Toyland

The amigurumi craze shows no signs of slowing down. This Japanese art of crocheting small creatures, characters, and objects has taken the crochet world by storm — and it’s easy to see why.

While these tiny creations may look intricate and maybe even a little intimidating, they’re often surprisingly approachable. Children are teaching themselves to crochet by making amigurumi characters, and in many cases, these charming little projects spark a lifelong love of crochet. Once hooked, makers often branch out into all sorts of other crochet adventures.

But long before anyone had heard the word amigurumi — let alone learned how to pronounce it — there was Jean Greenhowe, the original queen of knitted characters and toys.

Before crocheters cornered the market on handmade toys, Jean Greenhowe’s knitted designs set the gold standard. The level of detail and imagination in her patterns is truly incredible. While recently organizing a cubby filled with my old knitting supplies, I came across her Toy Collection booklet. The Teddy Bear’s Picnic includes tiny knitted sandwiches, a Swiss roll, and even a hammock. When my son was little, I knit several of the dinosaurs for him, along with a caveman.

And that booklet is just one of many. Some of my personal favorites include Winnifred’s Wool Shop from The Village Ladies collection, The MacScarecrow Clan — complete with knitted bagpipes and even knitted haggis — and the clever Topsy-Turnabout Dolls. Her designs were whimsical, detailed, and full of personality.

Jean Greenhowe was a Scottish knitwear designer who began her career in the 1960s, designing fashion garments for Vogue Knitting. In 1967, she joined Woman’s Weekly magazine as their craft features writer and designer, a role she held for 24 years. Her work became so popular that a Jean Greenhowe feature virtually guaranteed a sell-out. By the 1980s, the magazine’s circulation had climbed to 1.3 million.

During this time, she also authored nineteen craft books, including Knitted Toys, one of the best-selling knitting books of all time. In 1988, she established her own publishing company and went on to become one of the most successful knitting-pattern publishers in the world.

We stocked and sold her booklets in our shop for many years, and they were always something special. Sadly, Jean Greenhowe passed away in 2021 at the age of 87, and her family has since retired from the publishing business.

That said, it is still possible to get your hands on her work. A limited number of publications are available through the U.S. stockist, and used copies can often be found on eBay, Amazon, or tucked away in secondhand bookstores. Her booklets are already becoming collector’s items.

Despite the “easy-to-knit designs” label found on many of her patterns, these projects are not what I would call beginner-friendly. Unlike amigurumi, starting with an intricate toy is probably not the best way for someone to learn how to knit. There are lots of small pieces, shaping details, finishing work, and tiny embellishments — all delightful, but not exactly “first project” material.

The heyday of knitted creatures largely lives in the past. Today, the spotlight firmly belongs to crochet. While we still keep an eye out for fun knitted kits, our shelves are increasingly filled with crochet kits featuring playful animals, characters, and whimsical little creatures. Amigurumi has made toy-making feel fresh, accessible, and fun for a new generation of makers.

Explore our full amigurumi kit collection, or take a nostalgic look back at the world of knitted toys with the Jean Greenhowe website.