Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Loom knit stuffed animals, Christmas ornaments, and catnip toys


A few months ago I was looking for a quicker way to knit stuffed animals.  I decided to try my hand at some of the knitting looms I've seen in the craft store. These are circles of various diameters (mine are plastic) with evenly spaced pegs around which you wrap your yarn.  The looms allow you to create a knit tube with no seams.  I started with a very small loom, and slowly added to my collection.  The smallest ones are great for tails and similar long, thin cords.  As the circles increase in diameter they can create arms, legs, bodies, hats, sweaters, and more.  Some of the first items I created with the looms were catnip toys, which I stuff with my own organic catnip.Blue and White Knit Bunny Catnip Cat Toy with Organic CatnipHandmade Knit Catnip Cat Toy with Organic Catnip
I used my two smallest looms to create the head, body, tails, and ears on my catnip dog, cat, and bunny.  I've also found loom knitting to progress a bit faster than flat knitting, and it's a little easier on my hands.  I used the small loom to create tiny hats for some of my Christmas ornaments (I knit the scarves in the regular manner).  And the purple stockings (which hold some adorable polymer clay kittens) were knit with a small loom as well.Three Kittens in Stockings Handmade Christmas OrnamentsHandmade Skiing Polar Bear Christmas OrnamentDog Wearing Knit Scarf and Hat Christmas OrnamentHandmade Singing Cat Wearing Knit Scarf and Hat Christmas Ornament
Very recently I've been knitting teddy bears.  These stuffed toys are very soft and cuddly- great for children and adults alike.  I think everybody should have at least one teddy bearWink.  I made the little purple bear first, with Valentine's Day in mind.  This is the sort of gift I would love to get.  When I saw how well he turned out, I thought I'd try my hand at larger bears.  All of these were created with my own patterns.  When my cream and gold bear turned out so nicely, I figured I'd do a slightly different bear in red, pink, and white (another good one for Valentine's Day).  In my opinion, she's even cuter than the gold bear (although he's quite adorable himself!). 

Handmade Knit Purple Teddy Bear Stuffed AnimalHandmade Knit Cream and Gold Teddy Bear Stuffed AnimalHandmade Red, Pink, and White Knit Valentines Teddy Bear
I hope you enjoyed all my loom knit creationsSmile.  There will certainly be more to come.  I'm mulling over ideas for a knit dragon, among other creatures, so be sure to stop back often.  You never know what you'll find at CreativeCritters!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

1 comment:

  1. very cute! I love the idea about stuffing them especially - for pets and sachets!

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