Hey friends! Guess what....today is a very exciting day. I have a FREE, full-sized knitting pattern for you guys! Are you excited? I am. Wait, did I already say I was excited?
So, my friend Jen started a yarn company last year, Cedar House Yarns, and as soon as I found out, I knew we needed to do a project together. So she sent me a pile of yarn, and this is what I turned it into. I have written the whole pattern into this post, but you can also download it through the link at the bottom of this page. Just keep scrolling to find it.
Please be sure to go check out and buy some of her yarn, her colors are beautifully saturated and rich, and the bases are lovely to work with and feel great as they slide through you fingers. www.cedarhouseyarns.com The little viking was knit with her Sapling Sock Sprouts, which are only eight bucks a piece. I love it!
Here, we, go!
Magnus Ragnar the Victorious Viking Knitting Pattern
A Little Bit About Magnus Ragnar
Magnus Ragnar is named after Jen of Cedar House Yarns son. She and I have been friends for years and so when I found out she had started a yarn company, I knew we needed to collaborate. And when I thought collaborate, I immediately thought Viking since her son is Magnus Ragnar.
So, to celebrate yarn Magnus, here is a Viking poem (written by Magnus Ragnar's dad and Jen's husband, Eric the Red). In case you are not versed in Viking culture, to "go Viking" means to sail on a longship, a creation nearly synonymous with Viking culture.
Magnus has gone Viking
From wind and wave striking
His deeds sung in glory
His ancestors tell the story
Seafaring to victory
His name, sealed in history
Magnus has gone Viking
Materials
Yarn
80-110 yards of yarn for the shirt and pants (A)
50-75 yards of skin color yarn for face, nose, ears, hands, and thumbs (B)
75-100 yards of yarn for hat, boots, belt (C)
50-75 yards of yarn for tunic (D)
70-100 yards of yarn for beard and hair (E)
15-25 yards of scrap white or gray yarn for hat base and horn (F) Alternately I used the same color as the body.
Needles
40” circular needle (for Magic Loop Method) in a size about 2 sizes smaller than those recommended for your yarn (example: yarn says U.S. size 8, use a size 6, or maybe even 5 instead)
40” circular needle (for Magic Loop Method) 1 size larger than your main needle (for Tunic, creates a slightly looser fabric for a part where stuffing wont show through)
Gauge
One of the greatest things about knitting toys is gauge doesn’t matter! For those of you who detest gauging as much as me, this is the perfect project for you. Simply use smaller needles than those recommended for your yarn to create a tighter knit fabric so that the stuffing doesn’t show through. My rule of thumb is to go down 2 or 3 needle sizes from the smallest size recommended for your yarn. This also means this pattern can be worked in any size of yarn! Try sock yarn for little nugget gnome, or worsted for a medium gnome great for tucking places in your house, or bulky for a big gnome perfect for hugs.
Notions
Scissors, tapestry needle, safety eyes/buttons/scrap yarn for eyes, stuffing, 15 removable stitch markers, or 14 removable markers and one not removable (to mark beginning of round), yarn holders (optional), row counter (optional, but very helpful), pins for making up (optional), Celtic knit button (3) for belt (optional, determine size based on the finished size of your viking).
Notes
Make a Loop:
- Knit the next stitch, hold the stitch on the needle LH needle and do not transfer it to the RH needle (as to finish the st).
- Bring the working yarn forward between the two needles.
- Move your thumb to where the yarn comes between the needles. Wrap the working yarn around you thumb, and run it back between the two needles, setting yourself up to work the next stitch on your RH needle.
- Knit the same stitch you knitted before looping, and transfer to the RH needle to complete the stitch
Note: This version of loop stitch will add an extra stitch every time you make a loop, which will be evened out with the rest of the stitch pattern.
If the making a loop part seems confusing you can check out the videos on youtube.com (Here’s one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGKlbG_tHjI). Just remember the version here is a modified version and only the loop making part is the same.
Modified Loop Stitch
R1: (Make a loop, K2tog) around
R2: (K2tog, Make a Loop) around
Repeat these two rounds to create your stitch.
