The Little Knit Apple is a fruit sprite, observed in apple orchards in late summer and early fall. Notable characteristics include tiny eyes and short, stick-like legs. Shows a preference for sitting on window sills and admiring wildflower bouquets.

The apples are constructed with small amounts of yarn, making them particularly well-suited for stash-busting and using up leftovers from other projects.

Size
The finished apple is 5.5cm / 2.25” tall (not including the optional legs), and 18.8cm / 7.5” around at the widest point on the body. See the schematic in the images for more details.

Yarn and Yardage
The apples use fingering weight sock yarn, and needs ~18 yards for C1 (red), 5 yards for C2 (green), and 1-7 yards for C3 (brown). Sock yarn with nylon or silk, or a high twist is preferred, as it will be more durable.

Black embroidery thread or scraps of black fingering weight yarn is also needed if working the eyes.

Needles and Gauge
Approx. 32 sts and 46 rnds over 10cm / 4”. Exact gauge isn’t important for this pattern, but the fabric should be tight enough to not show the stuffing. I find for most yarn, US 0 / 2.0mm or US 1 / 2.25mm is the best choice to achieve a tight fabric.

Notions
Knitting needles (for knitting flat and in the round), darning needle, polyfill for stuffing, and black embroidery thread or scrap pieces of fingering weight yarn for eyes (optional).

Techniques
The apple is knit in the round, the leaf is knit flat, and the stem and legs are worked as i-cords.