I received a lot of great ideas for my next Puffy Stuffy, but sometimes creativity has to strike with the yarn you have on hand, know what I mean? 😉 I have a lot of the Bernat Blanket yarn in Vintage White and Coal, and I had been thinking about this puffy stuffy panda since making the chick and bunny for Easter!

Did you know, in 2016 the giant panda was officially removed from the endangered species list? Hooray!! I love panda bears! My goal here was to capture that signature panda look, where they always appear to be smiling! 

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Materials:
Bernat Blanket Yarn, Vintage White
Bernat Blanket Yarn, Coal
Small amounts of worsted weight yarn in black for the nose and mouth.
Hook size, K – 6.5mm
Polyester Fiberfill for stuffing
Terms and abbreviations to know:
Magic ring
rnd, rnds – round, rounds
st, sts – stitch, stitches
sc – single crochet
hdc – half double crochet
inc – increase, work 2 sts into 1 sts
dc bobble – double crochet bobble

  1. Yarn over, and insert hook into designated st.
  2. Pull up a loop.
  3. Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops, leaving 2 loops left on hook.
  4. Yarn over, and insert hook into same st.
  5. Pull up a loop.
  6. Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops, leaving 3 loops left on hook.
  7. Yarn over, and insert hook into same st.
  8. Pull up a loop.
  9. Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops, leaving 4 loops left on hook.
  10. Yarn over, and insert hook into same st.
  11. Pull up a loop.
  12. Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops, leaving 5 loops left on hook.
  13.  Yarn over and pull through all 5 loops.

invsc2tog – invisible single crochet 2 together, this is essentially a decrease, but done in such a way as to make the continuous stitching smoother, and the decrease not as noticeable.

  1. Insert hook into front loop only of next stitch, DO NOT yarn over.
  2. Insert hook into front loop of second stitch.
  3. Yarn over. Pull through 2 loops.
  4. Yarn over and pull through last 2 loops.

Notes: This pattern is worked in a round from the top, down, with no joining. Use a st marker to mark each rnd. The body, arms, and legs are made all in one piece. The ears and eyes are made separately and sewn on. This yarn can be tricky to work with, so here are some tips: to be sure you’re not missing any sts, always count each rnd, until you’re more comfortable. Because the yarn is so thick, the sts will be very close together, especially during the increasing rnds. Do NOT pull yarn too tightly while sewing or closing, because it can break. Pull gently. The puffy stuffy panda is available for free on my blog here, but if you wish to download a printer-friendly copy and avoid the ads, it can be found in my Ravelry shop for a small fee. 


All text and images are owned by Erin Greene of ekayg, copyright ©2017. Images may not be used by anyone else without express written permission. If used, the ekayg watermark must be visible. Pattern credit must be linked back to ekayg. Finished products made from this pattern may be used for sale. 

Body
Start with white. Begin with magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: inc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 3: inc in each st around; 24 sts
Rnd 4: (inc, sc in next 3 sts) 6x; 30 sts

puffy stuffy panda

1. What it looks like after rnd 2. The increasing rnds are the most difficult to work, but look for the 2 fuzzy loops at the top of each st, and you’ll find your working st.

puffy stuffy panda

2. This is what it looks like when you go through the st. You can see the outline here of 2 different fuzzy loops over the hook.

puffy stuffy panda

3. This is after rnd 3. Be sure to count each st so as not to skip any.
Rnds 5-10: sc in each st around, pull black through to complete last st; 30 sts
Begin color changes. Drop whatever color isn’t in use, but don’t cut. Pick back up when it’s called for. 
Rnd 11: 4 sc in black, 8 sc in white, 18 sc in black, 30 sts

puffy stuffy panda

4. When changing colors, pull the new color through to complete the last st in the previous color.

puffy stuffy panda

5. Then you can begin work in the next color with a smooth transition.




Rnd 12: all in black, (dc bobble, sc in next 14 sts) 2x, pull white through to complete last st; 30 sts
Rnd 13-14: all in white, sc in each st around, pull black through to complete the last st; 30 sts
Rnd 15: all in black, sc in next 3 sts, dc bobble, sc in next 8 sts, dc bobble, sc in next 17 sts, pull white through to complete the last st; 30 sts
Fasten and knot off black. The rest of the bear is done in white.
Before continuing on to close, stitch the nose and mouth to the face.
Begin stuffing. Body will stretch as you stuff, so stuff a little more after each rnd here before closing. 

puffy stuffy panda

6. To begin the dc bobble, yarn over and begin a dc.

puffy stuffy panda

7. Leaving two loops on the hook, begin another dc into same st.

8. Continue making the partial dc sts, until there are 5 loops on the hook. Then pull through all 5.

9. When working the next sc after the dc bobble, push the bobble aside so that you don’t miss a st.

puffy stuffy panda

10. Begin with the bottom point of the nose, 2 rnds above the first black rnd.

puffy stuffy panda

11. Create the outline of the triangle first, and then fill it in.

12. Finish outlining the triangle, and then fill it in, top to bottom, working across the top.

13. Finish at the bottom point, and begin the mouth.




puffy stuffy panda

14. Insert yarn into the same rnd as the bottom of nose, but 3 sts over. Keep it loose. Don’t pull tight.

puffy stuffy panda

15. Bring the yarn back through, 1 rnd below the nose, and pull through itself, to hold in that curved position.

16. Go back through at the bottom of the nose, allowing the yarn to trace itself, and then repeat on the other side.
Rnd 16: (invsc2tog, sc in next 3 sts) 6x; 24 sts
Rnd 17: invsc2tog 12x; 12 sts
Rnd 18: invsc2tog 6x; 6 sts
Complete stuffing, if you can put anymore through the middle.
Fasten off and weave the end around the hole to close.
Ears, (black) make 2
Begin with magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: inc in each st around; 12 sts
Fold to close and sc 5 sts across through the rnd to close the ear. Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing.
Sew onto the head, pinning to hold in place.

17. Fold final rnd of the ear together to close, and sc through both sides.

18. Fasten off and sew the ears onto the head through the closing sts.
Eyes, (black) make 2
Begin with magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 st
Rnd 2: (sc in next st, 3 hdc in next st, sc in next st) 2x; 10 sts
Sl st into next st, and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Using the Vintage white, sew a V shape into the bottom of the eyes. Knot all ends in the back of the eyes, and sew them onto the face, slanted inward at the top.