I was very intrigued to see “Knitted Toys” by Tatyana Korobkova in a local book shop.  Cute, Japanese style toys in the amigurumi style – but they are knitted??  I had assumed it was a crochet book at first.  As the toys featured are seriously adorable, I bought the book and look forward to trying amigurumi knitting for a change.Knitted Toys by Tatyana Korobkova

Title – Knitted Toys – 14 Cute Toys to Knit
ISBN 918-605-9192-15-6
Author – Tatyana Korobkova
Publisher – Tuva Publishing
No of Pages – 132
Dimensions – c. 8″ x 8″

The Basics

The book starts off with  information about what materials you will need (nothing particularly unusual, yay)  and then gives illustrated “lessons” on how to hold the yarn, cast on, knit, increase etc.  There are also heavily illustrated instructions for techniques such as creating a magic ring.   Finally there are instructions  on sewing up, assembling, creating hair etc.  Again these all feature colour photos.

Knitted Toys by Tatyana Korobkova - knitting in the round

Important – At this point I must mention something very important.  Most of the toys are knitted IN THE ROUND.  That means on multiple double-ended needles.  I know, from Amazon reviews, that many purchasers of this book were upset by this as they can not knit in the round.  I can so it is not a problem for me, but if you are not comfortable with this technique then this book is not for you.  It is a jolly useful technique though, so if you haven’t tried it before then please don’t be put off having a go.  It really is quite natural feeling once you get used to it.

Knitted Toys by Tatyana Korobkova Example of instructions

The Knitted Toys patterns

Next comes the projects themselves.  There are 14 of these and a couple have extra “companions” so you get bonuses.

Knitted Toys by Tatyana Korobkova - red hood doll

There are five long legged dolls.  These are very much for collectors, not children, as they have wired legs (though you could make them with floppy legs, without the wire).  These would lend themselves very well to customisation if you wanted to make something unique.

  • Coral – a red haired lass in a dress, with her “small bear named Lin”
  • Red Hood – a slightly gothic style Red Riding Hood
  • Iris – reminds me of a cute witch
  • Marble doll – features a rather clever wooden bead technique for her joints, she reminds me strongly of Sailor Moon, has a toy hare
  • Pink Flower Doll – lots of clothing and details, including her sweet little handbag
  • Knitted Toys by Tatyana Korobkova - Tanoshi tiger

There are three Tanoshi dolls – short dumpy dolls with no legs.  These are adorable and would be very cute gifts for youngsters.  These are the most amigurumi toy style patterns in the book.

  • Tiger – a little chap in a tiger outfit
  • Giraffe – doll in a cute giraffe outfit
  • Dog – blue haired doll in a floppy eared dog outfitKnitted Toys by Tatyana Korobkova - tanoshi giraffe

Then there are also some rather unusual “naive style” dolls.

  • Blue doll – nice, simple doll, ideal for little hands to hold (doesn’t have a face, I would want to give her at least eyes)
  • Cutie bear doll – bear version in hat and scarf (he has a face!)
  • Intelligent snail – rather cute and unusual snail
  • Sweet pink doll – simple, faceless doll with a very beautiful knitted skirt
  • Naptime doll – long leged doll with nice cabled dress,  I can see this being a hit with teenagers
  • White bunnies in hats – these are perhaps my favourites.  Simple to knit and lots of possibilities to customise themKnitted Toys by Tatyana Korobkova - creating hair

Summary of Knitted Toys by Tatyana Korobkova

The 14 patterns in this book are very attractive and offer lots of opportunities for knitting one’s own versions.  Whilst the book does contain detailed instructions on how to knit, the fact that there is a lot of knitting in the round might make it best suited to more experienced knitters.

Some of the patterns are not suitable to give to children without making changes, for safety reasons.

If you like amigurumi style toys but want to knit rather than crochet, or just fancy a change of style, this book offers an insteresting challenge.Knitted Toys by Tatyana Korobkova - back cover

If you would prefer to make crochet amigurumi dolls, perhaps you would like to see my review of My Crochet Doll by Isabelle Kessedjian.

The following links are to the book, Knitted Toys, on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.  If you buy from these links then I would get a small commission from Amazon, at no extra cost to yourself.  Thank you.

Knitted Toys by Tatyana Korobkova – Knitting book review
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