Prototype size: 14 cm (5 ½ inches) tall without the hair, 13.5 cm (5 ¼ inches) wide without the wings and 20 cm (8 inches) wide with the wings. The size of your toy will depend on your yarn, needles and gauge.

My sister asked me to make this toy for her baby Victor “to just look at” before he had learned to reach and actively grab his toys, but my mother and I both think it’s more for my sister herself. :) So if you want to make your own toy safer for babies and very young children, embroider the eyes and nose and skip the pom pom on top.

This friendly monster is worked in the round starting from the middle of the bottom with the disappearing loop cast on (or another circular cast on of your choice, or even the long-tail cast on and a bit of extra sewing). The body is worked in one piece (no picking up stitches). The wings, horns and toes are knitted separately and sewn to the body. The wings are the only pieces that are worked flat.

The pattern involves kfb increases, SSK decreases and i-cord knitting. I’m afraid the toes are fiddly, so you may want to look at sleekymom’s project page to see if her version looks easier to you. The rest of the monster should be easy work for the more experienced knitters, and there are detailed instructions and links to tutorials in the pattern for the less experienced.

I used a Bulgarian yarn that is something like DK weight for the body and Bonbon Classic (worsted weight) for all other parts.

Other tools and materials:
• toy stuffing (100 g or 3 oz of polyester fiberfill should be enough)
• eye materials: two black buttons or safety eyes or scraps of black yarn
• nose materials: one brown button or scraps of brown yarn
• sewing thread and sewing needle for the buttons (if any are used)
• tapestry/yarn needle
• stitch marker (optional)
• any removable placement markers for the face and attachable parts (optional)
• a piece of cardboard (3 cm wide) or your preferred pom pom making tool

This pattern was tech edited by Tricia Gilbert (electronjam on Ravelry).