Directions
Knit the Body
The body is knit entirely in A.
Using A and Turkish Cast On, CO 36 sts (18 loops). PM to indicate beg of rnd and join to begin knitting the body in the round using Magic Loop Method:
R1: Knit all sts from Turkish Cast On (36 total Sts)
Stop and place removable stitch markers in center of CO row below 7th and 11th sts in CO row (this marks where legs will be picked up).
R2: (KFB, K16, KFB) twice (40 sts)
R3: Knit all sts
R4: (KFB, K18, KFB) twice (44 sts)
R5: Knit all sts
R6: (KFB, K20, KFB) twice (48 sts)
R7-R37: Knit all sts.
After R37, stop and place a removable stitch marker in 4th, 21st, 27th, and 46th sts of rnd 37. These markers will be where you pick up sts for arms.
R38 & R39: Knit all sts
R40: (K1, SSK, K18, K2tog, K1) twice (44 sts)
R41: Knit all sts
R42: (K1, SSK, K16, K2tog, K1) twice (40 sts)
R43: Knit all sts. After R43, stop and place a removable stitch marker in 3rd, 18th, 23rd, and 38 sts of rnd 43. These markers will be where you pick up sts for the head.
placing markers for head
R44: (SSK, K16, K2tog) twice (36 sts)
Cut your yarn, leaving an 18” or longer tail. Stuff the body now. Once the body is stuffed, use the Kitchener Stitch to close up the top of the body. You will want to add your last bits of stuffing as you finish closing up the seam.
Knit The Head
The head is knit entirely in skin color.
To Knit Separately, CO 32 sts, then just knit all sts of R1 and work rest of pattern as written.
R1: Using B color and starting in marker from st #3 on R43, PU 16 sts, 1 per stitch to marker in st #18. Then, flip to other end of your needle tip, and heading opposite direction (toward first st picked up), PU same 16 sts starting in st #23 and working towards st #38. You will now have 32 sts on your needles. First st picked up is first st of rnd. PM to indicate beg of rnd and beg to work in rnd using Magic Loop Method:
R2-R20: Knit all sts. Place removable st markers as you work:
R9: PM in sts 1 & 17 to mark for ears
R10: PM in sts 7 & 10 to mark for nose
R12: PM in sts 7 & 10 to mark for nose
R17: PM in sts 16 & 32 to make for ears
R21: (K1, SSK, K10, K2tog, K1) twice (28 sts)
R22: Knit all sts
R23: (K1, SSK, K8, K2tog, K1) twice (24 sts)
R24: (K1, SSK, K6, K2tog, K1) twice (20 sts)
R25: (K1, SSK, K4, K2tog, K1) twice (16 sts)
Stuff the head now. Add eyes using the nose markers to help determine where they should go. Cut your yarn, leaving an 18” or longer tail and use the Kitchener Stitch to close up the top of the head. Alternately you can place the live sts on waste yarn and wait until you have knit the ears and nose before you attach the eyes. Once the eyes are in place, you can slip the sts back to your needles and close the head then.
Knit the Nose
Nose is knit entirely in B.
To Knit Separately, CO 10 sts, then just knit all sts of R1 and work rest of pattern as written and whipstitch to the face once finished.
R1: Using B and starting with marked st 7 on R10 of the head, PU 4 sts, 1 stitch per stitch across the face. Next, PU 1 sts from R11 of the head, in line with the last stitch picked up from R10. Then, flip to other end of your needle tip, move up 1 round to marked st #10 from R12 of the head, and PU the same 4 sts 1 round up, toward first st picked up. Finally, PU 1 st from R11, in line with the last st picked up on R12. You will now have 10 sts on your needles. First st picked up is first st of rnd. PM to indicate beg of rnd and beg to work in rnd using Magic Loop Method:
R2:-R5: Knit all sts
R6: K2tog five times around (5 sts)
Lightly stuff the nose. Cut your yarn and using a tapestry needle, pull it through the remaining sts to close up the nose
Knit the Left Ear
Ears are knit entirely in B.
