Do you want to knit your own beanie??

Kay Milton's follow-up to her first pattern book has landed on Tiritiri Matangi Island.

Birds on Beanies 2 has twice the number of pages and double the knitting charts when compared to the first edition. Each full-colour pattern sits alongside an informative paragraph about each species, beautiful photographs of the birds (and other creatures) as well as images of completed beanies for inspiration!

• 24 species
• 28 patterns/charts in total with detailed written instructions
• 6 species from the 1st edition - now with updated designs
• 18 new patterns / charts
• 18 new species including 3x non-birds:  a gecko, a marine mammal and an insect!

If you want to give this type of knitting a go, this book is a great resource. Written in Kay's meticulous and straight forward manner you get all the tips and advice that Kay has refined over the past decade of creating these beanies  - you are in good hands!

The opening chapters cover topics such as; materials, tension, the basic pattern, shaping, finishing, guidance on how to follow the patterns, the techniques involved and how to knit the beanies in different sizes. With this information you will be ready to begin with confidence and for the more experienced; how to be creative and customize your designs.

Here are the birds (and other creatures) included in the book, starting with some of the simpler ones and finishing with the most complex:

1. Kiwi pukupuku (Little spotted kiwi) *Updated design from first book*
2. Kiwi nui (North Island brown kiwi) 
3. Warou (Welcome swallow)
4. Kōtuku (White heron)
5. Matuku moana (White-faced heron)
6. Kōkako *Updated design from first book*
7. Tīeke (Saddleback)  *2x charts: Foraging tīeke & Upright tīeke & Updated design from first book*
8. Moko kākāriki (Elegant gecko)
9. Tūturiwhatu (New Zealand dotterel)
10. Kākahi (Orca)
11. Kakīānau (Black swan) 
12. Kōtuku ngutupapa (Royal spoonbill)
13. Kākāriki karaka (Orange-fronted-parakeet)
14. Whio (Blue duck)
15. Toutouwai (North Island robin)
16. Takahē *Updated design from first book*
17. Huia - male & female birds included in the design
18. Kōtare (Sacred kingfisher) *Updated design from first book*
19. Pūkeko *Updated design from first book*
20. Wētāpunga
21. Ruru (Morepork)  *2x charts: Standing ruru & Perching ruru
22. Kea
23. Hihi (Stitchbird)  *2x charts: Female bird & Male bird
24. Tūī  *2x charts: Perching tūī & Standing tūī

View Birds on Beanies 1 here

View special deal for both knitting pattern books here

Kay and her team of knitting volunteers donate their yarn, time, experience & enthusiasm to keep the Tiritiri Matangi Island Shop supplied with beanies and to fufil the many orders that we receive. All of the proceeds from the sale of the beanies go towards work on the Island and every beanie worn helps to raise awareness of ngā manu o Aotearoa (the birds of New Zealand).

If you would like to enquire about ordering a knitted beanie please email retail@tiritirimatangi.org.nz

"On a global scale, knitting a beanie depicting a bird and selling it to earn a few dollars for nature conservation is a very, very small action. Buying a beanie as a souvenir is also a very small action. But the Tiritiri Matangi conservation project is about making connections between people and nature, and even the smaller actions are part of that process." - Kay Milton