The Crafty Princess Diaries

Tammy Powley’s Crafty Weblog

Wizard of Oz Crochet Kit Giveaway & Review



I received an adorable crochet kit to review called The Wizard of Oz Crochet. It is produced by Thunder Bay Press and retails for $24.95; though, I saw it for sale as low as $14 on Amazon. The kit includes a 76 page book with 12 crochet patterns, a 4mm hook, two small balls of yarn (one gray one brown), a smaller amount of black yard, a little felt, stuffing, 2 pairs of safety eyes, and an embroidery needle. The 12 patterns include those for the Tin Man, Lion, Dorothy, Toto and a basket, Scarecrow, the Wicked Witch of the East (which is really a house with her legs sticking out from under it), the Wicked Witch of the West, a winged monkey, Glinda, the Wizard of Oz, ruby slippers, and a lolly pop kid. The supplies in the kit are supposed to be enough to make the Tin Man and the Lion.

So let me start with the pluses about this kit. First, it is so dang cute that I can’t stand it! Seriously! Who doesn’t love the Wizard of Oz? Then there are 12 patterns packed in the little book that is in the kit. If you purchased it at the $14 Amazon price, that is a deal, and then you also get supplies, so for the price, even considering the issues this kit has (which I will go into next) I think that is a great price. Another point of this kit that I like is the fact that the book has photos, not just written out patterns, so you get a little visual help. Finally, the finished characters are nice and big, not tiny like many amigurumi projects can be. For example, the Tin Man is 10 inches high when finished. I donate most of the toys I make, so kids actually play with them. For my purposes, then, tiny is not good since I want something large enough for a child to cuddle.




Now onto the minuses of this kit. According to the description on the box all of this comes in, this is “perfect for beginning crocheters.” While I think this kit is super adorable and would make a very cool gift for someone, I would never consider giving it to anyone who has not done a fair amount of amigurumi before. I looked over a few of the patterns, and probably the easiest would be the Tin Man and the Wicked Witch of the East, but even those I would not consider to be for a beginner. It is nice to have supplies ready to go in the kit, but the patterns call for worsted weight yarn, and to me the yarn in the kit is not thick enough to be consider worsted. I would say it is more sport weight. Finally, I did some looking around the web, and there are complaints that the patterns have errors in them. It is not necessarily unusual for crochet books to have errors, and most seasoned knitters and crocheters expect some errata to be published some time after a book comes out. However, so far the only errata I have found is from Makerknit.com’s blog. She bought the kit and made Dorothy, and she found a bunch of errors but was nice enough to publish the corrections on her blog. From what she said and from reading through a few of the patterns, it looks like the stitch counts included at the end of some of the rows is not correct. If you just ignore the number and follow the instructions, it works, but someone didn’t add up the stitches correctly when writing the patterns.

Okay, so like I said, I still like this kit, and I’m super thrilled that I get to give one away too! I know making crochet toys is not for everyone. Some think they are just too “fiddly,” but if you have some amigurumi experience and love the Wizard of Oz, then here is how you can win this book. Oh, and sorry, but I have to limit this to the continental US because of shipping costs (don’t hate on me hat on the PO!)

Here is how you can enter to win. Simply tell me who your favorite Wizard of Oz character is and why in the comments of this post. I will randomly pick a winner and send his/her name to the publisher who will ship out the kit. The deadline for entering is April 8, 2014. Make sure to leave your email address so that I can contact you, and I will give the winner 3 days to get back to me. And, of course, there is the usual “I’m not responsible for a darn thing contest gibberish so don’t sue me stuff.”

Author: Tammy

Welcome to the Crafty Princess Diaries, my weblog and site where I get to blab about my passion for crafts, primarily jewelry making, and my crafting career. My name is Tammy Powley, and I decided to call my blog the Crafty Princess Diaries because of this very dorky picture I have of myself and because my husband often refers to me as β€œthe princess and the pea,” which is just another way to say that I tend to be particular sometimes. Along with this weblog, I have a number of jewelry making books published.

33 Comments

  1. I think my favorite character is the scarecrow. I have chronic migraines and sometimes like him I don’t feel like I have a brain either–lol.

  2. I’d go with TinMan – the mechanical side of my brain working here.

  3. My favorite character is Toto because he is loyal and is right by Dorothy’s side throughout her adventure. πŸ™‚

  4. Eeek! Oh my goodness! So adorable!! What a great kit! My favorite is the lion because I related most to him. There were many times I lacked courage and it felt so good when the lion found his! Thanks for the chance to win this kit!

