Cast on our free Easter bunny knitting pattern!
There’s nothing more satisfying than giving a knitted gift to a child, knowing it will bring them comfort when they need it most. Bertie Bunny is a wonderfully huggable knit and will make a fantastic Easter gift for a loved one.
Ann Franklin's free Easter bunny knitting pattern is perfect for intermediate knitters or enthusiastic beginners and is filled with fun shaping and clever colour changes. Keep scrolling to find our free Easter bunny knitting pattern!
Your free Easter bunny knitting pattern: What you need
- Sirdar Snuggly Snowflake DK (DK weight, 100% polyester, 25g/85m balls)
- Yarn A 3 balls of Elephant Grey (707)
- Yarn B 1 ball of Milky (630)
- Sirdar Snuggly DK (DK weight, 55% nylon, 45% acrylic, 50g/165m balls)
- Yarn C Oddment (5g) of Rhubarb (457)
- Yarn D Oddment (5g) of Black (312)
- Yarn E 50cm of White (251)
- 1 pair of 3.25mm (UK 10/US 3) knitting needles
- A row counter
- 300g toy stuffing
Tension
Yarn used knits as DK to this tension:
21 sts and 30 rows to measure 10x10cm (4x4in) over st st using 3.25mm needles
Measurements
Length: 59cm
Tummy circumference (at widest point): 50cm
Abbreviations
Head over to our knitting abbreviations page for more useful terms.
Your free Easter bunny knitting pattern
Main Body
Using 3.25mm needles and Yarn A, cast on 10 sts.
Row 1 (RS) *Kfb; rep from * to end. 20 sts
Row 2 & every alt row Purl.
Row 3 *K1, kfb; rep from * to end. 30 sts
Row 5 *K2, kfb; rep from * to end. 40 sts
Row 7 *K3, kfb; rep from * to end. 50 sts
Row 9 *K4, kfb; rep from * to end. 60 sts
Row 11 *K5, kfb; rep from * to end. 70 sts
Row 13 *K6, kfb; rep from * to end. 80 sts
Work in st st for 9 rows, beg with a P row.
For the two-colour section that follows, use three separate balls of yarn. Where the colours change, cross the non-working yarn over the working yarn to prevent a hole forming.
Row 23 K30A, K20B, K30A.
Row 24 P29A, P22B, P29A.
Row 25 K28A, K24B, K28A.
Row 26 P27A, P26B, P27A.
Row 27 K27A, K26B, K27A.
Row 28 P27A, P26B, P27A.
The last 2 rows set the points at which the colours cross for the remainder of the two-colour portion. Continue to change the colours at these points from this point forward.
Please note that the shapings which follow alternate between having the decrease stitch at the beginning or end of the row. This is deliberate, as it keeps the tummy portion central.
Row 29 *K6, k2tog; rep from * to end. 70 sts
Beg with a P row, work 7 rows in st st.
Row 37 *K2tog, K5; rep from * to end. 60 sts
Beg with a P row, work 7 rows in st st.
Row 45 *K4, k2tog; rep from * to end. 50 sts
Beg with a P row, work 7 rows in st st.
Row 53 *K2tog, K3; rep from * to end. 40 sts
Beg with a P row, work 7 rows in st st.
Row 61 K1, *k2tog, K2; rep from * to the last 3 sts, k2tog, K1. 30 sts
Row 62 Purl.
Row 63 K11, k2tog, K4, k2tog, K11. 28 sts
Row 64 Purl.
Row 65 K11, k2tog, K2, k2tog, K11. 26 sts
Row 66 Purl.
Row 67 K11, (k2tog) twice, K11. 24 sts
Row 68 Purl across the row in Yarn A. Break off Yarn B and the extra ball of Yarn A.
Beg with a K row, work 2 rows in st st.
Row 71 *Kfb; rep from * to end. 48 sts
Row 72 Purl.
Row 73 K18, (kfb) 12 times, K18. 60 sts
Beg with a P row, work 5 rows in st st.
Row 79 K24, k2togtbl, K8, k2tog, K24. 58 sts
Row 80 & every alt row Purl.
Row 81 K24, k2togtbl, K6, k2tog, K24. 56 sts
Row 83 K24, k2togtbl, K4, k2tog, K24. 54 sts
Row 85 K24, k2togtbl, K2, k2tog, K24. 52 sts
Row 87 K23, k2tog, K2, k2togtbl, K23. 50 sts
Row 89 K22, k2tog, M1, K2, M1, k2togtbl, K22.
