Do you need these? No. No, you absolutely do not.

Do you want them? I suspect some of you do. Now of course some of you are far more sensible and reasonable and restrained and mature than I am. If that’s you, then of course you won’t want them. But some of you share both my unspeakable fondness for bats and my complete inability to ignore anything that passes a certain cuteness threshold. And if that’s you, well, here you go!

They’re astonishingly quick (each one took me less than two hours to knit), they’re perfect for scrap yarn (sock scraps are especially good for these), and I highly recommend you knit a whole colony of them (because you’re going to want to play with all the different wing shapes).

General information

This 28-page pattern includes extensive directions for our batty little friends (including two versions of the head and three sizes each of four different wing shapes). It is tremendously detailed and holds your hand every step of the way. There are pages and pages of step-by-step photos to show you exactly what to expect as you work. It walks you through everything from cast on to making those adorable little ears, to blocking, to attaching your wings.

The pattern is almost absurdly detailed, but it really does mean you can totally make these, even if you’ve never knit a project like this before!

Skills & scope

These are dangerously quick. Dangerous, because the chances of making just one is…low. There’s nothing terribly complicated going on here (it’s mostly stockinette worked in the round), but there are a couple of clever little bits (mostly stuff you do with your tails so that you don’t have any extra ends to weave in), and you’ll work a couple of stitches with needle and thread at the end to attach the wings.

The pattern uses charts, so you will need to know how to follow a knitting chart.

Yarn, gauge & sizing

These are small enough that I don’t have you do a gauge swatch. Instead, I have you work the first handful of rows and check the fabric against your doll. I recommend using fairly thin yarn (fingering or sport weight) and knitting tightly enough that you get a firm fabric. If you think ‘fabric I’d like for a sock’ you’ll be on the right track!

Each bat takes less than 75 yards of yarn (the smallest quite a bit less).

You can absolutely use scrap yarn for this.

Tools & supplies

You’ll need needles that let you work in the round (circulars or DPNs) in whatever size lets you get a fabric you like with your chosen yarn plus the general knitting tools you need for most projects (scissors to cut your yarn, a darning needle to weave in ends, the occasional stitch marker or bit of scrap yarn to hold stitches).

You’ll also want peg dolls. You can find these online (search for “peg doll”) and at some craft stores. You want to have the peg dolls on hand when you start knitting, as you’ll check your fabric against the doll at several points as you knit. For the wings, you need some sort of material that won’t fray and that you can cut with scissors. Things like vinyl, leather, or felt work great.