Woodland Knits: 20 enchanting projects by Stephanie Dosen

Woodland Knits by Stephanie Dosen
Knitting Patterns, 128 Pages

Stephanie Dosen’s Tiny Owl Knits, has quickly gained iconic status among knitters: her patterns are brisk sellouts (at $5.50 per pattern) online, and she has been given feature coverage in both mainstream and knitting magazines, including Bust, Handmade Living, Simply Knitting, and Yarn Forward.

Today's avid, busy knitters love small patterns that knit up in a day or a weekend—and Stephanie Dosen’s clever knits fill the bill. Right now, knitters also love animal-themed knits, and they can’t seem to get enough of Stephanie’s delicately beautiful patterns that incorporate deer, fox, owl, and other woodland themes (plus pretty flowers and vines) and look like nothing else on the market.

Here are 20 cute, contemporary projects to knit—including all the quick-to-make favorites—hats, scarves, wristlets, bags, wraps, and mitts. Traditional, straightforward stitches combine with wonderful yarns and clever patterns to produce accessories with an expensive boutique look. 

Note: This is one of those books I'll be revisiting and updating as I knit up patterns from the book. I knit even slower than I read so you'll probably only see it bumped once in a blue moon :)

There are some absolutely beautiful and charming projects in this book but there's some strange stuff too. But that's always the case with books like these, isn't it? I can't wait to make the fringed duster, the legwarmers, the gypsy petticoat, seedpod purse and the wishing scarf but I might have to pass on the antler hat and the dragon watcher's hood (seriously it's just a hood, it's cute but where's the rest of it?!). Some of these projects would be gorgeous for photos and costume parties or jaunts through the woods if you're looking for fairies while picking berries but I can't see them being worn daily and I'm too lazy to put that much work into something that my kid will only wear once or twice. There are enough projects in this book that I'm dying to knit up to make the cost of the book a bargain but I'm a bit strange style wise so you need to keep that in mind. I like fringe and flowy, nature inspired styles and this book has plenty of that. Your best bet is going to Ravelry.com (but you'll need to sign up - it's free - feel free to friend me!) and checking out all of the patterns before purchasing. You can also check out the designers website at Tiny Owl Knits.

I'll write more and post some pictures of the projects when I knit up a few and have access to a real computer.

UPDATE 1:

I started knitting up the "juniper wishing scarf" with some doubled up cotton yarn but have since switched to a chunky acrylic because the cotton/needle size was hurting my hands. This is how far I got before ripping it out. It's a super easy cable repeat so I can get it done while watching tv and not feel like I'm wasting so much time :)

This is what it may look like when I've finished. Would you wear it?

UPDATE #2

Here's mine, finally finished! This sucker is heavy. If I were ever to knit it again, I'd pick a lighter yarn. It's nice and toasty warm and it's FREEZING here today, so I'm pretty happy with it. It was super easy to knit but my hands hurt. I cut down the fringe a few inches from what the pattern required because that fringe was out of control :)

Right now I'm currently working on some dishrags (not from this book) and am going to make another of these Wishing Scarves in a lighter weight yarn.

View all my reviews