Knit up the sweetest little pal with this free polar bear knitting pattern. Made with Red Heart Hygge Fur yarn for the softest, cuddliest pal ever.
If you’re looking for a fun and furry knit, look no farther. This little guy looks tricky, but he is knit flat and can be made quickly. I actually knit him in a weekend!
Design Story and Inspiration for this Polar Bear Knitting Pattern
I’ve wanted to design a knit animal for quite a while, and I finally got around to it!
I wanted something winter themed that could be part of our Holiday Maker’s Challenge so I decided a polar bear was just the thing!
The Holiday Maker’s Challenge is closed for this year, but the 2021 challenge will kick off in October! You can still make this adorable little guy, of course!
About the Yarn
I fell in love with this Hygge Fur yarn when I was perusing my local JoAnn store.
I already love the regular Hygge yarn and was checking it out when I saw this yarn right next to it and immediately envisioned all the stuffies I could make out of this super soft yarn.
There were several things I loved about it while knitting and finishing this project (besides the feel of it!).
First, I really love that I didn’t have to purl. No offense to the purl stitch, but I’d rather use the knit stitch any day! With the fur yarn, no need to worry about which is the right side.
Second, the seams pretty much disappear with this yarn! After sewing the seam, just fluff the fur part around it a little and voila – you can’t see it!
Before we begin… let’s get Social
I would love for you to come follow me on
Instagram (get sneak peeks of what’s coming up!)
My Facebook Page (come join the fun!)
Follow me on Pinterest (I pin tons of free patterns to my boards!)
Join my Facebook group (lots of awesome crochet talk there)
Also, you can find me on Ravelry or join more than 13K subscribers on YouTube.
Polar Bear Knitting Pattern Details
This little guy is knit on straight needles and seamed. I used the mattress stitch to seam but it is not necessary with this yarn.
The head and body are knit down to the last several stitches, then the yarn is cut and the stitches that are left are pulled taut, like the top of a beanie.
The legs and arms are bound off. Then the cast on edge is gathered to close the end of the hand/foot and the seam is stitched.
Helpful hints: When stuffing, make sure you shred the stuffing before using it or you will get lumps. Stuff firmly, but be careful not to add too much. I always go by feel. 🙂
The Cutest Polar Bear Knitting Pattern
What You’ll Need
Yarn: Red Heart Hygge Fur, 1 skein Cotton Tail, small amount of scrap black worsted yarn for embroidery
Needles: US Size 6 (4.00mm)
Notions: Yarn needle, polyester fiberfill, safety eyes and nose (optional – please embroider eyes and nose if giving to a small child), scissors
Finished Size: Approximately 13″ tall standing
Polar Bear Knitting Pattern
Head
Cast on 16 sts.
Row 1: Knit.
Row 2 (Inc row): *Inc, k1; repeat from * to end (24 sts).
Row 3: Knit.
Row 4 (Inc row): Repeat row 2 (36 sts).
Row 5: Knit.
Row 6: *Inc, k2; repeat from * to end (48 sts).
Rows 7-15: Knit.
Row 16 (Dec row): *K2, k2tog; repeat from * to end (36 sts).
Rows 17-21: Knit.
Row 22 (Dec row): Repeat row 16 (27 sts).
Rows 23-25: Knit.
Row 26 (Dec row): *K1, k2tog; repeat from * to end (18 sts).
Rows 27-31: Knit.
Row 32: *K2tog; repeat to end (9 sts).
Row 33: Knit.
Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Weave tail through remaining sts and pull up tightly to secure nose end.
Sew row ends together, leaving cast on edge open for stuffing.
Place safety eyes and nose securely on if using, or embroider eyes and nose for small children.
Stuff firmly. Flatten seam at back of head and sew a horizontal seam in back.
Knit Polar Bear Video Tutorial
Body
Cast on 16 sts.
Row 1: Knit.
Row 2 (Inc row): *Inc, k1; repeat from * to end (24 sts).
Row 3: Knit.
Row 4 (Inc row): Repeat row 2 (36 sts).
Row 5: Knit.
Row 6 (Inc row): *Inc, k2; repeat from * to end (48 sts).
Rows 7-21: Knit.
Row 22 (Dec row): *K4, k2tog; repeat from * to end (40 sts).
Rows 23-35: Knit.
Row 36 (Dec row): *K3, k2tog; repeat from * to end (32 sts).
Rows 37-43: Knit.
Row 44 (Dec row): (K4, k2tog) twice, k8, (k2tog, k4) twice (28 sts).
Rows 45-47: Knit.
Row 48 (Dec row): K4, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k8, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k4 (24 sts).
