Book Review: 60 Quick Cotton Knits

March 31, 2016 by Sarah White

For those of us who are heading into summer, 60 Quick Cotton Knits is a super-tempting book. The book is another of those “60 Quick” books that all use Cascade yarns, in this case Ultra Pima, a cotton yarn that comes in two weights, a wide variety of colors, including some hand-painted options, and is easy to care for.

The book is heavy on summer projects like little airy shawls and scarves, tank tops and shrugs. There’s not a sweater in the collection, though there are some hats, larger shawls and cowls, as well as a couple of pairs of wrist warmers.

There are a lot of projects that use stripes and other colorwork to make the items more playful, and there are even a few that you could use some of your stash on — cotton or not — to add little pops of color.

Everyone is going to like something different in any given knitting book, but it’s likely, with 60 patterns to choose from, that you’ll find a few things you like. Check out all 60 projects on Ravelry.

A few of my favorites include Yoko Hatta’s Chevron Scarf, pictured on the cover; the funky, youthful Woven Back Tank by Nicole Feller Johnson; Wei Wilkins’ openwork Asymmetrical Shawl; the woven-look Slipped Stitch Bag from Suzanne Allen; the Color Swing Tank by Mari Lynn Patrick, a simple shape with just a hint of contrasting color on the edges; Hatta’s Slouchy Striped Hat, perfect in nautical shades; Anna Davis’ Running Chain Cowl, which uses one of my favorite simple slip stitch patterns; Patrick’s Diagonal Lace Hat, which uses a really easy stitch pattern and is worked flat; and the Drop Stitch Tank from Audrey Drysdale, where open stitches make the project light but not scandalous.

This is a great book if you live in a warm climate or a place with a serious summer, though there are some year-round projects and things that aren’t too large to knit for use only a couple months of the year. There are plenty of accessories here that would make great gifts, too.

About the book: 168 pages, paperback with interior flaps, 60 patterns (16 rated easy, 38 intermediate and 6 advanced). Published by Sterling Publishing, March 2016. Suggested retail $17.95.

Next Pattern:

Comments

Helen Naleid says
April 25, 2016 at 12:44 pm
Wonderful to have a collection of patterns for cotton knits. Cotton yarn is very comfortable to use and wear in all seasons particularly in warmer climates. Great ideas!

Have you read?

Add a Little Lace to Your Knitting Patterns

If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.