This is Knubbelchen, the brainchild/needlechild of a designer known on Ravelry only as Pezi888 of Erding, Bayern, in Germany.  The pattern is free on Ravelry (but you will need to join the site–as if every knitter hasn’t already). It’s available in German, Dutch and English. The English translation is excellent–no errors at all in the boy version. The pattern includes a girl version, with a knitted-on skirt. I haven’t tried that yet, but I intend to. The only translation oddity is that after the pattern says to hold stitches on waste yarn, you are later told to “unhold” them. Totally clear, just an atypical way of explaining that you are supposed to remove the stitches from the waste yarn to begin knitting with them again.

What is extra nice about this simple pattern is that, when you finish the knitting, there is almost no sewing up. You stuff the head (and only the head), close up the the top of the head, stitch through the neck to draw it in a tad, stitch on the hat–and you’re done. Of course, you can stitch on a face if you like. But I like the simple look of no features, especially for a young child. Later, you and the child can decide what the face should look like.

My Knubblechen is knitted in sportweight Blackberry Ridge wool left over from my Stained-Glass Window Mesi Hat. The pattern calls for sockweight. That would be excellent as well. This is a great way to use up small amounts of yarn–in any weight you decide will work.