Itty-Bitty Toys: How to Knit Animals, Dolls, and Other

Product Review

Adorable hand-knit playthings, featuring clever twists on classics and enchanting reversibles and interactive toys.

Kids love toys, and toys you make yourself are extra-special. If you could buy these imaginative playthings in stores, they would fly off the shelves! This book features stuffed animals, including a luscious lamb and a gigantic giraffe, and finger-puppet fruits that will delight babies and toddlers. With step-by-step directions, clear diagrams and drawings, and gorgeous photographs, knitters of all levels will find it easy to make the Pull-Toy Mama Duck and Ducklings, the set of Russian nesting dolls, and the Princess and the Pea Set. Even older kids will enjoy these, as well as the Felted Bouncy Ball, a felted version of a Super Ball that's perfect for indoor play. A series of five reversible toys—a frog that turns into a turtle, a mouse that changes into a cat, an egg in a nest that transforms into a blue bird, and so on—showcases the creativity that makes Susan B. Anderson a rising star in the knitting world.

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review

(37 customer reviews)

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful

Fantastic Toy Book!, October 8, 2009

Legal Knitter - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Itty-Bitty Toys: How to Knit Animals, Dolls, and Other Playthings for Kids (Hardcover)

If you like to knit toys, you need this book in your knitting library, plain and simple. There is a huge variety of yarn weight, toy and pattern types in this book, and the adorability factor is off the charts. The section on knitting toys with sock yarn is one of my favorites, not only because of how cute the toys are, but because sock yarn is such a rich canvas for a knitter. (And for those of us who don't like to knit socks, how wonderful to have a fresh excuse to plunge into the sock yarn section!) The two patterns jockeying for top spot in my queue are the Hippo (in sock yarn!) and the Giraffe pictured on the cover, but there are plenty of others tugging at my needles too. One of the best toy knitting books out there.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

Wow!, October 16, 2009

M. Boyd (Tahlequah, OK United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Itty-Bitty Toys: How to Knit Animals, Dolls, and Other Playthings for Kids (Hardcover)

June 25, 2010 Update: It's been several months since I first reviewed this book, and I wanted update my review to show that I'm still incredibly enthusiastic about this book! I've now made several toys from the book, and there are more on my summer knitting list. The patterns have all been well-written and so much fun to finish. I just really like Susan B. Anderson's aesthetic and instructions. The instructions are clear but concise, and they encourage confidence. This is the longest I've kept any knitting book on my "always handy" shelf or in my knitting bag, and I've made more patterns from it than from any other book. It's also fun because the finished toys always get rave reviews and amazed reactions when others see them. This is definitely money well-spent!

Original review (October 2009): I love this book! I load up on knitting books because I start projects in rapid succession and also because I like to dream about what I'll make someday, and this book is easily one...Read more

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

Can't wait to knit, October 13, 2009

J. M. Almy (California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Itty-Bitty Toys: How to Knit Animals, Dolls, and Other Playthings for Kids (Hardcover)

Concur with prior reviewer on the chance to use the sock yarn on something that isn't a sock. I received the book this weekend and I still haven't decided which project to start with. I love the hippo and the giraffe but what really intrigues me is the section on reversible toys. The Lion that flips over and becomes an elephant looks like so much fun.

The book itself has lots of color pictures and like the author's prior books has a spiral binding that lets the pages lay flat. Since I haven't started a project yet, I can't comment on errata.