Angel Ted project for Yorkhill Hospital. Calling all knitters. Can you help us?

[KnottyAndPistey]

We were very pleased Yorkhill came to us for help with this project. It is certainly a sad one, and yet this is something very positive we can do to help families at this time.

The idea is to make two identical teddies for babies who pass away in Yorkhill's Special Care Baby Unit. The family can then give an Angel Ted to their baby and keep an identical one in their very precious keepsake box provided by the hospital.

Apologies to the hookers, at the moment we only have a pattern for Team Knit, but we will see if there is a crochet pattern to fit their requirements. Yorkhill ask that teddies are made in white or soft pastel shades of pink and blue to match the blankets and pillow sets that also go into the boxes.

Please use either
3ply wool with 2.5mm needles (14s)
4ply wool with 2.00mm needles (12s)

Construction
The pattern is on our website, see here...

Very kindly Ruby trialled this pattern and made the matching pair pictured. She used Sirdar snuggly 4ply and size 2mm needles. Huge thanks to her

If you prefer you can send teddies unstuffed and minus ribbons. We can do that, but PLEASE still sew up, just leave a hole and a long piece of wool to finish sewing after stuffing.

If you would like to join in but costs are prohibitive, please message us and we will try to help you. Equally if you aren't able to craft but would like to contribute we will happily accept donations to fund others.

Please PM us for posting information. The hope is to send the first Angel Teds with the next collection of Little Hugs, so last posting for that batch is to be FRIDAY 28th MARCH 2014. Thank you.

Heartfelt thanks to all for your support.

I'll have a go. I've not knitted a toy before, and have something wrong with my hands just now, but I'll give it my best shot.

I know there is no crochet pattern at the mo, but do you think it will also be 4ply?

Ooooo you needs Knots for that lovely Anya

Thanks Invisible sorry about your hands. This is an ongoing project so there will be future deadlines too if the March one arrives too quickly for you. X

Am working with 4ply. I need glasses before I go smaller than that.

So if I should happen to come across a yarn shop tomorrow, you know by chance? I should pick up some 4ply?

Would be silly not too, wouldn't it?

Indeed

Morning :)

Have just ordered some of this yarn and downloaded/printed off the pattern and will knit two as soon as the yarn arrives. Will PM you for the address once completed.

Oh rogue - you star

Thanks lovely Woolfey, think Knots almost has it, have seen one prototype piece, we just need to make one and send to Family Services, see if its OK. Fingers crossed.

I have just printed off the pattern. I am also wondering about the needle sizing. UK14s are not 2.5mm. There is a mistake on the original pattern.

Ah. Arse. Might that be because the pattern is Australian?

Go with the 2mm or 2.5mm, we know where we are with that :)

I'll delete that bit from the pattern on the website, thanks Purple

Nah - looks like Australia used UK sizing pre-metric. See here.

I think they have just put the 12 and the 14 round the wrong way in the small teddies part in the original instructions. The needle conversions for the medium and large teddies are fine.

This was the only 4ply I could find today

Tis perfect Anya

novice knitter here - is dk 4ply or 3ply or worse still neither???

zommer dk, 4ply and 3ply are all different and dk is the thickest. I'm sure there was a good reason someone thought up that confusing system!

One bear under construction in 3 ply with a 6 inch ruler for scale. YY to glasses Knotty - I can only see the stitches because I finally admitted defeat and now have reading glasses. I think my arms may have shrunk as I can't hold a book far enough away to read.

Awww, little ted, that's fab to see in construction, how are you finding the pattern Hoggy?

Zommer As Hoggy said they are all different, DK is the biggest, then they get progressively finer. Here's a 4ply

Ah that's great, Hoggy (apart from the specs bit obv)

That looks exactly like my hooky effort is looking

I started one tonight. There is a mistake in the pattern. It seems fairly obvious that the second half is the mirror image of the first half, but the number of rows for the arms differ. There is an extra "knit 10 rows" included on the second set of arms.

Ah. Again!

Hang on...

Cast on 10 sts and knit 20 rows. Leave on needle.

Cast on another 10 sts and knit 20 rows.

Knit 26 rows across the two legs, and then cast on 12 sts in the next 2 rows.

Knit 10 rows, cast off 12sts at the beginning of next 2 rows, and then knit 46 rows.

Cast on 12sts in next 2 rows, knit 10 rows, knit 10 rows.

Cast off 12 sts at the beginning of next 2 rows.

Knit 26 rows then knit 20 rows on first next 10 sts and cast those off.
Join yarn to remaining 10sts.

Knit 20 rows on remaining 10 sts.

Cast off.

Sew the front and the back of the ted together and stuff firmly.

Sew across corner of head to form ears.

Embroider face and tie a bow round the bear's neck.