If you want to give a knitted gift for a baby, skip the tipical sweater and make this instead. If you already made a scarf and are ready for trying something more exciting this is for you.

You are going to need a lot of patience, because it will take many hours to complete (more than 14) but it is a lot of fun. And unlike making sweaters, this will last forever. I made one for my daughter 7 years ago and it's still her favourite stuffed animal. It has gone through a lot, and is machine washable. (depending on what yarn you choose)

So let's get started!

Step 1: Gather Your Materials

Yarn, at least three colours, (one for the head and arms, one for the dress, and one for the shoes) but you can add other colours for tights, or like mine with striped tights. Something important to consider when choosing the yarn is the material, I chose 100% cotton because it was for my newborn and I didn't know if she was going to have allergies. Also I wanted it to be machine washable.

Needles, depending on how thick your yarn is that's the size of the needles you'll use. Read the yarn's label. The thicker the yarn and needles, the bigger the bunny will be.

Embroidery thread

Embroidery needle

Stuffing

This pattern.

Step 2: Begin Knitting.

I found Julie's patterns years ago and instantly fell in love. I think for the quality of the pattern and how pretty the bunny is, the price is low. If you'll like to knit other animals, Julie has other patterns for sale.

Something important to mention is that you'll be buying a digital file, that's awesome because there are no extra shipping fees and you'll instantly have it. And I strongly recommend printing the pattern.

If you've done simpler projects don't worry, the stitches you'll need are the basic ones, and there are several videos that teach each stitch. These are the stitches we'll be practicing:

-knit
-purl
-cast on and cast off

Increase:

-make 1 left
-knit left loop
(Click here to see the videos that teach how to make increase stitches )

Decrease:

-Slip slip knot
-Knit 2 stitches together
-Purl 2 stitches together
-Purl 2 stitches together through the back loops
(Click here to see the videos that teach how to make decrease stitches)

Step 3: Stuffing

Once you've knitted all the parts, it's time to close them and stuff them.

For the arms is very important to stuff them more at the bottom (like in the picture), so that the bunny can have the arms down.

Every piece needs to be closed after stuffed. Use the needle and a small piece of yarn for that.

Step 4:

Before attaching the head to the body use the embroidery thread to make the face.

Make a french knot for each eye. This step is very easy and fast, but when I knitted my first bunny it took me ages to learn how to properly do it.

If you´ve never embroidered on a knitted surface before, you´ll need to learn how to anchor the thread first.

This is the video that I´ve found more helpful and I´m sure with only a couple of tries you´ll become and expert.

Step 5: Join the Parts

Use the needle and yarn to sew the parts together.

Step 6: Knit the Dress

Finally for the dress I wanted something different. So I made this one. I'll share the pattern with you. This pattern sums up all the skills needed for the entire bunny, so check it out, give it a try and if you find it easy you'll find easy the bunny pattern.

Cast on 56 stitches, leave a tail of 6 inches for seaming with later.