What are the Best Yarns for Knitted Penguins?

When knitting a stuffed animal, you can use many types of yarns with success. Acrylic yarns tend to be widely used, but you can also use a natural fiber such as cotton or wool.

If the penguin you are knitting is not a stuffed animal (such as some of the projects shown here), then try to use a yarn similar to the one used in the pattern. Think of the end result and care that it will need and choose from there.

10 Free Knit Penguin Patterns

Penguins are so cute and cuddly and there were so many different types of patterns to choose from I had a hard time narrowing it down to 10! I tried to gather a variety of project types instead of choosing only stuffed animals. So here we also have mittens, a hat, bunting bag, and even a sweater. Check out these adorable penguin patterns.

Crafting for good: why we all want to knit for penguins

Alyce McGovern does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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UNSW Sydney provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

https://theconversation.com/crafting-for-good-why-we-all-want-to-knit-for-penguins-24291

It was a bit of an anti-climax, however, when news emerged that there wasn’t actually a huge demand for the sweaters – and thus many craft projects were set aside around the world.

Why was there such an enthusiasm to knit for penguins? Was it all down to the super-cute pictures of penguins in tiny sweaters – or did the desire to do some good through craft play a role? On the heels of my article for The Conversation on yarn bombing, I started thinking about the relationship between knitting for penguins versus yarn bombing a tree, or indeed knitting for more traditional ends.

Both yarn bombing and knitting for penguins are examples of a broader movement of creative forms of activism, or craftivism.

While not a new phenomenon, craftivism is playing an increasingly prominent role in the creative pursuits of activists, particularly when it comes to political and social causes.

According to Betsy Greer, aka the godmother of craftivism, and the woman who coined the term, craftivism is a way for practitioners to voice their opinions through creativity:

through activities such as teaching knitting lessons, crocheting hats for the less fortunate, and sewing blankets for abandoned animals, craftivism allows for creativity to expand previous boundaries and enter the arena of activism.

As such, craftivism describes a wide range of craft-based activities that have the ultimate aim of making the world a better place, however that is conceptualised.

Before we begin… let’s get Social!

When knitting any type of stuffed animal, there are a few things to keep in mind:

First, you will usually need to use a smaller needle than normal if you are knitting a stuffed penguin. You want tight stitches that do not let the stuffing show.

Next, for a stuffed animal to sit properly, you need to give it some weight. A bit of rice or plastic pellets work really well. I tend to use them in the bottom of my stuffies.

Finally, be careful of the amount of stuffing used in any stuffed animal. You don’t want it to have too much or too little stuffing. A lot of times people will tend to understaff and then find that their animal is floppy.