Knit Your Own Cat: Easy-to-Follow Patterns for 16 Frisky Felines [Paperback]

Sally Muir (Author), Joanna Osborne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2012

Cat lovers, rejoice! It's the highly anticipated follow-up book to Knit Your Own Dog. With easy-to-follow instructions for 16 distinct felines, Knit Your Own Cat is the irresistible guide to knitting the pet you've always wanted.

Cats and knitters are perfect companions. What's better together than a kitten curled up in a basket of wool or a frisky feline chasing a skein of yarn down a hallway? Since the instant success of Knit Your Own Dog, cat lovers have been clamoring for a book of their own. That time has come. Knit Your Own Cat is packed with knitting patterns for 16 different fanciful felines, from a pretty Persian to a sleek Siamese, from a cuddly kitten to a traditional tabby. The cats are surprisingly easy to make: With a few evenings of work, you can have a covetable companion for life. Each cat includes clear, step-by-step instructions for both knitting and assembling the parts. The cats can be knit into various positions such as standing, sitting, crouching, and curled up for a nap. You can add details like collars, bells, and bows. Photographs throughout show the finished cat from various angles, and each cat is accompanied by a description of its real-life temperament and physical characteristics. Cats include: Abyssinian, Bengal, Black Cat, Black & White, British Shorthair, Burmese, Devon Rex, Kitten, Maine Coon, Orange, Persian, Ragdoll, Siamese, Tabby, Tortoiseshell, and Turkish Van.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne run their own knitwear business, Muir and Osborne (www.muirandosborne.co.uk).  They have a shop in London and export their knitwear to stores in the U.S., Japan, and Europe including Barneys, Saks, Liberty, and The Cross. They won the UK Fashion Export Small Business Award in 2002 and several pieces of their knitwear are in the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  Their previous book, Pet Projects, was featured on The Martha Stewart Show.


Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne run their own knitwear business, Muir and Osborne (www.muirandosborne.co.uk).  They have a shop in London and export their knitwear to stores in the U.S., Japan, and Europe, including Barneys, Saks, Liberty, and The Cross.  They won the UK Fashion Export Small Business Award in 2002 and several pieces of their knitwear are in the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  Their previous book, Pet Projects, was featured on The Martha Stewart Show.   

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (February 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579128939
• ISBN-13: 978-1579128937
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Toys & Models > Stuffed Animals
  • #42 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Pets & Animal Care > Cats
  • #60 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Needlecrafts & Textile Crafts > Knitting

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Surpised how good this book is February 7, 2012

By Claire Davies

Format:Paperback

The patterns are written in a very clear row by row manner including shaping and color changes. There is no charting for the color work.

These would be a challenging project for a beginner but there are some plain cats which would be easier. If someone has basic increase decrease knit and purl skills these patterns are doable

The cats are knitted flat and seamed up so no dpns or circular needles required.

The patterns are mainly written for 4ply yarn using US 2 needles but there is no reason why you could not use a heavier yarn with bigger needles to make a bigger cat. Using the recommended materials the standing cats are about 5 inches tall so they are quite quick to make.

The finished products are surprisingly cute.

There are a couple of small typos in the book documented on the authors web site here

[...]

There is a ravelry group devoted to this book

[...]

You can find comments and photos of peoples projects from the book there

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Knit Your Own Cat February 8, 2012

By Pam MacKenzie

Format:Paperback

"Knit Your Own Cat" has a striped feline on the cover who looks a bit like my cat, so I was captured from the get-go. The book only has 16 patterns, but the cats are in different poses, so not every cat is standing. Every pattern has an unfortunate dorsal seam, but you can avoid it with the kitchener stitch.

My one disappointment about this book was that not all the cat faces are winners . Some of the faces are too pointed for my taste. The standing black-and-white cat looks like his face has been smashed in, while the face on his sitting brother looks quite good. The prowling black cat looks like he's pouncing on a mouse, but the Siamese cat's face seems off, to me, and I didn't like the Persian's tiny face at all.

That being said, you probably can substitute the construction of one of the good faces for the ones that are off. It shouldn't be that hard. This book should make a lot of cat lovers very happy.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Sequel to KNIT YOUR OWN DOG February 9, 2012

By Lynne E. TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love dogs and cats (especially cats), and wanted to love this book as much as Knit Your Own Dog: Easy-to-Follow Patterns for 25 Pedigree Pooches by the same talented authors. But I can't, because most of the cats don't look like cats. Some have pointy snouts (more like rats); some have overlarge ears; many have heads too small for their bodies.

Like the small figures in Dog, the cat figures represent many different breeds: Persian, Ragdoll, Maine Coon, Turkish Van, British Shorthair, Devon Rex, Abyssinian, Burmese, Siamese, and Housecat (orange, black and white, tabby, black, and tortoiseshell). There are also some kittens, curled up cats, and a Bengal tiger. Some of the cats are sitting, some standing.

But unlike the figures in Dog, I cannot identify the cats' individual breeds by simply looking at the figures. The Persian's loopy mohair coat doesn't resemble fur (and the figure reminds me of a Pekingese). The Turkish Van's loopy mohair tail doesn't look like a cat's big, fluffy tail. The short-haired Siamese is white with brown face, ears, paws, and tail, but somehow the figure doesn't evoke the exotic appearance of a Siamese.

For me, the most successful figure is the stripey Orange Cat (a seated cat). However, if I were to make it, I would change the colors and try to blend the stripes to make the coat look more realistic. Perhaps the small scale of the figures makes it impossible to represent the individual characteristics of the various cat breeds in fabric knitted from fine yarn on US 2 needles.

Like the dog figures, the cat figures have many parts and are somewhat complicated to knit and assemble. I rate this book at 3 stars ("it's okay" on the Amazon scale), because none of the cats appeal to me enough to make me want to knit them, especially given the complicated construction.