Toy Story

Thursday 30th July 2020

Tags: Blogstars, Crochet, Fun, Knit

Making toys is a great way to hone your knitting and crochet skills and can be quick and fun to make.  But, if you have never made them, they can be really daunting.  All those little bits that you have to try and fit together and make resilient enough for the most boisterous child.

We thought we would ask our Blogstars for their top tips.

Justina Schneeweis from Every Trick on the Hook told us she is not an expert toy maker but loves Bellissima Chunky for toys. “My only tip is: Don't make toys! It's addictive! Just kidding. Do. And just go ahead and order the big pack of safety eyes. You're going to need them.”

Emma May from Pippin Poppycock is an experienced toy maker and is working on an amigurumi book at the moment: “Cotton is always best for Amigurumi, use a hook size or 2 smaller than recommended on the yarn label to get nice tight stitches so the stuffing doesn’t show through.  When you are finished don’t be afraid to pack that stuffing in and I shape once stuffed.” Great tips, Emma.

“If you’re making amigurumi style toys count, count, count, and use stitch markers to help you count!” says Top of Form Michelle Westlund from Crochet Between Worlds

Emma Varnam is also a big fan of counting: “I mark the end of a row and the number of rows done as I go.”  She also had a tip for making the faces of toys, something that lots of us find hard. “Place eyes in different places to see how the eyes change the character of the toy and if you are embroidering noses don't be afraid to re-do or rip out if you don't like the final look. The finishing makes all the difference.”

Finally, Julia Marsh from Hand Knitted Things has a tip for sewing up: “Mattress stitch is a useful sewing technique for joining vertical knitted stocking stitch seams. It creates an invisible join and looks really neat. I use this a lot on my little croft houses.”

We hope this helpful advice from our lovely Blogstars inspires you to try out toy making for yourself.

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