About the author

Claire Garland's early memories of deliberating over her favourite toy-making book as a seven-year old, before cutting and sticking wondrous creations and designing clothes for her teenage dolls, live on in the toys she designs today.

The grown-up Claire studied art and design in Cardiff, Wales, and a year after finishing her studies started designing needlepoint kits for the internationally renowned company Primavera.

For her own young children, Claire first tried her hand at embroidering bed linen before rekindling her interest in knitting. The knitted dolls she designed, with their characterful looks and fashionable clothes, captured the imagination of many so much that their own special blogger website was created.

Today Claire lives with her husband and three children (and no real, only knitted, pets) in a pretty cottage in Cornwall where she writes and illustrates her books on sewing, knitting and crochet, makes toys and runs her online mail order company www.dotpebbles.com for her own brand knitted doll kits.