A caterpillar cocoon for your sweet new baby with a matching hat. This caterpillar cocoon, by Mary Burke, was written for loom knitting and iconic of my own son’s favorite book as countless others. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We hope you enjoy this free pattern. –
Caterpillar Cocoon & Hat
The Very Hungry Caterpillar book was one of my favorites that I read to my preschoolers when I taught preschool. It’s one of my favorites still
My inspiration was my new grandson. After seeing many versions of a knit or crochet caterpillar cocoon & hat posted on the internet, which reminded me of the caterpillar cocoon in the book, I wanted to make one for my grandson. I do not knit or crochet but I do loom knit so I decided to make one on a loom. It was simpler than I thought. Here’s how I created my version of the Caterpillar Cocoon & Hat. – Mary
Materials:
41 peg Round Loom-Cocoon (13/16″ XLG – Knifty Knitter used in sample)
24 peg Round Loom-Hat (5/8″ LG – Knifty Knitter used in sample)
5 peg Spool Loom (3/4″ XLG – Boye used in sample)
Yarn:
Hat:
Red Heart soft- Really Red
Antennas: Lion Brand Heartland- 147 Hot Springs
Eyes: Red Heart soft Guacamole, Yellow 6 strand embroidery floss
Nose: Lion Brand Tweed Stripes Ozarka Forest
Cocoon:
Lion Brand Heartland-Glacier Bay
Red Heart Soft-Guacamole
Lion Brand Tweed Stripes Ozarka Forest
Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice-Sweet Pea
Notions:
Yarn Needle
Knitting tool
Scissors
Crochet hook size 6/6 4.25mm (Boye used in sample)
Large eye sewing needle
Hot glue gun (or small metal needle and thread to sew on eyes & nose)
Techniques:
Loom Knit i-cord on the Spool Loom
Modified Gathered bind off
Crochet 6 Stitch Magic Circle
Abbreviations:
ew – e-wrap
p – purl
Instructions:
The following pattern is laid out to complete the hat, then antennas, then eyes & nose. This includes instructions to attach. Below is the caterpillar cocoon pattern should you want to skip ahead.
Hat:
(Rolled Brim)
24 peg loom -2 strands of Yarn
Cast On:
ew cast on
Rows 1-25: ew & knit over all pegs
Cut your working yarn to 12 inches
Cast off:
Modified Gathered Bind Off and weave in ends. Hat length approx. 5 1/2″ (5.5 inches).
Antennas:
Loom Knit i-cord on the Spool Loom
Cast On: Double ew cast on all 5 pegs in the round.
Row 1 – 12: ew stitch 12 rows on the small end of the loom,
Cast off: drawstring cast off (gathered bind off).
Make 2. Antennae will be approximately 3 1/4″ (3.25″ inches) long.
Shape Antennas & attach to hat:
Thread the yarn needle, run the top yarn tail through the middle of the antenna coming out near the bottom yarn tail. You can pull the yarn tail to shape the antenna into a slight curve if you like.
Thread the yarn needle with the 2 tails at the bottom of the antenna & insert the needle through the top of the hat, do the same for the other antenna (about 1 ¼”apart). Turn the hat inside out & stitch into place.
Eyes & Nose:
1 strand of yarn
Eyes – Make 2 eyes.
I crocheted magic circles – Crochet 6 Stitch Magic Circle.
Thread your large eyed sewing needle with the 6 strand embroidery floss, so now its 12 strands because it’s doubled, blanket stitch around each eye using the yellow embroidery thread.
Nose: Follow the same procedure for the 6 stitch magic circle except I only did four stitches & then drew it up it made more of an oval shape.
Attaching eyes and nose to hat:
Place a piece of waxed paper or something inside the hat just in case the glue seeps into the inside, using the glue gun place a little bit of hot glue to the backside of the eyes one at a time & place in the desired area of the hat, do the same for the nose. Be sure to keep any loose yarn or thread behind the eyes & nose when gluing. I kept my glue away from the edges of the eyes & nose because when you press down the glue will spread, you don’t want glue showing around the outside edges of your project
