When kangaroos are born, they’re so small that their mother barely notices that they’ve arrived. Safe inside the pouch the baby, called a Joey, grows and grows, feeding on its mother’s milk. And when it’s old enough to leave the pouch and eat plants… it stays inside the pouch and grows some more! The poor mothers are often seen waddling around with their huge teenage offspring folded up and wedged into their bulging pocket. As the mother bends over to eat, so the Joey leans nonchalantly out from its cozy cradle and nibbles a little greenery.

The mother kangaroo is a big armful of a toy for a child to play with. The little knitted Joey hasn’t got too big just yet – it still doesn’t have the huge muscular legs of its parents to send it bounding across the Australian Outback, so it’s still welcome in its mother’s pocket.

All the shaping is very easy, but the kangaroo is quite big, which might make it daunting for a beginner’s project. Why not start with a baby Joey and work your way up from there? The adult kangaroo shown here is a mother, with a pouch for her baby. For a father kangaroo, simply use the same instructions but leave out the pouch.

The pattern for the kangaroo and Joey is from the book Kath Dalmeny’s World of Knitted Toys, and the full list of over 50 projects is shown below.

Materials
The pattern calls for 100g chunky yarn in mid brown, with scraps of DK in black for the nostrils and mouth. The joey can be made of scraps of leftover yarn. No specific yarn is mentioned in the pattern.

The pattern also suggests using 14mm (1/2 inch) toy safety eyes, but felt eyes or black stitches would also be appropriate. For the joey, the eyes are smaller - 10mm (3/8 inch).

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