Alan Dart

I always use UHU clear adhesive as this dries quite quickly and holds small pieces securely. To avoid leaving glue trails over your work, don't spread the glue straight from the tube but instead use a cocktail stick or toothpick to dab a spot of glue where needed. PVA adhesive is not really suitable for toymaking because it would dissolve if the toy was washed or somehow became wet.

I'm perfectly happy for you to knit up my designs to sell in aid of charities. However, if you wanted to knit licensed characters you would need to ask the license holder, whose name will appear on the leaflet or magazine article, if they have any objection.

It is a good idea to make sure you have a break every 30 minutes or so. Just standing up and walking round for a few minutes will do. I always sit on an upright chair to knit and try not to lean to one side or twist my body. You're doing this for enjoyment, so take your time and relax!

I always sew every seam with mattress stitch, which is worked from the right side of the knitting, and all my patterns have a one stitch seam allowance added to accommodate it. If you use this method the seam is virtually invisible and you have no need to turn small pieces to the right side - because they're there already! Any good knitting book should have diagrams to illustrate this stitch, which is sometimes also called ladder stitch.

Why not pin a little label on to the right side of each piece after you have knitted it? This is also particularly helpful when using textured yarns where it is sometimes difficult to tell which is the right and wrong side.

All the patterns for these and other licensed characters are now long out of print and the licenses to sell them have expired. You may be able to find some original patterns offered for sale, but photocopies, CDs and downloads of these designs are illegal because they not only infringe my copyright but also that of the license holders, and I'd be most grateful if you would report these sellers to me.

You probably didn't check your tension first. I know it's boring, but it is the only way to make absolutely sure that you get a perfect finish. All my designs are knitted with smaller needles than those recommended for the yarn used, as this makes a firm fabric through which you can't see the stuffing. If your tension is too loose, you'll need to adjust the needle size until the number of stitches and rows match those quoted in the pattern. The looser your tension, the larger the finished toy will be, and the more yarn and stuffing you will use.

If you're making the toy for a baby or toddler under 3 years old, it's probably wiser to embroider the eyes, using yarn and working a tiny circle of chain stitches. Some of my patterns use this method, usually splitting the yarn so you only use two strands for the embroidery.