Sockless Monkey Pattern

Sockless Monkey

See story here.
See pictures here.

Please Note: The yarn I used for the pattern did not wash so well. Poor monkey is now fat and *very* short.

Materials:
Worsted weight tweedy grey yarn (Dalegarn Heilo 0007) – 100 g
Worsted weight cream yarn (Daledgarn Heilo 0020) – 50 g
Worsted weight red yarn – 2 yards scrap (I had some Lopi leftover from another project, colorway # unknown)
Size 4 dpns (two sets if possible, though not necessary)
Stitch holders (if not two sets of dpns)
Slippery scrap yarn for crochet provisional cast on.
2 large buttons for eyes.
Yarn needle

Gauge: Not really relevant as long as it is relatively dense so the stuffing doesn’t poke out between stitches.

Abbreviations:
Dpns: double-pointed needles
CO: cast on
K: knit
Yf: yarn forward
Yb: yarn back
Slip 2 tog kwise: slip two stitches together knitwise
Psso: pass slipped stitches over

Legs:
CO 3 stitches in cream/white.
Knit front and back of each, dividing onto 3 dpns (6 stitches total)
Knit front and back of each stitch (4 per needle)
Knit front and back of each stitch (8 per needle, 24 total)
Knit 35 rows, switch to grey yarn and knit 40 more rows.
Transfer first leg onto stitch holders or scrap yarn if you have only one set of dpns.
Repeat for 2nd leg.

Body:
Leaving Leg 2 still on the needles, knit one round.
CO 3 stitches (27 total)
Knit all stitches of Leg 1
CO 3 stitches (54 total)
Knit 2 more rounds.

Bum:
Re-distribute stitches so that half of each leg is on one needle, and the other half of each leg is on the other two needles. Leave the half on two needles be, you will be working the half on one needle. This helps avoid a ladder up the center of the bum. Unless of course you wish to define the cheeks.
Using cream yarn, knit 27 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 26 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 25 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 24 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 23 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 22 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 21 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 20 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 19 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 20 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 18, turn.
Purl 19, turn.
Knit 20, turn.
Purl 21, turn.
Knit 22, turn.
Purl 23, turn.
Knit 24, turn.
Purl 25, turn.
Knit 26, turn.
Purl 27, turn.

Body resumed:
Using grey, knit 50 rounds.
Using cream, knit 1 round.
K25, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 25, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K23, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 23, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K21, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 21, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K19, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 19, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K17, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 17, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K15, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 15, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K13, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 13, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K11, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 11, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.

Transfer stitches evenly to two needles, with each ending with the double decrease.
Using Kitchener stitch, graft ends together.

If my instructions have been clear enough to follow, You will have a shape that looks like a sock with the ankle and cuff divided into two legs. Stuff the monkey from his crotch, then seam it.

Arms:
Make the arms exactly as you did for the legs, but when you get to the 40th grey row, bind off. Stuff, and sew to side of monkey about half way along “foot” part.

Tail:
Using cream yarn, co 3 stitches.
Knit front and back of each, dividing evenly onto 3 dpns. (6 stitches total)
Knit front and back of each stitch (12 stitches total)
Knit 10 rounds.
Switch to grey and knit 50 more rounds.
Bind off.
Stuff if desired (I stuffed it as I knit it - every 10 rows or so I pushed some stuffing in there to just below my needles where it wouldn’t interfere with my knitting.)
Stitch to top of bum, centering it as well as possible.

Face:
Using a provisional cast on (I used crochet) and cream yarn, co 27 stitches.
Knit exactly the same as the bum.
Unpick the provisional cast on and transfer onto needles so you can work in the round.
Using grey, knit 1 round.
Using kitchener stitch, graft the mouth onto the face, with the bottom of the mouth about even with the top of the arms. Remember that this should be roundish.
Just before you finish grafting, stuff the mouth.
Finish grafting.
Using red, duplicate stitch a lip line across the mouth almost from corner to corner. I had only red yarn that was much bulkier than the rest of the monkey, so my duplicate stitch goes over two stitches at a time so as not to stretch out his mouth.
Stitch two large matching buttons on for eyes
Ears:
Using grey, CO 30 stitches, dividing evenly onto 3 dpns.
Knit 3 rounds.
Knit 12, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso, knit 12, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso.
Knit 10, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso, knit 10, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso.
Knit 8, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso, knit 8, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso.
Knit 6, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso, knit 6, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso.
Transfer stitches evenly to two needles, with each ending with the double decrease.
Using Kitchener stitch, graft ends together.
Stitch ears to sides of head above arms, just below the white part of the head.


It may be easier to bind off the mouth after the one grey round and just sew the mouth on, but I wanted to make it look as seamless as possible. I grafted my arms and tail onto the body, too. Unfortunately, it was my very first foray into grafting, so my monkey has obvious armpits if you lift his arms. With his arms down, his shoulders look seamless. Next time, I will graft the tops and bottoms of the arms separately