Customer Reviews

Knitted and Felted Toys: 26 Easy-to-Knit Patterns for Adorable Toys

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am an experienced knitter who has knit numerous toys over the years. After skimming through this book and falling in love with several of the patterns, I decided to purchase the book and try my hand at them.


Pros:
-- Patterns are very cute, and, with the exception of a few spots, fairly well written

-- The stitches used aren't overly complex. Most patterns only call for k, p, skpo (slip one, knit one, pass the slipped stitch over the knit one), k2tog, p2tog, and m1.

-- There's a range of skill level here from very basic, beginner patterns like tiny mice to more experienced ones that require color work. All of them are clearly labeled as such.


Cons:

-- Non-standard knitting jargon in some spots. In the cowboy and pirate pattern for instance it tells you to 'knit up' or 'knit down' rather than pick up stitches in the boot/feet portion as you would expect in a sock or slipper pattern.

-- The yarn used is difficult to come by in the US. The yarn brand used in the book are: Sirdar/Hayfield, Rowan, and King Cole. I had to special order the flesh tone from a shop in the UK. The rest I had to find substitutes for here in the States.

-- Assembly and finishing instructions are very vague. Most are one or two sentences that essentially tell you to seam the body part in question. There were several oddly shaped pieces I had to puzzle out on my own.

There is also no instructions on how to add hair to your dolls nor embroider the faces onto each one either. Again, I was left to puzzle things out on my own.



Despite the vague assembly instructions, I was able to work on the fly and figure things out. I would, however, caution inexperienced knitters or those that haven't done their fair share of knitted toys who purchase this book to do so knowing there will be spots where you'll need to either figure things out on your own or ask for help.

Having said that though, I do like the patterns in the book and do intend on knitting my way through them all despite the rough spots.

The toys in the book are cute. There are boy dolls and many toy books ignore the boys when it comes to more than stuffed animals. I love the pirate and cowboy. There a lots of little pieces to sew, but this is the nature of knitting toys. I've done my share and these are no more complicated. There is also a surprisingly simple and adorable Topsy Turvy Cinderella doll, a unicorn and a mermaid! I've never felted a toy but there are some in here to require felting as the title indicates. I think this is worth a look if you enjoy knitting toys.

I love this book - the finished toys are very cute, I've made a few and I want to make nearly all of them. Although it has instructions for felting this is not a obligatory step - these toys are just as cute knitted without the felting (although they'll look a little different than the picture).

My order never arrived. The email responses to the emails I sent enquiring as to the where-abouts of my order were scripted and did not address my individual order. I will never order from them ever again!!!

I have made three projects from this book so far and have gotten rave reviews from those who got the animals. I do not get too stuck on exactness when knitting... sometimes the book was a bit confussing. But everthing has turned out way cute!

The toys are cute but involve lots of pieces to sew together as everything is knit that way, in pieces and back and forth. The 13 felted toys require either machine felting or hand felting and in those cases it can take up to half an hour working in boiling hot water. Ugh. Not for me. Also the felted toys require pure 100% wool or alpaca that is not superwashed. For my granddaughter I use acrylic or cotton in preference but they can't be felted. The good news is that the nicest cutest toys are the ones that aren't felted. Also, if you're an experienced knitter, you can change the directions to suit yourself which in fact is suggested by the author. The pure wool yarns are J&S and of course Rowan which means expensive. Instructions are thorough with good color illustrations. I may update this review after I've made something. 3 stars only because only half the toys are unfelted and the author doesn't give any ideas for doing them any other way.