sts 9) K1, K2tog, K4 - K5, K2tog, K5 - K4, K2tog, K1 10-12) K all st's There should now be a total of 23 sts (6 - 11 - 6). Measure off about 25 yards of yarn, cut, rollinto a ball and stuffinside of beaver for knitting his tail later. Thread a darning needle with a piece of scrap yarn, remove dpns (one at a time) and thread scrap yarn through remaining live stitches.
Head
Stitches are now picked up on the original CO sts to form the beaver's head. Beginning exactly opposite of the first CO st (center of the underside of the beaver's neck) and working to the left, PU the following number of sts: 1st dpn: PU 8 sts (one for every other CO st) 2nd dpn: PU 16 sts (one for every CO st, plus 4 extra to fill in any holes) 3d dpn: PU 8 sts (one for every other CO st) Work the following rounds: 1) K all sts 2) K8 - K4, (Kfb, K1) 3 times, Kfb, K5 - K8 3) K all sts 4) K8 - K7, (Kfb, K1) 2 times, Kfb, K8 - K8 5) K all sts 6) K8 - K10, Kfb, K1, Kfb, K10 - K8 7) K all sts 8) K2tog, K6 - K10, SSK, K1, K2tog, K10 - K6, SSK 9) K all sts 10) K7 - K9, SSK, K1, K2tog, K9 - K7 11) K all sts 12) K2tog, K5 - K8, SSK, K1, K2tog, K8 - K5, SSK 13) K all sts 14) K6 - K7, SSK, K1, K2tog, K7 - K6 15) K all sts 16) K2tog, K4 - K6, SSK, K1, K2tog, K6 - K4, SSK 17) K all sts 18) K 5 - K15 - K4, K last st and 1st st of next round together 19-21) K all sts 22) (K1, K2tog) repeat to end of round 23) K all sts Cut yarn, thread through remaining live sts and pull tightly closed. Insert needle into center of nose and secure.
Tail
After knitting the head, stuffit and the body firmly. Place live sts at end of body back onto 3 dpns (6 - 11 - 6) and work the following rounds: 1-6) LS allsts 7) LS to last stitch, Kfb - Kfb, LS to last st, Kfb - Kfb, LS to end (Every increase round will have a total of four stitches added. By adding an even number of stitches, the LS pattern can be worked without interruption on the next and following rounds.) Repeat rounds 1-7 until you have worked a total of 5 increase rounds. Work in LS for 12 additional rounds, and then work the following: 1) LS to last 2 sts, SSK - K2tog, LS to last 2 sts, SSK - K2tog, LS to end Repeat this one round (decreasing 4 sts each time) until there are a total of 11 sts remaining (3 - 5 - 3). Cut yarn, thread through a darning needle, remove dpns and thread yarn through remaining live sts. Pull tightly closed and secure.
Ears (make 2)
CO 4 sts onto 1 dpn and work the following rows: 1) P 2) K Repeat these two rows one more time, then cast off on the purl side. You will have knit a little square. Using the long tail from the cast on and a darning needle, reinforce the outside edges by stitching around them. This will also round them a bit. Fold to create a hollowing and seam to beaver's head.
Back Legs (make 2)
; onto 3 dpns (4 - 4 - 4) and knit all sts for 1 12 inch. Then work the following rounds 1) (K1, K2tog, K1), repeat each dpn Knit all sts for an additional 1 12 inches. 2) (K1, Kfb, K1), repeat each dpn 3) K1, Kfb, K2), repeat each dpn 4-5) K all sts Divide all sts onto 2 needles, 7 on one and 8 on the other. SSK, K to last 2 sts on needle, K2tog - SSK, K to last 2 sts on needle, K2tog Repeat row 6 until 2 sts remain on each needle. The needle which had 7 sts will end in a K1 instead of a K2tog. K all 4 sts one more time. Cut yarn and thread it into a darning needle. Remove dpns and thread through live sts. Pull tightly closed and secure; stuff. Seam to bottom of beaver about 4 inches from tail.
Front Legs (make 2)
CO 9 sts onto 3 dpns (3 - 3 - 3) and knit all sts for 1 inch. Then work the following rounds: 1) (K2tog, K1), repeat each dpn Knit all sts for an additional 1 inch. Cut yarn and thread it into a darning needle. Remove dpns and thread through live sts. Pulltightly closed and secure; stuff. Seam to beaver's body. Embroider eyes, nose, and teeth, or use other embellishments as desired. Hug and love!
