My 1st toy pattern, Mao.

I am proud to finally reveal my first toy pattern, Mao. If you haven't seen the Summer 2011 Issue of Petite Purls yet, you are in for a surprise. It's their 2nd anniversary and to celebrate, they published an all toy issue, plus launched their new website design. Co-editor, Brandy Fortune, did an amazing job with their re-design. She is the genius behind the design and coding of the website. For this special issue, she photographed all of the projects for the patterns. I love the photographs she took of the kitties in the tree for my pattern page.

This is the prototype of Mao. Mao is the name for “cat” in Chinese. It is knit in the round, seamlessly from the top down, starting at the ears. It has a flat bottom and the tail is made with I-cord by picking up stitches from the back of the cat. When I did the final version, I refined it a bit with different increases. And for child safety reasons, I decided to embroider Mao's facial features with yarn and embroidery floss.

I am so excited that my first toy pattern was included in this issue along with all the amazing toy designers. You all know that I am big fan-girl of Susan B Anderson. Well, I got see her Fat Robin and meet Susan in real life this month, but more on that later. This amazing issue features toy patterns that are knitted, crocheted, and sewn. It's been so much fun seeing the projects pop up on Ravelry. Take a look at this stripey Mao and this variegated Mao.

Thank you to Stacey at Knit Picks and Knit Picks for providing the yarn for this pattern. Swish Worsted is a great machine washable wool yarn. The pattern takes less than one ball. In fact, I think you may be able to get 2 cats out of one ball.

Ravel it or cast on right away, pattern is here. It's such a quick project, you'll have a full litter of kitties before you know it.