View source for Fiona Goble's Fairy Tale Knits: 20 Enchanting Characters to Make by Fiona Goble

{{infobox2
|title=Fiona Goble's Fairy Tale Knits: 20 Enchanting Characters to Make
|author=Fiona Goble
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crafts
|summary=Knit the characters and then share the stories with a child.  What could be better?
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=80
|publisher=Ivy Press
|date=September 2012
|isbn=978-1908005465
|website=http://fionagoble.wordpress.com/
|video=FqiIcFEDvT8
|aznuk=1908005467
|aznus=1908005467
|cover=1908005467
}}

It's a lovely idea: knitting patterns for twenty fairy tale characters and a brief story to go with them.  There's the pleasure of knitting the characters and then of a child playing with them alongside a story and then being able to use their imaginations to build their own stories.  Best of all, it's done without a battery or a computer/games console in sight.  It's a winner all round.

You ''could'' tackle this without any prior experience of knitting as there are instructions which go right back to the basics, but I think you would be better having got the odd scarf or pair of mittens under your belt first.  The patterns are not particularly complex and are well explained but some of the pieces are quite small and fiddly and most are knitted - of necessity - to produce a tighter fabric than most accomplished knitters will be used to.  You don't want stuffing poking out between the stitches, now do you?  The equipment you need is fairly limited and most people who've done any knitting before are likely to have it already.

The yarns used are wool and wool mixes with no particular brand being specified.  Cotton yarns and 100% acrylics give less good results. Colours are specified - and used in the patterns - but there's nothing to stop you using other colours if that's what you've got.  As a child I remember how I loved to have a change of clothes for my dolls - absolute luxury - and whilst some of the clothing forms part of the body there are a ''lot'' of pieces which can be replicated in other colours.  The clothes are stylish too, with some adornment.  No child is going to feel short-changed here.

Some of the characters can be used in more than one story - wolf appears in ''Red Riding Hood'' and ''The Three Little Pigs'', but there's no reason why just about all the characters can't be used to populate other stories.  Characters with small buttons or other small attachments shouldn't be given to children under 36 months - but that's probably about the age at which these characters are going to come into their own.  Eyes are embroidered on.

The book itself is well-produced with excellent illustrations and I was pleased to see that it sat open comfortably for use as a pattern.  I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

If you'd like a little more meat on the fairy tales then we can recommend [[My Favourite Fairy Tales by Tony Ross]].

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