Fearsome Dragon Friend Knitting Pattern

This pattern was designed to be a small, relatively quick project for my second son as a buddy for his much larger toy dragon. My kids loved the design so much that they insisted on each having one of their own. It is designed to have a simple but not overly cutesy shape. I chose sock yarn for ease of care and because I have a lot of scraps on hand. You use almost any yarn with a consistent thickness provided you choose a needle one to two sizea smaller than normally recommended to ensure your fabric is dense enough to not show stuffing. The toy, using suggested yarn and needle sizes, should be around 5 1/2”in/14 cm from bottom of foot to top of head.

Materials

My main color is Knitpicks Hawthorne Compass Kettle and contrast colors are discontinued Paintbox socks solids in Midnight Blue and Red Wine. These are 70% superwash wool/30% nylon yarns in a fingering weight.

• 15 g main color
• 3 g contrast color a
• 2 g contrast color b
• Scrap yarn or embroidery thread for eyes
• Blunt yarn needle
• Size 2.5mm double pointed needles (DPNs) or circulars
• 2.5 mm Crochet Hook
• Stuffing – I use wool batting because it stays in the toy a little better than fiberfil, but if you need to machine wash, use polyester stuffing
• Removable yarn markers
• Chalk pencil or water soluble marker

Notation

Knitting Terms:

• k– knit
• p – purl
• kftb – knit the front and back part of the stitch to increase by 1
• m1 – increase to the left of the previously knitted stitch by picking up the bar between the previous and the next stitch from behind and placing it on the left needle, then knitting the back of the loop.
• k2tog – knit the next two stitches together
wrap and turn – slip next stitch from left needle to right needle, bring working yarn forward if on a knit row or to the back if purling. Slip stitch back to the left needle and bring working yarn back to the original position. This should wrap the stitch, preventing a hole at the end of where the short row is worked.

Crochet Terms (US Terminology):

• ch – chain stitch
• sl st – slip stitch
• sc – single crochet
• hdc – half double crochet

Main Color

Head

Starting at back of head, cast on 9 leaving a long tail (6 in approximately). Join in the round and mark beginning of round.

• 1: k
• 2: k2, (kfb)x5, k2 (14 sts)
• 3: k
• 4: k1, (k2, m1)x6, k1 (20 sts)
• 5: k
• 6: k2, m1, (k3, m1)x5, k3 (26 sts)
• 7 – 19: k
• 20: k1, k2tog x4, k3, k2tog, k3, k2tog x4, k1 (17)
• 21: k
• 22: k1, k2tog x2, k7, k2tog x2, k1 (13)
• 23 – 27: k

Cut yarn, leaving a tail of around 6 in. Thread tail through active loops on needles, slipping loops from needles as you go. Once all loops are threaded, cinch to gather nose and sew over the gathered stitches to lock them in place. Stuff head with small separate balls of stuffing for the snout portion and head portion, taking care to shape as you go. You want the head to be firm but not to the point that the stitches are stretched out and the snout loses definition. We are going for a fierce dragon here! Not one that looks like it got stung by a bee. Once the head is shaped to your liking, use the tail from the cast on edge to gather the cast on stitches and lock in place. Then take the remainder of the tail from the cast on and cast off edges and pass though the bulk of the head and trim excess.

Body

Starting at the neck, cast on 12. Join and place marker at the beginning of the round.

• 1: k
• 2: (k1, kftb) x 6 (18 sts)
• 3: k
• 4: (k3, m1) x5, k3 (23 sts)
• 5 – 6: k
• 7: (k4, m1) x 5, k3 (28 sts)
• 8 – 10: k
• 11: (k5, m1) x 5, k3 (33)
• 12 – 16: k
• 17: k21, wrap and turn
• 18: p9, wrap and turn
• 19: k8, wrap and turn
• 20: p7, wrap and turn
• 21: k6, wrap and turn
• 22: p5, wrap and turn
• 23: k4, wrap and turn
• 24: p3, wrap and turn
To prevent a weird bar at the bottom of the wrapped stitches, pick up the bar and place it on the left needle and work both the stitch and the bar as one knit stitch. Only half will be worked this round, as the other half won't be reached until the next round.
• 25: k18
Don't forget to pick up the wrapped stitch bars on this round
• 26: (k3, k2tog) x2, k13, (k2tog, k3) x2 (29 sts)
• 27: (k2, k2tog) x2, k13, (k2tog, k2) x2 (25 sts)
• 28: k
• 29: (k1, k2tog) x2, k11 wrap and turn
• 30: p9, wrap and turn
• 31: k8, wrap and turn
• 32: p7, wrap and turn
• 33: k6, wrap and turn
• 34: p5, wrap and turn
Don't forget to pick up the wrapped stitch bars on this round
• 35: k9, (k2tog, k1) x2 (21 sts)
Don't forget to pick up the wrapped stitch bars on this round
• 36: k
• 37: k6, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k6 (18 sts)
• 38 – 42: k
• 43: k2, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k2 (14 sts)
• 44 – 46: k
• 47: k1, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k1 (10 sts)
• 48 – 50: k
• 51 : (k1, k2tog) x 2, k2 (8 sts)
• 52 – 54: k
• 55: (k2tog) x4 (4 sts)
• 56: k

