Here’s another original toy created by a knitter who took my toy design class in October!

Patricia wanted to design a fox, but was unsure about where to start, especially when it came to the head. So in the class she sketched out the triangle shape she had in mind, and as a group we discussed some different options for how she could make it, with varying degrees of complexity.

I was so excited when Patricia sent me photos of her finished fox with his triangle head. Often the simple solution is the best way to go for a charming toy, and I think Patricia got it just right—this guy reminds me of an illustration, with its handmade quality and basic shapes.

Patricia shared a bunch of photos of her fox-in-progress on her Tumblr. It’s awesome to see her fox take shape!

She mentioned in the Tumblr post that she mostly pieced him together using different patterns from my books, and that’s totally OK! Existing patterns are great resources, and it’s all about simple shapes anyway, so taking elements from various sources is a good way to start designing your own toys.

Thanks to Patricia for sharing her fox!

Last week I mentioned how fun and inspiring it was to teach a toy design master class at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in October. Because I was just about to move to Chicago, we couldn’t schedule a follow-up class to see everyone’s progress with their designs, but I asked the participants to send me updates by email. A few have come through, including Jessica, with this adorable oyster that she designed and made!

In the class we had talked about how Jessica would make the top and bottom pieces hinge together, and how she might make the wavy “lips” of the oyster. For the lips especially, it seemed like there would be a simple solution, but it would require a little trial and error just to see how it would turn out. She opted to try making a separate I-cord and stitching it in place, and I think it worked out brilliantly!

If you’re interested in designing your own toy, my biggest advice is to just start knitting! It’s easy to get caught up in Planning Mode, thinking that you have to have everything figured out before you begin. Toys are a great place to start with designing because you can incorporate lots of fun knitting techniques and you don’t have the pressure of making sure that it will fit someone in the end. If you’ve had a toy in mind that you’d like to design, just go for it!

I’ll be leading a short workshop on toy design at Vogue Knitting LIVE in NYC in January, so I hope you’ll plan to join me if you’ll be there.

And if any of the other Lion Brand Studio class participants are reading this, I’d love to see more of your finished projects!