Alan Dart’s diverse craft work has appeared in numerous magazines, he has written several books, and has taught knitwear design at art colleges, along with demonstrating crafts on two children’s television series. Currently his toy designs appear each month in Simply Knitting magazine.

This site provides a one-stop shop where you will find Alan’s designs, both old and new, together with news of forthcoming patterns. By visiting the toy patterns page you can easily view, select, and download original pdf files from an ever-increasing range of designs, starting at only £2.50 each.

If you’re a regular visitor you’ll notice a few changes have been made to the website to make it even easier for you to use. As the list of patterns has been steadily growing, and there are now over a hundred to choose from, they have been organised into groups so you can go straight to the pattern you want. However, if you prefer to scroll through the entire list, as before, this option is still available to you. After placing your order, you will no longer need to wait to receive an email, giving you a link address to download your patterns, and will now be immediately directed to the downloading page as soon as your order has been processed.

“I designed the Chess Set pattern for Simply Knitting magazine last year, and it was printed as a booklet, but many people must have missed that issue and have since asked me for this as a download, so I am adding the design to my website this month. The board is made from striped strips, knitted in Chunky yarn, which are then sewn together to create the checkerboard pattern, so you don’t need to worry about having to work intarsia with lots of balls of yarn. All the playing pieces are weighted, using metal nuts from a hardware store, so there is no danger of them falling over and spoiling the game. This would make a terrific gift for a chess enthusiast, maybe for a birthday or retirement present ….. and there is plenty of time if you plan to knit it as a Christmas gift.

Although the earthquake in Haiti occurred quite a while ago, the people there are still living in dreadful poverty and desperately need aid. Please download the Haitian Ada pattern and either make a donation for this to an appropriate charity, such as www.dec.org.uk, or knit some toys to sell and raise money for the relief fund.

I have also designed a pattern of Percy the Pigeon, a character who appears in the children’s book, Matty-boy and the Secret Pigeon Racket by Anita Hunt, part of the proceeds of which will be donated to an anti-bullying charity. You can download the pattern for free by visiting www.areyoubeingbullied.com and clicking on ‘Knit a Percy’ in the top menu and following the instructions.

Happy toymaking!”

Another pattern released June