I’ve been on a bit of a toy kick lately. Once I start something and gain momentum I like to keep riding that train (perhaps why I just keep on knitting sweaters…). Since I made Wasabi the Whale I decided to make my friend’s son Jacob a stuffed dog toy. We are hoping to visit them and he likes pictures of my dogs but isn’t 100% comfortable around dogs so I thought why not give him his own? And then once I made one I said, well I can’t leave out his little sister…
So we’ve now had a family of four dogs in our house. Jellybean has been utterly fascinated by them. I don’t know if she wants to snuggle them or thinks they’re a toy for her to play with, so I’ve been keeping them away from her.
Jacob’s favorite color is purple so I pulled out this really dark purple from my stash of Caron Simply Soft and decided to whip up the first dog. I didn’t stuff his head as much as I think I could have so after I washed him he’s become much more of a floppy dog. Which is super cute. His ears fall down more like Cher’s do, which I love. And I added in a little green bow tie because I felt like he was just too naked. And once I did that, Cher wanted to snuggle him. Perhaps she thought I was making her a boo?
For his little sister Leah (you’ll remember her from this post) I dug into my stash and pulled out this super bright hot fuchsia yarn from Deborah Norville that I’ve had forever. I used one skein to make a hat and I loved the vividness of the color and how soft it was but never found something to use it with until now. I also haven’t seen this colorway ever again – why does this always happen to me? It was perfect for this project and her dog has stiffer ears because the yarn is a bit heavier. And I added a scarf to hers as an accessory. I matched their accessories to the eyes of the other dog as a fun little detail.
The entire time I was making both of these I felt like they looked so much like Jellybean since she is a chihuahua (Cher is half pug) and the dolls were even matching up in terms of size too!
And since my girlfriend Rachel knows how to knit she asked me when I made the second doll to show her the progress as it was made. So I actually have a kind of step-by-step as I went along. I’m hoping these become beloved toys that they play with and love on for years to come. And I have a feeling I’ll be making a few more toys before the year is up!
So have any of you made toys before? What are your favorite patterns?
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Yards of Happiness 
There’s a gold fish and a bear pattern here: http://susandennis.com/knitting/ (Also on Ralvery – susandnenis) for free. I’ve made a lot of fish and a biscillion bears đŸ™‚
Oh thank you! I’ve been looking for a good bear.
These are SO adorable. I stared Alex the Mouse as part of the Year of Techniques I am doing, but I haven’t gotten very far … and so far (s)he’s my only foray into toy knitting!
Well these were fun so I hope to make more toys! I’ve got a lot of little kids in my life.
The puppies are darling, sure to be hailed around till they’re worn out with love.
Henry’s bunny, a sweet freebie on Ravelry, is a perfect size for a little one to hold…. Easy to knit and cute enough that I didn’t really want to give it away!
I know the feeling about not wanting to give it away. I was a little sad packing these guys up to go to their new home!
How funny! I didn’t know dog noses were sold also besides the eyes. I need to stock up on eyes as I want to hook up some amigurumi for my friend’s daughters. I’m glad your canine babies appreciate their mama’s knitting and don’t want to tear them up.
I probably should’ve mentioned where I got the eyes and noses! I got them from this Etsy shop recommended by the pattern designer: https://www.etsy.com/shop/6060?ref=l2-shopheader-name Lots of options for eyes and noses and I liked these because they looked like my dog’s nose. And I was worried Jellybean might go running with them and think it’s a new toy but she just sniffed them a lot.
I love making toys, just that I crochet them, not knit. It’s fun! Knitting a dog for a boy who is nervous around them reminds me a little of how I crochet cats for my nephew who adores them but is very allergic and can’t keep one. I was told he sleeps every night with the Simon’s Cat I crocheted for him đŸ˜‰ Hope that Jacob will enjoy and cherish his stuffed doggie just as much!
The photo with all 4 dogs is super precious đŸ˜‰
Toys make me want to learn to crochet but I just haven’t sat down long enough to really figure it out. One day!