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Little Cotton Rabbits: An Honest Review

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Need honest information about the Little Cotton Rabbits patterns? Do you want to know if you could knit them for yourself? Find out the answers to your questions and get your FREE Knitting Toys Guide in this post with an honest Little Cotton Rabbits Review.

We all know that the Little Cotton Rabbits patterns are completely adorable. What you may be wondering is if you will be able to knit them yourself.

Are the patterns well written?

Can a beginner knit them?

You will find answers to all of those questions plus get my FREE guide for knitting toys.

Get the FREE Guide for Knitting Toys

In my FREE Guide for Knitting Toys, you’ll find resources for the beginner toy knitter. I have a playlist of videos to help you learn the skills needed to be able to knit the Little Cotton Rabbits patterns with confidence.

You will also find links for everywhere you can find the Little Cotton Rabbits patterns (the paid and the FREE ones!).

Little Cotton Rabbits Review

If you aren’t familiar with the gorgeous designs from Little Cotton Rabbits, let me introduce them to you.

Watch the Latest YouTube Video

Julie Williams is the incredible designer behind all things LCR. She lives in the southern part of the UK where she blogs about her personal and crafty life. Through Julie’s beautiful photos and written words you will feel transported into her magical world.

Photo from the Little Cotton Rabbits Instagram Account

My heart skipped a beat the very first time I saw a photo from Julie’s Instagram account. It was a bowl full of bunny heads, which sounds rather dreadful, but in actuality was spectacular. The soft halo of fiber around the ears of those bunnies made me which I could reach my hand right into the screen to touch them all.

Although I could knit and purl and knew some of the basics of knitting, I wasn’t skilled enough to be able to knit these patterns. I decided that I would learn each of the techniques. And I didn’t care how long it took.

Check out my post about the first time I knit a Little Cotton Rabbits Bunny: Traveling with Handmade Projects

Honest Little Cotton Rabbits Review

The Little Cotton Rabbit patterns are recommended for intermediate knitters. Each one is quite long and contains, not just the knitting pattern itself, but also loads of notes and photos.

The patterns are written extremely well. So well in fact that even in parts that seem quite tricky, Julie’s explanations make them clear and unstandable.

Patterns

You will find the Little Cotton Rabbits Patterns on:

Brand New Pattern – Dogs

The latest pattern from Little Cotton Rabbits is the dog. Oh my goodness. As soon as I saw it I had to have it.

There are patterns for both the boy and girls dogs, but what makes this one unique is how many different breeds of dogs you can knit.

Check out the new patterns here:

The pattern contains one dog head, but by changing the color combinations and the ear shapes, you can create Beagles, Dachshunds, Westies, Pugs, Boston Terriers, French Bulldogs just to name a few. She also has adaptations for mixed breeds, which is my favorite kind.

Now all I need to do is find the perfect color yarn for my Jersey-Boy and I will knit a version of him. I think he would like that.

Animals

There are many different animals in the Little Cotton Rabbits collection. Each comes with an adorable outfit and most with options for combining colors or ear shapes to make them totally unique.

These are just a few of the Little Cotton Rabbits I’ve made in the past few years, but there are still animals I haven’t made yet! Gotta get to work.

  • Bunny
  • Badger
  • Deer
  • Fox
  • Elephant
  • Bear
  • Pig
  • Cat
  • Dog

Clothes & Accessories

In addition to the animal patterns, Julie has many different separate clothing and accessory patterns. I have many of them and they are such a treasure.

Mixing and matching the animals with the clothing is one of my favorite parts. You can even make a full wardrobe of clothing for your knitted friends.

Check out the Little Cotton Rabbits Facebook page for inspiration as well. You will find so many talented knitters in the group and they have the most amazing imaginations. Plus you won’t find a kinder group of people on the internet.

The Little Cotton Rabbits Facebook Page

Free Patterns

Julie is such a generous knitter and has created so many FREE patterns. Many of them are adaptations to the paid patterns, but she also has stand alone projects that are totally adorable.