To Knit Separately, CO 18 sts, then just knit all sts of R1 and work rest of pattern as written.
R1: Using B and starting with marked st #1 on R9 of the head, PU 9 sts, 1 stitch per round towards the top of the head. Then, flip to other end of your needle tip, move over 1 stitch to marked st #32 from R17 of the head, and PU the same 9 sts 1 stitch over, heading toward first st picked up. You will now have 18 sts on your needles. First st picked up is first st of rnd. PM to indicate beg of rnd and beg to work in rnd using Magic Loop Method.
R2-R4: Knit all sts
R5: K2tog nine times around (9 sts)
Stuff ears as desired (samples are unstuffed). Cut your yarn and using a tapestry needle, pull it through the remaining sts to close up the ear.
Knit the Right Ear
Repeat above instructions starting in marked st #17 from R9 of the head and moving toward marked st #16 from R17 of the head to make the second ear.
Knit the Left Arm
To Knit Separately, CO 14 sts, then just knit all sts of R1 and work rest of pattern as written.
R1: Using A and starting with marked st #46 on R37 of the body, PU 7 sts, 1 stitch per stitch toward marked st #4. Then, flip to other end of your needle tip, move up 1 round and PU the same 7 sts 1 round up, toward first st picked up. You will now have 14 sts on your needles. Be sure the beg of the round is to the back of the body for correct thumb placement. First st picked up is first st of rnd. PM to indicate beg of rnd and beg to work in rnd using Magic Loop Method.
R2-R54: Using A, knit all sts
R55 & R56: Switch to B. Knit all sts. You will remain in B to the end of the arm.
R57: (KFB, K5, KFB) twice (18 sts)
R58: K8, PM, KFB, KFB, PM, K8 to end of round (20 sts)
R59: Knit to marker, SM, KFB, knit to 1 before marker, KFB, SM, knit to end of round (22 sts)
R60: Knit to marker, SM, KFB, knit to 1 before marker, KFB, SM, knit to end of round (24 sts)
R61: K8, remove marker, k1, place next 6 sts on waste yarn. Pulling yarn across gap, k1, remove marker, knit last 8 sts to the end of the round. 6 sts on waste yarn for thumb, 18 sts rem on needles.
R62-R71: Knit all sts.
R72: (K1, SSK, K3, K2tog, K1) twice (14 sts)
Cut your yarn, leaving an 18” or longer tail. Stuff the hand now. Use the Kitchener Stitch to close the hand.
Knit the Thumb
Thumb is knit entirely in B.
To Knit Separately, CO 10 sts, then just knit all sts of R1 (don’t add any where you PU in R1) and work rest of pattern as written.
Place 6 sts from waste yarn onto needles. Starting on outside of thumb (away from palm), work in rnd using Magic Loop Method:
R1: K3, PU 2 from join between thumb and palm, slide sts to cable, PU 2 additional sts from same spot, K3 to end of rnd (10 sts)
R2-R7: Knit all sts
R8: K2tog five times (5 sts)
Lightly stuff the thumb. Cut your yarn and using a tapestry needle, pull it through the remaining sts to close up the thumb.
Knit the Right Arm
Repeat above instructions starting in marked st #27 and moving toward marked st #21 from R37 of the body to make the second arm. Be sure beginning of the round is to the back of the arm for correct thumb placement. Be sure to knit the second thumb as well.
Knit the Left Leg
To Knit Separately, CO 18 sts, then just knit all sts of R1 and work rest of pattern as written.
R1: Using A and starting in marked st #7 from the base of the body, PU 7 sts toward the outside edge of the body. Then, PU 2 more sts from the increase rounds up the side of the body (look for the “bar” from the KFB’s). Next, using the other end of your needle tip, begin at marked st #7 again, move towards the front of the body 1 stitch and PU the same 9 sts 1 stitch forward, toward first st picked up. You will now have 18 sts on your needles. First st picked up is first st of the round, beginning of round will be to the outside of the body. Be sure the beginning of the round is to the back of body for correct heel and foot placement. PM to indicate beg of rnd and beg to work in rnd using Magic Loop Method.