Cut working yarn, leaving a 6 in tail. Thread through the active loops on the needles to gather. Secure yarn and thread into the tail of the dragon. No need to trim – this makes great tip of tail stuffing. Stuff the body with small pieces of stuffing at a time and shape as you go. I like to keep the body fairly narrow, since over stuffing will make the haunches stick out too much when sewn on later. Once you are happy with the shape of the body, gather the neck hole shut. Using a mattress stitch, sew the head to the neck, making certain that the head is facing forward once you have completed the first round of mattress stitches. If you are happy with the alignment, make the neck extra secure and the seam more even by sewing around a second time. It is particularly important to make sure all parts are securely attached if you are giving the toy to a child, as they are often rougher than you might expect.

Legs

(Make 2)

Starting at bottom of foot, cast on 10 and join in round. Place a stitch marker to mark beginning of round.

• 1: k
• : k2, (kftb)x3, k1, (kftb)x3, k1 (16 sts)
• 3: k
• 4: k3, (m1, k1) x4, k3, (m1, k1) x4, k2 (24 sts)
• 5 – 9: k
• 10: k6, (k2tog) x6, k6 (18 sts)
• 11: k
• 12: k3, (k2tog) x6, k3 (12 sts)
• 13 – 26: k
• 27: (k2tog) x6 (6 sts)
• 28: k

Cut working yarn, leaving a 6 in tail. Thread through the active loops on the needles but do not close. Gather cast on stitches at bottom of foot and secure. Stuff both legs, taking care not to overstuff the ankle, then close the top of the legs and secure. Sew the legs onto the body with a mattress stitch.

Arms

(Make 2)

Starting at hands, cast on 5 and join in round. Place stitch marker at beginning of round.

• 1-2: k
• 3: (kftb) x4, k1 (9 sts)
• 4:-20: k
• 21: (k1, k2tog) x3 (6 sts)
• 22: k

Cut working yarn, leaving a 6 in tail. Close and secure hand end. Draw through the active loops on the needles to gather stitches. Stuff lightly from shoulder end, then gather to close and secure. Affix to body with a mattress stitch, making sure the placement is even.

Contrast Color A

Wings

(Make 2)

Cast on 5. The wings are worked flat.

• 1: k
• 2: (kftb)x 4, k1 (9 sts)
• 3: (p1, k1) x 4, p1
• 4: (k1, p1) x4, p1
• 5: (p1, m1, k1) x 4, p1 (13 sts)
• 6: (k1, p2) x 4, k1
• 7: (p1, k2) x 4, p1
• 8: (k1, p2) x 4, k1
• 9: (p1, k2) x 4, p1
• 10: (k1, p2) x 4, k1
• 11: (p1, k2) x 4, p1

Bind off in purl. Affix using a whip stitch to back of dragon on either side of the center back line, leaving a few stitches on either side of the center back for the row of spikes. Weave in the cast off tail and bury the cast on tail into the body of the toy.

Contrast Color B

Crochet Spikes

Using a chalk pencil or a washable marker in a color not much darker than your main color, draw a line down the back of your dragon, starting where you want the line of spikes to start on the head (I start close to where the snout forms) and continue down the back to the tip of the tail. Make sure this line is centered down the back.

Starting on the head, sc along the guideline into approximately every other knit stitch. This will be tricky over the gathers in the head – you want your single crochet to jump over the center of the gather.
Turn
ch1. *In the first stitch, sl st, hdc, sl st. Sl st into next stitch. Repeat from * until the end of the row of single crochet. Tie off and pass ends into the body of the toy

Embroidery

Eyes

This section is worked in either scrap yarn or embroidery thread in a color of your choice

Using chalk or water soluble marker, mark the position of the eyes. Dragons are generally predatory, and predators usually have eyes to the front of the skull. Wider, side set eyes tend to give a more placid expression.

Make simple eyes by working several satin stitches around one knit stitch, taking care to not cinch tightly enough to deform the stitch. Repeat for the other eye, secure the thread, then pass the ends into the body of the toy. Button or bead eyes can be substituted for older children or adults, but they present a choking hazard to toddlers and babies no matter how well sewn on.



All done! Enjoy your fearsome friend!