How to Make Simple Joints for Your Knitted Toy
An easy technique for moveable arms and legs.
It can be a lot of fun to pose the arms and legs on toys, such as moving them from sitting to standing. This technique lets you quickly and effectively attach limbs to your dolls using a simple loop of yarn pulled through the doll. It is done after the pieces are made, so you can decide at any point in your project to opt for jointed limbs instead of stationary ones.
Step 1
Optional: I like to use DPNs to help me place my legs. I then use them to guide my needle when sewing. You can also just freestyle your limb placement as you sew.
Step 2
Thread your tapestry needle with a long piece of yarn. Starting on the inside of one leg (facing in toward the body) sew through only the inside of the leg at the thickest point in one wide stitch. Leave a long tail but do not make any knots. Sew through body, in one side and out the other, in one stitch. If you used DPNs for placement, this stitch will follow one DPN through the body. Sew through the inside of the other leg, and then back through the body again (following the other DPN if used for placement).
Step 3
Twist the two ends of the yarn together and pull tight, until the legs are slightly compressing the body. When you are happy with placement, tie a square knot to secure.
Step 4
Thread tails from the square knot onto a tapestry needle and weave them into body.
When you are happy with placement of first set of limbs, repeat for remaining sets of limbs.