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Jean Greenhowe Designs Knitted Toy Patterns
by TraceyJayne I come from a family of 'knits' , no, that doesn't sound quite right! What I mean is that most of my immediate female family members knit or have knit in the past. It is a bit of a dying art really these days but I think that if you can cook and knit, then you can feed and clothe yourself. - Not exactly The Good ... Life. but getting there. I was taught to knit by my Mother (as it had been done for many generations). As a young child it was scarves and hairbands I remember. I knit my first jumper (A proper item) when I was at school and I never looked back. For the past twenty plus years I have worked in an Infant school and I make all the knitted items that we sell. My favourite designer of all time is Jean Greenhowe. If you are sitting comfortably I will tell you why... Who is Jean Greenhowe ? She is an expert designer of knitting patterns. She began her career in the 1960's, working for Vogue Knitting, then in 1967 she worked for Woman's Weekly magazine. She formed her own company in 1988. So, tell me about the knitting patterns ? There are over 20 booklets all full of the most adorable characters. Usually priced at about £4 - £5. Some are simply for Bazaars or Fayres and Fetes - tea cosies, teddies etc. Whilst others contain a theme, such as 'Celebration Dolls' which included a Bride and Groom. A whole booklet is devoted to hedgehogs, there are booklets for Christmas and Easter, One booklet has patterns for professions, such as a Policeman, a footballer, and a Fireman. There is also a booklet full of patterns for scarecrows and several for clowns. You can probably tell why I like her so much. There is quite simply a pattern for every occassion and every person young or old. But isn't knitting really difficult and fiddly ? NO ! Once you have mastered the basic stitches you are away. This is another reason that I keep going back to Jean Greenhowe books - all of the patterns are really easy to follow. Most only take a small amount of wool and don't take very long to finish. So, there are booklets, anything else ? Yes, there is a fantastic website. This tells you about Jean Greenhowe, features are patterns, sells her booklets and the wool to complete the items, there is help and advice, readers/knitters gallery, list of places where you can buy the patterns and wool, and a section of FREE patterns that you can download. All in all I think that if anyone asked me who my hero was I would probably say Jean Greenhowe. She has given a hobby to millions - like me, and the most adorable toys to millions more. I would recommend knitting to anyone and Jean Greenhowe patterns to everyone. 10 out of 10 Read the complete review |
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Jean Greenhowe Designs Knitted Toy Patterns
by bucksfizz66 I started knitting at the age of 12, and my first project was the Jean Greenhowe scarecrow, unlike hardcore knitting patterns that that can make solving the enigma code seem easy, Greenhowe's use of knitting language is present but not so overt that it scares off the would be knitter. Predominantly the patterns consist of ... combinations of knit and pearl stitches with increasing and decreasing stitches and gathering together row ends and cast on / cast off. The cleverness of the patterns being how these obscure pieces that you knit are sewn together to form this fabulous result. The number of patterns has now grown (see the Jean Greenhowe website), the main theme of latter years knitting patterns has been the variation of the knitted clowns (much larger than the scarecrow) - that can be trademen, golfers - these are actually quite big projects that require alot of stuffing too - and the patterns will advise you these are not toys - so if you are going to undertake one - you need to have a good think about what you are going to do with it - some of the parts such as the feet which are standard have cardboard in them so there elements too that are not washable. Latterly for my daughter I have taken elements of these patterns though like the tradesmen radio and made this - as she wanted a radio for her, s othe spin off is that these patterns can make for some quite nice play accessories and indeed I have noticed on ebay there is quite an interest in knitted food - and I think this has an environmental push as people rebel against all plastic toys and turn to more traditional materials. I too have made knitted food for my daughter, the Greenhowe website does have two free to download patterns with food on if you feel like having a go. Some of the patterns seem abit dated now but there are sufficient about to find something you like and they are definetely a good starting point for developing skill. If you think they are expensive to buy - think on - check out ebay - the Greenhowe patterns sell like hots cakes - so buy one photcopy it - sell it again. Read the complete review |
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Jean Greenhowe Designs Knitted Toy Patterns
by Sarahjh I don't think there are many church bazaars or fetes that don't see a Jean Greenhowe knitted toy on one of their stalls. If you can knit and purl, increase and decrease then you are in business. All of Jean`s Patterns are suitable for beginners and accomplished knitters alike and each pattern has step by step instructions to ... guide you through the whole process. The Royal National Institute For The Blind has translated some of the doll patterns into braille so that the partially sighted or blind can enjoy them too. Every year our local church has a fete and our knitting circle always try to provide a selection of knitted toys, they sell well. The church has also been trying to raise money for the Marie Curie Foundation , so some of the dolls have been raffled with the proceeds going towards the foundations work. At the beginning of the year we all start to ask our local charity shops if they can save us some knitting wool and they are only too happy to be able to help. We usually pay about 20p a ball for the wool, so that obviously gives us a much better profit margin. Jean puts some free patterns on her website, these can be downloaded and then printed out. We loved her `Rainbow Babies`, these were especially created with charities in mind. Each doll is just 6 inches high, needs an ounce of wool to knit and only needs a small amount of stuffing. The finished little doll has a hat, scarf and gloves on, some rosy cheeks and colourful clothes. There are other free down-loadable patterns that you can take a look at too. The knitted `cakes and sandwiches` are great fun! We bought the Little Gift Dolls knitting book this year, with many different dolls to knit. We all picked the ones that we wanted to knit and then went to the local library and printed the patterns out on the photocopier. To an inexperienced knitter the patterns may look daunting, but they are pretty straightforward. Each doll has its own little intricate bits, but even they are easy to knit. The Little gift Dolls book contains patterns for a nurse, a bride and groom, a bell boy, a clown, a chef, Miss Valentine, Superkid, A Fairy, Bo Peep and Boy Blue, a Witch, A toy Soldier, Jelly Babies, a Snow man and a Chimney sweep, a baby Boy and Girl and a Tooth Pixie. My Granddaughter has recently lost her front tooth, so as well as a visit from the Tooth Fairy she had a Tooth Pixie too! Each and every member of the church knitting circle worked really hard and in the end it was decided that the knitted toys would have a stall of their own. I think there were a lot of people that bought them for stocking fillers. Last year we all worked from the knitted animal book, another resounding success. All of the pattern books retail at about £5.50p and we always manage to buy ours from the local wool shop. But if any of you come unstuck then the Internet is a wonderful tool and you will soon be able to locate the books. The Jean Greenhowe website has a lot of detailed information regarding the pattern books, im sure you will be amazed at the amount of different dolls and mascots that she has designed. Read the complete review |
Jean Greenhowe Art / Craft |
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7 reviews Type: Knitting / Art / Craft / Crocheting / Sewing - Jean Greenhowe is the world's best-selling patterns for knitted dolls and toys. |
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