A fat, bear-like creature, the wombat has a thick heavy body, small eyes, a massive flattened head and a characteristic shambling walk. So, like many of their other marsupial cousins in Australia, wombats are very slow moving and can appear quite dopey. Everything they do - be it digging with their powerful front paws for tasty roots, or burrowing to find shade from the hot Outback sun - is carried out slowly and laboriously. Everything is geared towards saving energy, since food and water are so hard to find.

The wombat’s coarse coat, which helps the animal to keep out the worst of the sun, but also keep warm at night, is mimicked in this toy by using a textured yarn which has a mottled look, to make the wombat seem more hairy.

The pattern for the wombat 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 for the wombat requires 40g DK in textured or variegated brown and scraps of DK in dark brown (for the nose) and black (for the nostrils and mouth).

The pattern also suggests using 10mm (3/8 inch) toy safety eyes, but felt eyes or black stitches would also be appropriate.

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