I find that among my friends/family hand knit blankets are becoming more and more common. Are there any books you would suggest for knitting or crochetting stuffed animals? Seems like a lot of the patterns I find are small and I would like some of generous size.
thank you
How big are you talking about? I don’t know of a book with only large toys, but I know on Ravelry you can look up toys or specific toys and you can see that some of them are larger. The patterns usually give you a measurement as well. You can also use a heavier weight yarn for some and they’ll come out larger.
If you like silly ones some of these are pretty big. they also seemed pretty easy. I got it from my library.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/the-big-book-of-knitted-monsters
Baby Bobby Bear is 15" and is adorable. I’ve seen it in my LYS.
http://blueskyalpacas.com/patterns/baby-bobbi-bear/
I own two books with soft toy patterns in them.
[B]Knitting:[/B] the stuffies in this book range from very small–2.5"/6cm finished (“Bugs”)–to fairly stitch-intense at 15.5"/39 cm (teddy-bear style “Rabbit”). [I]Knitted Toys: 21 easy-to-knit patterns for irresistible soft toys[/I], by Fiona McTague. It may be available for a look-see in your public library.
[B]Crochet:[/B] This book is aimed at clothing, accessories, and other items for small children; however, having no such in my home, I purchased it just for the elephant pattern, which a clever yarn-shop owner displayed on her counter. I wouldn’t let the matter rest until I learned where the pattern could be found! Realistic yet cute elephant makes up at 3" tall x 6" long in recommended size of yarn but will be larger in other sizes of yarn and/or on a larger than G/6/4.0mm hook. There’s also a “robot” pattern 4" wide x 9" tall when seated. [I]Baby Blueprint Crochet: irresistible projects for little ones[/I], by Robyn Chachula. This one may be too new to be in your library, but it’s worth a shot!
DCM
These are two patterns that I like and may try my hand at soon.
http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/toys/beanbear.htm
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/buddybears.html
Here’s another site from Bev that has great toy patterns.
Here’s one I liked on Ravelry.
Sorry I’m confused (It might be the pain killers messing with my functioning, I am having a total hip replacement in 2 weeks, follwed 3 months later by the other hip, followed in quick sessesion by both knees talk about being in pain!), but do you want a book of blankets or a book of toys? I guess the confusion comes from the abrupt (To my druged mind anyway) change of subject from the first sentence to the next.
Anyway, I like Toy Knits: More Than 30 Irresistible and Easy-to-Knit Patterns by debbie bliss for toys, but they are just normal sized toys not “generous.” and for blankets I love Under Cover: 60 Afghans to Knit and Crochet by Trisha Malcom. Both of these are available used on Amazon
I have the book [I]Knitted & Felted Toys by Zoe Halstead[/I]
This is probably my favorite book of knitted toys. I love how cute her dolls are.
Being a teddy bear fiend, when I found this pattern as a tear off at Hobby Lobby I couldn’t resist a free pattern for a 16" bear.
What a gorgeous reason to get better at knitting! Luckily, it’s also available online here: http://www.premieryarns.com/patterns.php?id=132
And the downloaded PDF is much easier to read than the tear off version!
Happy knitting!