Ladybug Toy & Hairband

A good friend of mine had a lady bug themed first birthday party for her baby girl, so I wanted to make a lady bug themed gift.

I couldn't find any ladybug toy patterns that I liked, so I decided to make my own. I already had a pattern to make a large circular shape, so I just used those stitch numbers to plot a grid on excel and create the spotty pattern:



Here is the written pattern I used for the body:

Ladybug body
Using 4.00mm Needles, cast on 12 sts.
1 st row - Inc knitways once in each st to end = 24 sts.
2nd row - Purl.
3rd row - * inc in next st, K1, rep from * to end = 36 sts
4th row - Purl.
5th row - Inc 6 sts, knit row, inc last 6 sts = 48 sts
6th row - Purl.
7th row - Inc 6 sts, knit row, inc last 6 sts - 60 sts
Work 23 rows stocking st, beg with a purl row
Next row - *K2tog*x6 knit row, *k2tog*x6 = 48 sts.
Next row - Purl.Next row - *K2tog*x6 knit row, *k2tog*x6 = 36 sts.Next row - Purl.
Next row - *K2tog*x6 knit row, *k2tog*x6 = 24 sts.Next row - Purl.
Next row - *K2tog*x6 knit row, *k2tog*x6 = 12 sts.

Cut off yarn leaving a long end. Run end through rem sts, draw up tightly and fasten off securely.
Using black yarn here is the pattern for the head:

Ladybug head
CO6
Row1: *K1, Inc 1* Rep * to end (9 Sts)
Row 2: *K2, Inc1* Rep * to end (12 Sts)
Row 3: Rep Row 1 (18 Sts)
Row 4: Rep Row 2 (24 Sts)
Row 5 - 10: Knit Garter Stitch for 13 Rows
Row 11: *K2, K2tog* Rep * to end (18 Sts)
Row 12: *K1, K2tog* Rep * to end (12 Sts)
Row 13: Rep Row 11 (9 Sts)
Row 14: Rep Row 12 (6 Sts)


I used a colour changed to incorporate eyes, which you can do using the same method or sew these on after with some white thread. I attached the head to the body, but left a little opening to stuff in some polyester filling before finishing it off.


For the headband, I had this cute summertime headband pattern pinned on pintrest for a while so decided to adapt it slightly to fit a one year olds head; I simply cast on 9 instead of 18 and knitted until I got to 14 inches. It's a really pretty knit and I was happy with how it turned out.

 To make the small ladybug that went on the headband I used a pink yarn and made a small ball; unfortunately I can't remember the exact number of stitches I used a similar pattern that I did for the caterpillar body, only fewer stitches. I stuffed the ladybug with polyester filling, then used black yarn to sew on a face, and white yarn to do the spots and eyes. Once I had finished I attached the small ladybug to the headband!