Customer Reviews

Knitted Toys: 25 Fresh and Fabulous Designs

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I buy lots of toy books and this one is really special as it has such unusual ones. Most of the yarns are Rowan dk so really you can use almost any worsted yarn in acrylic or wool or mixed. The snake is very colorful but so is the turtle which is not often made. There are some cute boy and girl dolls, a 24" cheeky monkey with very long legs and arms. There's even a robot. I'm not sure about the snappy crocodile (kind of scary), but the little mice and the big elephant are delightful. Other items are:
fairy, cat, cow, chick, pig, finger puppets, flat ted, big foot bunny,
dog, dinosaur, butterfly, owl, ball, fish on the line. Pictures are also good as you can see how the children relate to the toys.

I'm completely addicted to Zoe Mellor's designs as it is, but when I saw this book was coming out, I had to have it! I only received my copy a few weeks ago but I've already made two of the toys. The patterns are just adorable! I made the dinosaur as a baby shower gift and the mom-to-be loved it! It's great to be able to mix and match my leftover skeins in such creative and fun ways. My three year old has already poured over the pictures and picked out her rather long wish list of knitted toys she simply cannot live without! So quick and easy to make, not to mention economical if your yarn budget is limited! And absolutely ADORABLE!!!

After reading the previous reviews on this book I was looking forward to a book with easy to follow instructions. However, there is very little detail and the wording is sometimes hard to understand. I would certainly not recommend this book for someone just starting out.

The patterns are interesting, colourful and different. The toys are simple, old-fashioned characters with a modern twist. They are easy to knit as specified (beginners patterns). BUT
- the patterns do not cover finishing well - placement of features, sewing seams, etc
- the patterns as specified result in a lot of "scarring" ie obvious seams in obvious places. The patterns are difficult to modify so this does not happen. I note the photos have the toys carefully placed so the scarring can't be seen...
- the toys are often finished with felt, beads, ribbons and buttons - pretty enough but not always desirable for toddler and baby toys.

I don't regret buying this book, if only for the mouse pattern - which I have modified to knit in one piece to avoid most of the seams. It is a great pattern for a toddler - fast, easy and fun to play with. However, think about it before you make this investment. It may not be the best toy book for you.

Lots of cute patterns, adorable ideas. This book for the advanced knitter. It gives almost no instruction on how to finish the pieces and there are LOTS of little pieces to sew together. It also assumes that the reader knows how to make all different kinds of increases and decreases - and will use many different kinds in one toy. These can be found easily enough online, but I would have liked a little more instruction for finishing the specific pieces. A good book - but if you have never knit toys before, start with an easier book.

I love this book. The ideas are great, and the toys are fun. Its one of the best knitted toy books. The patterns are very confusing and I have had to consult with my friends on how to do some of them. It is definately a bit advanced in the assumptions of how to get from one step to another.

I hadn't knit for awhile and this was actually recommended by a glass lampworker to me. LOVE the clear directions, darling simple to more difficult knitting. Only problem so far is finding some of the yarns required, especially for felting.

I've had this book for a few years and it is one of my staples. After making the elephant, mice, bear, turtle, pig, boy doll and girl doll I can say this is a great treasury of classic, knitted toys that are always a hit at baby showers. Some reviews here say the patterns are too complicated or poorly written, but I think most intermediate knitters should be able to navigate them just fine. One of the few books that, for me, yields a result just as nice as the pictures. Because these projects rely so much on good finishing techniques, it would have been nice to have more explicit instruction about how to sew them up, but that's the only drawback in my opinion.

it was good and helpful, kind of hard to understand at first. This is definitely not a book for beginners, i had to buy another book to go along with it for help. But if you are already experienced then it is wonderful.

I'm a fairly new knitter and found I could learn/follow the patterns in this book. I've knitted other toys before and have some familiarity with finishing / stuffing. Still, this book leaves a lot to be desired about how to do the finishing. For instance, how do you put on the hair (on the doll) so it doesn't pull off easily? Also, on the girl fairy doll, which I just completed, the picture clearly show a head that was knit and sewn on separately (you can see the stitches in the photo). Yet the pattern has the head connected.

As for the finishing instructions, I didn't expect step-by-step instructions on how to finish, but maybe a bit more details for each pattern. And it would actually be nice to have more general finishing details referenced in the end of the book. That would turn this into a 5 star review.