Stash Busting with Knitted Toys

I don’t knit a lot of toys, and I don’t know why that is, because I always enjoy doing it and they’re so sweet and fun to look at and play with.

But dolls and other toys are a great way to use up bits of stash because a teddy bear is still adorable in stripes, or you can make different parts of a toy in different colors to use up some of your little bits.

Looking for more Knitting patterns for Teddy Bears? Check it out here.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Dolls: I love these little Knubblechen dolls from Ravelry user pzi888. They’re worked in sock yarn, and there is an English translation. Manne has little cork dolls (there’s a translation for this simple pattern, too), while Tonya Gunn has knit gnomes in a smaller version than those first ones.

Animal toys: I love Mary MCK’s Syndey the Stash-Busting Snake, but there’s also Socktopus by Laura Edwards, Susan B. Anderson’s adorable Elefante, Sheldon the turtle by Ruth Homrighaus, Rebecca Danger’s Bunny Nuggets, the Owls Two Ways by Ana Clerc (that’s knit or crochet) and Bob, from Mochimochi Land, which may not be an animal so much as, well, I don’t really know (he’s inspired by the plastic floaty thing in the toliet. Eww.).

Balls and other toys: Check out Celestine from Berroco (my mom made my daughter one of these once!), the Braided Ball by Marleen Hartog and Doddy by Carol Feller, which is a ball made out of pentagons.

That should get you going! If you have any favorite toy patterns, I hope you’ll share!

Next Pattern:

It’s been well documented that I love a knitting pattern with a bit of whimsy, so when I saw the Mine! Pullover from Sarah L. Kelly recently I knew I had to share it with you.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to knit a sweater with a yoke full of seagulls? And another seagull at the waist? Chasing little crabs?

The story behind the sweater (and you knew there had to be one, right?) is that while Sarah was traveling around Europe there were a lot of cheeky seagulls about. They reminded her of the scene in Finding Nemo where the seagulls say “mine, mine, mine” and thus the Mine! series of patterns was born.

Oh yes, there’s a whole set. It was the sweater I saw first but there’s also a pair of socks (and the pattern says there’s a cowl, too, but I couldn’t find it as of this writing. If you see it let me know and I’ll add the link here!) so you can totally deck yourself out in pesky seabirds if you want.

But back to the sweater for now. This is worked in DK weight yarn from the top down in the round. The yoke and a section at the bottom are worked in stranded colorwork, with stripes on the body, though you could make the body a single color if you wanted. Details like the beaks and eyes are added with duplicate stitch to make the knitting a little easier.

The colorwork sections are charted. The pattern comes in 10 sizes, with a finished chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 80 to 170 cm.

The socks are worked in sock yarn and come in three sizes. There worked from the cuff down and change needle sizes to accommodate the less stretchy nature of stranded colorwork. You can choose from a side profile or a seagull that’s looking out from the sock. Make a matching pair or mix it up.

Both patterns are available on Ravelry: sweater and socks. If you make them I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sarah L. Kelly]

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