At some point I turned around and realized that it’s been almost two months since the first installment of Favorite Finds; however, I’ve diligently cast my eye around the wide world of patterns since then and have come up with both arms full of knit and crochet treats! This post will focus mainly on stuffed toys, but there’ll be a handful of non-stuffed items as well.
Kicking off Favorite Finds: Animals is Yukon the Moose by Jennifer Percival—this handsome little guy is fully equipped for hours of play with a plaid vest & scarf set and appropriately enormous horns! Jennifer used a washable, easy-care cotton yarn, making him a suitable companion for your favorite rough-and-tumble little (or not so little) person.
Next up is Fancy Hen by Ella Austin; while it would be a great playtime friend (see photos on the pattern page), a critter this size and shape is often used as a whimsical doorstop. (Besides, a grown-up sounding use for it makes a good excuse to whip one up for an adult who’s young at heart…)
Today’s first non-stuffed design, Love to Australia is a coordinating set of crochet appliques by Jen Mitchell of Nella’s Cottage. All the proceeds from these lovely marsupials will be donated to wildlife conservation in Australia in light of the recent wildfires. These would be perfect on tote bags, placemats, on the back of a child’s sweater and so much more.
Claire Garland, aka Dot Pebbles, has an impressive portfolio of incredibly realistic knitted animals; when assembling the selections for this post, I truly wanted to feature every single one of them. However I restrained myself and stuck to two—her Red Squirrel and her Fawn. I highly recommend checking out the rest of her animals here.
These fish (Koi Fish and Gold Koi Fish) by Viktoria Vatova were two of the first designs to catch my attention when I created my Ravelry account; I’d seen knit/crochet fish stuffies before, but never this elegant or detailed. (Note the ruffled fins, and the orange spots on the first fish.) The patterns even include instructions for lily pads, buds and lilies—in short, everything you need to stock your own luxury crochet koi pond.
Susan Barrett of Barrett Wool Co. designed this wonderful Panda; not only is he completely seamless, but he’s outfitted with a dapper tasseled hoodie! The hoodie can be removed for imaginative play (and easy washing!).
Now how cute is this? This ingenious Owl Crochet Basket by Deja Joy uses simple stitches and techniques to create a clever, completely unique storage piece. Imagine how much yarn could be stored in one of these (oh, my!)! Deja has also designed a knit version, which can be found here.
Our final stuffie is Sidney the Lion by Kate E. Hancock of Patchwork Moose—Kate has designed dozens of delightful amigurumi, ranging from more traditional stuffed animals like bears and lambs to wildly unexpected creatures such as wooly mammoths, armadillos, seahorses, and even the Loch Ness Monster. Sidney’s curly mane begs to have fingers buried in it, and anyone with four-legged friends can identify those needy eyes!
Last but not least, this is The Deer by Christelle Nihoul. These imaginative colorwork mitts are the first installment in Christelle’s Magical Creatures series; if this is a sampling of what’s to come (and I have full confidence that it is), then this collection is going to be something truly incredible! The deer silhouette is quite realistic but stylized, and the scattered snowflake motifs set the design squarely in the realm of fantasy.
That’s all for now, folks—I hope you’ve enjoyed all of today’s offerings! Three cheers for all of our talented designers; if you enjoyed seeing their designs, please be sure to check out their full portfolios. See you next time!
All photos are used with the permission of their respective owners. All opinions expressed are my own.