Row 49: Knit.
Row 50: *K1, k2tog; repeat from * to end (16 sts).
Row 51: Knit.
Row 52: *K2tog; repeat from * to end (8 sts).
Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Weave tail through remaining sts to close top.
Sew row ends together for back seam, leaving cast on edge open for stuffing.
Stuff firmly, then sew bottom closed with a vertical seam.
Leg (Make 2)
Cast on 16 sts.
Row 1: Knit.
Row 2 (Inc row): *Inc, k1; repeat from * to end (24 sts).
Row 3: Knit.
Row 4 (Inc row): *Inc, k2; repeat from * to end (32 sts).
Rows 5-9: Knit.
Row 10 (Dec row): *K6, k2tog; repeat from * to end (28 sts).
Rows 11-14: Knit.
Row 15 (Dec row): *K3, k2tog; repeat from * to end (24 sts).
Rows 16-30: Knit.
Row 31 (Dec row): *K4, k2tog; repeat from * to end (20 sts).
Use cast on tail edge to gather the cast on edge of leg, pulling tightly to secure. Sew back seam of leg, leaving bound off edge open for stuffing.
Stuff firmly. With the seam at inside edge, sew leg opening closed, then sew top of leg to body as seen in photos.
Arm (Make 2)
Cast on 10 sts.
Row 1: Knit.
Row 2 (Inc row): *Inc, k1; repeat from * to end (15 sts).
Row 3: Knit.
Row 4 (Inc row): *Inc, k2; repeat from * to end (20 sts).
Rows 5-6: Knit.
Row 7 (Dec row): *K8, k2tog; repeat from * to end (18 sts).
Row 8: Knit.
Row 9 (Dec row): *K7, k2tog; repeat from * to end (16 sts).
Rows 10-15: Knit.
Row 16 (Dec row): *K6, k2tog; repeat from * to end (14 sts).
Rows 17-21: Knit.
Row 22 (Dec row): *K5, k2tog; repeat from * to end (12 sts).
Row 23: Knit.
Row 24: K1, k2tog, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1 (10 sts).
Row 25: Knit.
Rows 26-27: Repeat rows 24-25 (8 sts).
Row 28: (K2tog) four times (4 sts).
Bind off.
With cast on tail, gather cast on edge of each arm, pulling tightly to close.
Sew seam up arm, stuffing as you go. Stitch arm completely closed and attach to side of body as seen in photos.
Tail
Cast on 20 sts.
Rows 1-2: Knit.
Row 3 (Dec row): K2, k2tog, k to last 4 sts, k2tog, k2 (18 sts).
Row 4: Knit.
Rows 5-8: Repeat rows 3-4 (14 sts).
Row 9 (Dec row): K2, *k2tog, k1; repeat from * to end (10 sts).
Row 10: Knit.
Row 11 (Dec row): K1, *k2tog, k1; repeat from * to end (7 sts).
Row 12: Knit.
Row 13 (Dec row): K1, *k2tog; repeat from * to end (4 sts).
Row 14: Knit.
Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Weave end through remaining sts and pull tightly to secure.
Sew row ends together. Stuff if desired (I left mine unstuffed). Sew open end of tail to lower edge of back as seen in photos.
Ear (Make 2)
Cast on 4 sts.
Row 1: Knit.
Row 2 (Inc row): Inc, k2, inc (6 sts).
Rows 3-7: Knit.
Row 8: *K2tog; repeat from * to end (3 sts).
Row 9: Knit.
Row 10 (Inc row): Inc in each st (6 sts).
Rows 11-15: Knit.
Row 16 (Dec row): K2tog, k2, k2tog (4 sts).
Bind off.
Fold ears in half and sew around outer edge. Sew ears to top of head as seen in photos.
Finishing
Embroider mouth and paws as seen in photos, if desired.
Weave in any ends if they were not used for seaming.
You Might Also Like…
That’s it!
Today we learned how to make the Cutest Polar Bear Knitting Pattern! I hope you love it as much as I do.
<3 Amanda
Lovely pattern, I’ve read through it a few times and do not see which increase we are to use, I wonder if it’s KFB?
Yes, I used kfb. With a furry yarn it doesn’t really matter because you can’t see the stitches, so if you have another you’d like to use (M1, etc), then feel free to use that.
Hi there i’m afraid i’m not off to a very good start , I don’t understand the first row.I read it as increase 1st st then k1 and repeat across row but that gives me 32 sts please help I so want to knit this bear.
Hi! Yes, you increase (knit front and back) in the first st and then knit the second stitch. This should increase 8 sts across the row to 24. Sounds like you are increasing in each st, which doubles the stitch count.