Tofu For You!

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by Hannah (BitterSweet)

Yes, at long last, you can stop thinking for yourself and simply follow the pattern I wrote out and used for my lovely tofu pin cushion! Happy day! Now that I’ve taken all of the brain work out of the process, you no longer have any excuse for your reluctance to make one and I expect to see lots of smiling blocks of tofu in the very near future… Knit lots tofu friends and take pictures for me!

Sides (Make 2):

Using size 7 (US) needles, CO 12
Starting with a knit row, continue in St st until you have worked 13 rows even.
BO

Front and Back:

CO 18
Beginning with a knit row, work 12 rows of st st.
Purl the following 2 rows.
Starting again with knit, work another 14 rows in st st.
Purl the following 2 rows.
Work 12 more rows in st st.
Purl the following 2 rows.
Knit 14 additional rows in st st.
Purl 2 more rows, and…
BO!

Bored to death yet? Sorry, but it’s just a cube! The real fun comes when you give it personality with a face. On front and back piece, choose one of the shorter sides (a section of 12 st st rows) and embroider the details. You could also wait to do this until you’ve finished stuffing and assembling, but I personally find that it’s easier to do it beforehand.

Assembly:

Now, lining up one side piece with the main body, right sides out, so that the shorter / longer sides match up, whip stitch all the way around. Repeat with the other side, but leave the very last piece unattached. There should still be an opening here where the front and back meet up.

To get my tofu to hold its shape better, I used blocks of foam, as opposed to just regular batting. You could probably use plain old stuffing if you can’t get your hands on any rigid materials, it will probably just be slightly lumpier. Who said tofu had perfectly straight edges anyways? So if using foam, measure the dimensions of your tofu (Sorry, I forgot to write it down) and cut your block to shape. I had to use two pieces glued together because it was a relatively flat piece, so don’t be afraid to do so yourself.

Insert the stuffing material into the opening in back and whip stitch closed the remaining two sides closed. Stick with lots of cute little pins, and take your new friend along to start your next project!

33 thoughts on “Tofu For You!”

  4. omg how cute~~ i thought it was a piece of cheese from far away heeheheheheh i never thought it would be a tofu!!

  10. it is cute. i think im going to make one right now. i just got a sewing machine for christmas and i need a pin cushion.

  13. Oh me oh my. I adore all the little random things you knit! This is just… amazing. Hehe and it looks easy enough that I might even be able to make one!

  16. […] half true; my motivation has been seriously lacking. mostly i just wanted to show off the lovely tofu pincushion that i made into a photo holder. i think i defeated the purpose when i knit him out of wool, but […]

  17. Aww, so adorable! My college roomie and I both knit, and she’s vegetarian, so this would be such an adorable gift for her! Yay!

  20. […] but alas.  in searching for some images of tofu, however, i came across this tutorial on how to knit a smiling tofu block. so, i ran upstairs and got my sister’s copy of stitch ‘n bitch and so many hours […]

  25. Ohhh how cute for christmas! My sister is a new vegan eater and would so appreciate this! Actually.. I am putting this on my christmas list! :) SO CUTE!
    -Sylvia
    Padrons

  27. Now that is a nice piece of work. I’m really not a big fan of tofu, but I can sure appreciate what you have created here.

  30. I’m sure no one could say they don’t like tofu after meeting this! I was pleasantly surprised when opening this page – as I’m not that into knitted food! – and my first response was “oh how cute!”

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