KnittingDaily.com Offers New Patterns for Handmade Toys
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| Crafty parents concerned about toy recalls are considering handmade toys or organic toys; DIY toy-making gives parents control of materials used |
The free toy patterns are available online at: knittingdaily.com/toys
“Making your own toys allows you to control the production process,” says KnittingDaily.com editor Sandi Wiseheart. “You decide on the materials and you make it your own. And with handknits, parents also have the option of making their toys organic through the use of readily-available organic yarns and materials.”
Knitting Daily’s featured patterns this week are the eco-friendly stuffed bear, rabbit and cat from Louisa Harding's book, Natural Knits for Babies and Moms: Beautiful Designs Using Organic Yarns (Interweave Press, $21.95).
“When I was pregnant I decided to start working with organic yarns to reflect my philosophy of new life and new babies: keeping them wrapped in as natural an environment as possible, just like the one they’ve come from,” says Harding. “The yarns I’ve selected for the patterns require no environmentally harmful pesticides, petroleum-based synthetic fertilizers, or artificial dyes in their production, so they safe and healthy for babies, moms and the planet.”
Also available in bookstores and yarn shops nationwide is Knitted Babes: Five Dolls and their Wardrobes to Knit & Stitch (Interweave Press, $19.95), the charming book of patterns for handknit dolls with their own personalities and DIY wardrobes. Online at: www.knittedbabes.com
According to the 2005 Craft Yarn Council of America (CYCA) consumer research study, baby items remain among the favorite projects of all knitters and crocheters in the United States. In 2005, 50% of knitters and crocheters in the United States made a baby blanket (the second most popular project), followed by 20% reporting that they made at least one baby item (the fourth most popular project).
The CYCA estimates that 53 million women in the United States, or 1 in 3 women, know how to knit or crochet.
Interweave Press
201 E. Fourth Street
Loveland, Colorado
Contact: Jaime Guthals, Publicist
JaimeG@interweave.com
(502) 243-6834
Cell (502) 387-2383
Interweave Press, a unit of Aspire Media, is one of the nation’s leading craft media companies, with businesses in magazine and book publishing, interactive media, broadcast programming, and events for craft enthusiasts. The Interweave Press Publishing Group features 14 subscription magazines and many more special interest publications. Interweave Press has more than 200 books in print and annually publishes about 30 best-selling, how-to craft books on the same subjects as the company’s magazines. Additionally, Interweave Press operates eight annual craft enthusiast events and has an extensive Internet presence that includes nearly 30 websites. Linda Ligon founded the company in the 1970s when she began publishing Handwoven and Spin-Off magazines. Since then, the company has grown to employ more than 100 people throughout the country, with corporate headquarters located in Loveland, Colo. For more information on Interweave Press, please visit www.interweave.com or call (970) 669-7672.