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?

Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns! 

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil. 

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn. 

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point. 

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up. 

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.