R2-R35: Using A, knit all sts
R36: Knit all sts in C. You will remain in C to the end of the foot.
R37-R42: Repeat R1 & R2 of Modified Loop Stitch (see notes)
R43-R62: Knit all sts
Begin the heel by working just the first 9 sts of the round, and holding the last 9 sts of the round on the cable of your needle.
Row 1: Sl1, knit to end. Turn.
Row 2: Sl1, purl to end. Turn.
Repeat Rows 1 & 2 three more times until 8 total rows have been worked. You will end with a purl row.
R1 of foot: Knit across 9 heel sts once more. Using the same needle tip, PU 6 sts from the gusset edge. Flip to the other needle tip and knit the 9 held sts. Using the same needle tip, PU 6 sts from the gusset edge. You'll now have 30 total sts and a new beginning of round with the next st to be knitted, PM to indicate beginning of round.
R2: K9, K2tog twice, K13, SSK twice (26 sts)
R3: Knit all sts
R4: K9, K2tog twice, K9, SSK twice (22 sts)
R5-R20: Knit all sts
R21: (K1, K2tog five times) twice (12 sts)
Stuff the foot now. Cut your yarn and using a tapestry needle, pull it through the remaining sts to close up the foot.
Knit the Right Leg
Repeat these instructions starting in marked st #12 from the base of the body and moving toward the outside of the body, then moving forward and picking up the same 9 sts 1 st forward to make sure the beginning of the round is to the back of the body again to make the second leg. Beginning of the round will be to the inside of the leg.
Knit the Tunic
Tunic is knit entirely in D.
Using D, CO 52 sts onto your larger needle. PM to indicate beg of rnd and join to begin knitting the tunic in the round using Magic Loop Method:
R1-R3: (K1, P1) around
R4-R43: Knit all sts
Divide for Top:
Row 1: K8, K2tog twice, K1. Turn (11 sts)
Row 2: P11. Turn
Row 3: K6, K2tog twice, K1. Turn (9 sts)
Row 4: P9. Turn
Row 5: K4, K2tog twice, K1. Turn (7 sts)
Row 6: P7. Turn
Row 7: K2, K2tog twice, K1. Turn (5 sts)
Row 8: P5. Turn
Row 9: K5. Turn
Row 10: P5. Turn
Cut your yarn leaving a long tail for Kitchener Stitch and place these 5 sts on waste yarn or a yarn holder.
Move to the next 13 sts: Start at the inside next edge (the next st to be worked before you turned after R43)
Row 1: K1, SSK twice, K8. Turn (11 sts)
Row 2: P11. Turn
Row 3: K1, SSK twice, K6. Turn (9 sts)
Row 4: P9. Turn
Row 5: K1, SSK twice, K4. Turn (7 sts)
Row 6: P7. Turn
Row 7: K1, SSK twice, K2. Turn (5 sts)
Row 8: P5. Turn
Row 9: K5. Turn
Row 10: P5. Turn
Cut your yarn leaving a long tail for Kitchener Stitch and place these 5 sts on waste yarn or a yarn holder.
Move to the remaining 26 sts from R43:
Row 1: K1, SSK, K20, K2tog, K1. Turn (24 sts)
Row 2: Purl all sts. Turn
Row 3-Row 8: Work all sts in Stockinette St.
Row 9: Knit all sts. Turn
Row 10: P1, P2tog tbl, P3, BO next 12 sts, P3, P2tog, P1. (5 sts per side remain, 12 sts bound off in center)
Place sts of shoulders onto one needle tip, with sts from back on the second needle tip. Cut your yarn and use kitchener st to attach each shoulder to the back of the tunic, using the ends you left when you did the front shoulders (you may have to slip your sts around on your needles or use a second needle to set this up to work correctly).
