I’ve got another garter stitch only project for you this week! I’ve had so much fun compiling garter stitch patterns from around the web, and sharing with you my Garter Be Kidding Me bow headband, that I couldn’t wait to share another garter stitch pattern with you. This easy little cube toy would be a great present for a toddler, and is a brilliant way to use up your left over 8ply acrylic yarn.

Today’s project is a really simple coloured toy cube, with matching coloured balls. They can be used in all kinds of ways.

• Throw the cube and ask your child to find the ball that matches the colour it lands on
• Throw the cube and get your child to find something else in the room that matches the colour
• Make lots of cubes and use them as building blocks
• Add some numbers or dots to the cube with felt to turn it into a die, and knit enough balls to match the number on each cube face to turn it into a number-learning toy

For those of you who are new to knitting, you may be wondering what I’m talking about when I say garter stitch. Garter stitch is the stitch that you get when you just knit “plain”, that first stitch everyone learns when they first start to knit. It creates a bumpy, reversible fabric. So if you’re a beginner knitter and want to know what to do with those random squares you’ve made in your practise, look no further than this post, and the ones I linked above.

You will need to know basic increasing and decreasing to make the balls, as well as some seaming techniques. Below are some links to tutorials for the techniques you’ll need to make this cube.

• Long tail cast on
• Basic cast off (aka bind off)
• Basic increase (knit front and back, or kfb)
• Basic decrease (knit two together, or k2tog)
• Whip stitch
• Mattress stitch
• Weaving in ends

Like I mentioned in last week’s Yarn Along post, my husband and I are seriously considering home schooling our little girl Peanut (don’t worry, not her real name) and any future siblings she may have. I was already interested in the way kids learn, being a psychologist by training and all, but thinking about home schooling now has me personally invested in a little person’s education. It’s both absolutely fascinating and daunting at the same time.

Peanut is 17 months old now and learning like a sponge. She’s only been talking for six months but she’s already learning lots of letter sounds, even recognising the written letter T and making the sound for it! So I’ve been thinking about ways to support this interest in learning, and I came up with this little toy. She doesn’t know her colours yet, but maybe she’ll learn them with the help of this toy!

The balls are made using my Knitted Sphere Tutorial, which is one of my most popular patterns on Ravelry. The only modification is that I made these balls in garter stitch rather than stocking (stockinette) stitch. The tutorial is a super useful tool for when you need to make spheres of any size for all kinds of projects (like the tail of my handspun rabbit-fur rabbit). So even though I’ll post a full tutorial for these coloured spheres down below, check out the general Knitted Sphere Tutorial as well, just for your future reference.

Alternatively, you could use made or bought pom poms instead of the knitted balls, however I think the balls will be longer lasting than any pom pom.

Here’s the pattern!

Colour Cube + Balls Educational Toy

WARNING: This toy contains small parts which could pose a choking hazard. Always supervise your children when they are using this toy.

Yarn: 8ply acrylic yarn in six colours. I used Moda Vera Marvel. You will need approximately 25g of yarn for each colour. Hayfield Baby Bonus DK, King Cole Big Value DK, and Stylecraft Special are good substitutes.

Needles: 3.75mm (UK 9/ US 5) straight needles

Tension: 19sts = 10cm in garter stitch

Other supplies:

• Toy stuffing (Poly-Fil)
• An 8cm x 8cm (3″ x 3″) square of foam or sponge. See below how I made and cut mine from a car washing sponge.

Notions:

• Scissors
• Darning needle
• Gel pen
• Ruler
• Serrated knife (for cutting sponge to shape)

Make the Foam Cube

I wanted to make this toy as washable as possible, but also affordable. If you have access to clean mattress foam, I think that would be ideal. If, however, you can’t find that, just use a car washing sponge like I did! It may not be machine washable (I have yet to test it out) but you can be sure it can be hand washed with little fuss.

You will need a large car washing sponge to make one 8cm (3″) cube. You want the width and length of the sponge to be at least 8cm (3″) each, but the height can be shorter. The one I used measured L: 21cm x W: 8cm at the narrowest x H: 5cm (L: 8.5″ x W: 3″ x H: 2″) and worked well for this project, and actually came in a set of two. Here is another option for a similar sponge.

Measure out an 8cm x 8cm (3″ x 3″) square on one end of the sponge, as far over to the edge as you can. I found that a gel pen was the best pen for marking the lines.

Use a serrated knife (a bread knife, for example) to cut out the square, all the way down the sponge.

If the height of the sponge is less than 8cm (3″), you will need to measure and cut another 8cm (3″) square from the leftover sponge and combine it with the first square. You may need to trim one of the pieces down if it is too high. There is no need to glue the two pieces, just stack one on top of the other.

 

Pattern

Make Faces of Cube

Make six cubes alike, one in each colour.

Using long-tail cast-on, cast on 15 sts. Work in stocking stitch until the piece is square, then cast off.

Assemble the Cube

Sew each face together into a cube shape using whip stitch, remembering to sew the foam cube into the centre of the cube. Weave in and hide all ends inside the cube.

Make Balls

Make six balls alike, one (or more, if you prefer) in each colour.

Using long-tail cast-on, cast on 3 sts.

Row 1: [kfb] to end. 6 sts.

Rows 2, 4, 6, and 8: K all sts.

Row 3: [k1, kfb] to end. 9 sts.

Row 5: [k2, kfb] to end. 12 sts.

Row 7: [k3, kfb] to end. 15 sts.

Row 9: [k4, kfb] to end. 18 sts.

Rown 10-12: K all sts.

Row 13: [k4, k2tog] to end. 15 sts.

Rows 14, 16, 18, and 20: K all sts.

Row 15: [k3, k2tog] to end. 12 sts.

Row 17: [k2, k2tog] to end. 9 sts.

Row 19: [k1, k2tog] to end. 6 sts.

Row 21: [k2tog] to end. 3 sts.

Cut yarn, leaving a 30cm tail. Thread the tail through a darning needle and pass through the three live sts on the knitting needle. Remove sts from the knitting needle and pull the thread tightly. Using mattress stitch, sew together the edges of the piece until the hole is nearly closed. Then turn the piece inside out, hiding the cast on tail inside the ball. Stuff with toy stuffing and then close up the hole using mattress or whip stitch. Weave in end and conceal end inside the ball.

That’s all, guys. Enjoy this project, and I’d love to see your own versions of this project on Ravelry.

Peace,

Kat

Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I will receive a commission if you click on the affiliate link and purchase the item.