Review: Knitted Animal Toys

If you’re new to knit amigurumi and want to make some cute, long-legged animals for yourself or a little one in your life, Knitted Animal Toys by Louise Crowther is a fun place to start.

The animals are 16 inches tall (excluding ears) and are made from a set of similar body parts. For instance, they may have a plain body or there are a couple of options for different colorwork on the chest and back, as well as different kinds of feet and paws.

The patterns are as follows:

dog
cat
horse
mouse
fox
squirrel
unicorn
pig
raccoon
hare
duck
ram (which has a different body from the others because it is covered in bobbles)
owl
elephant
rhinoceros
giraffe
lion
chimpanzee
tiger
zebra
sloth
koala
bear
hippopotamus
panda

Some of my favorites are the owl, the lion, the tiger and the zebra, but honestly they’re all pretty cute. The patterns aren’t on Ravelry as of this writing, but you can see many of the animals on the cover or in the book listing on Amazon or on the publisher’s website, linked below.

All of the patterns call for DK weight yarn and are worked flat in pieces, which means more finishing time but makes it easier to stuff the pieces and get all the details look right. Some of the animals have I-cord hair, so you’ll also need double pointed needles for a few projects.

Lots of pictures of each animal are show to highlight the details on their bodies. The pattern for the head, ears and tail of each animal is included with the photos of that pattern; general directions for body types are at the front of the book so they didn’t have to be repeated each time.

At the end of the book are the detailed instruction for assembling the animals, which explains how to sew up the different pieces, how to stuff them and how to combine them to make your animals look just right. There are good photos in this section to help you along, too. Knitting basics such as the long-tail cast on, I-cord, colorwork and seaming techniques are also detailed.

If you’re new to knitting animals, this cute collection is a great place to start. The patterns are relatively small and easy to knit, and if you take your time with the finishing you’re sure to end up with a sweet collection of knit animals.

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2023 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.

Knitting and travel are two hobbies that are highly compatible. Travel often involves waiting or time spent on planes, trains, boats, etc., time that can easily be filled by knitting, a portable and productive craft you can do most anywhere (and yes, you can take your knitting on a plane most of the time).

Krista Ann combines knitting and traveling regularly and ended up visiting every continent in 2022 with her knitting needles along for the ride. The Wandering Knitter explores travel, knitting and learning new knitting skills no matter where you are.

This isn’t a book for beginners, but if you’ve wanted to learn techniques like brioche, cables, lace, colorwork, mitered squares and short rows, there’s a set of more beginner level patterns followed by ones that are bigger, more detailed or required a little more skill. For example a brioche washcloth is the beginner pattern, while a brioche sweater (with unexplained exceptionally long sleeves) is the stepped up project. A basic mesh lace scarf becomes a more complex lace kerchief. A giant mitered square cowl graduates to a mitered square tote bag.

Interspersed among the patterns are essays about traveling to different continents and what she saw there. There are also tips for traveling with your knitting and tips for reading charts, but no tutorials for knitting skills (other than a written explanation of how mosaic knitting works).

Some of the projects would be useful to have when traveling, such as fingerless gloves, a warm headband or a colorwork hat. The travel angle is an interesting hook for a book, but I would have enjoyed essays more about specific incidents or shopping for yarn in a different country or something more than the general essays about things she’s liked and places she’d like to go back to.

Still, if you’re looking for a skill building book that doesn’t focus on the basics but gives you some wearable, attractive accessories, this book is a good one to check out. Just maybe make the sleeves shorter if you knit the sweater.

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 20 patterns. Published 2026 by Quarry Books. Suggested retail price $24.99.

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