Danger - 50 Yards of Fun: Knitting Toys from Scrap Yarn

Rebecca Danger

KNITTING TOYS from SCRAP YARN

50 Yards of Fun: Knitting Toys from Scrap Yarn
2013 by Rebecca Danger

Martingale
19021 120th Ave. NE, Ste. 102
Bothell, WA 98011-9511 USA
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eBook Edition: 2013

No part of this product may be reproduced in any form, unless otherwise stated, in which case reproduction is limited to the use of the purchaser. The written instructions, photographs, designs, projects, and patterns are intended for the personal, noncommercial use of the retail purchaser and are under federal copyright laws; they are not to be reproduced by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, including informational storage or retrieval systems, for commercial use. Permission is granted to photocopy patterns for the personal use of the retail purchaser. Attention teachers: Martingale encourages you to use this book for teaching, subject to the restrictions stated above.

The information in this book is presented in good faith, but no warranty is given nor results guaranteed. Since Martingale has no control over choice of materials or procedures, the company assumes no responsibility for the use of this information.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

eISBN: 978-1-60468-304-2

Original Source ISBN: 978-1-60468-303-5

Dedication

This book is dedicated to knitters everywhere. Thanks for being such a supportive, creative, and all-around amazing group of folks.

Hello and welcome to 50 Yards of Fun! I am so excited youre here, because I have a fun pile of patterns for you in the following pages. My pattern writing adventure that started back in early 2009 really began with my first free pattern, Bunny Nuggets (shown below). I designed Bunny Nuggets to be a quick, easy, perfect way to use up all of those leftover bits of yarn we knitters always seem to have. Over the last several years, after two more equally popular tiny knitting patterns and several thousand Bunny Nugget projects popping up on Ravelry.com , I decided it was time for me to do a whole books worth of tiny knitting projects.

I love the idea of having quick little projects to use up your scrap yarn or handspun yarns with short yardage. I love them for beginner and kid knitters, for unique little gifts, as decorations for holidays or as party favors. I love them because, with just a little bit of creativity, an experienced knitter can turn one little project into a plethora of variations. In short, I love tiny knitted projects for a million reasons and I know you will too. They are kind of like potato chips: I bet you wont be able to knit just one!

In these pages, youll find a wonderful selection of patterns. With everything from a cute, more traditional Dinky Doggy (), I know that this book has something for everyone. I hope this serves as an abundant source of patterns for all of you beginner knitters, or a jumping-off point for all of you experienced knitters to take and run with and create your own variations.

Wishing you many happy knitting adventures,

~ Rebecca

This book has patterns for five body shapes, then expands on those shapes to create a variety of different projects.

I designed all of the patterns to take about 50 yards of worsted-weight yarn (although a few took a little bit more). All of my samples were knit using worsted-weight yarn on US size 5 needles to give you a general idea of size and yardage. You can make any project smaller or larger by using thinner or thicker yarn and appropriate-size needles. If youre using yarn that is thicker than worsted weight, youll probably need a bit more yardage. For thinner yarn, youll probably need slightly less yardage. Just for fun, I knit the Basic Peanut-Body in six different yarn weights (listed below) so you can see the variation youll get using different-sized yarns and needles.

Youll find several projects for each body shape, but believe me, it was hard to narrow this book down to just those projects. I had so many ideas, and I know you will too! Since all of the bodies are similarly sized, you can easily use an arm, ear, or nose from one shape with a different-shaped body to get a whole new critter. Have fun and let those creative juices start flowing.

Here youll find some basic information on what you need to make the critters in this book. Though I wrote 50 Yards of Fun assuming you have basic knitting knowledge, I know there are a few techniques that would be easier with a bit of explanation. For additional techniques, see Where to Go for Help on .

I didnt call for a specific gauge for any of the projects in this book. All the patterns are written round by round so that you can pick whatever size yarn and needles you want to use. Simply use smaller needles than those recommended on the yarn label to create a tighter knitted fabric so the stuffing doesnt show through. My rule of thumb is to go down two or three needle sizes from the smallest recommended needle size for your yarn. For example, I knit my Cascade 220 from Cascade Yarns on US size 5 (3.75 mm) needles instead of the recommended US size 7 (4.5 mm) or 8 (5 mm) needles. Depending on your personal knitting style, this may be right on for you, or you may want to go up or down a size. Play around to figure out what works best for you.

Because you can pick your yarn and needle size, you can make all sorts of sizes of critters from each of these patterns. Check out my cool size comparison () for a general idea of how each body can be made smaller or larger depending on your needles and yarn. Think of how far you can take these patterns just by using different yarn and needles. Mind boggling, isnt it?

Remember, larger yarn and needles mean larger critters, smaller yarn and needles mean smaller critters. Got it? Good. Now get knitting!

Since this book is called 50 Yards of Fun, I kept close track of how much yarn I was using for each project. I have included the approximate worsted-weight yardage I used to give you an idea of how much yardage youll need. My intention was to help you pick which projects you have enough yardage for, or if you want to make a certain project but feel you might be short on yarn, to help you modify the pattern to make it work for you. For instance, if you have less yardage than whats called for, you can decide to shorten arms, or take out wings or ears, or add stripes or what-have-you. Take a peek at the patterns required yard-age before you dive into a project you dont have enough yarn for!