Peanuts Crochet Kit
By: Kristen Rask
Rating: 4.5 of 5
I purchased this in a local big box store and am impressed by the quality of the kit. If I could, I would give this kit a 4.5 star rating (explained in my review.) The kit includes enough yarn to finish three projects (Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Woodstock), after that, you will need to purchase additional yarn, fiberfill, and black floss to finish more. The kit does not say exactly what size the yarn is but it seems to be at most a 3 and it appears to be acrylic yarn versus cotton or wool. Interestingly, the yarn in the Disney kit seems to be of better quality than that in the Peanuts kit. The colors included are: white, yellow, beige (flesh tone), light brown, and black. The floss is black and appears to be cotton. Also included is a tapestry needle (for the floss), fiberfill, and two inexpensive crochet hooks – a size 4.00 (US G/6) and and size 5.0 (US H/8). There are also fairly detailed instructions including many diagrams.
While the yarn seems to be quite decent, I will be using my own stash to be sure that the sizes, colors, look, and feel of my characters are consistent. The instructions are detailed but I don’t think that this is a project for most beginners. It uses techniques that crocheters with a bit more experience would feel comfortable with. If you are a beginner, just be sure you have access to someone or a website that can give you answers if you have any questions about the instructions.
The book includes instructions for 12 Peanuts characters which is outstanding. These include: Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus (and his blanket), Franklin, Lucy, Sally, Peppermint Patty, Pigpen, Flying Ace Snoopy, Schroeder (and his piano), Woodstock and Marcie. There is also included a model for making a paper version of Snoopy’s doghouse. The characters are all quite recognizable and are sure to be a hit for any Peanuts fan. My elder daughter has loved Peanuts since she was a young girl so I will have a lot of fun crocheting this amigurumi characters for her and her family.
The hooks are okay but I prefer to use my own for ergonomic reasons. The characters look to be fairly small – if you want to make them larger, use thicker yarn and larger hooks. The instructions should work well no matter the size. The tapestry needle is decent and works well for the embroidery purposes in the instructions.
Where the kit falls down half a star in my view is in that they fail to give instructions for how to make the embroidery details that each of the characters requires. It would have taken one side of a page at most to show these. If you don’t know how to backstitch or make a french knot, you can find it. If you already know how, as I do, it should be a snap to do the embroidery. A hint is that if a french knot is too difficult, you can try a colonial knot or merely use an appropriate size seed or glass bead and sew it in place. That makes it a little less child friendly for little ones, so keep that in mind. Also, Marcie’s eyeglasses are made with a combination of embroidery stitches and white felt. For me, I will use white floss in a satin stitch to replace the white of her eyeglasses. The instructions do include a template for the felt.
On the whole, I really like the kit and the instructions and recommend it to an intermediate or above crocheter without hesitation. I have also purchased the Peanuts Kit and the Star Wars Kit by this company as well as the Winnie the Pooh Kit (which was distributed by another company and is being released exclusively on another site as I write this review.) All of the kits are of good quality and I have been enjoying crocheting the various characters.
I purchased this in a local big box store and am impressed by the quality of the kit. If I could, I would give this kit a 4.5 star rating (explained in my review.) The kit includes enough yarn to finish three projects (Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Woodstock), after that, you will need to purchase additional yarn, fiberfill, and black floss to finish more. The kit does not say exactly what size the yarn is but it seems to be at most a 3 and it appears to be acrylic yarn versus cotton or wool. Interestingly, the yarn in the Disney kit seems to be of better quality than that in the Peanuts kit. The colors included are: white, yellow, beige (flesh tone), light brown, and black. The floss is black and appears to be cotton. Also included is a tapestry needle (for the floss), fiberfill, and two inexpensive crochet hooks – a size 4.00 (US G/6) and and size 5.0 (US H/8). There are also fairly detailed instructions including many diagrams.