Claire Garland - Magical Woodland Knits: Knitting patterns for 12 wonderfully lifelike animals

CLAIRE GARLAND www.davidandcharles.com To me the woods is a world within, and apart from, this world. Its the subject of the darker side of fairy tales, where weary travellers rest awhile around campfires, always wary of what could be lurking amongst the tall trees, or nestling, unseen, within their gnarly roots and under the hollow ground. Its a land where one could tiptoe silently on freshly fallen snow only to tumble headfirst down into a badgers lavishly furnished holt, or stumble blindly into a lamp post and then take tea with a charming fellow with cloven hooves. Its where elves and pixies and fairies dwell in toadstool houses and fern covered shelters. This is the magic of the woods where the living creatures nestle amongst the toadstools and fern covered shelters, in hollows and under the snowy ground, without any knowledge of the world outside this foresty habitat. These are the animals that Ive tried to capture within the pages of this book and that you too can create with a few balls of yarn and a pair of knitting needles.

You can also read some rather fascinating folklore facts about the animals including the deer and the rabbit, the wolf, the fox and the badger and not forgetting the smaller creatures: the birds and the mouse and, of course the wise old owl. Welcome to my Magical Woodland World!

To create the colours and textures for the creatures in this book I combine different coloured and textured yarns which are held together to knit. Within the patterns, the yarn combinations are written as follows:

• Yarn ABC means one strand each of yarns A, B & C.
• Yarn EEF means 2 strands of yarn E and one of yarn F.
• Yarn J means just one strand of yarn J.

To work with two strands of the same yarn, you can take the second strand from the other end of the ball. Cable cast-on and standard cast-off are used throughout these patterns unless otherwise stated. I use lockable stitch markers to mark points that will be joined, or to show where to pick up stitches. To sew the seams, choose a yarn that matches one side of the seam. To sew the seams, choose a yarn that matches one side of the seam.

For small seams (e.g. around an eye socket), use a single strand of kid mohair. For longer seams, use a single strand of 4ply yarn (or DK yarn for patterns knit with DK). Many seams need to be eased to get the two sides to fit together. I do this to create the curves of the animal.

For most of the projects in this book I have used toy safety eyes which are plastic (or resin) eyes. For most of the projects in this book I have used toy safety eyes which are plastic (or resin) eyes.

These come with either with metal or plastic washer backs which you push on to fix them in place. For the mouses eyes, I used the type that you have to glue in place. To fit the eye I created a hole where I wanted the eye to go (using a tapestry needle) then applied glue to the stem of the eye and pushed the eye into the hole wriggling it around a bit to make sure the glue adhered well inside the hole.

I use a heavier weight stuffing, which gives the knitted creature more weight and therefore allows it to sit more naturally. Its easier to pose and sculpt too. How much stuffing? That depends on which part I am stuffing.

For a face I tend to use a bit less to create a gentle bagginess that occurs around the jowls and around the eye sockets. For the body, however, I use more, especially around the haunches of the wolf and fox for example. This enhances the curved shape and helps the backbone to look like a real spine. A top tip is to leave a tiny gap in the very last seam you sew then you can add or remove stuffing as you live with your new friend for a while.

Some of the knitted creatures need a little extra support. I used rolled-up strips of paper as a support, in forelegs for example, or a tiny rolled up strip inside the pheasants beak.

I rarely use wire because it always pokes through. The only times its used in this book is for the duck beak and the pheasants tail. In both places I bent it into a loop to close up the sharp cut edges.

The larger birds use purchased bird legs. These are simple to use, just insert and then glue into place. They can be bent into shape to create life-like legs and toes (white legs are easier to bend than black ones), and the colour can be changed using florists tape or yarn.

The large white legs that I use come as a joined pair which is great for stability, but you can clip them apart with pliers if you wish.

This is the part that I spend the most time on and its the most enjoyable and rewarding part of the whole process. Ive finished the knitting, Ive sewn the seams, stuffed the head and body, added the ears and fitted in the eyes and then I sculpt. By sculpting I mean moulding the knitted creature to make it look as life-like as possible. This means pushing my thumbs into eyes sockets, pulling and bending feet to enhance paw shapes, squeezing and twisting waists to shape the belly and breast. It might seem quite brutal, but its worth it for the result.

For finer details, like tiny beaks or mouse legs I dampen the knitting slightly and use my fingers to tease and shape the knitting. Sometimes I will also add a tiny concealed stitch here and there, to join the squirrels tiny paws together, or defining the widows peak on the barn owl.

These patterns are not intended as toys. However, they could be made for small children if you leave out any wire or other hard or sharp parts, and use felt or embroidery for the eyes. You may also want to consider using washable yarns and stuffing.

• Drops Alpaca: 100% Alpaca, 167m (183yds) per 50g
• Drops Baby Alpaca Silk: 70% Alpaca, 30% Silk 167m (183yds) per 50g
• Drops Brushed Alpaca Silk: 77% Alpaca, 23% Silk, 140m (153yds) per 25g
• Drops Flora: 65% Wool, 35% Alpaca, 210m (230yds) per 50g
• Drops Karisma: 100% Wool, 100m (109yds) per 50g
• Drops Kid Silk: 75% Mohair, 25% Silk, 210m (230yds) per 25g
• Drops Lima: 65% Wool, 35% Alpaca, 100m (109yds) per 50g
• Drops Nord: 45% Alpaca, 30% Polyamide, 25% Wool, 170m (186yds) per 50g
• Drops Safran: 100% Cotton, 160m (175yds) per 50g
• James C Brett Faux Fur: 90% Nylon, 10% Polyester, 90m (98yds) per 100g
• King Cole Luxury Fur: 90% Nylon, 10% Polyester, 92m (100yds) per 100g