This Australian sheep farmer knows how to deal with the hot weather of the Australian Outback. Wearing a short-sleeved check shirt under his jacket, and a hat to keep off the burning sun (complete with dangling corks to keep the flies out of his eyes), he’s well prepared for an Australian summer herding the Merino sheep whose wool earns him his living.

This is a variation of the basic person pattern in the book Kath Dalmeny’s World of Knitted Toys. The pattern calls for:

• 50 g DK in skin color
• 40 g DK in brown for the jacket and hat
• 20 g DK in dark brown for the trousers
• 20 g DK in dark pink for the shirt
• 20 g DK in black for the boots
• and scraps of DK in mid pink (for the shirt pattern) and brown (for features)
• three 10 mm (3/8 inch) wooden beads as jacket buttons
• thread and small bits of cork for the hat

The pattern also calls for a pair of 10 mm (3/8 inch) safety eyes, but the eyes can also be worked as stitches.

A pattern for a knitted sheep is also included in the book, as well as other Australian Outback animals - a koala bear and baby, wombat, kangaroo and joey, and even a duck-billed platypus. A full list of the book contents is shown below.

KATH DALMENY’S WORLD OF KNITTED TOYS patterns list

The book contains over 50 patterns for making adorable knitted toys – people and animals from all over the world. Each chapter covers a different habitat, the animals that make their homes there, and one of the people who live there, with accessories to represent their lives or work. The knitting patterns are listed under three categories – Easy; Straightforward; and Challenging, to help knitters choose the project that is right for you. The projects are as follows:

BASIC PERSON PATTERN
(which is then adapted for the people patterns below)

IN THE JUNGLE

• South American Indian
• Spider monkey – mother and baby
• Snake
• Tiger cub
• Gorilla
• Orang utan
• Parrot
• Banana

AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK

• Australian sheep farmer (complete with corks hanging from his hat!)
• Merino sheep
• Koala bear
• Duck-billed platypus
• Wombat
• Kangaroo and Joey

DOWN ON THE FARM

• Farmer
• Highland bull
• Pigs and piglets
• Cat
• Mallard duck
• Chicken, cockerel and chicks

THE DEEP BLUE SEA

• Pearl fisherman
• Dolphin
• Shark
• Killer whale
• Turtle
• Octopus
• Clownfish

FOREST FRIENDS

• Canadian Mountie
• Horse
• Grizzly bear
• Beaver
• Raccoon
• Chipmunk
• Moose

ON SAFARI

• African Park Ranger
• Zebra
• Lion family – lion, lioness and lion cub
• Rhinoceros
• Elephant
• Warthog

THE SNOWY REGIONS

• Eskimo
• Husky dog
• Fish
• Penguins – Emperor penguins and Adelie penguins – parents and chicks
• Seal
• Walrus
• Polar bear

PATTERN VARIATIONS

• Sea lion
• Panda bear