I love knitting Gingerbread men, and this pattern is so easy and quick.
I think Gingerbread men are such fun, baking, decorating and then eating them, Yummy!!
Telling the story of the cheeky little character to my daughter, my favourite version is the classic Ladybird book, from the Well Loved Tales series- the illustrations are beautiful, I recall telling myself the story just from the pictures before I could even read!
This year I’ve been playing with different yarn thickness to make a range of knitted Gingerbread man sizes. I’ve created them small enough to hang on a tree, without weighing down the branches, and large enough for a child to cuddle. And a couple of mid range sizes too.
This is my most recent project, he’s my largest toy Gingerbread man. I think he’s just the right size for a child to cuddle, but he’s still a super fast, last minute knitting project. I made him in just one evening, whilst watching TV.
For this largest cuddly fella, I use King Cole Super Chunky yarn. I knitted him using big chunky knitting needles, they are the “drumsticks” you can see in the photo!
You can also see I used less than one ball of yarn.
I’ll list full yarn and needle sizes etc at the end of this blog post. I think that’s easier for you , than scanning through the text to find the information.
From one extreme to the other- this is my smallest knitted gingerbread man. He’s perfect to hang on my tree or tuck in amongst my Christmas decorations- he’d even fit nicely on a wreath.
I used cotton 4 ply which was lovely to knit with, again this quick project took less than one mini ball. I originally got the 4ply mini balls to make mini Gingerbread men and Nutcracker men for my tree last year. I ran out of time and only knitted the Nutcrackers, they are fun to make but take a little more time to assemble.
Just had to show you this photo of the smallest Gingerbread man so you can see just how little and cute he is.
And here’s one of my standard size creations- this is the size you’ll get using normal double knit /light worsted yarn. I’ve lost track of how many of these I’ve knitted and gifted. I thought a mince pie would be a good addition to show you the size of him. And any way I really , really like mince pies, so this is amazing to see one without a bite out of it!
I made just one more, just to see the size difference. I tried out some Aran weight yarn, he’s the largest guy at the bottom of this picture. I think he works well and I like the shade too. I gave him larger eyes than I usually choose to give him a more child like face, I think it worked well?
The knitting tech' bit!
When you are playing with different yarns for your own projects do remember, to use smaller needles than those recommended so that the finished knit is a nice close weave that holds its shape and the stuffing does not poke through.
So here we go- Here’s a summary of information for you. All the needles, yarns, eye sizes, buttons and finished sizes.
Largest- 27cm/10.5 inches tall
Yarn- King Cole Super Chunky
Shade- Brass 3400 -70g
Needles- 8mm /UK0 US11
Eyes -14mm
Buttons -10mm
Aran weight yarn - 15cm /6 inches tall
Yarn-Paintbox Yarns, Simply Aran
Shade -Soft Fudge 209
Needles - 4mm /UK8 /US6
Eyes-9mm
Buttons 8mm
Standard size as given in the pattern- 12cm /4.5 inches tall
Yarn - Stylecraft special DK
Shade -Spice 1711
Needles -3.5mm/Uk10 /US4
Eyes- 6mm
Buttons- 5mm
Smallest -10cm/4 inches tall
Yarn- Must Have Yarn Minis 4ply cotton
Shade - Satay 026
Needles -2mm /UK14 /US0
Eyes - 6mm
Buttons -4mm
Last but not least, here are the pattern links-
one click to find links to the digital or printed pattern. on Etsy, Ravelry etc
So… Don’t be afraid to experiment with different yarns!
Also if you are making hats from the pattern- use the same weight of yarn and needle size as you used for the Gingerbread man- you’ll be fine!
Happy Knitting
Claire