I am rather a fan of Sachiyo Ishii’s adorable knitted toys. I have made many from patterns in knitting magazines, and am building up a little library of her lovely books. The latest I have bought is Mini Knitted Ocean.
The book is about 19cm wide by 23cm high (about 7.5” x 9.5”). It has 96 full colour pages.
ISBN Number – 978-1-78221-232-4
Lots of Clear Information
The book starts with details of the yarns, needles and other materials needed.
As with all Sachiyo’s books, she encourages you to use whatever scraps of yarn you have on hand, and not to worry too much about scale. To get similar results to the finished samples shown you will need Double Knitting (8 ply) or 4 ply (fingering) yarn.
The projects use very small amounts of yarn.
Next there is information on the knitting stitches required. There are no instructions on how to actually knit, it is assumed you know the basics.
A list of abbreviations is next – they are logical and pretty standard to most other professional patterns.
There is then a section with clearly illustrated instructions on how to sew up and stuff the little creations. There are also instuctions on how to make an i-cord (a nice easy technique) and some other techqnies that are used for various projects in the book.
There is a page with details of how to do backstitch and French knot embroidery stitches which are used for detailing some of the ocean creatures.
Sachiyo also gives instructions on how to crochet a foundation chain and how to crochet fins for the fishes. This is done in a lot of detail so that knitters who do not usually crochet should be able to do this with out much issue.
The Knitted Ocean – Included Patterns
The patterns for the projects follow the nice clear style that has become one of the hallmarks of Sachiyo Ishii’s creations. There are colour photos and each pattern has a difficulty level to help newer knitters decide whether they are ready to tackle a particular design.
Fish Patterns
Anglerfish – a big mouth, rather scary, but his pompom antenna tip is cute
Pelican eel – another scary looking fish
Spookfish – strange, deep ocean fish with very big eyes
Fangtooth –it has very big teeth but is still quite cute
Clownfish – yup, I found Nemo
Yellow-stripe fish – pretty fish with Butterfly fish variation included
Black-and-white fish – smart, striped fish, with another variation included
Boxfish – unusual, spotty fish
Ray – iconic flat fish
Great White Shark – just when you thought it was safe to go back in the ocean….
Pufferfish – my personal favourite, because they are so fun looking
Catfish – with little whiskers
Flatfish – it’s a fish, its flat, it’s a flatfish!
Blue tang – very handsome blue fish
Hammerhead shark – my son was so stunned to discover these were actually real fishes!
People Patterns
Deep sea divers – in their cute little helmets
Mermaids – the first thing I knitted from this book
Young Mermaid – smaller version of the mermaid
Scuba divers – with tanks, goggles and cameras
Fishermen – in waterproofs or dungarees, with accessories
Ship’s Crew – such cute little sailors with their officer
Other Ocean Life Patterns
Dolphin – everyone’s favourite
Killer whale – the handsome black and white Orca
Sea lion – amusing sea mammals, complete with a pattern for a ball for them to play with
Walrus – large sea mammals with adorable whiskers
Mini crab – very cute, sitting up crab
Hermit crab – in his little shell-house
Squid – always useful
Octopus – another popular ocean creature
Starfish – these can double as little stars for lots of other projects
Anemones – large and small versions
Seagull – a seaside essential
Cat – a cute little extra
Plus a really detailed fishing boat, yellow submarine and dock
Summary of Mini Knitted Ocean by Sachiyo Ishii
Many of the designs could be knitted in different colours to make other breeds – or lots of your own fantasy breeds!
Many of the designs lend themselves to being turned into key chains or bag charms. They would also look great on a mobile.
This is another great book from Sachiyo Ishii. The designs are easy to knit as they are knitted flat. I have knitted some of them in the round to avoid seams, and the patterns are easy to convert if you want to do this.
There are lots of patterns included, with huge potential for variations. So particularly good value for money.
Beginning knitters should find plenty that they can tackle, and will enjoy the challenge of the harder designs. More experienced knitters will find this a useful addition to their knitting pattern library with lots of potential for using the designs in bigger projects or adding your own twists.
Links to Mini Knitted Ocean by Sachiyo Ishii on Amazon
Here are links to the book on Amazon.com (left) and Amazon.co.uk. If you buy from these links, I may receive a small commission from the shop for sending custom their way. This is at no cost to yourself. Thank you.