Knit the Hat
Using F, CO 36 sts. PM to indicate beg of rnd and join to begin knitting the hat in the round using Magic Loop Method:
R1: (K1, P1) around
R2: (P1, K1) around
R3 & R4: Repeat R1 & R2
R5: Repeat R1 once more
R6-R17: Switch to C and knit all sts. You will remain in C to the top of the hat. Stop and place removable markers as you work:
R7: PM in sts 1 & 19 to mark for horns.
R14: PM in sts 18 & 36 to mark for horns.
R18: (K2, K2tog) around (27 sts)
R19: Knit all sts
R20: (K1, K2tog) around (18 sts)
R21: Knit all sts
R22: K2tog around (9 sts)
Cut your yarn and pull it through the remaining sts to close the hat.
Knit the Left Horn
Horns are knit entirely in F.
To Knit Separately, CO 16 sts, then just knit all sts of R1 and work rest of pattern as written.
R1: Using F and starting with marked st #1 on R7 of the hat, PU 8 sts, 1 stitch per round towards the top of the hat. Then, flip to other end of your needle tip, move over 1 stitch to marked st #36 from R14 of the head, and PU the same 8 sts 1 stitch over, heading toward first st picked up. You will now have 16 sts on your needles. First st picked up is first st of rnd, be sure the beginning of the round is towards the bottom of the hat for correct horn shaping. PM to indicate beg of rnd and beg to work in rnd using Magic Loop Method.
R2 & R3: Knit all sts
R4: SSK, knit to last 2 sts, K2tog (14 sts)
R5: Knit all sts
R6: SSK, knit to last 2 sts, K2tog (12 sts)
R7: Knit all sts
R8: SSK, knit to last 2 sts, K2tog (10 sts)
R9: Knit all sts
R10: SSK, knit to last 2 sts, K2tog (8 sts)
R11: Knit all sts
R12: SSK, knit to last 2 sts, K2tog (6 sts)
R13: Knit all sts
R14: SSK, knit to last 2 sts, K2tog (4 sts)
R15: Knit all sts
You can stuff the horns as you wish, the small samples are unstuffed, the large samples are lightly stuffed. If you do wish to stuff the horns, begin stuffing around R9. Once stuffed, cut your yarn and using a tapestry needle, pull it through the remaining sts to close up the horn.
Knit the Right Horn
Repeat above instructions starting in marked st #19 from R7 of the hat and moving toward marked st #36 from R14 of the hat to make the second horn.
Knit the Belt
Using C and Provisional Cast On, CO 6 sts. Do not join.
Row 1-Row 100: Knit all sts
Alternately you can not keep track of rows but just knit until the belt first snuggly around your viking’s waist.
Slip prov CO sts to the second needle. Use 3 needle bind off to attach prov cast on sts to the end sts and make the belt into a circle. Be sure to bind off on wrong side. Add buttons to the belt as desired.
Knit the Beard
Beard is knit entirely in E.
Using E and Turkish Cast On, CO 40 sts (20 loops). PM to indicate beg of rnd and join to begin knitting the body in the round using Magic Loop Method:
R1: Knit all sts from Turkish Cast On (40 total Sts)
R2: (KFB, K18, KFB) twice (44 sts)
R3-R12: Knit all sts
R13: (K1, SSK, K16, K2tog, K1) twice (40 sts)
R14: Knit all sts
R15: (K1, SSK, K14, K2tog, K1) twice (36 sts)
R16: Knit all sts
R17: (K1, SSK, K12, K2tog, K1) twice (32 sts)
R18: Knit all sts
R19: (K1, SSK, K10, K2tog, K1) twice (28 sts)
R20: Knit all sts
R21: (K1, SSK, K8, K2tog, K1) twice (24 sts)
R22: Knit all sts
R23: (K1, SSK, K6, K2tog, K1) twice (20 sts)
R24: Knit all sts
R25: (K1, SSK, SSK, K2tog, K2tog) twice (12 sts)
R26: K2tog six times around (6 sts)
Cut your yarn and using a tapestry needle, pull it through the remaining sts to close up the beard.
Knit the Mustache
Mustache is knit entirely in E.
