FroggyBug Bat by Nicole Chevalier

FroggyBug Bat

Knitting
May 2023
Fingering (14 wpi) ?
24 stitches and 32 rows = 4 inches
US 0 - 2.0 mm
273 - 328 yards (250 - 300 m)
from wing to wing: 33cm
English
This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download

This is another built-in project, with no sewing.
The body is knitted in the round, from the bottom to the head.
Stitches are picked up from the top of the head in a V shape, for the ear flaps. They are quite long to make, but they are very neat: they start with a few rows of double knitting, and convert to a knitting in the round until it becomes a 3 stitch i-cord.
The wings are knitted flat with two colours, one for the outside, one for the inside, with three inner fingers. The wings are symmetrical, but not identical, make sure not to knit twice the same!
When finished, the wing is folded in its middle, this median line forming the bottom of the wing, and the edges are joined together with a 3 needles bind off.
The wing is attached with a 3 needle bind off to the body side.
I tested built-in wings on Bat #012, it was a bit heavy and uncomfortable to knit, but the joins are thinner and neater

About wings: Pattern from 28-JUN-2023 includes a slight change on row 139, to improve the join symmetry.

Two I-cords are needed for each wing. The first one runs from the foot to the top finger. The second one goes from the ear to the elbow,
So that the wings can fold when the ears and / or the feet are pulled

As usual in FroggyBug’s little world:
The eyes are made of a crocheted magic circle, the smile is bright and maybe not very realistic, but some details have been carefully copied from the nature.
I need10-20 hours to fully finish a sof-toy of mine. If you are in a rush, or a total beginner, maybe keep this pattern for later.

I like making soft toys from sock yarns, and would use 2mm needles, to make the fabric tight enough to prevent stuffing leak!
For this bat, I used the same quality for all parts, just mixing coulours.
Approximative required yarn amount
Body: 15-20 g
Wing: outside – 20-25g of multicoloured yarn
Wing: inside – 20-25g
Ear flaps: 15-20g
I-cords: 10-15 g
Other colours: a few meters (yards) for the eyes and the smile

Required material:
Set of 4 double pointed needles (2mm or 2.5mm)
1 circular needle a lot thinner (1.5mm or 2mm) for 3 needles bind off
1 hook 3-3.5mm for the eyes
1 tapestry needle
Soft toy stuffing

Required techniques:
• Garter stitch for the wings, except a few rows of stockinette stitch for the three fingers
• Short rows, used in the wings
• Knitting in the round for the body and ear flaps
• Intarsia (crossing the yarns) for the double coloured wings
• increasing / decreasing
• double knitting (explained in this pattern) for the first rows of the ear flaps
• Picking up stitches from the side to attach the wings to the body neatly
• 3-needle bind off to finish the wings
• French knitting (Spool knit) or I-cord for the arms and legs
• Basic embroidering for the smile, and for the black stars in the eyes
• Magic circles in crochet for the eyes
• Patience!

I am delighted to share my patterns with you for free, However, they are my intellectual property, so please, don’t sell them.

According to Flowerpail who knitted it:
Errors on the following rows of wings:
Row 41 should say k9 instead of k8
Row 58 should say k18 instead of k1

side is determined by looking down at the bats back with head facing forward.