Making a Mint on Knit Taxidermy

There are a lot of interesting ways people have found to turn knitting into a business, but one of the most bizarre may be the story of Louise Walker, a 25-year-old British knitter who expects to make £80,000 this year from knitting taxidermy animal heads.

She told the Telegraph that she started knitting animal heads as props for a commercial photography course, and in 2011 she was asked by Boden to create some heads for its press day.

From there she opened an online shop, started selling patterns as well as finished pieces and wrote a really fun book, Faux Taxidermy Knits.

She says it “started out as a bit of fun” that’s now more than a full-time job between developing and selling patterns, teaching workshops and making commissioned pieces.

[Photo by Eddie Mulholland, via the Telegraph.]

If your family is the sort to do a turkey trot for Thanksgiving, or even just to take family pictures, you’ll want to get started knitting up some Turkey Sack Hats with this pattern from Underground Crafter.

The pattern uses super bulky yarn and is rated easy. It’s knit flat but there are a few skills in here around the shaping of the eyes, which includes changing colors, working bobbles and doing a wicked purl 3 together decrease. Twice.

But that’s all in one row, and the rest of it is pretty simple. The beak is worked separately and sewn on, and the side of the hat is stitched up to make it into a hat.

What’s great about this one is that it comes in 10 sizes, ranging from newborn to adult large, so you really can make one for everyone in the family. And because it uses super bulky yarn you can knit a bunch pretty quickly if that’s a thing you’d like to do.

It’s also fun because you could use this base pattern to make different animals or for different holidays. Make it all in orange and stitch on a jack o’lantern face for Halloween, or make a white one that’s a snowman, for example.

In any style this would also be a fun gag gift for that person in your life who has everything or doesn’t want gifts, or if you do a secret Santa or white elephant gift exchange at work or elsewhere.

And make sure whether you’re making it a turkey or some other character that you include the pom poms at the top! They’re just so cure and a great way to add a bit more color to the project, and they’re easy to make. (See also: ways to make a pompom with yarn.)

You can grab the free pattern at the Underground Crafter website.

[Photo: Underground Crafter]

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