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Tips for Attaching Hair and Eyes

As you knit my patterns, I'm sure you'll slap yourself on your forehead and say, "This is so easy! Why didn't I think of it?" Well, now you will think of it! I hope these patterns inspire you to start making up your own toys.

First, a word about selecting yarns. I must admit that I have experimented with many different brands of wool yarn. Most of them felt pretty well. Some leave a bit more stitch definition than others (which can be very useful when you're making a tree branch, for instance, but may not be quite so nice when it's a doll's face). Some wool yarns felt more quickly than others. Some are more expensive; some are less expensive. It's completely up to you which yarn you choose. While I do have my personal favorites, I usually am guided by what color I want rather than a particular brand.

Throughout my testing, though, I have a list of wool yarns that I prefer:

Wool Pak -- relatively inexpensive, very reliable felting wool in lots of great colors. I am currently designing a pattern for a black cat using black Wool Pak. The pattern will be available shortly!

Paton's Classic -- inexpensive, widely available and wonderful! I made my lion, goose, and squirrel with Paton's.

Ella Rae Classic -- also reasonably priced and a fabulous yarn for felting. It comes in lots of colors and has many shades that are perfect for all skin tones. I used Ella Rae for many of my Simple Dolls and my felted fish (the free pattern), as well as the scarlet king snake.

Universal -- this yarn felts well, too. It's great! I used the deluxe chunky tweed to make the blue jay.

Berocco Peruvia -- another great felting yarn. I made the elephant with this yarn.

Reynolds Lopi and Lite Lopi -- yet another great felting yarn! Lopi felts well every time. And it stays pretty hairy, too, which is wonderful for making animals. I made the brown rabbit with Lite Lopi and the large teapot, teacup and saucer with regular Lopi.

Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed -- Although some amount of stitch definition remained, I still really like this yarn. The colors, especially the pink I used for the small teapot, teacup and saucer, are really cheerful and fun.

I state it often in my pattern directions, but I'll write it here, as well. It really helps to felt a swatch first. Or, if you don't mind experimenting on your toy, then you could knit the whole thing and see what happens. I've done this lots of times and have many strange, oddball creatures around my house! (I hate to refer to them as mistakes, though, because I always end up learning something really valuable because of whatever went wrong!) Also, you must watch your toy pieces during the felting process. Often I have had mine go on through the spin and rinse in cold water while I was busy typing away at the computer. YIKES! I suddenly hear that unmistakable sound of the final SPIN and realize it's all over for that batch. Remember this, too. You are in control when you check your pieces. You can take them out and rinse them any time you want during the process. Maybe you like yours only lightly felted, still showing stitches and only shrinking slightly from the size you knitted. Or maybe you prefer it very tightly felted and as small as it will get. Or you may be quite satisfied to have your piece felted somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. Only you can decide what you really like and the best way to do that is to experiment.

The Grandpa doll and Earl were both knitted from the same basic pattern. As you can see, Grandpa (on the left) is really big! I only lightly felted him as compared to poor Earl (on the right), who went all the way through spin and rinse and spin again before I realized it! (That's why his bearded face is embroidered into a little shriek!) I now set a timer and check after the first 10 minutes, then after about every 5 minutes.

When knitting and felting these patterns, it's also best to keep in mind that they are basic. There are no special stitches. No wraps and turns. No complicated techniques. They are just basic shapes. How you mold them while they are wet is what will define them. If you fail to mold the pieces properly, if you don't pull them and push them into shape and stuff them while they're wet, the toy will not look like mine (which might make you either disappointed or delighted)!

I look around the house and collect things that could be used as possible molds. Sometimes the most obscure thing will really be perfect. An upside down funnel, for instance, could be a perfect cone shape, which might be incredibly useful when you're making a castle tower. The Downy Fabric Softener ball is great for domes. I really like to use it when making the teapot lid.

Teapot Lid on top of Downy Ball for shaping while drying

Custard cups, jelly jars, squirt bottles, books and boxes, etc., all have great uses as molds while your toys dry. Before I use anything like a book or a cardboard box, I do wrap it in plastic to protect it from getting all wet. A plastic grocery bag is good for this, but you could also use layers of plastic wrap.

So, let's start at the beginning. If you're new to knitting on double-pointed needles, don't give up! Let's try something together. Go get four double-pointed needles. I'm going to use a size US 8 because it's the one you'll use for most of these patterns. You'll also need a ball of yarn and a stitch marker. I like the little orange and green ones that look like mini baby diaper pins.

My favorite stitch markers: Don't they look like diaper pins?

Click here to view my little video tutorial on getting started knitting in the round.

Click here for Tips for Attaching Hair and Eyes

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