I have spent all week trying to knit a realistic stag beetle: knitting tiny legs and horns, inserting craft wire, and then trying to attach them to a body. I am defeated, and although this is a bit of a cheat as the legs and horns are on a frame that you need to print, cut out, and then sew your knitted sections around, I think it is really effective. It is also very easy to do. The knitting takes me about an hour. The only fiddly bit is cutting out the frame, but believe me that is easier than trying to knit all the body parts! Pattern has a page at the back with two beetles to print on a page of card or acetate.

It has also passed the “does my cat want to chase it” test.