Book Review: Adorable Knitted Animals

I’m just going to say up front that Adorable Knitted Animals by Hiroko Ibuki is not for beginning knitters. There are some relatively easy projects, but even the simplest designs have a lot of pieces and require a lot of finishing that a new knitter might not be ready to do.

The animals are indeed adorable and if you have the patience for knitting all the little pieces and putting them together with care (as well as using Japanese style knitting instructions) this is a great book.

There are 25 different animals included, from a relatively simple pig to a seal, penguin, cats and dogs to a leopard, zebra and more.

The author spent a lot of time looking at photographs of animals and experimenting with different stitch patterns to make the knit versions as realistic as possible.

Thus the many pieces that each project entails. It’s almost as if you were making toys out of fabric except you have to knit all the pieces first.

To take an example at random, Benjamin the Donkey is worked in eight pieces: the underside of the body, the left and right sides of the body, head gusset, outer ears and inner ears. The mane and tail are made of yarn and attached separately, and it has plastic eyes. It’s adorable and totally worth the effort but it is good to know what you are getting into before you choose this book.

The patterns are presented in Japanese style, which means each pattern piece has its own chart that is shaped like the knitting and shows you where shaping, color changes and other steps of the knitting are completed. If you’re new to Japanese knitting patterns, there is one design that includes step-by-step photos to make it a little clearer how to read and interpret the patterns.

Again, none of this is bad. These projects are so cute and no doubt would be loved by anyone you made them for. But it is a level of detail and different techniques that it’s worth noting those differences. Knitters who are comfortable with Japanese patterns or working from charts and who have the patience for a lot of little bits of knitting and finishing will be well rewarded by trying out these adorable projects.

Check out the preview on Amazon, which shows a lot of the finished projects as well as the style of the patterns, for more information.

About the book: 112 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2021 by Tuttle Publishing, suggested retail $15.99.

Next Pattern:

I know plaid or tartan patterns are really Scottish, not Irish, but there’s something about this time of year (almost St. Patrick’s Day as I write this) that gets me thinking about plaid knitting patterns.

Plaid is fun to knit any time of year, of course, and can be a fun way to combine colors you wouldn’t normally use, or wouldn’t normally put together. Let’s check out some fun plaid knitting patterns!

This plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore on Etsy is a great one for dipping your toes into plaid as a technique or a design feature in your home. It makes plaid as easy as it can get but having you knit stripes horizontally but the vertical stripes are added with duplicate stitch.

I still miss a plaid sweater I had when I was in high school, but the Lumber Sweater pattern from The Knit is On // Mette Christensen is probably the closest I’ve seen to being able to re-create it without writing my own pattern. This design uses two strands of lace weight held together to make a sport weight yarn, which makes mixing the colors that much easier. It comes in six sizes and is available on Ravelry.

I love plaid for accessories like scarves and cowls, and I found a couple of great plaid cowl knitting patterns for you. The first is the Handy Ma’am Cowl from Catherine Clark, which is worked flat and seamed. It uses five colors of light fingering weight yarn and is fully lined in a solid color to make it super cozy to wear. Get the pattern on Ravelry.

Then there’s the Thegither Cowl from Amy Palko, which uses stripes and stranded colorwork to make the plaid design in three colors of fingering weight yarn. The pattern is worked in sections; for a longer cowl work three sections instead of two. There’s also a scarf version where the colors stay consistent if you want a mellower project. Check it out on Ravelry.

The Buffalo Plaid Baby Blanket from Little Barn Owl Store is a classic two color plaid that’s easy to knit and looks adorable. This one is worked in classic red and white but you can change it up to suit the baby’s room.

Speaking of blankets, I love this vintage plaid throw pattern from Chickie by the Sea. The original pattern actually called for Red Heart knitting worsted, which looks similar to Super Saver, but you can use any worsted weight yarn you like to complete this retro look.

Next Pattern:

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