Child's Foxy Tunic by Heather Lodinsky is a playful
knitted tunic for children featuring a clever fox face worked into the
upper front of the garment.
Designed for Red Heart in sizes 2 through 8 years, the tunic combines
simple garter and stockinette textures with colorwork and adorable
finishing details. Best of all, the original pattern is still available
as a free download from Yarnspirations.
✓ Free Pattern Availability
Good news: Child's Foxy Tunic is still officially available as a
100% free knitting pattern from Yarnspirations.
No unofficial or archived copy is needed.
Child's Foxy Tunic at a Glance
Pattern: Child's Foxy Tunic
Designer: Heather Lodinsky
Publisher: Red Heart / Yarnspirations
First Published: May 2014
Craft: Knitting
Category: Child's Tunic / Dress
Sizes: 2, 4, 6 and 8 years
Skill Level: Intermediate
Suggested Yarn: Red Heart Anne Geddes Baby
Yarn Weight: DK
Main Needle: US 6 / 4 mm
Stockinette Gauge: 22 stitches × 34 rows = 4 inches / 10 cm
Main Techniques: Garter stitch, stockinette, shaping and colorwork
Special Feature: Fox face with knitted ears, nose and button eyes
Current Availability: Free official download
About the Child's Foxy Tunic
Child's Foxy Tunic turns a practical knitted garment into a playful
animal-themed design.
The lower part of the tunic has a relatively simple shape, allowing the
large fox face at the upper front to become the visual focus of the
project.
The result can be worn as a tunic over a shirt and leggings in cooler
weather, making it both decorative and practical.
Sizes 2 to 8 Years
The pattern includes four children's sizes:
- 2 years
- 4 years
- 6 years
- 8 years
Before choosing a size, check the finished measurements in the current
Yarnspirations pattern rather than relying only on the child's age.
This is especially useful for a tunic because the amount of ease you
prefer may depend on whether it will be worn alone or layered over
another garment.
Original Yarn
Heather Lodinsky designed the tunic using
Red Heart Anne Geddes Baby, a DK-weight yarn.
The original yarn is listed as an acrylic and nylon blend. If it is no
longer convenient to obtain in your region, another suitable DK yarn may
be considered as long as you can match the required gauge and produce a
comfortable fabric.
For a child's garment, washability and durability can be just as
important as softness and color.
Needles and Gauge
The pattern specifies:
US 6 / 4 mm knitting needles
The published stockinette gauge is:
22 stitches × 34 rows = 4 inches / 10 cm
The pattern also uses garter stitch, where the published row gauge
differs from stockinette.
Always use the needle size necessary for you to obtain the designer's
gauge rather than assuming the recommended needle will produce identical
results for every knitter.
The Fox Face
The fox is created as part of the upper front of the tunic using
contrasting colors.
The changing color sections gradually form the recognizable shape of
the fox's face as the front is knitted.
Because the motif occupies a substantial part of the garment rather than
being a tiny repeated decoration, it gives the finished tunic a strong
graphic appearance.
Knitted Ears and Nose
The fox doesn't rely only on flat colorwork.
Separate knitted pieces are used to add dimensional details such as the
ears and nose. These are attached during finishing using the original
photograph and pattern as placement guides.
This small amount of three-dimensional finishing helps transform the
colorwork shape into a much more recognizable fox character.
Button Eyes
The original design uses two buttons for the fox's eyes.
Yarnspirations currently lists the buttons, together with a sewing needle
and matching thread, among the additional supplies needed for the
project.
Attach buttons very securely on children's clothing and consider the age
and intended use of the garment when choosing embellishments.
Garter and Stockinette Stitch
Two familiar knitting textures play important roles in the design.
Garter stitch creates textured sections and finishing
details, while stockinette stitch provides the smoother
fabric used across much of the garment.
This relatively simple stitch foundation allows the shaping and fox
colorwork to provide most of the project's challenge.
Shaping the Tunic
The garment does not simply continue upward as a straight rectangle.
Gradual shaping creates the tunic silhouette before the knitting reaches
the fox face and upper body.
Later shaping forms the armholes and upper sections of the garment.
Use Heather Lodinsky's original pattern for the exact stitch counts,
decreases, color changes and shaping sequence for your selected size.
Worked Flat and Seamed
The tunic is constructed from flat knitted pieces that are finished and
assembled afterward.
Flat construction is particularly convenient for this type of picture
colorwork because the knitter works back and forth across the fox motif.
Careful finishing at the side seams and shoulder areas helps the final
garment sit neatly.
Working the Color Changes
When working separate areas of color, avoid simply carrying unused yarn
across very large sections of the back of the fabric.
Keep the different yarn sections organized and make sure adjoining colors
connect neatly when you change from one to another.
If this style of colorwork is unfamiliar, practicing with two colors on
a small swatch can make the fox section much easier to manage.
Skill Level
Yarnspirations currently classifies Child's Foxy Tunic as an
Intermediate knitting pattern.
Helpful skills include:
- Casting on and binding off
- Knitting and purling
- Garter stitch
- Stockinette stitch
- Increasing and decreasing
- Garment shaping
- Changing colors
- Managing multiple sections of yarn
- Working flat pieces
- Basic seaming
- Attaching knitted embellishments
- Sewing buttons securely
Choosing Colors
Fox designs naturally work beautifully with warm orange, rust, cream and
dark brown or black.
However, there is no reason your fox needs to be realistic. A pink,
turquoise, purple or other imaginative color combination could make the
tunic even more playful.
Whatever palette you choose, maintaining enough contrast between the
face sections will help the animal motif remain easy to recognize.
Choosing a Substitute Yarn
If you substitute for the original Red Heart yarn, begin by looking for
a DK-weight yarn that can achieve the required gauge.
A relatively smooth yarn is useful because it keeps the boundaries
between the different colors visible and makes the fox motif easier to
read.
Since this is children's clothing, also consider easy washing, softness
and durability when selecting your yarn.
Make a Gauge Swatch First
Gauge affects more than the overall width of the tunic.
It also influences the proportions of the fox design and where the
shaping falls on the child's body.
Make a stockinette swatch before beginning and adjust needle size if
necessary to match the published gauge.
Is Child's Foxy Tunic Still Free?
Yes. Child's Foxy Tunic by Heather Lodinsky is currently
available as a free knitting pattern from Yarnspirations.
Yarnspirations provides the official pattern as a free download without
requiring a sign-up.
Amazing Knitting does not reproduce the designer's complete copyrighted
row-by-row instructions. Instead, this page provides an independent
project guide and directs knitters to the legitimate original source.
Get the Free Foxy Tunic Pattern
The best current source is the official Yarnspirations page, where the
complete pattern can be downloaded free.
Get the Free Foxy Tunic Pattern →
More Free Children's Knitting Patterns
If you enjoy playful animal-themed garments, continue exploring the
Amazing Knitting archive for more free children's sweaters, tunics and
dresses.
Explore Free Children's Knitting Patterns →
You can also browse
animal knitting patterns,
free children's sweaters,
and
free knitted dresses and tunics.
Before You Start
Download the current Yarnspirations pattern first and choose your size
from the finished measurements. Make a gauge swatch before purchasing
or preparing all of the yarn.
Organize your contrast colors before reaching the fox section, and read
through the finishing instructions so you understand how the ears, nose
and eyes complete the character.
Pattern credit: Child's Foxy Tunic was designed by
Heather Lodinsky and published by Red Heart, now available through
Yarnspirations. The existing photograph on this Amazing Knitting page is
credited to katring. Amazing Knitting does not reproduce the designer's
complete copyrighted row-by-row knitting instructions.
