Dear friends,
Thank you to everyone who sent well wishes our way yesterday:) Kye’s fever has gone and he is back to his bouncy self:) Caiden had croup this morning but is looking much better now and Jenna is also looking well 🙂
I have knitted this easter rabbit up for a friend of mine, he has been knitted with a handspun Angora plyed with Merino yarn. Enjoy the pattern below:
(I just wanted to add here, that the beautiful little charm in the photo above, the row counter was a gift to me from my dear friend Heidi. She is the creator of this wonderful row counter for circular knitting. She has done a lovely tutorial on her blog showing you how to make one here.)
If you haven’t used the Magic Loop before, here is a You Tube tutorial explaining how it is done. You can also knit this pattern with DPNs in the round:)
Easter Rabbit / Bunny Knitting Tutorial:
I used my 4 mm circular needles again, it is lovely not to have to sew up seams:)
DPNs are perfect too.
Cast on 9 stitches.
Round 1: Knit the first round.
Round 2: Increase into every stitch in the second round, you will now have 18 stitches.
Round 3: Knit 1 round.
Round 4: Increase into each stitch in the 4th round, you will now have 36 stitches.
Round 5 to 14: Knit.
Round 15: (Knit 2 stitches together) around the round, (18 stitches).
Round 16: Knit 1 round.
Round 17: (Knit 1 knit 2 together) around the round. (12 stitches).
Round 18: Knit 1 round.
Round 19: Increase into each stitch around the round (24 stitches).
Round 20 to 26: Knit.
Round 27: (Knit 1 knit 2 tog) around the round knit 2 stitches on the end (16 stitches).
Round 28: (knit 2 together around the round). (8 stitches).
Round 29: Knit.
Thread the remaining stitches with a wool needle with the thread end and pull, leave loose to stuff with stuffing.
Tail:
Cast on 5 stitches
Knit 10 rows in stocking stitch.( knit 1 row, purl 1 row, keep alternating).
Cast off.
See photos below for how to sew up the tail.
Ears:
Cast on 4 stitches, knit 10 rows.
Knit 2 stitches together at the beginning of each row until 1 stitch is left ( to shape the top of the ears).
Finish off.
Make two:)
How to make the tail:
Cast on 5 stitches and knit 10 rows.
Fold in half, right sides together and sew up the left and right sides. It will look like a little bag open at the top.
Turn onto the right side and fill with fleece.
Thread your wool needle all the way around the opening of the tail and pull tightly.
And there you go, a little tail:)
Finishing off:
Close the bottom opening of the rabbit, fill with fleece from the top, once he is nice and firm with fleece, thread yarn through stitches on his head and pull thghtly to close opening. Sew on your tail and ears.
You are finished!
Enjoy knitting your little Easter Rabbits:) I would love it if you linked to your photos when you are finished making him / her 🙂
Have an inspired weekend:)
Come and visit the Mamma4earth Ravelry Group!
You may sell knitted items made from this pattern, please credit me, Linda Dawkins as the designer and link to my post, thank you.
Warmly
Linda
more sharing! you are amazing! i have nearly abandoned any previous easter crafting plans to have fun with all these great patterns you have been sharing!
i am just catching up on your blog. glad your children are on the mend! hope everyone is feeling spry again soon. and CONGRATS on the book!! terribly exciting. i will have to get a copy when it comes out. your aardvark is adorable.
happy autumn!!
rae
What a cute little bunny! I’ll have to keep this in mind for next year. I think I’ve knitted everything I can before our trip. He’s so adorable though. That mohair really makes him bunny-ish. 🙂
what a lovely bunny!!
thanks for sharing !!
I love your knitted animals, so magical!
What a sweet little rabbit! The angora yarn is perfect. Thanks for the tutorial. I somehow missed your last post and will go read it now.
Thanks so much everyone, enjoy knitting the pattern:)
Warmly
Linda
Ha! Something for my Scooter!! I have been doing the magic loop like mad, every since you introduced it to me!! Even bought the knit picks needles. I guess I am now committed to knitting. But my favorite thing? (besides the bunny’s tail, which I adore) I get to make a charm – why didn’t I think of doing that, making a charm to mark the break? I need it. Lost that place this weekend, and went to no small sweat trying to figure out where it had been. Now – knitting AND BEADS!!!
