Matt & I have a saying around our house that if one of us is grumpy then we are a Grumpasaurus. I'd been batting around the idea for awhile of knitting him up a toy version of the Grumpasaur & came up with this little guy. I thought he was cute enough to share with all of you.
This was supposed to be a stocking stuffer for Christmas & then a Valentine's Day gift but I actually just finished it yesterday. I had to keep starting over to get the shapes I wanted for the body & the tail.
Of, course you don't have to make your dinosaur grumpy, have fun embroidering any expression you want. He's also pretty darn cute without the comb.
Grumpasaurus
Four size 3 double pointed needles
Jo Sharp Classic DK Wool in Pistachio & Moss (less than one ball of each)
Black Yarn for embroidery
Tapestry Needle
polyfil or other stuffing
Gauge 6 stitches per inch (gauge is not super important as this doesn’t need to fit anyone. If you have a bigger or smaller gauge you’ll have a bigger or smaller Grumpasaurus. You do want the gauge to be tight though so the stuffing doesn’t show through.)
Abbreviations
Kfb – Knit into the front & back of the same stitch, increasing one stitch
Ssk – Slip the first two stitches off the left needle onto the right needle as if to knot. Insert the left needle into the front of these two stitches & knit them together (left slanted decrease)
K2tog – knit two together (right slanted decrease)
Body:Using lighter green cast on 6 stitches. Divide equally on 3 needles. Join together being careful not to twist. Place a marker between your first & last stitch to mark rows.
Row 1: kfb into each stitch (12 stitches)
Row 2: knit
Row 3: kfb into each stitch (24 stitches)
Row 4: knit
Row 5: kfb into each stitch (48 stitches)
Row 6: knit
Row 7: kfb, k6, kfb k6, kfb, k12, kfb, k6, kfb, k6, kfb, k6 (54 stitches)
Row 8: knit
Row 9: kfb, k7, kfb, k7, kfb, k14, kfb k7, kfb, k7, kfb, k6 (60 stitches)
Rows 10–18: knit
Row 19: ssk, k7, ssk, k7, ssk, k14, k2tog, k7, k2tog, k7, k2tog, k6 (54 stitches)
Rows 20-22: knit
Row 23: ssk, k6, ssk, k6, ssk, k12, k2tog, k6, k2tog, k6, k2tog, k6 (48 stitches)
Rows 23-25: knit
Row 26: ssk, k5, ssk, k5, ssk, k10, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k6 (42 stitches)
Rows 27-29: knit
Row 30: ssk, k4, ssk, k4, ssk, k8, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k6 (36 stitches)
Rows 31-33: knit
Row 34: ssk, k3, ssk, k3, ssk, k6, k2tog, k3 k2tog, k3 k2tog, k6 (30 stitches)
Rows 35-36: knit
Row 37: ssk, k2, ssk, k2, ssk, k4, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k6 (24 stitches)
Rows: 38-39: knit
Pull your cast on tail inside & weave it in. Embroider the face on to the front (The front it the area between the last ssk & the first k2tog. The back is the 6 stitches that have been knit even.). Start stuffing the body, stuff it pretty tight to get the shape you want.
Row 40: ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k2, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k6 (18 stitches)
Row 41: knit
Row 42: ssk, ssk, ssk, k2tog, k2tog, k2tog, k6 (12 stitches)
Row 43: knit
Row 44: ssk, ssk, ssk, k2tog, k2tog, k2tog (6 stitches)
Add any additional stuffing you need. Cut yarn leaving about an 8-inch tail. Thread tail onto a tapestry needle & thread through the 6 stitches on the needles. Pull tight & weave in the end.
Tail:With lighter green cast on 34 stitches leaving a 15-inch tail. Divide equally on 3 needles. Join together being careful not to twist. Place a marker between your first & last stitch to mark rows.
Rows 1-5: knit
Row 6: ssk, k7, ssk, k6, k2tog, k7, k2tog, k6 (30 stitches)
Rows 7-11: knit
Row 12: ssk, k6, ssk, k4, k2tog, k6, k2tog, k6 (26 stitches)
Rows 13-17: knit
Row 18: ssk, k5, ssk, k2, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k6 (22 stitches)
Rows 19-23: knit
At this point sew the tail on to the back of the body with the cast on tail. I lined the 6 stitches between the last ssk & first k2tog up with the 6 stitches down the back of the body. Start stuffing the tail & continue stuffing it as you knit it.
Row 24: ssk, k4, ssk, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k6 (18 stitches)
Rows 25-29: knit
Row 30: ssk, k2, ssk, k2tog, k2 k2tog, k6 (14 stitches)
Rows 31-35: knit
Row 36: ssk, ssk, k2tog, k2tog, k6 (10 stitches)
Rows 37-41: knit
Row 42: ssk, ssk, k2tog, k2tog, k2tog (5 stitches)
Add any additional stuffing you need. Cut yarn leaving about an 8-inch tail. Thread tail onto a tapestry needle & thread through the 5 stitches on the needles. Pull tight & weave in the end.
Arms: (make 2)
Using lighter green cast on 4 stitches leaving a 6-inch tail.
Row 1: knit
Row 2: knit into each stitch 3 times, front, back & then front again (12 stitches)
Row 3: knit
Row 4: k3tog, k3tog, k3tog, k3tog (4 stitches)
Cut the yarn leaving a 6-inch tail. Thread onto a tapestry needle & thread through the 4 stitches on the needle. Put the cast on tail on a tapestry needle & weave it through the original cast on stitches. Tie the two tailed together pulling tight to form a bobble. Sew on to the body using one of the tails.
Feet: (make 2)
Using lighter green cast on 6 stitches leaving a 6-inch tail.
Row 1: knit
Row 2: knit into each stitch 3 times, front, back & then front again (18 stitches)
Row 3: knit
Row 4: k3tog, k3tog, k3tog, k3tog, k3tog (6 stitches)
Row 5: knit
Cut the yarn leaving a 6-inch tail. Thread onto a tapestry needle & thread through the 4 stitches on the needle. Put the cast on tail on a tapestry needle & weave it through the original cast on stitches. Tie the two tailed together pulling tight to form a bobble. Sew on to the body using one of the tails.
Comb:The comb is created by casting on a row & then binding it off in progressively bigger picots. (
Knitty has good descriptions & pictures of how to do a cable cast on & picot bind off.)
Cable cast on:
Put the right needle between the first & second stitch on the left needle, wrap the yarn around & pull through creating 1 stitch. Place the new stitch on the left needle.
With darker green cast on 30 stitches leaving a 15-inch tail.
Row 1: (cable cast on 1 stitch, bind off 3, place stitch on right needle back on to left)6 times, (cable cast on 2 stitches, bind off 4 stitches, place stitch on tight needle back on to left)7 times,
(cable cast on 3 stitches, bind off all remaining stitches)
Cut a 6-inch tail & pull through the last stitch.
Use the tail from the cast on to sew the comb along the back of the body & the top of the tail. Weave in bind off tail.
Copyright 2009 Kathy Lewinski.
Please do not sell my pattern, claim it as your own or teach it in a store without contacting me. You may link to it from your blog or site.
If you find any problems with this pattern please let me know. Also if you make one I'd love to see it.
