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Birds on Beanies Set - Both Knitting Pattern Books!
Do you want to knit your own beanie??
Both Birds on Beanies books for $50 (a saving of $20)
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About Birds on Beanies - 1st Edition: link
Kay Milton's beanies first appeared in our shop in the 1990s, they have proven very popular and after many requests for her knitting patterns she created this book in 2022.
Birds on Beanies contains instructions for knitting the basic beanie, plus a chart and additional tips for each of the designs from the simplest (Kiwi) to the most complex (Pīwakawaka). It is illustrated with full colour photographs of the beanies and also some great shots of the birds in their natural habitats.
The patterns featured are 14 of the most popular designs created before 2022:
- Kiwi
- Tōrea Pango/variable oystercatcher*
- Kōkako
- Tīeke/north island saddleback
- Takahē
- Kākāriki/red-crowned parakeet*
- Pūkeko
- Kererū/NZ pigeon*
- Pūtangitangi/paradise shelduck*
- Kākāpō*
- Kororā/little penguin*
- Kōtare/sacred kingfisher
- Kakī/black stilt*
- Pīwakawaka/NZ fantail*
*8 of these designs are unique to Birds on Beanies first edition and do not appear in the newly released Birds on Beanies 2. The other designs differ slightly to those in BOB2 where they have been re-worked.
“It has been a huge team effort,” says Kay, “involving photographers, models, knitters, and experts in software and book design. It has taken more than three years to produce, mainly because those involved, who have given their services free of charge, have had many other commitments. I am deeply grateful to all of them.”
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About Birds on Beanies - 2nd Edition: link
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 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 instructions
- 6 new designs for species featured in the first book
- 18 new patterns / charts
- 15 new species including 3x non-birds: a gecko, a marine mammal and an insect!
If you are wanting 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:
- Kiwi pukupuku (Little spotted kiwi) *Updated design from first book*
- Kiwi nui (North Island brown kiwi)
- Warou (Welcome swallow)
- Kōtuku (White heron)
- Matuku moana (White-faced heron)
- Kōkako *Updated design from first book*
- Tīeke (Saddleback) *2x charts: Foraging tīeke & Upright tīeke & Updated design from first book*
- Moko kākāriki (Elegant gecko)
- Tūturiwhatu (New Zealand dotterel)
- Kākahi (Orca)
- Kakīānau (Black swan)
- Kōtuku ngutupapa (Royal spoonbill)
- Kākāriki karaka (Orange-fronted-parakeet)
- Whio (Blue duck)
- Toutouwai (North Island robin)
- Takahē *Updated design from first book*
- Huia - male & female birds included in the design
- Kōtare (Sacred kingfisher) *Updated design from first book*
- Pūkeko *Updated design from first book*
- Wētāpunga
- Ruru (Morepork) *2x charts: Standing ruru & Perching ruru
- Kea
- Hihi (Stitchbird) *2x charts: Female bird & Male bird
- Tūī *2x charts: Perching tūī & Standing tūī
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."