Teddy rattle free pattern

Thank you so much for your interest in my little teddy rattle. Here, at last, is the pattern.

As usual, please do not sell this pattern. Do not post this pattern to any website, but link directly to my blog. No file sharing of this pattern. Please respect my rights as the designer of this pattern, so that I can keep on sharing my patterns for free.

(A word on lining: I line the head with cotton fabric so as to be sure that none of the polyfill will come out. I consider this is especially important when making toys for babies. If you want to do the same, when you get to row 18 of the head, draw around it on a piece of paper and use this as a pattern to cut out two pieces of soft cotton fabric. stitch close to the edge, leaving a gap for stuffing that is also big enough for the rattle insert. Now turn inside out and place it inside the head. Now stuff it and add the rattle insert, sewing it closed by hand.)

For this photo, I stuffed the cotton "bag" before putting it in the head. It's easier to place the empty "bag" in the head before adding the rattle and stuffing it, and then sew the gap closed.

Another solution would be to user a smaller hook, so that your stitches are really very tight. I prefer to line.

For now, though, let's get on with the actual pattern.

(Please note that the pattern has not been properly tested, so there might be some mistakes. If you find any, or if any of it is difficult to understand, please tell me in the comments section and I will update/respond to the best of my ability.)


You will need:

A small amount of sportsweight yarn in two colours (I used Debbie Bliss eco baby)
Contrasting yarn or embroidery thread for the face
A 3 mm crochet hook
A rattle insert
Stuffing

Start with the ears (make 2)

Using colour A make a magic ring

rnd 1 - 6 sc into magic ring
rnd 2 - 2 sc in each st around (12 sts)
rnd 3-4 - sc around (12 sts)
rnd 5 - [sc2tog, 1 sc], rep to end (8 sts)
rnd 6 - working through both thicknesses, 4 sc.

Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew the ears to the head.


Now make the little arms (make 2)

Using colour B make a magic ring

rnd 1 - 6 sc into magic ring
rnd 2 - [1 sc in next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st] twice (8 sts)
rnd 3 - sc around (8 sts)
Change to colour A
rnd 4-10 sc around (8 sts)

Fasten off.

Head 

Using colour A make a magic ring

rnd 1 - 6 sc into magic ring
rnd 2 - 2 sc in each st around (12 sts)
rnd 3 - [2 sc in next st, 1 sc] rep around (18 sts)
rnd 4 - [2 sc in next st, 2 sc] rep around (24 sts)
rnd 5 - [2 sc in next st, 3 sc] rep around (30 sts)
rnd 6 - [2 sc in next st, 4 sc] rep around (36 sts)
rnd 7-9 - sc around (36 sts)
rnd 10 - [2 sc in next st] three times, sc in next 15 sts, [2 sc in next st] 3 times, sc in next 15 sts (42 sts)
rnd 11-13 - sc around (42 sts)
Carry on sc to just below the middle inc stitch of row 10. (If you look carefully, you'll notice that the increases of rnd 10 are visible as three larger stitches on each side of the head. Use those stitches as a guide of where the sides of the head are) Change to colour B.  (see photo)

Can you see the larger stitches?

rnd 14-16 - sc around (42 sts)

rnd 17 - [1sc in next 5 sts, sc2tog] rep around (36 sts)
rnd 18 - sc around (36 sts)

Now is a good time to sew on the ears and embroider the eyes, nose and mouth with contrasting yarn or embroidery thread. To place them, flatten the face, making sure that the increases of rnd 9 are on the edge of the head, giving it the right shape.  Sew the ears on between rows 4 and 7. Embroider the nose in the middle of the face, on rnd 12. Space the eyes evenly in relation to the nose, then add the cheeky smile. Now stuff the head. (See notes above re lining the head before stuffing)

rnd 19 - [1sc in next 4 sts, sc2tog] rep around (30 sts)
rnd 20 - sc around (30 sts)

rnd 21 - [1sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog] rep around (24 sts)
Change to colour A
rnd 22 - sc around (24 sts)

Join in one of the arms by crocheting through both thicknesses together with the rest of rnd 23.

Continue sc until you are at the centre front of the head, then skip 12 sts and sc in the next st. From now on, you will be working only in the remaining 12 sts. Work several rows in colour A, and then add colour B and work in a spiral, changing colour every 12 sts (leaving the yarn to one side every time you change colour - don't cut the yarn!) If you prefer, you can also make the handle in a single colour.

Here you can see how the handle is constructed.

Continue the tube, stuffing as you go. As this part is too narrow to line, I use a very old woollen felted blanket, cut into little shreds, to stuff the handle. Continue until the handle measures approx 19 cm (7 1/2 inches), finishing with colour A, and work the same number of rounds in colour as you did at the beginning of the handle. Join in the second arm, on the same side as the first one (see photo). Finish off the rnd on the opposite side to the arm and finish off, leaving a long thread for sewing.

Now make sure you have stuffed the handle enough, then very carefully sew the open part of the handle to the remaining 12 sts of the head.

Don't hesitate pulling on it to make sure your stitches are strong enough. Safety is an issue here! When you're satisfied that the handle is securely sewn, fasten off and hide the ends inside the head.

And there you have a cute little teddy rattle!

Toys for sale!

Hello there!