Check out the adorable Ballerina Wrap Cardigan, the Little Capelet and the Bear Christmas Tree Decorations just to name a few.

Personal Progress

Have you ever heard the saying:

Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle?

You may be tempted to think that the very first Little Cotton Rabbits pattern I ever knit was a breeze and looked like the ones I make now.

That couldn’t be further from the truth. I struggled mightily in the beginning. It actually took me an entire year to even get my skill up to the level they needed to be to make these patterns.

Although I am super proud of the first LCR toy I knit, she was far from perfect. She ended up tailless because I couldn’t figure out how to knit one.

In the photo below you can see that the toy on the left was made in May 2019 and the one on the right was December 2020. You can clearly see the difference in the facial details.

That rabbit also has what I refer to as a “torpedo head” because there was zero shaping. But I was so proud that I was finally able to do it.

Don’t let the fear of failure stop you from trying. And just know that your friend here struggled too.

Check out my post Knitted Toys: Focus on the Face where I go into detail about how to shape, stuff and embroider knitted toy faces.

SuzyMarie Colorwork Charts

Make sure to also check out the amazing FREE colorwork charts from SuzyMarie on Ravelry.

She has created so many adorable dress adaptations that are so cute. You will need to purchase the Little Cotton Rabbit dress pattern first, but then you use the SuzyMarie charts to create beautiful and/or seasonal dresses as well.

These are just a few of the dozens of designs you will find. Each one is so beautiful and unique. I always am amazed at how generous knitters are and Suzanne Palmer gives these away for free.

SuzyMarie on Ravelry

Questions Answered

I frequently get a lot of questions on YouTube and Instagram about the Little Cotton Rabbits Patterns. Here are three of the most frequently asked questions.

Can Beginners Knit LCR Patterns?

I would not recommend the Little Cotton Rabbits patterns for beginners. Although the actual knitting is pretty straightforward, a lot of the construction is not.

Because each of the toys is knit flat, you must seam them up and that is the part that could get a beginner frustrated. You will want to feel really confident reading a knitting pattern as well.

In my FREE Guide for Knitting Toys you will find all the links to the video tutorials so that you can gain the skills you need to be able to knit these beautiful patterns for yourself.

And if you’re already a beginner and want to start knitting toys now, make sure to check out my post:
The Best Knitted Toy Patterns for Beginners

How Long Does it Take to Knit the Little Cotton Rabbit Toys?

I’ve never actually timed how long it takes me to knit them, but I give myself a full two weeks to finish one. I typically knit them in the exact order of the pattern, but sometimes I wait to seam them all together until the knitting is finished. It just depends on my mood.

The first one will be the longest, for sure. You’ll be getting used to the way the pattern is written and learning how to do the techniques. Be patient with yourself and enjoy the process.

What Kind of Yarn Should You Use?

This post contains affiliate links and at no cost to you I may earn a teeny tiny commission if you choose to purchase them. Please know that I only recommend products I use and love! Thank you for supporting Le Petit Saint Crochet! You can read my full (and slightly boring) full disclosure here.

My favorite yarn for beginners is:

When you get a little experience under your belt you may want to try these two yarns held together. They give the toys a fuzzy texture and I am in love with the look and the yarn:

You hold both of these yarns together to achieve the desired “halo of fuzz”. It takes a little getting used to, but the yarn likes to stay close to one another, so it isn’t very difficult.

Little Cotton Rabbits Review

I hope you enjoyed this honest Little Cotton Rabbits Review. It may seem that I’ve gushed excessively, but I truly think these are the most wonderful knitted toy patterns out there.

When you take the time to really improve your skills, you will be amazed that you will also be able to make these gorgeous patterns for yourself.

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5 Comments

  1. Bought the Seasonal dresses pattern and dowloaded some free supplements, but I’m not finding the SuzyMarie charted designs. I’d like to find the sheep – can you give me a clue?

    1. They are gorgeous! Love all those dresses. You’ll find the link to Suzy Marie’s Ravelry account below the photos. You will then be able to scroll through and find the exact colorwork chart you wish to make! Hope that helps! 🐑🐑🐑