monkee pattern

Monkee Pattern (Warning : It’s very very long)

In order to knit your very own monkee made of knit, you will need the following ….

- the ability to knit …. or a supply of chocolate and/or wine to bribe someone who can ….

- the ability to sew …. neatly or ironically, it makes no difference ….

- two different coloured yarns (contrasting or complimenting, it’s up to you). Less than 100g is needed for the body / arms / legs, and much less than that for the mouth / hands / feet / ears.I favour 100% acrylic Double Knitting yarn (Worsted Weight), but I’m sure proper wool would work equally well. Possibly even better ….

- one pair of 3.25 mm knitting needles (US size 3 or UK/Canadian size 10)

- a darning needle

- sew-on googly eyes

- toy stuffing

- dried peas or plastic pellets for hands, feet and botty

- a lot of paper if you’re printing it out

Abbreviations used in this pattern …. (I’m trying to make this pattern as easy as possible so that even a novice knitter can make their own monkee - apologies if grandmothers sucking eggs spring to mind with some of my explanations) (on the other hand, if you still can’t work out what needs to be done, google it - there are some excellent knitting tutorials to be found)

K - knit

P - purl

St/s - stitch/es

St/st - stocking stitch (K one row, P one row)

M1 - make 1 (increase 1 by inserting needle knit-wise into the loop at the base of the next stitch and knit it. See Pic 1) When making one at the end of a row, it might be easier to pick up the stitch and put it on your left needle, then knit it. See Pics 2 & 3)

K2tog - knit 2 stitches together

P2tog - purl 2 stitches together

Pic 1

Pic 2 Pic 3

The Pattern ….

FRONT

Row 1 - Cast on 15 sts using body colour yarn

Row 2 - P

Row 3 - K1, M1, K6, M1, K7, M1, K1 (18)

Row 4 - P

Row 5 - K1, M1, K8, M1, K8, M1, K1 (21)

Row 6 - P

Row 7 - K1, M1, K4, M1, K10, M1, K5, M1, K1 (25)

Row 8 - P

Row 9 - K1, M1, K5, M1, K12, M1, K6, M1, K1 (29)

Row 10 - P

Row 11 - K1, M1, K to last st, M1, K1 (31)

Row 12 - P

Row 13 - K1, M1, K to last st, M1, K1 (33)

Row 14 - Increase in first and last sts of this purl row (35)

St/st 10 rows

K2tog, K to last 2 sts, K2tog

P

Repeat last 2 rows until 19 sts remain (ending on a K row)

St/st 7 rows

*****K7, turn

P2tog, P to end

K to last 2 sts, K2tog

P

K

P2tog, P to end

St/st 6 rows

Cast off

Pic 4

Re-join yarn (see Pic 4 above)

Cast off 5 sts, K to end (7)

P to last 2 sts, P2tog

K2 tog, K to end

P

K


St/st 6 rows

Cast off

Pic 5

BACK

Work as front until *****St/st 10 rows

Cast off 2 sts, K3, M1, K8, M1, K5 (19)

Cast off 2 sts, P to end (17)

St/st 10 rows

K2tog, K to last 2 sts, K2 tog

St/st 5 rows


P

K2 tog, K to last 2 sts, K2tog

P2tog, P to last 2 sts, P2tog

Repeat last 2 rows until 5 sts remain

Cast off

ARMS - make 2

Cast on 5 stitches using hands colour yarn

Increase in each st (10)

P

Increase in first st, K1, inc in next 2 sts, K1, inc in next 3 sts, K1, inc in last st (17)

St/st for 8 rows

Break yarn and change colour

P

P *

St/st for as long as you want the arm to be (I like a nice long arm - the ones knitted for this pattern are about 9 inches / 23 cm long)

Cast off

* Note - if you want a “smooth” monkee, i.e. Knit side facing, don’t do the second P row, K instead. (I like my monkees to be purl side facing, apart from the variegated yarn ones, which I prefer smooth)

LEGS - make 2

Cast on 5 sts using feet colour yarn

Increase in each st (10)

P

Increase in first st, K1, inc in next 6 sts, K1, inc in last st (18)

St/st for 6 rows

Break yarn and change colour

P

P*

St/st for as long as you want the legs to be (the legs on this monkee are about 5 inches / 13 cm long). About halfway up the leg, on a K row, K2tog at both ends of row (16)

Cast off

* see Note above

FRONT OF HEAD

* Cast on 1 st using body colour yarn

Knit into the front and back of st (2)

P

Inc in both sts (4)

P

Inc in first and last st (6)

P **

Inc in first st, K to end (7)

P, inc in last st (8)

Repeat last 2 rows (10)

Break yarn

On the needle holding these sts, repeat from * to **

K, inc in last st (7)

Inc in first st, P to end (8)

Repeat last 2 rows once (10)

Now join the pieces together ….

