7th May 2021
Meet Minnie, the teeny, tiny knitted Blue Whale.
Meet Minnie, the teeny, tiny knitted Blue Whale.
Buttonbag’s knitted whale amigurumi project
Whale amigurumi anyone? No, it’s not sushi – I now know that amigurumi is the Japanese art of making small knitted or crocheted creatures. In fact, knitting is not quite as good as crochet for amigurumi, but if you choose a fairly simple shape like this knitted whale it works pretty well. Which is great, if like me you love teeny, tiny things and you cannot make head or tail of a crochet pattern!
So, flummoxed by the hook, I made instead, this knitted whale pattern up last night – I’ve only done it the once and it may need refining. I think the head tab came out a bit long – see the picture, so I’ve shortened it in the pattern below. If you have any ammendments to the knitting pattern do let me know.
Happy Knitting!
You will need knitting needles – size 4mm or smaller
Blue knitting yarn
Toy stuffing – (cut up an old clean sock)
Scissors, big-eye sewing needle for making up (preferably plastic)
Embroidery thread for optional water spout
Minnie the Blue Whale
(number in brackets reflects no of stitches when row complete)
Using 4mm needles and double ply yarn, cast on 9 stitches.
1: Knit
2: Knit, Knitting first and last 2 stitches together (7)
3. Knit
4. Knit, knitting first and last 2 stitches together (5)
5. Knit
6. Knit, knitting into first and last stitch (7)
7. Purl
8. Knit, knitting into first and last stitch (9)
9. Purl
10. Knit, knitting into first and last stitch (11)
11. Purl
12. Knit, knitting into first and last stitch (13)
13. Purl
14. Knit, knitting into first and last stitch (15)
15. Purl
Knit, knitting into first and last stitch (17)
16. Purl
17. Knit, knitting into first and last stitch (19)
18. Purl
19-26: continue alternating knit and purl rows
27. Cast off 7 stitches, knit 5, turn
28. Purl – just on central 5 stitches, turn
29-32: Knit, purl, knit, purl
30: Cast off
31. Re-attach yarn and cast off remaining 7 stitches.
2 x flippers: Cast on 5 stitches
1. knit
2. knit
3. K2tog, knit 2, K2tog
4. Knit
5. Knit 2 tog, knit 1
5. Cast off
Making Up.
Right sides together, sew the belly seam up from head to tail. Leave a gap by the tail. Sew the square edges of the head to the sides, leaving the bottom of the head – where you might imagine the mouth to be open so you can turn it right ways round and stuff.
Use a needle to thread the yarn-tail from casting on and poke this through the hole near the tail – and through the gap by the head – don’t worry – there’s a video of this below and on our blog and instagram. Pull the thread and you should be able to turn the whale right way round.
Stuff, sew up the bottom and sew on the fins.
Make a tassel from embroidery thread and attach to the top of the head. Use the same thread to embroider two eyes – just two small stitches – low down on each side of the head. And introduce Minnie to the family. Oh, a final warning – might be best to keep her away from any four-legged family members. Cats, it seems cannot tell the difference between a whale and a mouse! Or is that just Tuna?