What a delightful bunny, so sweet, thanks for following my blog, love and light , Marie
Hello my friend! Your bunny is beautiful! And you are a beautiful person too for your unending generosity… love, Heidi 🙂
I can’t wait to try this pattern. thanks for sharing.
tonight phillip came out of hibernation (yes, rabbits hibernate!). sienna had some stuffed rabbit from an easter past that she was content with, but jasper attached to my phillip right away! we had to have a little talk about mommy’s rabbit. 😉 so glad you posted this pattern so i can make him his very own! he is sleeping soundly at the moment with a firm grip on little phillip. so cute!
Hello Linda, he is a very sweet little fellow, especially fluffy in angora wool.
i am with K, i have been admiring the pretty little charm stitch counter…was it tricky to do? i think i might have to have a little go at that (i was going to ask where you bought it – silly me you are much to clever to have bought such a thing!) Shannon.
Dear K,
How wonderful that you are knitting with the magic loop! Don’t you just love those needles, they are so smooth to knit with:) The little charm was a gift to me from my dear friend Heidi. It is so beautiful and wonderful when knitting in the round:) Thanks so much for visiting K.
Warmly
Linda
Dear Rea,
How wonderful, thank you so much for sharing about Philip. How precious:) I am so looking forward to the knitted treasure you create, please link to him when you are finished:)
Warmly
Linda
Dear Shannon,
You are so kind:)The knit counter is amazing:) It was a gift to me from my wonderful friend Heidi. She is the artist who created it:) I have asked her to put together a tutorial on her blog about how to make one. As soon as she does, I will link to it for everyone to see:)
Warmly
Linda
Thank you Linda – she has done it already! ..I’ll be doing a little bit of bead bits shopping on the weekend. I very much like this new blogging world we are in. :)S
I have never used the magic loop before. Thanks for the link. The bunny pattern that I am using is taking me longer than I thought and with time ticking I may make this one for the second, it is so cute so simple. You have the best patterns.
And you can just feel that you’ve still got sharp tips – even after the tight way I go about things! But it’s the non-curling cable that wins my heart. I hate being bossed by the inflexible!
Dear K
They are the loviest needles, so smooth and you are right, the cable is amazing:)
Warmly
Linda
Thank you for sharing this – I’ve only been knitting for about 3 months, but I was able to follow patter and make a cute bunny of my own thanks to your clear instructions! Oh and another thank you for posting about the Magic Loop – it’s my go to method now!
I made the bunnies, but out of cotton dishcloth yarn I had on hand. Here is my link.
http://pnwlifelearning.blogspot.com/2010/04/funny-bunny.html
Thank you so much for your pattern!
Jennifer
So cute! Another wonderful pattern (I really have to try that magic loop technique!!) Thank you for being so generous 😉 and for the link to Heidi’s beautiful blog – another treasure …
Dear Linda,
I’ve discovered your site and all your wonderful patterns. Thank you so much for sharing! For easter I knitted a bunny and chick for each of my 2 kids… so easy and so cute! and I LOVE the magic loop, it is so awesome!
here’s a link for a photo (if it works):
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=10150178600894337&set=a.187979604336.119916.763334336&type=1&theater
thanks again,
warmly, Anja
Linda, I’ve discovered your site and all your wonderful patterns. Thank you so much for sharing all your lovely ideas! I knitted a bunny and chick for each of my 2 kids for easter… so fun and so cute, and a big hit. and I am so happy to have learned about the magic loop technique, it just rocks my world!
here’s a link to a photo (if it works):
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=10150178600894337&set=a.187979604336.119916.763334336&type=1&theater
thanks again!
warmly, Anja
Hi Linda,
just discovered this blog, loved the bunny. Don’t have the loop, so I use a double pointed needle set instead and it works just as well. I am a Day Care Teacher and you gave me wonderful Ideas I can make with the kids without breaking the Bank. Thank you.
Please tell me the needle size.
Hi,
I have used 4mm needles here, but any needles to match your yarn will be fine:)
Happy knitting
hi there,
on pinterest it shows a bunny hat and links to your blog. however, i don’t see the hat or the pattern. i’m in search of the pattern so that i may knit it for a friend’s little one 🙂
thanks so much,
audrey