Row 91 K21, k2tog, K4, k2togtbl, K21. 48 sts
Row 93 K20, k2tog, M1, K4, M1, k2togtbl, K20.
Row 95 K19, k2tog, K6, k2togtbl, K19. 46 sts
Row 97 K18, k2tog, M1, K6, M1, k2togtbl, K18.
Row 99 K17, k2tog, K8, k2togtbl, K17. 44 sts
Row 101 K16, K2tog, M1, K8, M1, k2togtbl, K16.
Row 103 *K2, k2tog; rep from * to end. 33 sts
Row 105 *K1, k2tog; rep from * to end. 22 sts
Row 107 *K2tog; rep from * to end. 11 sts
Break off the yarn and thread the ends through the sts left on the needle. Pull the end of the yarn to tighten the sts together.
How to knit the arms for your Easter bunny knitting pattern (make 2)
Using 3.25mm needles and Yarn A, cast on 6 sts.
Row 1 (WS) Purl.
Row 2 Kfb, knit to the last st, kfb. 8 sts
Repeat Rows 1 & 2 until 16 sts are on the needle. Mark the ends of this row.
Beg with a P row, work 7 rows in st st.
Row 18 Kfb, knit to the last st, kfb. 18 sts
Beg with a P row, work 9 rows in st st.
Row 28 Kfb, knit to the last st, kfb. 20 sts
Beg with a P row, work 11 rows in st st.
Join in Yarn B (winding off a small ball of yarn from the main ball before you start for later).
Row 40 Kfb, K3B, K12A, K3B, kfb in Yarn B. 22 sts
Row 41 P5B, P12A, P5B.
Row 42 K5B, K12A, K5B.
Repeat Rows 41 & 42, 3 times, then Row 41 once.
Break off Yarn B.
Row 50 Knit.
Row 51 Purl.
Row 52 (K2tog) to end. 11 sts
Break off the yarn and thread the ends through the sts left on the needle. Pull the end of the yarn to tighten the sts together.
Making the legs of the Easter bunny knitting pattern (make 2)
Using 3.25mm needles and Yarn A, cast on 24 sts.
Beg with a K row, work 10 rows in st st.
Row 11 Kfb, knit to last st, kfb. 26 sts
Beg with a P row, work 11 rows in st st.
Row 23 Kfb, knit to last st, kfb. 28 sts
Beg with a P row, work 13 rows in st st.
Row 37 Kfb, knit to last st, kfb. 30 sts
Beg with a P row, work 15 rows in st st.
Row 53 Kfb, knit to last st, kfb. 32 sts
Beg with a P row, work 17 rows in st st.
Row 71 Kfb, K10, (kfb) 10 times, K10, kfb. 44 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 75 K17, (kfb) 10 times, K17. 54 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 79 *K4, k2tog; rep from * to end. 45 sts
Break off Yarn A. Join in Yarn B.
Row 80 & every alt row Purl.
Row 81 *K3, k2tog; rep from * to end. 36 sts
Row 83 *K2, k2tog; rep from * to end. 27 sts
Row 85 *K1, k2tog; rep from * to end. 18 sts
Row 87 *K2tog; rep from * to end. 9 sts
Row 88 Purl.
Break off the yarn and thread the ends through the sts left on the needle. Pull the end of the yarn to tighten the sts together.
Ears (make 2)
Using 3.25mm needles and Yarn A, cast on 8 sts.
Beg with a K row, work 4 rows in st st.
Row 5 Kfb, K5, kfb, K1. 10 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 9 Kfb, K7, kfb, K1. 12 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 13 Kfb, K9, kfb, K1. 14 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 17 Kfb, K11, kfb, K1. 16 sts
Beg with a P row, work 15 rows in st st.
Row 33 K2togtbl, knit to the last 2 sts, k2tog. 14 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 37 K2togtbl, knit to the last 2 sts, k2tog. 12 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 41 K2togtbl, knit to the last 2 sts, k2tog. 10 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 45 K2togtbl, knit to the last 2 sts, k2tog. 8 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 49 (K2tog) to the end of the row. 4 sts
Row 50 Purl.
Change to Yarn B.
Beg with a K row, work 2 rows in st st.
