Let's Knit Magazine - Your knitting, your style

I know its not technially a technical question...but I was wondering if you thought any of Alan Dart’s designs are good newbie projects? I am still in the scarf stage, but would really like to try one, any particularly good designs you can recommend? i already have the patterns for Noahs Ark, but was wondering what other there are I could try? Or do you think it is best I stick to scarves for a while longer (been knitting since the 1st issue of Lets Knit!)

Elyce

hi, just go for it.If it goes wrong u can frog it n start again..

I think that if you are confident about casting on and off and can do k2tog and can count!!!! I don’t see why not. The secret to Alan Dart designs is not so much the knitting of them but the making up.
It can be very easy to have a peculiar looking thing if you don’t take enough care with the stuffing and sewing up.
I would suggest something with very few tiny pieces first, his gnomes are easy, just the beards are a bit fiddly but mistakes with the beards don’t show!!!!

hi
I am new to knitting as well, but found some Jean Greenhowe books at a car boot sale and they are vry easy to follow.
ann

give it a go,mistakes are just part of the learning process.

I find Jean Greenhowe patterns much easier to put together than the Alan Dart ones.

Simply knitting did some circus mice just recently - they didn’t seem too difficult and looked quite fun.  Suggest you tackle the animals in the ark before you do the ark itself - they’re small and should give you lots of practice!

Sash

The patterns aren’t difficult to knit but they are quite fiddly to sew up and do the bits and bobs that go with it.

The circus mice (have a look at my Flickr page) are easy to knit, I can knit one in less than two whole evenings (if I ignore the housework and the kids lol) but they take at least that again to stuff, make canes, hats, hoops etc and to sew up.

His instructions are all very clear, but you might want to start with something bigger like the Jean Greenhowe toys.  They’re lovely too and I’m going to do Father and Mother Christmas to give to my son’s PTA to raffle at their Christmas fete. (oh god, I put that in writing didn’t I, that means I really have to do it!).

I agree that Jean Greenhowe is a god starting point for a beginner but the same thing applies to her designs...the sewing up and stuffing is the most important part, otherwise you end up with some very strange looking projects. The actual knitting is straightforward just take EXTRA care with finishing.

Hi! I’ve come to this thread a bit late but I thought I’d add a tip that I’ve found useful. I’ve not done any Alan Dart patterns yet, but I have done several Jean Greenhowe and I find that the instructions are laid out in a very logical manner. I always make up as I go along, rather than doing all the knitting first and then sewing up at the end. I find that:
a) when you are knitting the last piece you have nearly finished and haven’t got all that tedious sewing up to do at the end and
b) you aren’t stuck with a bag full of odd shaped bits of knitting and have to sort out what they are, which way up they go ect.

~Incidentally I do this with all my knitting, not just toys. I HATE sewing up.

One of the best tips is from Alan Dart himself.....as you knit each piece pin a note with what it is to the knitting. I came to realise that it REALLY IS A GOOD TIP. If you make a lot of toys and maybe leave off in the middle, some of the tiny pieces are very difficult to remember, but with a bit of paper and pin with the name of it on it makes a knitting Granny.s life a lot easier