This Bluebird of Happiness pattern is knitted with The Magic Loop method of knitting with circular needles, the technique can be found here if you are not familiar with it.
Materials
Brushed Mohair
Circular Needles
Fleece
Wool needle
Brown yarn for beak
Felting needle, black fleece for eyes
Pattern
With circular needles, cast on 9 stitches (knitting in garter stitch (plain)). Join for knitting in the round and place a stitch marker at the beginning of the round.
Round 1: Knit 1 round.
Round 2: Knit into the front and back of each stitch for 1 round (18 stitches).
Round 3: Knit 1 round.
Round 4: Knit into the front and back of each stitch for 1 round (36 stitches).
Knit seven rows.
Round 12: (Knit 1 stitch, knit 2 together) repeat across this round.
Round 13: Knit 1 round.
Round 14: (Knit 1 stitch, knit 2 together) repeat across this round.
Round 15: Knit 1 round.
Round 16: Knit into the front and the back of each stitch to increase.
Knit 4 rounds.
Round 21: (Knit 2 stitches together) repeat to the end of the round.
Break yarn and thread the yarn onto a wool needle and thread the remaining stitches through the wool needle and leave until you are finished filling your bird with stuffing.
Tail
The tail is knit in garter stitch (plain).
Cast on 3 stitches
Knit 6 rows.
Cast on 1 stitch at the beginning and end of the row.
Knit 3 rows.
Cast off.
Wings
Knit wings in garter stitch (plain)
Cast on 5 stitches.
Knit first and second row.
Row 3: Cast on 2 stitches at the beginning of the row and 1 stitch at the end of the row.
Row 4: Knit.
Row 5: Cast on 1 stitch at the beginning and knit 2 together at the end of the row.
Row 6: Knit.
Row 7: Knit 2 stitches together at the beginning of the row, knit to the end of the row.
Row 8: Knit.
Cast off.
Making up
Fill your bluebird with soft fleece and ensure he is wonderfully firm, shaping him as you go. Take your needle and thread it through your stitches and pull firmly closed and finish off.
Shape your bluebird gently, by pushing more fleece to the back as can be seen in the photo.
Now attach your wings.
Attach your tail.
To make the beak, sew a loop in brown wool and weave in and out through the loop and finish off.
Needle felt on two black eyes with fleece and a felting needle.
And here he is finished!
Linda is a homeschooling mother of four amazing little souls, who lives in South Africa. She loves teaching her children and learning beside them each day. Her children are her inspiration… and this inspiration led to her Etsy shop and blog, which is a visual diary of her family’s journey.