Crocheting Toys

I love making crochet toys, they can be quite fiddly and difficult to create because they often have many and multiple parts - but the end result is usually very satisfying.

I have a few guidelines I try to follow when creating new toys, I like to use cotton yarn if I can.  I find that cotton is more durable than wool for something that will be played with - some early toys I've made with wool have needed some surgery after some playing.  The seams don't hold together as well and they generally don't wear so well.

I prefer to use DK cotton yarn for larger items, although if I want a finer look I'll use 4Ply.

Also, I like to avoid buttons or hard eyes if I can.  I prefer to sew on eyes and other "decoration".  That way you don't need to worry about letting little hands play with the toy afterwards.

Happy car

My happy car is a good example. everything is made with yarn or embroidery cotton.  There is nothing on this toy that is sharp or hard.

Where possible I like to use several colours, in many instances the more the better :)  This train pattern I created is just an example of how you can combine many colours into a single toy.

Cuddly Train Pattern

All in all, creating toys should be just as much fun as the end result will be to play with.