Knitted Cats & Kittens

KNITTED CATS & KITTENS has patterns for some reasonably cute knitted toys, but most don't look much like cats or kittens to me. My favorites are: "Fluffy Cat" (a fairly realistic kitten, knit in white angora yarn); "Floppy Moggy" (a fairly realistic "longhair" kitten, knit in black fur yarn); "Doorstop Cat" (a brown knitted doorstop); "Monster Cat" (a turquoise alien cat with wide-open red mouth); and "Cosy Toes" (a cat-shaped hot water bottle cover, knit in fur wool yarn).

A cute twist is the inclusion of patterns for "accessories" for the cat toys: a scratching post, a cat bed, balls for batting around, and tiny mice. There is also a kitten in a Christmas stocking with a mouse on the toe, to be used as a tree decoration. As knitted toy patterns go, these patterns don't look particularly difficult. However, they do require knitting a lot of small, shaped pieces that must be seamed up, stuffed, and sewn together.

Because I don't like any of the designs well enough to want to knit them, I rate KNITTED CATS & KITTENS at 3 stars ("It's okay" on the official Amazon scale). The "Look Inside This Book" feature shows all of the included designs as a gallery in the Table of Contents. Cats seem to be difficult to translate into knitted toys, but if you're looking for patterns for knitted cats, you might want to consider [[ASIN:1579128939 Knit Your Own Cat: Easy-to-Follow Patterns for 16 Frisky Felines]], a book of patterns for small "pedigreed" cats to display.

So,I'm in the middle of trying to knit "Floppy Moggy" one of the patterns in Knitted Cats and Kittens. The knitting techniques called for with this cat are not terribly difficult; however be aware that some guess work and slight alterations must be made to what is shown in the book. I'm not going to go into great detail about these changes as any capable knitter would see what I mean. One example is that with this particular pattern there is a part which says "Knit from * to * to shape the front legs." (page 80) Unfortunately, there is no first *, only the second * so I had to guess where the first * should be. Thankfully, it was fairly obvious where the first asterisk should have been. I hope there won't be very many similar problems with other patterns in the book. There are other patterns I plan to try because there are some very cute cats! Overall, the cats are cuter, to me anyway, than the patterns in "Knit Your Own Cat" (I have that book also) some of which look quite strange. Anyway, it is a sweet book, just be ready to get creative with some of the directions.

Its a cute book but there are problems with how the patterns are written. she doesn't write her patterns as row one, row two and it is very difficult to follow them. The cats are knitted flat and then sewn together, which is great if you do not know how to use dpn's but I find making stuffed toys on dpn's much easier and for some of the smaller cats it is much easier to make the legs and tails on them. I am currently working on the grey cat with the flowers on it and its coming out pretty well, and I have made the Siamese cats. all the patterns I have done have been completely marked up with row numbers to make them easier to follow. Also it should be noted that she starts a lot of her patterns in the info paragraphs before the work starts. The cats are very cute and work making, but you will need to read the pattern and make lots of notes to be able to work them. I do not recommend this book for beginning knitters at all, you will also need a fairly good basis in sewing and how to shape things.

Let me start by saying that this is a wonderful book! The kitty patterns are so cute, and the design and layout are fun, playful and witty. It's enjoyable to look at and read, and for that alone I would give it 5 stars.

But I had to knock a star off because it would have been great if, when creating these patterns, the author had thought about how to minimize the sewing and seaming. There's only one pattern knit in the round on DPNs, and I think there should definitely have been more. Also, when knitting flat, were there opportunities to pick up stitches on the body to add the arms and legs? I'll be checking with my more experienced knitter friend (for whom I also bought a copy of this book), but it would have been nice if the author had included a broader variation of patterns from simpler to more fiddly.

I also agree that the instructions are not written for beginner knitters; there's a lot of shorthand and gaps that you are expected to figure out (e.g. the body of the one DPN pattern has instructions to repeat the last 3 rounds once more, then says to 'work 6 rounds.' Work in what?? A more experienced knitter who understands the mechanics of knitting in the round will know this means to knit 6 rounds, but a newbie might be tripped up to knit the previous rounds which would add inadvertent increases.)

Another reviewer commented that these cats don't look 'real'; I agree but in my opinion that's a plus. These are meant to be cute toys, and that they are. (I also own 'Knit Your Own Cat', and I think the patterns in that book are slightly weird looking.)

Nonetheless, though I wish there were more DPN patterns and some that were less fiddly, I think this is an adorable book and would definitely recommend for all cat-loving knitters!

This is a very cute book making adorable toys. I disagree with some other reviews in that I think these look plenty like cats and kittens.
I gave this book 3 stars only because of the numerous messed up instructions. I have found other reviews on other sites as well as the ones here talking about how you need to fudge and make up your own instructions where what is provided just isn't clear. Right now I am working on Alley Cat. Instructions are provided giving stitch count and it jumps from 24 to 14 with only a two stitch decrease. A couple rows later it gives a 26 stitch count where the instructions don't add up. I couldn't find any published revisions anywhere. I'm not a beginner knitter but I'm not really experienced either. This is a disappointment as I want to enjoy my knitting not be frustrated by it.

I loved this book until I started to knit up the patterns. I wanted to make several of the patterns but they are NOT user friendly. I am an advanced knitter and hand knit pattern drafter (USA); and really found some of the shaping incomprehensible and others with errors in printing, and some just plain no fun. She overdoes the shaping decreasing and increasing which I admit makes them look so good but not much fun at the tight tension she uses. She knits with heavier yarn at a tight tension which I find hard on my aging hands.

This is not for beginners. I ended up last night thinking that I would draw patterns and sew these cats with fabric. Also she is attached to the M1 increase which I find slow and unfun although elegant. So although I love the pictures in the book I have yet to complete a cat, but today I will once again confront the problems with ALLEY CAT. I think I will end up making my own patterns and corrections. So be aware that this is an adorable book with significant problems and needed pattern testing by normal people before publication. Sigh...what a disappointment.

I bought this book to make a cat for my young niece who loves cats. The patterns are not realistic, but some still embody enough "cat" for me and I chose the Alley Cat for its sly, comical take. LUCKILY, I checked on Ravelry to see other people's results before starting to knit. I discovered errata there and then looked around online and found an even longer errata page from the publisher. Hoping I had avoided the frustration of pattern errors, I embarked on my cat and quickly became frustrated by the unnecessarily obscure directions which don't use consecutive numbering for rows, but repeatedly use "Row1" "Row2" which makes it difficult to keep track of where you are in the pattern. Also no gauge is offered. The direction to sew arms and legs into the body seams has already been mentioned by others as awkward. And finally I discovered yet another error in the directions for which I had to compensate. This book, or at least this pattern, could have used a much more thorough editing job. I will not be using this pattern or any other in the book again.

I will be able to knit lots of different cats for a cat charity I raise money for. B.ecause there is a variety of wools I will be able to use wool I already have

I received this lovely book in great condition, and within a reasonable time from my ordering it. I have not attempted making any of the items yet, but have many requests, and cannot wait to begin. I have knitted dogs, but not yet cats.

I will return to let anyone that is interested, how I found the patterns.

Adorable book of adorable cat to knit. Can't wait to get started. My grandkids and mother-in-law will love these when finished.