Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Awesome Knit Animals from Around the World

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knitted toy travelsI’m always a little jealous of crochet because there are so many great patterns for animals, food and other fun objects that we don’t seem to match in knitting.

While knit amigurumi isn’t as big a thing as the crocheted version, there are still a lot of really cute projects we can make, for kids and others in our lives who like a little sweetness.

Case in point: Knitted Toy Travels by Laura Long. The book has 15 adorable patterns for wild animals (most of them are on Ravelry) including a kangaroo and joey, hippo, parrot, monkey, tiger, panda, meerkats, giraffe, lion, zebra, polar bear and reindeer.

There’s also a pattern for Ed the Explorer (add yarn hair to make a girl if desired) and his clothes and gear for cold and warm weather.

This book is charming and includes a pull-out maps so you can see where each of your knit creatures comes from.

If you’d like this book to travel to your home, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, November 12. I’d love to know what your favorite wild animal is (mine is a leopard, but of those in the book, it would have to be meerkats).

Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck.

Comments

  3. I agree, there are more crochet patterns for animals than knit. I’ve been knitting for over 50 years, and can’t seem to master crochet no matter how many times my mother has tried to teach me! I think my favourite wild animal would be a monkey.

  6. I love so many animals, I’d never even try to name a favorite. Would I pick something cute, or powerful, or colorful? I’ll spare you the whole list and go with the Frill Necked Lizard, Which I now totally TOTALLY want to knit!

  7. My favourite is the tapir. I’ve just knitted a Malaysian tapir for my son and am really pleased with how it’s turned out!

  8. favorite wild animal – so hard to choose – a spotted leopard might be fun to try to knit… thanks for the giveaway

  10. Just got a new great grandson and want to knit some animals as I did for our first grandson all of which he will not part with

  11. I love most of the wild cats – the lynx is a particular favorite. Something about their ears that I can’t resist.

Have you read?

Knit a Classic Aran Cardigan with this Free Knitting Pattern

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time. 

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring. 

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. 

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row. 

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves. 

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body. 

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy. 

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn. 

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]