Knitting Knit - Bunny / Bear Bonnet

Salamander’s Super Simple Bunny/Bear Bonnet

more of a plan than a pattern
good for crochet or knitting (crochet directions given first; knitting directions in blue) although the bear ears work much better in crochet
adjustable for any size

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skills
single crochet [basic knit/purl]
increase [m1, kfb (knit into front & back of stitch)]
decrease
sew edge [3-needle bind off]
[i-cord (optional; for bear ears)]
braid

measurements
W = over top of your doll’s head
L = distance from your doll’s face to centre of the back of his/her head


Bonnet
make a chain with length W [cast on enough stitches to get length W...you may want to do a gauge swatch to approximate, or do what I do: measure 3x the length, tie a knot in your yarn at that point, and then cast on until you reach the knot--add or subtract a few sts to make a number you like]
make sure you have an even number of stitches!

work even until your work measures L [+3-5 rows if you are knitting, as it will curl].

Fold in half and sew along last row [use 3-needle bind off to join].

Braid 3 strands of yarn together and tie/sew into front corners.

Bunny Ears
chain [cast on] 4 or 6 sts (for narrow or wide ears)
Row 1: work even
Row 2: increase 2 at centre
Row 3: work even
Row 4: increase 2 at centre
Rows 5, 6, 7: work even
Row 8: increase 2 at centre
Rows 9, 10, 11: work even
Row 12: increase 2 at centre (12 or 14 sts)
Rows 13-23: work even
Row 24: decrease 2 at centre
Rows 25, 26, 27: work even
Row 28: decrease 2 at centre
Rows 29, 30, 31: work even
Row 32: decrease 2 at centre
Row 33: work even
Row 34: decrease 2 at centre
Row 35: work even
Row 36: decrease 2
Row 37: work even
Row 38: decrease 1
Fasten end [bind off]

conceptual translation: start with a few stitches. Increase every couple of rows a few times, then wait more rows before increasing. Work even for several rows. Decrease in the same pattern you increased with.

Repeat for 2nd ear...try to make it the same (not like me!)...and sew onto bonnet

Bear Ear
chain 3 sts [cast on 2 stitches. DO NOT TURN YOUR WORK. You will work the next 3-4 rows as for i-cord]
sc into middle stitch 4 times [kfb twice]
sc twice into each stitch [kfb into each stitch]
*sc in first stitch, sc twice in second stitch, repeat from * to end of round [*k1, kfb, rep. from * to end of row]
*sc in first 2 sts, sc twice in 3rd stitch, rep from * to end [*k2, kfb, rep from * to end. Divide stitches between 3-4 DPNs and work in the round if desired]
*sc in first 3 sts, sc twice in 4th stitch, rep from * to end [*k3, kfb, rep from * to end]
continue in pattern until bear ear is as big as you want!
Fasten end [bind off]

Repeat & sew to bonnet.

conceptual translation: use amigurumi-style increases to make a circle.

Kitty Ear
(untested)

chain [cast on] 10 stitches
Row 1 (and all odd rows): work even
Row 2 (and all even rows: decrease 2, one at each outside edge
continue in pattern until you have 2 sts left, then decrease 1 and fasten [bind] off.

Repeat & sew to bonnet.


You could have a lot of fun with these ears! I considered not sewing mine on permanently, but using extra small safety pins to attach them so they would be interchangeable. If you are interested in double knitting, you could make a double-thickness bunny ear where one side was plain (main colour) and the other side had a pink section at the centre! Try playing around with increase/decrease combinations to create different animal ears too!