2 posts tagged “toys”
I just found a few free knitting patterns, thought I'd pass them on. Maybe you've seen these already?
Small Dolls - Jezze's pattern for "small dolls," which in this case are more like monster-creatures. This pattern is technically written for the "magic loop" (a circular knitting needle, generally used by people who are afraid of DPNs), but I don't think that's necessary... it looks like you could just as easily use it with DPNs, if you put 10 stitches on each needle. The dolls look a little odd, and therefore, of course, are adorable. (via CRAFT.)
Yeah, DPNs can be a pain to cast onto. I usually cast onto one DPN and distribute the stitches, or else cast onto a long, non-DPN and distribute the stitches from there. But other than that, if you get the needles arranged properly, they're not that hard to knit with. It frustrates me that certain designers say, "I made this a non-DPN project so it would be a little easier!" (not the case with Jezze here, just something I saw the other day).
Well, DPNs aren't hard, and if you fear them, you should give them a try, rather than taking a designer's word for it, or the word of people on some board somewhere online. I used to knit socks on a 12" circular needle, using DPNs only for the heel and toe, but I don't do that anymore - it's DPNs all the way now, and DPNs for hats and other things knit in the round. There's a way to hold DPNs that makes knitting with them easier, something I'll try to post about the next time I'm working on something in the round.
Still, I wouldn't blame you for using a circular needle to knit a sweater in the round! And circs do help avoid the "ladders" that can happen between needles.
Mead Scarf - downloadable pattern for a lace scarf, from a blog called Stash Amassed Beyond Life Expectancy. The blogger/designer, Elizabeth Morrison, may be familiar to a few people from her patterns that have been published in Knitty over the last few years. (via Knitting Pattern Central.)
Also - just a quick thing - I am SO THRILLED that Eunny Jang is the new editor of Interweave Knits! I've long thought that Eunny is the best knitblogger out there... lots of focus on the craft itself, from someone who has good technique, great ideas, and a wonderful sense of design. There are other knitting bloggers who have at least two out of three of these attributes, but sometimes the lack of the third can be a problem for me, and sometimes the bloggers lose focus and go from knit-blogging to just... blogging. Like, pictures of pets and kids, descriptions of trips to the lake with the sister-in-law, not that much knitting content past an occasional picture of what they're making. And some of the knitting bloggers I loved a few years ago essentially abandoned their blogs.
The publishing industry has been cherry-picking bloggers for the last few years, and for a while I thought, "Why hasn't anyone snatched Eunny up? If she wrote a book, I'd definitely buy it." Then I saw her design and article in this past winter's IK, and I thought, ah, it's nice to see that they're publishing her stuff, I hope they keep publishing more. And then... boom, they put her in charge! How wonderful. (I think I have a bit of a knitting-crush on her, if you can't tell. :)
This book's cuteness will probably suck you right in.
I don't have a lot to say about Knitted Toys beyond describing it... its appeal is very visual. It's a collection of 21 designs ranging from finger puppets to stuffed animals; there are also dolls, a ball, and a knitted draftstopper for the bottom of a door. The latter piece is in the form of a long, cuddly dog, so I doubt it will ever make it to the floor.
In my opinion, the animal designs are generally more attractive than the humanoid. There is a fairy, a princess, girl and boy ragdolls, and a clown (which I think is the sweetest of the people bunch, even making allowance for the cliche that clowns are scary). There are several finger puppet designs: farm animals - including miniatures of several of the book's other projects - and "caterpillars", little characters bearing only passing resemblance to their namesake. Also a design for a ladybug or bee that is around the same size as a finger puppet, but is meant to be stuffed, and could make a hilarious cat toy.
Aside from that, it's mostly animals in huggable sizes. Standard measurements for the larger animals are 13 to 15 inches, but many, like the pig and the penguin, come in quite a bit smaller. My favorites are the dog draft cheater and the affable zebra, but there are lots of others to choose from, including a teddy bear and a bunny both in two sizes, a panda, and a colorful turtle and tropical fish. The style of all these designs is modern but folksy, and everything that can smile is smiling.
In technical terms, the book seems fine. There's an intro section at the front that shows the techniques and stitches you will need, but not enough for a beginner to finish anything without some basic knowledge. Since this book was originally published in the UK, many of the designs call for DK-weight yarn, mostly Rowan or Jaeger but also some Patons. It will be up to the knitter to find suitable substitutions, since most of these yarns are pretty pricey; however, not much yarn is required for most of the projects. The zebra requires two balls of Merino DK. The finger puppet designs will help use up scrap from other projects. The book does include a translation chart for UK to US terms, a list of knitting abbreviations, descriptions of the basic stitches used (nothing complicated), demonstration of the handful of embroidery stitches needed, and finishing instructions. Projects are graded in difficulty from 1 to 3, with level 1 being projects mostly in stockinette with some basic shaping, and level 3 being larger projects that may include intarsia. Even the level 3 projects are not terribly difficult.
I really like this book; I would buy it. The dolls might have driven me off, but the animals more than make up for it. It's somewhat similar to Kath Dalmeny's World of Knitted Toys, but the designs are different, bolder and with less attempt at accuracy. It's reasonably priced at around $19 for a hardcover book full of pictures: I especially recommend it for knitters who have kids or who just love cute things (blah blah blah young at heart blah blah blah).
(Note 31 August 05 - The Amazon reviewers mention some errata: poor math in some places, for example. If you are going to make projects from this book, you might want to check out what everyone over there has said, too.)