Row 53 *Kfb, K1; rep from * to end. 6 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 57 Kfb, knit to the last 2 sts, kfb, K1. 8 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 61 Kfb, knit to the last 2 sts, kfb, K1. 10 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 65 Kfb, knit to the last 2 sts, kfb, K1. 12 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 69 Kfb, knit to the last 2 sts, kfb, K1. 14 sts
Beg with a P row, work 13 rows in st st.
Row 83 K2togtbl, knit to the last 2 sts, k2tog. 12 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 87 K2togtbl, knit to the last 2 sts, k2tog. 10 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 91 K2togtbl, knit to the last 2 sts, k2tog. 8 sts
Beg with a P row, work 3 rows in st st.
Row 95 K2togtbl, knit to the last 2 sts, k2tog. 6 sts
Row 96 Purl.
Cast off purlwise.
Knit your Easter bunny knitting pattern's tail
Using 3.25mm needles and Yarn B, cast on 20 sts.
Row 1 & every alt row Knit.
Row 2 *K3, kfb; rep from * to end. 25 sts
Row 4 *K4, kfb; rep from * to end. 30 sts
Row 6 *K5, kfb; rep from * to end. 35 sts
Row 8 *K6, kfb; rep from * to end. 40 sts
Knit 3 rows.
Row 12 *K6, k2tog; rep from * to end. 35 sts
Row 13 & every alt row Knit.
Row 14 *K5, k2tog; rep from * to end. 30 sts
Row 16 *K4, k2tog; rep from * to end. 25 sts
Row 18 *K3, k2tog; rep from * to end. 20 sts
Row 20 *K2, k2tog; rep from * to end. 15 sts
Row 22 *K1, k2tog; rep from * to end. 10 sts
Break off the yarn and thread the ends through the sts left on the needle. Pull the end of the yarn to tighten the sts together.
Easter bunny knitting pattern: Making the nose
Using 3.25mm needles and Yarn C, cast on 9 sts.
Knit 3 rows.
Row 4 K1, k2togtbl, K3, k2tog, K1. 7 sts
Row 5 & every alt row Knit.
Row 6 K1, k2togtbl, K1, k2tog, K1. 5 sts
Row 8 K1, sl1, k2tog, psso, K1. 3 sts
Row 10 Sl1, k2tog, psso.
Fasten off.
Eyes (Make 2)
Using 3.25mm needles and Yarn D, cast on 10 sts.
Break off the yarn and thread the ends through the sts left on the needle. Pull the end of the yarn to tighten the sts together.
Making up your Easter bunny knitting pattern
Weave in all ends.
Body & head
Sew a running stitch around the cast-on sts of the body and pull this up to form a tight circle.
Sew the back seam of the head and body, leaving a gap for turning and stuffing. Turn to the right side and stuff. Close the gap.
Sew a running stitch around the row below the increase row of the head and pull up slightly to mark the neck.
Arms
Join the seam from the fastened-off sts to the marked row, leaving the shaped portion at the top of the arms free. Stuff. Sew the arms to each side of the body, about 2cm down from the neck shaping.
Legs
Join the main seam, leaving the cast-on edge open. Stuff. Sew the cast-on edge to the base of the rabbit’s body, about 5cm apart; making sure that the back seam of the leg is facing the back of the rabbit.
Ears
Fold the ears in half and sew the inner (Yarn B) portion to the outer (Yarn A) portion along the long shaped seam on both sides, having the cast-on and cast-off edges level, and easing the outer ear to fit. (Leaving the cast-on/cast-off edges open.) Turn to the right side and sew the ears to the top of the head, about 6cm apart, with the outer (Yarn A) side facing upwards.
Nose
Sew the nose to the centre front of the head, at the widest point, with the cast-on edge of the nose at the top and the cast-off sts to the bottom. Using back stitch, embroider a 1cm line directly downwards from the lowest point of the nose, then embroider a shallow V shape at the bottom of this line, with a curved section on either side of the V shape to form the mouth.
Eyes
Join the sts into a flat circle shape. Sew the eyes on either side of the face 3cm up from the nose, and on either side of the central shaping. Using Yarn E, embroider a short stitch to the top of the eye to form a ‘glint’.
Note: To ensure every part is fastened securely, sew in yarn twice then oversew using a matching sewing thread. Check the toy often to ensure no parts have become loose.
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