World of Knitted Toys

by Kath Dalmeny

Here are animals from every corner of the globe just waiting to become someone's best friend. From a colorful parrot to a friendly dolphin, a prowling tiger to farmyard ducks and hens, every project has easy-to-read patterns and clear advice on how to create just the right expression on each face. "An invaluable addition to any knitter's bookshelf." --Crafts Beautiful

Genres: Knitting, Nonfiction, Crafts, How To, Reference

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[e smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

You will find untold personal satisfaction from knitting your very own animal menagerie. Also small nieces will give you mad props. From this book I learned that animals can be easy to knit, and that if you knit in public, really cute drunk boys will talk to you about your knitting at 2 a.m. on the subway. Gentlemen, I believe you will find untold personal lovefortune if you knit animals on the subway. You will melt women.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wide variety of animals and people to knit. I'd have liked the patterns to be a little more sophisticated. They all are cute and cuddly, good for toys. Several patterns include more than one variation to make different types of the animal such as two species of penguin and four species of pigs.

[Phillias · Rating 4 out of 5]

great designs! intermediate to advanced

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun but far too much work for me.

[Nostalgia Reader]

Holds a special place in my heart, as I was addicted to these toys since before I could knit! It was one of the must-buy books once I finally learned. I've made a couple of toys from this, and can definitely say that the instructions are easy to follow.

While everything in here is seamed, most things could be easily adapted to working in the round to reduce the number of seams to sew. Legs, arms, and tails could still be worked separately, but if you wanted to reduce seaming even more, you could pick up these straight from the work itself.

Different biomes (jungle, Aussie outback, farm, ocean, evergreen forest, savanna, and polar regions) are explored through their wildlife, and are accompanied by a doll who is outfitted in culturally traditional clothes and accessories. 5 basic animal patterns (with many variations/families) accompany each "world" as well. The skill levels are based on a scale so that even new knitters can take a stab at making these.

The overall scale/sizes of the animals can be a bit disproportionate (e.g the racoon is as big as the moose who's as big as the mountie!). But find that size doesn't matter as much when it comes to toys--as long as you have fun making them and playing with or gifting them. Plus, some of the creatures come with suggestions for sizing them up or down to be more scale-accurate.

Not the most comprehensive or best toy book in the world, but certainly a fun one, with easy instructions and lots of ideas!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

The knitted creatures in this book are fun to make and have delighted the recipients so far. Some are harder to make than others attention should be paid to the difficulty level. There is something fun and satisfying in seeing the final animal being put together if it is a design with many parts, the child I made the dolphin and sharks for was very amazed when I was finishing them in front of them.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still a beginner and am working on my first toy now. The directions are easy to understand, even for someone like me who had only knitted two dish towels before this. The patterns are clearly labeled for difficulty and the book is full of great pictures. The variety of animals is what made me pick this book up. I'm especially looking forward to making the penguin and the platypus.

[Justy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't actually made anything from this book, but I have read it cover to cover several times. I love looking at all the animals and people that can be created with yarn. The patterns look straight forward and doable. Once my son is older I will give them a try. :)

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't knitted any of these yet, but I enjoy looking at it every time I get it at the library, and imagine the possibilities of knitting and sewing such dear toys.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute toy patterns but most of them are pieced together from rectangles. If you don't care about all that seaming, this is your book.

[Bunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the patterns in this book. I'm not ready to start on any of them, because there is far too much seaming, at which I suck. Majorly.

But I will come back to it.

[Fangirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Filled with patterns to creat animals and people from around the world.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The projects in here are absolutely precious!

[Martine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alan Dart puts these toys to shame!

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, cuddly toys!

[Annette McIntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting range of creatures for you to knit from around the world. This book also includes a pattern for a rather cute doll that you can make in various ways to be something different.