Today’s guest post is by Julie from Knitted Bliss! She’ll be showing us how to make these adorable knit animal pot cozies – a great way to get ready for spring! She has three different animal varieties, but once you get the hang of it you can play around with the pattern and make any kind of animal you want! You’ll want to grab your needles and start this creative and colorful knitting project.
These knit animal pot cozies are the perfect way to add some whimsy to your indoor potted plants. The animal patterns would also make a fun and creative knitted gift idea for anyone in your life who has a green thumb. You might find that you’re ready to knit a number of these too-cute designs!
Animal Pot Covers
These cute and whimsical pot covers are perfect for spring plants! They also work for cup cozies. They are worked from the top down, so if you find your pot is a little taller than these, work a few extra round of stockinette in the body.
Size: plant pots are 10.5inches in circumference at the widest part, and 3.5 inches in height.
Materials:
Needles: (US 8) 5 mm dpns
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Worsted, in ‘Aran’ colourway for the bunny and bear’s mouth, ‘Mixed Gray’ colourway for the cat, and ‘Natural Mix’ for the bear. Small amounts of black and pink worsted yarn to embroider the facial details.
Notions: 1 stitch marker, tapestry needle
Gauge: 4 sts and 7 rows per 1 inch square.
Special Stitches:
- k2tog: knit 2 together
- m1r: make one right increase
- m1l: make one left increase
- sskp: slip 2 stitches, k1, pass the 2 slipped stitches over
- ssk: slip, slip, knit
- p2tog: purl 2 together
- psso: pass slipped stitch over
Instructions for all pot covers:
Using the long tail cast on, cast on 40 stitches, place marker, and join for working in the round.
Work ribbing for 2 rounds: *k1, p1*, repeat between * * to end of round each ribbing round.
Knit 12 rounds.
Begin decreasing:
1st decrease round: *k8, k2tog* repeat between ** 3 more times. 36 sts remaining.
Knit 2 rounds.
2nd decrease round: *k7, k2tog*, repeat between ** 3 more times. 32 sts remaining.
Knit 2 rounds.
3rd decrease round: *k6, k2tog*, repeat between ** 3 more times. 28 sts remaining.
Knit 2 more rounds, then bind off knitwise.
Bear Muzzle: The bear muzzle is worked flat in the white yarn (see yarn requirements for details, or any lighter coloured yarn of your choosing.
Using the long tail cast on, cast on 6 sts.
Knit one row, purl one row.
Increase row: k1, m1r, k4, m1l, k1. 8 stitches on needle.
Work in stockinette for 7 rows (ending with a ws row).
Decrease row: k1, sskp, k2, k2tog, k1. 5 sts remaining.
Bind off row: sl1-p2tog-psso, bind off remaining 2 sts purlwise.
Bear Ears (make 2 the same)
Cast on 4 sts.
Knit one row, purl one row.
Increase row: k1, m1r, k2, m1l, k1. 6 stitches on needle.
Work in stockinette for 3 rows (ending with a ws row).
Cast off knitwise.
Cat ears (make 2 the same)
Cast on 6 sts. work 4 rows of stockinette.
Decrease row 1: ssk, k2, k2tog. 4 sts remaining.
Decrease row 2 (ws): p2tog, p 2. 3 sts remaining.
Bind off: sl, k2tog, psso. 1 st remaining. Cut yarn and thread through remaining stitch.
Bunny Ears (make 2 the same)
Cast on 8 sts. work 14 rows in stockinette stitch, ending with a ws row.
Decrease row 1: k1, ssk, k2, k2tog, k1. 6 sts remaining. purl next row.
Decrease row 2: k1, ssk, k2tog, k1. 4 sts remaining.
Decrease row 3: p1, p2tog, p1.
Bind off: slip 1, k2tog, psso. Cut yarn and thread throw remaining stitch.
Finishing
Eyes
To finish, using black yarn and the photo of your preferred animal pot as your guide, embroider eyes on the pot. You may find it easiest to position them two stitches below the ribbing, directly above where the decrease lines appear on your cozy.
Nose
If making the bear, sew down the muzzle 0.5 inches above the cast off edge, centered between the eyes. Embroider the nose in pink if making the cat or bunny, in black if making the bear.
Mouth
Using the photo of your preferred animal as your guide, stitch the mouth down using black yarn.
Weave in ends. Wet block flat, pinning ears into shape and adjusting any face details by pinning into place.
For more amazing knitting tutorials, check out Julie’s blog, Knitted Bliss!
What animal would you want to make?
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