Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This week Kathy talks with Sara Delaney about Team WEBS fundraising efforts for the Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage.

This is the 13th year of the event! From a humble start in 2004 with just 500 participants that helped raise $6,000 to an incredible day of fun and unity celebrating our desire to help change and better our communities with 6,000 participants, as well as countless observers and volunteers, that raised almost $500,000 last year.

If you’d like to help you can make a donation to Team WEBS here. Or purchase one of these patterns, the full purchase price of each goes directly to Safe Passage!

Safe Passage Hat and Mittens, Sixth Button Mittens, Hot Chocolate Run Polar Bear, Hot Chocolate Run Penguin

Steve’s Yarn Picks of the week:

We’re almost done!! Now that you’ve got your bear assembled we can add the last few bits that give him personality and really bring him to life.

Take the time to map out your bears’s features. You can use tailors chalk, or small pieces of felt, or paper, pinned in place. Once you know where you want his nose and eyes to be start by sewing on his nose. I use the tails from casting on and binding off for this and I made sure they were extra long. I use one tail to sew almost the whole nose onto the face leaving a small opening, then I secure that tail and tuck the rest inside the nose as a bit of stuffing. With the other tail I finish securing the nose to the face and then use it to embroider the eyes. Once that’s done I’ll use the remaining tail to give the fingers definition with two simple stitches at the end of each arm.

Now you only have to make the red hat and striped scarf and you’ve completed the project! The scarf is super simple garter stitch and when you’re ready to change colors you just bring the new color up along the side, being careful not to pull too tightly, and knit the new row. The hat is also very easy and should take almost no time at all!

And there is our completed bear! Thanks so much for joining in, be sure to post your finished Polar Bears here, or to our Facebook wall, on Instagram with the hashtag #PolarBearKAL, or in the All Things WEBS Group on Ravelry. Remember that the cost of every pattern purchased goes directly to charity. Thanks to all of you buying the pattern we have already raised over $500.00 for Safe Passage – you all are AMAZING! You can follow our Polar Bear‘s fundraising efforts here.

And get ready for our next big project, the #SnowFamilyKAL. Pick up your copy of the pattern, your yarn (I’ll be making mine with Huntington) and your needles and meet me back here on November 4th!

It’s time to knit the legs and get our Bears assembled! The legs are knit top down and can be stuffed a bit more than the arms and head. Once they’re stuffed seam the legs by folding the opening in half and using a quick whip stitch to close the opening.

Now for the Assembly! Here you can see we’ve indicated where each part should be placed. The head gets seamed to the front of the body so that the point of the body is about 3/4 of the way up the back of the head. The arms should them be sewn on along the two visible increase lines along the bear’s side, and the legs can be sewn on at the purl ridge at the bottom of the body.

It may be useful to pin every piece in place before you begin seaming so you can see the relative proportions of the bear and make any adjustments before you begin sewing. We used a simple whip stitch to bring our bear together.

If you’d like to join in the pattern can be found here. We began the KAL here, we knit the body here, and last week we knit the head and arms here. Next week we’ll add his face and his accessories. Remember that the price of every pattern purchased will go directly to fund Safe Passage through the Hot Chocolate Run. You can track how much the Polar Bear has raised, or make an additional donation, on his fundraising page.

This week we’re making the head and arms of the Polar Bear. These pieces are worked from the bottom up.

You’ll increase for both at a sharp angle and then decrease at a much slower rate towards the top for a tapered look. Remember to tuck the ears down to the outside as you bind off for the head or his ears will be stuck on the inside! Give yourself generous tails when you cast on and after you bind off, that way you’ll have plenty of yarn to work with when seaming these pieces closed and when sewing them onto the body.

Seam the bottom of the head and the bottom of the arms closed carefully, I like to use a faux grafting stitch so they appear seamless. Then it’s time to stuff.

Be careful of over stuffing! Just like we talked about last week, you want to be sure to have enough stuffing to give your knitting shape and stability but not so much that it’s over stuffed. And for the arms I only put the smallest amount of stuffing down at the fingers. This helps the arms to lie a little flatter on his tummy.

Next week we’ll get his legs knit and talk about assembly!

If you missed the materials list and you want to join in check out the first post for this KAL here, and we knit the body in last’ week’s posts here. How are your bears coming along?

Now that you’ve got all your materials assembled let’s get to knitting!

If you’re working on double pointed needles for this project you’ll be using 4 for the body since the stitches are divided into three sections, stitches on three needles and the forth for working the stitches. Keep in mind that the body is worked from the top down, you’re starting up at the neck area. The increases will build the body into a pyramid shape and once you finish the increases the additional rows that are worked evenly(with no increases or decreases) will begin to round out the body for the bear’s belly.

Keep an eye on the pattern in the early rounds! The number of rounds knit between the increase rounds changes, a sure to mark the beginning of your round in some fashion. If you’re using double pointed needles you can pop a stitch marker right into the knit fabric itself, if you’re using two circulars, or the magic-loop method, you can place it right on the needle.

Watch your gauge! When knitting garments or accessories with a bulky yarn you want to make sure that your stitches aren’t so densely packed that the finished fabric is stiff but that is EXACTLY what you’re aiming for in a stuffed animal. The pattern specifies 4 sts per inch on US size 8 needles and while you wouldn’t want to go up a needle size and have less stitches per inch you certainly could go down a needle size and aim for even more stitches per inch. Remember that you’re going to have to stuff this bear so the tighter your stitch gauge the better.

Here you can see a comparison of knit fabrics, one that is right on gauge and one that is even tighter.

Once your tail is done there is one purl round and then you start the decreases for the bottom. The underside of the bear’s body is flat so he can sit without falling over. Near the end of your decreases you’ll pause to stuff the bear. Be sure to stuff the top part of the bear well but don’t over-stuff towards the bottom, remember you want him to be able to sit flat! You’ll want to be very careful not to over-stuff your bear. You don’t need a bear that will bounce, you just need enough stuffing to fill the knit piece and give it stability.

Finish up the bottom and weave in your ends, week two is done! Next week we’ll work on the head and the arms. Feel free to post about your progress in a comment on this and future posts, on our Facebook wall, on YOUR Facebook page, on Twitter or Instagram, and use the hashtag #PolarBearKAL We may feature your in-progress and finished bears in a future post!

If you missed the materials list and you want to join in check out the first post for this KAL here.

It’s time for another WEBS KAL (Knit Along)! This month we’re working on the Hot Chocolate Run Polar Bear. All the proceeds from the sale of this pattern go directly to Safe Passage,  and you can learn more about that organization and our commitment to it here. Each Thursday this month we’ll be here talking about knitting the different parts of the bear, the assembly, his adorable face and his super cute accessories!

To join us you’ll need 4 skeins of Valley Yarns Superwash Bulky (2 skeins of Natural, one of Red and one of Black), US size 8 (5.00mm) double-pointed needles, polyfil stuffing, stitch markers, a tapestry needle, scissors, and a copy of the pattern.  Get your materials assembled and meet us back here next Thursday!

Follow along each week:

Week 2 – making the body of the bear.