… I mean seriously, what’s not to love? It’s a bear. And the bear is wearing a bunny suit!
Susan’s bear photo by Gale Zucker
From the moment Susan Anderson sent a photo of the adorable toy that she designed for Drop Dead Easy Knits I was smitten. I instantly raised my hand to be the test knitter. The nice thing about a small toy like this is that you often have bits and bobs in your stash to use for your project. Or you can enhance your stash and use Quince & Co Owl like Susan did. It comes in a wonderful range of bear-worthy colors (and great bunny suit colors too). I decided to stash dive. My bits and bobs yielded a pretty pink for the bunny suit and a nice warm brown for the bear. I set to work knitting.
I seldom have the opportunity to make toys — my kids are grown, and we’re not at the grandchildren stage. As a result test knitting the Bear in a Bunny Suit was quite a departure from the things I normally knit. Toys are not the sort of construction that comes naturally to me. What’s the best placement for the legs? How far set back should the ears be? Where do you stitch the eyes so the toy doesn’t look crazy, or worse, scary? (We once had a doll with wonky eyes and that thing was terrifying. But that’s another story.) Susan is an expert toy designer and pattern writer. Her instructions are impeccable, and her eye for toy design is genius. So even if you’ve never knit a toy before simply follow her instructions, one step at a time, the result will be a toy that will delight the young ones in your life. I love my little bear, but rather than have it sit lonely on my shelf, I passed my test knit along to Gale‘s granddaughter. Gale reports that the little critter is loved.
Next time I make a Bear in a Bunny Suit I want to try playing around with the suit. Maybe I’ll add stripes to the body, or a little ruffled skirt. I can see a lot of simple ways to customize the design. What about duplicate stitching an initial onto the body? Or you could make a bunch of bears, each with its own letter, and spell out a name. How cute would they be lined up on the shelf in a child’s room?
Pardon my weak Photoshop skills. You get the idea though, right? Let me know how you’d knit your bear in the comments. I’d love to hear your ideas.
I have a friend with a baby due any minute, so maybe it’s time to dig through my stash once more.
Oh my goodness!! I think my friend’s triplets each need a bunny with a monogrammed suit!!
Here to say Bunny ( as he’s known) is living a happy life and still much loved by Zoe. Possibly the most appreciated test knit in the book !
A version with an initial or dare I say team colors would be brilliant .
I loved making this Bunny! I’m not a toy knitter either but this was really fun and easy. Not to mention incredibly cute.