Knitted Wild Animal Friends

Book excerpt: Go wild with this brand new collection of adorable knitted wild animal toys and their clothes and accessories by best-selling author Louise Crowther. After the success of Knitted Animal Friends, Louise has created knitting patterns for 12 new, wild animals in their own wonderful wardrobes. This collection includes a zebra in dungarees, an elephant in a tutu, a lion in jeans, a tiger in a party dress, a chimpanzee in a rainbow cardigan, a sloth in pyjamas (of course!), a koala in a furry gilet, a bear in a fair isle sweater, a hippo in overalls, a panda in a duffle coat, a giraffe in a pinafore and a rhinoceros in a day dress - all with their own distinct personal style! Whether you love Charlie the Chimpanzee's casual outfit of rainbow striped cardigan, shorts and sneakers, or Sophie the Tiger's more formal pink ruffle dress which is perfect for a birthday celebration, there is a something for everyone. Edward the Sloth likes to take it easy and relaxes in comfy pyjamas a fluffy robe and slippers when he's kicking back (which is always!), whereas Hugo the Zebra is always up for an adventure and enjoys wearing his red and white dungarees so he's ready for anything. Louise's attention to detail means that every outfit fits perfectly and you will enjoy creating all the details that make each one so distinctive. There are instructions for how to construct the animal dolls and outfits as well as step-by-step photography for the techniques. Louise also explains how to follow charts for the colour work details in the outfits, as well as step-by-step tutorials for any special stitches. The animal dolls have the same basic body shape and are the same size so that all of the outfits are interchangeable (they also work for the dolls in Knitted Animal Friends too), so you can mix and match your favourites. Or you can just make the animals: the animal patterns and a lot of the clothes are knitted flat and then sewn together but some of the clothing is knitted in the round. All of the techniques for making up the animals include step-by-step instructions and photography. There are so many possibilities for animal and outfit changes so that you can make the perfect doll for the cheeky monkeys in your life.