Book Review: Knits for Kitties

The image of a cat playing with a ball of yarn is cute, but it’s not actually safe for cats to play with yarn because they could eat some of it. Better to use that yarn to make toys that are a little harder to tear apart than a single strand of yarn (though it’s still probably a good idea to supervise play with knit cat toys, just in case).

Sara Elizabeth Kellner has made a fun collection of cat toys (or tiny toys for humans) in her book Knits for Kitties: 25 Knit Patterns for Making Cat Toys.

Many of the patterns are inspired by creatures her cat likes to chase, including mice, birds, snakes and grasshoppers. There are also more whimsical designs, such as doughnuts, mittens and petit fours stuffed with catnip for special occasions.

There are ladybugs, lizards, shrimp, flowers and more. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry. A roundup of finishing and embroidery techniques at the back of the book will help make your projects a success.

These projects are really cute and fun to knit, whether you’re new to knitting toys or love this whimsical genre. And the adorable photography, featuring cats interacting with the toys, is sure to delight any cat lover.

About the book: 112 pages, paperback with interior flaps, 25 patterns (7 rated for beginners, 10 intermediate and 8 advanced). Published by Baron’s Educational Series, August 2016, retail price $16.99.

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork.

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn.

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look.

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me.

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round.

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.

Have you read?