K across the first 10 sts

Turn work and cast on 5 sts

Turn work, join yarn and K across remaining 10 sts (25)

P2tog, P to last 2 sts, P2tog (23)

St/st 2 rows

K2tog, K to end, K2tog (21)

P

K

P2tog, P to last 2 sts, P2tog (19)

K

P

K2 tog, K to last 2 sts, K2tog (17)

P

Decrease first and last sts of all rows until 5 sts remain

Cast off

NOSE & UPPER JAW

Using mouth colour yarn and with purl side facing (knit side facing if you‘re knitting a smooth monkee), pick up and knit 25 sts evenly along the bottom of the head piece (the curve in the picture above)

P

St/st for 10 rows, ending on a P row

K21, turn P17, turn K16, turn P15, turn K14, turn P13, turn K12, turn P11, turn

K10, K2tog, turn P10, P2tog, turn Repeat last 2 rows 2 more times

K10, K2tog, K to end P13, P2tog, P to end

K1, M1, K to last st, M1, K1 (19)

K (this will be the inside of the monkee’s mouth)

P

Repeat the last 2 rows once


P

K


K



Cast off

There will be holes ….

…. but don’t worry about those - they’ll be sewn up later ….

LOWER JAW

Using mouth colour yarn and with purl side facing (knit side if making a smooth monkee), pick up and knit 27 sts evenly along the neck curve of the front body (see Pic 5)

P

K1, K2tog, K5, M1, K10, M1, K6, K2tog, K1

P1, P2tog, P to last 3 sts, P2tog, P1

K1, K2tog, K4, M1, K10, M1, K5, K2tog, K1

P1, P2tog, P to last 3 sts, P2tog, P1 (24)

St/St 6 rows

K1, M1, K to last st, M1, K1

P

P (for inside mouth)

K

P

K2tog, K to last 2 sts, K2 tog

P2tog, P to last 2 sts, P2 tog

Repeat last 2 rows until 9 sts remain

Cast off

TO MAKE UP

I always top-stitch the monkees …. actually, I don’t even know if that’s the right terminology …. Isew them up with wrong sides together - but obviously you can sew yours up however you like.The neatest way would probably be mattress stitch, but I’ve always gone for a more ironic look (meaning : I can’t do mattress stitch!)

Holding the mouth pieces together (see Pic 6), sew along the sides and the inside of the mouth.Also sew the small section of body at the shoulder to the base of the front side of the head (next to my thumb in Pic 7)

Sew up the holes in the side of the nose, then turn the mouth right side out …. in ….(see Pic 8) and attach two strands of yarn to both edges of the inside of the mouth (see Pic 9), then sew these strands quite tightly to the seam at the bottom of the jaw (see Pic 10). This is to stop the mouth turning inside out.

Pic 6

Pic 7 Pic 8

Pic 9 Pic 10

Now sew the back of the body to the front, leaving a hole at the bottom for stuffing purposes.

Sew up the arms and legs.

Then getting stuffing!

Stuff the head and snout, making the nose as rounded and monkey-ish as you can.

In order to achieve a more Wallace & Gromit-y look, I force my thumbs into the sides of the mouth to shape.

And I don’t put much stuffing in the bottom jaw

Stuff the body, leaving a small well in the bottom for dried peas or plastic pellets (see Pics 11 and 12) (I’ve always used dried peas and have had no problems) (that said, I have only washed 007 once and his hands and feet did “puff up” for a bit!)

Pic 11 Pic12

When you’ve stuffed your monkee and moulded the mouth into a shape you’re happy with, sew a few stitches into the sides of the mouth to keep it like that. (Occasional vigorous thumb insertion may be required to keep the mouth shape correct!)

Pour peas / pellets into the hands and feet, then stuff the arms and legs. Sew them on - sew around them twice for security.

EYE PATCH

Using mouth colour yarn, cast on 12 sts.

P

K1, M1, K10, M1, K1 (14)

P

K1, M1, K12, M1, K1 (16)

P

K2 tog, K to last 2, K2tog

P2tog, P to last 2, P2tog

Repeat last 2 rows once

K2tog, cast off 4, K2tog, cast off last stitch

Sew the eye patch in place and attach googly eyes (see Pic. 13). If your monkee is for a young child, or if you prefer them, sew eyes with yarn and cotton (like 007’s) (See Pic 14)

Pic 13 Pic 14

EARS - Make 2

Using mouth colour yarn, cast on 9 sts.

P

K1, M1, K to end

P

K1, M1, K to end (11)


K2tog, K to end


K2tog, K to last 2 sts, K2 tog (5)

P

K1, M1, K to last st, M1, K1

Inc in first st, P, inc in last st

Inc in first st, K to end

P, inc in last st (11)

K2tog, K to end

P

Repeat last 2 rows once

Cast off

Fold in half and sew edges together, then attach to the head.

Da Dah!! One Monkee. Use, abuse and amuse as necessary.

monkee pattern

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