Using E, CO 6 sts. PM to indicate beg of rnd and join to begin knitting the hat in the round using Magic Loop Method:
R1-R5: Knit all sts
R6: K2, KFB twice, K2 to end of round (8 sts)
R7: Knit all sts
R8: SSK, K1, KFB twice, K1, K2tog (8 sts)
R9: Knit all sts
R10: K3, KFB twice, K3l to end of round (10 sts)
R11: Knit all sts
R12: K3, K2tog, SSK, K3 to end of round (8 sts)
R13: Knit all sts
R14: (SSK, K2tog) twice (4 sts)
R15: Knit all sts
R16: KFB all sts (8 sts)
R17: Knit all sts
R18: K3, KFB twice, K3 to end of round (10 sts)
R19: Knit all sts
R20: K3, K2tog, SSK, K3 to end of round (8 sts)
R21: Knit all sts
R22: KFB, K1, K2tog, SSK, K1, KFB (8 sts)
R23: Knit all sts
R24: K2, K2tog, SSK, K2 to end of round (6 sts)
R25-R30: Knit all sts
Cut your yarn and using a tapestry needle, pull it through the remaining sts to close up the mustache. Don't stuff. The dip in center goes up to nose.
Finish Your Viking
If Knit Separately: Whipstitch arms, legs, nose and ears to the body using removable stitch markers for placement reference.
If Knit In One Piece: Weave in any remaining ends.
For both: Add eyes now if you didn't earlier. Pin beard to the face so the top edge of the beards just about lines up with the bottom edge of the ears. Use a running stitch to sew across the top edge up the beard, across the face and to the other ear. Pin the mustache in place right under the nose and use a running stitch to tack it in place (I like it so the ends are not sewn down and give the stache a little more dimension. Slip the tunic over the viking’s head and the belt onto his waist.
To make hair like on my samples, you will want to cut a bunch (read, a bunch) of pieces of hair. For my small viking the pieces were 6” long. For my bigger viking they were 12” long. The finished size is really going to depend on how long you want the hair. You can cut a couple sample pieces before you decide.
To attach each hair, and yes the hair is added one piece at a time, I put a piece of hair into my tapestry needle, run the tapestry needle under the 2 loops of a stitch, drop the needle, find the center of the piece of hair, and then tie the hair in a square knot, knotting twice to hold the hair in place. Then I move on to the next hair and the next stitch, and do the whole thing over again. And again. And again.
To determine my hairline shape, I used the decrease stitches at the top of the head as a guide, then I made a circle around the top of the head, along down behind the ear, across a straight line of what I felt would be the bottom of the hairline, and back up behind the other ear. It came out like a “D” on its side. Then, I ran two rows of hair down the center of the “D”, right next to each other, along where I wanted the part. Again I put a piece of hair into each and every stitch of these two lines.
Lots of work I know, but I think totally worth it for the gorgeous head full of luscious locks. You can chose to leave your viking bald if you prefer!
If you need help with anything in this pattern, check out my Frequent Questions page:
http://rebeccadanger.typepad.com/rebecca_danger/frequent-questions.html
If your question is not listed, leave a comment here below and I will get back to it as soon as I am able. You can also check out the Danger Crafts group on Ravelry.
Terms Used In This Pattern Can Be Found On My Blog: http://rebeccadanger.typepad.com/rebecca_danger/2012/01/knitting-pattern-terms.html
Samples Shown In This Pattern
Small Viking:
Sapling Sock Sprouts from Cedar House Yarn in Oyster (A & F), Toasted Marshmallow (B), Smoked Porter (C), Moss (D), and Robin Red-Breast (E)
9 mm safety eyes
Us Size 0 Needles
Approx. 12” tall
Large Viking:
Old Growth Worsted from Cedar House Yarn in Oyster (A & F), Toasted Marshmallow (B), Ink (C), A Land Far Away (D), and Ginger (E)
9 mm safety eyes
Us Size 4 Needles
Approx. 17” tall
Download Danger Crafts Magnus Viking Knitting Pattern
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