  5. The winged monkeys definitely made the biggest impact. They were very scary to me as a children. But I think my favorite was Glinda the good witch because she was kind and protective.

  6. Oh goodness, that is freaking *adorable*.

    Favorite character … Toto. Because who doesn’t like dogs?

    (Scarecrow is definitely the one I associate with the most though. If I only had a brain…)

  7. The Cowardly Lion. Because he’s a lion! (I’m a Leo.)

  8. For me, its the Scarecrow. I remember as a little girl wishing I had a pal like that to share adventures with.

  9. I too have shared a few corrections on my blog and would be happy to help with any questions anyone might have. I think it is great that you are able to give away one of these kits! I don’t think I would be able to pick a favorite character. Each one has a special meaning to me. Each character aspires to have a great characteristic that truly they find that they already had to begin with. I myself have gone through a self realization process such as that, so I connect with them all.

  10. Dorothy…..because there is no place like home.

  11. Dorothy! She’s got those fabulous shoes, afterall πŸ™‚

  12. I always liked the Scarecrow because he’s wiser and a better leader than he thinks, but I used to get a little heart’s thrill during the movie when the Tin Man took his axe to the door in the witch’s castle to rescue Dorothy — brave Tin Man to the rescue! By the way, do y’all know the Tin Man’s real name? According to the Oz books, it’s Nick Chopper, and he wasn’t always made of tin.

  13. Glens, the good witch because she was so pretty.
    Sparky136 on Ravelry

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  15. My favorite has always been Toto. If you look at picture of my life from baby to now about 50% of those photos show me with a dog. I have always had a soft spot for dogs in my heart. So, its only logical that little Toto is my favorite character. πŸ™‚

  16. Sadly, I haven’t watched Wizard of Oz… I know.. too bad!! πŸ™
    -Berina
    Moxie Craftie

  17. My favorite character is Dorothy. I related to her the most when I watched this movie as a kid. Plus,I am also from Kansas:) I love this Kit…they are so adorable. Thanks for doing this giveaway!

  18. I’d love to crochet the characters from the Wizard of Oz. I think Dorothy is my favorite. Dorothy portrayed innocence and wholesomeness!

  19. I love th Cowardly Lion because he’s such afraid of everything, even his own tail. And ‘The King of the Forest’ is the greatest song in the movie.

    What a great kit. I’d love to win this! Thanks for the chance.

  20. Being from the land of Oz myself, I love Dorothy. Plus I love her ruby slippers.

  21. Hm my favorite Wizard of Oz character would have to be a tie between the Scarecrow and Glinda. When I was little, I loved Glinda. I mean, who wouldn’t want to arrive in a pink sparkly bubble? But now I have a soft spot for the Scarecrow, he’s just such a good friend! The kit is adorable.

  22. I just love the Cowardly Lion! I love all of his facial expressions..he’s just too cute. The song “King Of The Forest” is my favorite song in the movie.

    JKnits51 on Ravelry

  23. Is it wrong of me to say that my favorite character is the wicked witch of the west? How can you not love a stereotypical evil witch with a green face, great power and a pointed hat? πŸ˜€

  24. I love Glanda the Good from the movies, but if we are talking about the book. i like the paperlings, a town of love paper dolls. So cool so imaginative

  25. Dorothy…because of those great shoes. Although, I do admit to have some days where the Wicked Witch is just a bit more ‘me’.

    Thanks for the fun!
    yhime407 on Ravelry

  26. I think my favorite is the Tin Man…he just always seemed so sweet and kind.

  27. Toto of course! He saves the day. But I’m always quoting the scarecrow, “if I only had a brain”!! Mmm, I really like them all.

  28. Dorothy!! I can still remember watching the movie and feeling for her (when I was a kid)!
    Thanks so much for the giveaway!

  29. I have to say the flying monkey. My daughter played one in a production in our town

  30. I always liked the cowardly lion – he’s just so cute and loveable. (carmen99 at asimplehomestead.com)

  31. I like Toto. What a cute pup!

  32. Pick a favorite?! Really?! Impossible.
    Though if I have to pick to win (and I really want to win) I pick the Wicked Witch. Not because she’s wicked, just because she is a truly excellent and scary villain. I am an adult and still have nightmares about her writing my name in the sky with her broom!

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