Mouche & Friends is Cinthia Vallet’s debut book that includes patterns for 12 knitted toy animals, plus their garments and accessories. Come meet Mouche the Bear and his lovely friends: Henri the Orangutan, Agi the Sheep, Billie the Raccoon, and others! Cinthia’s toy-making process is unique and totally seamless. The animals are knitted with natural fibres and worked in the round, starting from the nose and knitting down to the feet — growing a toy rather than building it. It is fascinating to see how these little creatures come alive while knitting. The book is meant for knitters of all kinds. Cinthia walks her readers through the techniques step-by-step with clear, illustrated tutorials, which makes knitting easy and enjoyable. She also shares her tips on working small circumferences, picking yarns and preparing a toolbox for toy-making. Mouche & Friends: Seamless Toys to Knit and Love is more than a knitting book. It is a charming imaginary world filled with love and friendship, waiting to welcome you. “With this book, I’d like to offer you a poetic break that conveys the spirit of childhood; an enchanted digression where you allow yourself to dream and play,” Cinthia says. Cinthia Vallet is a designer living in Nantes, France, with her husband, four children and furry companions. She is known for her charming, seamlessly knitted toy animals. They started to take shape in her mind after she discovered the magic of seamless knitting, and her first pattern was published in 2018. Cinthia realised that if you can make a sock and shape a heel, then you can also shape a little animal directly on the needles. With an aesthetic rooted in her passion for children’s literature, Cinthia develops her characters as an illustrator would do, but with wool and three dimensions. She gives each one a name, a story, a little soul and a lot of herself.