Well the organic market has been and gone, and unfortunately I did not obtain the right to sell my items due to the complicated French bureaucracy. The market is not considered as a craft fair, it is for professional sellers, of which I am not, so for insurance reasons I couldn't sell anything there. So my goods are still for sale! Some friends have already expressed their interest (for example the little duck rattle in my previous post has already been snatched up!). But if you're interested in any of my goods, do let me know. You can see the whole lot on the Is it a toy crochet facebook page. And to keep your appetite up, here's a small selection of what's available.

For more, nip over to our facebook page now! And if you don't have access to facebook, send me a message and I'll give you all the information you might need. I look forward to hearing from you!

Busy as a bee!

And here's just one of the things I've been doing. I'm very pleased with these new rattle toys but as I commented on the previous post, I'm just too busy to write up the pattern.

What am I doing? Well, lots of things. This week I have to finish off the items for a swap I'm doing on Ravelry. Next week we have the huge yearly car boot sale in our little town. I won't be selling anything this year, but it's something to look forward to. The following week, I may be holding my first official stall on our local organic market! I'm just wondering when I'll find out... I sent in my application but haven't heard anything back yet and it's in two weeks' time! In any case, I have to crochet, crochet, crochet so that I'll have enough stock, and I suppose that if I don't get a place, I'll just have to sell my items elsewhere or wait until the Spring sale in May. I've ordered some more organic yarn from the UK, including some Alpaca wool  that I'm trying out for the first time. I thought it would be nice for cosy winter hats. It's already getting a bit chilly around here.

On with my list... early November I'm organising a short trip to Paris with my son. Last time I went to Paris was almost thirty years ago! We're really looking forward to it. We've booked an apartment near to the Eiffel tower, and we'll probably visit the usual tourist places. I'd also like to go to the Cité des Sciences, and to visit the new Islamic art section in the Louvre. Then there's Montmartre, le Marais, the Arc de Triomphe, and my son wants to go and see Jim Morrison's grave at the Père Lachaise cemetry. If you know any other spots in Paris we absolutely have to visit, please let me know in the comments :)

Then towards the end of November I'm off to South Africa! It's a trip for work, where we'll be holding a conference. Once it's over, I'm going on safari with two of my friends. We all agreed that it was a pity to go so far without seeing some of the country. So we've organised a short trip to the beautiful countryside, with a trip both to a land safari and a day in the nearby wetlands. I can't wait!

When it was my birthday, I wrote up a list of 50 things I would like to do before my next birthday, a kind of bucket list but with a time limit. Visiting Paris is just one of them, as is holding my first real sale of my crochet goods. It feels good!

Teddy rattle MkII

Remember these teddy rattles? Well, I wasn't entirely satisfied with the result, even though lots of my friends and family told me they were fine, cute and very nice. Hmm, I thought, there's something missing. And I found the shape of their head could be improved.  So, back to the drawing board. This new teddy has a slightly bigger head, and most importantly he has arms! Much better, don't you think? 

Spicynat's mum and baby owls

Spicynat has kindly given me permission to share her gorgeous Mom and Baby owls, aren't they just the cutest things? I love the way she's done the eyes. Spicynat shared her pics on our flickr group. We're looking forward to seeing other owls, doudous, etc that you've made using the patterns from this blog :-)

Purple stripes

Hello there!
I had lots of bits of Debbie Bliss eco aran yarn left over in my stash, so decided to make a stripy owl. Her eyes are a bit small and her beak is a bit big, but I think it gives her character. She even rattles. If you want to make an owl, the pattern is here: http://isitatoy.blogspot.fr/2011/12/free-owl-pattern.html Remember to post a photo of your creations on the flickr page too!

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Do you believe that at my age I'd never read Rebecca? A couple of people I mentioned it to were surprised, but I reckoned it's never too late to put things right - so I read it. And what a delight! This book is just wonderful. I was worried that it was going to be a bit stuffy and old fashioned, with it having been written in the 1930s. I thought it wouldn't have the 19th century charm of Jane Eyre or Little Women, nor the excitement of more modern literature. But I hadn't expected the way it totally took me into the narrator's thoughts, willing her to do or not to do things, or feeling such pain, or relief, on her behalf.

The story is told in the first person by the narrator, whose name we never learn, a young woman whose parents have both died and has no other family, and is employed as a "companion" to an American woman, Mrs Van Hopper, who is travelling in Europe. The narrator is naive and a bit clumsy, she hates her job. At 21 years old, she can't stand having to entertain Mrs Van Hopper's boring friends.  But the two women meet Max de Winter, an English widower, who happens to be staying at the same hotel in Monte Carlo. When Mrs Van Hopper is taken ill, the narrator has more time on her hands, and accepts Mr. de Winter's offer to go for a drive. Their relationship quickly blossoms, and when it is time for Mrs Van Hopper and the narrator to move back to the States, Max de Winter proposes to the young woman who is half his age, they marry and travel in the Mediterranean before going back to Manderley, his huge English mansion that has so many reminders of his dead wife, Rebecca. The housekeeper, Mrs Danvers, will not let anyone forget what a wonderful woman Rebecca was. But maybe things are not quite what they seem...

Daphne du Maurier tells a gripping story. Her characters are fascinating, and the final twist takes you totally by surprise. A pearl of a book.

This is the first book review on my blog. One of my birthday resolutions was to keep track of the books I read, and this is the first book I've finished since then. By writing them on my blog I'll be able to keep track, and you'll be able to read the reviews, and maybe enjoy reading some of the books too.