THE TEDDY BONNET
Your step-by-step guide to making your masterpiece
Hey there, stitch superstar! You’ve got your knitting kit and you've unlocked the secret sauce to making your very own Teddy Baby Bonnet, and we’re excited to be stitching it out with you.
This guide will be your BFF through the entire journey. Whether you’re brand new to knitting or just here for a refresh, we’ll take you from “how do I hold these sticks?” to “look what I made!” — one cosy row at a time.
Heads up! You'll need the physical pattern that came in your knit kit as well as this online guide. The pattern contains the specifics, this guide gives you the extra layer of detail.
INCLUDED IN YOUR KIT
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT (Or CLOSE ENOUGH!)
Before we dive into the good stuff, let’s warm up those hands and needles. Think of this like stretching before a workout, except comfier, cuter, and way more fun.
Grab some of the yarn from your kit (just a little, you’ve got enough to spare!), and get familiar with the motions. Try out the stitches you’ll be using in this pattern. This is your time to mess it up, try again, and feel things out — no pressure, no judgement, just you and your new fave hobby.
Bonus: practising now = fewer headaches later (trust us on this one).
Slip Knot
Casting On
Knit Stitch
Purl Stitch
Cast Off
TEST YOUR GAUGE
Once you’re feeling comfy with the stitches, it’s time to check your gauge. We know, we know — it sounds technical, but it’s really just about making sure your tension matches the pattern.
Why? Because different knitters = different stitch tightness. And we want your finished masterpiece to fit like a dream.
So grab your measuring tape, knit up a little swatch (there’s a guide for that at the link below!), and let’s make sure you’re on track before the main event begins.
How to test your gauge
THE TEDDY BONNET
If done correctly, your 10x10cm knitted swatch should measure 14 stitches wide, and 24 rows high when knitted in stockinette stitch on your 5mm needles.
SIZING
You can make your bonnet in 3 sizes. Your pattern is read like this; 1 (2, 3). Depending on the size you ordered you'll follow the corresponding number.
Size 1: Baby aged 0 to 3 months
Size 2: Baby aged 3 to 6 months
Size 3: Baby aged 6 to 12 months
It can help to highlight the numbers that correlate to your size in your pattern before you begin. The circles are also there you help you keep track of your knitting. The dashed circles are for the larger sizes.
Repeat after me:
“I solemnly swear to knit bravely, unpick calmly, and pretend I meant to do that.
I accept that chaos is part of the craft, and possibly part of my personality.
I will finish what I start… eventually.”
Your bonnet is created in one piece. First we start by knitting a rectangle for the back of our bonnet, then we pick up stitches and knit the hood. We finish the hood with a rib stitch and then collect stitches around the bottom of the hood to add another rib. Finally, we finish up by knitting our i-cord.
Using your 5mm needles, cast on the correct number of stitches.
💭 If you're using circular needles your stitches will run down onto the plastic tube connecting your needles. That's totally fine!
💡 Your piece of knitting will grow as you knit so don't be concerned if after you've cast on the piece doesn't look wide enough.
We're going to start knitting in stockinette stitch next. This is where we knit all the stitches in one row, then purl all stitches in the next - we repeat this pattern as instructed.
💭 One of the things we found the hardest when we were learning to knit was keeping track of our rows. Before we were able to easily identify a row of stitches we used a pen and paper to keep track. That's why we've included handy circles in our patterns - you can tick them off as you go. The dashed circles are for the larger sizes.
In this step, we're adding stitches to our needles on either side of the stitches you currently have. By the end of this step, you'll have 60 (66, 72) stitches on your needles.
So first, you should have cut your yarn from the ball at the end of the previous step. We're going to leave those stitches on our needle. Then starting from the bottom right corner of the knitted piece use your right needle to pick up stitches along that right edge of the rectangle.
Then, when you reach the stitches on your left needle, you'll knit those stitches as normal.
Without cutting the yarn this time, we're going to use our right needle to pick up stitches along the left edge, working our way down to the cast on edge.
The video below shows you how to do this.
Knit in stockinette stitch for the required number of rows to work up the hood of our bonnet.
Let's finish this part with a rib stitch to frame the face of our bonnet. To create a rib pattern, we knit 1 stitch, then purl the next, then knit the next, then purl the next and repeat.
🧶 Make sure you’re moving your yarn tail from the back to the front of your work between each stitch (bring the yarn in through the middle of the needles) to ensure the rib is executed correctly.
Cast off your stitches!
When you've got just one stitch left on your right needle, simply cut your yarn from the ball (leaving about 20cm) and thread it back through your last stitch to secure it.
You're doing so well!
Let's pick up stitches around the bottom of our hood now and knit another rib.
The finish line is in sight!
The last step is to add the cords to our bonnet. We do these using a method called the i-cord. It's made by knitting 3 stitches over and over again, but the technique is a little different and it creates a tube instead of a flat piece of knitting.
STEP 1: First, pick up 3 stitches from the front left corner of your bonnet. Knit all three stitches as normal but at the end of this row, don't turn your work.
STEP 2: Without flipping your needles around, slide the three stitches back onto your left needle, so that the stitch attached to the ball is the furthest stitch away from the end of your needle.
STEP 3: Bring the working yarn tightly across the back of the stitches. This is what closes the tube. Don’t strangle the stitches, just do a confident tug.
STEP 4: Knit the 3 stitches again.
STEP 5: Repeat the process of knitting 3, sliding the stitches back, pull the yarn snug.
After a few rows, you’ll see a little round cord forming instead of a flat piece. That’s your i-cord. You’re doing it right.
Continue until your cord is 22cm long.
To finish, cut the yarn and thread the tail through the 3 stitches and pull tight to secure. Repeat for the second cord in the right front corner.
BLOCKING (Optional)
The final step in finishing a knitted piece is to block it. This step is optional and not all beginner knitters will block their work (we don't always 🤣) but it can improve the overall shape and finish of your piece.
Blocking your knitting is a process where you wet your piece to set the finished size and even out the stitches.
You can choose to block your work before you seam it together, or after. If you block before seaming together you might get a better result with your seaming because the stitches will be more lined up.
Jump to the bottom of the page for step-by-step instructions on how to block your knit.
Soak your knit in cool water. You only need to let your piece sit in the water for a few minutes and make sure the full piece is completely wet.
💡 You can also use a spray bottle and spritz the knit with cool water if you'd prefer.
Remove your knit from the water and dry it off by rolling it in a towel. You want to get us much of the moisture out of the knit as possible at this point but be gentle! You don't want to stretch the knit.
Transfer your damp knit to a flat surface to block it on. If you've got a blocking mat - great! otherwise a towel will work. The surface needs to be somewhere where your knit can lie flat and can stay there until it fully dries so that the shape sets properly. Make sure it's not a surface that can be easily damaged by having something wet sitting on it!
Arrange your piece so the right side is facing up and the shape is as you'd like it. If you've got a measuring tape you can measure and adjust the piece so it's the correct size.
Allow the knit to air dry - this can take a few days. You can also use a hair dryer to speed up the process, just use a light heat and don't concentrate the air in one spot.
