cover image 500 Fun Little Toys: To Crochet, Knit, Felt & Sew

500 Fun Little Toys: To Crochet, Knit, Felt & Sew

Nguyen Lee. Sellers, $18.95 (288p) ISBN 978-1-4162-0884-6

This book is a festival of cuteness, from its compact shape %E2%80%93a 6.25" square %E2%80%93 to the adorable patterns for 500 little toys within. True to her subtitle, the author first provides very basic instructions on sewing, knitting, felting, and crochet. Then the fun begins, with toys made with each technique, or a combination thereof, split into chapters such as "First Toys" and "Costumes." The chapter on "Play Food" is particularly delightful, so readers will have to decide whether they want to knit an apple, needle felt a cauliflower, or crochet a donut first. There are games, dolls and everyday objects, too. Lee, the designer of the accessory line KnitKnit, offers variations for each pattern, such as a knit pear instead of apple. The only flaw in the book's design is the decision to stash all patterns' variations in an end-of-chapter section. The book is otherwise enchanting, though, with beautiful photographs of each toy. Full color photos. (Mar.)