Book Review: A First Book of Knitting for Children

Most people of any age, when they learn to knit, learn the rhyme that goes with forming the knit stitch. It’s a great way to remember the basic motions that go into forming the stitch.

Maybe you’ve wondered if there were other rhymes you could use to remember other parts of the knitting process. Bonnie Gosse and Jill Allerton have lots of great rhymes to help kids and others learn to knit, as well as lots of easy and skill-building projects to try, in their newly revised A First Book of Knitting for Children.

This expanded edition includes more instructions and more complex patterns for kids to try, including colorwork hats, socks and more.

The beginning of the book includes lots of photos and rhymes to help kids learn how to cast on, knit, do basic shaping, find and fix mistakes and bind off their knitting. Then there are many projects that just use the knit stitch and basic shaping such as a rabbit, pig, horse, basic doll and elephant.

The book goes on to teach purling and has a couple of patterns that combine knitting and purling (I made a cat from the original version of this book and it’s adorable).

The “more skills” section includes tips on reading a pattern, knitting in the round, different ways to increase and decrease stitches and working with color. Patterns in this section include a different cat, a few dolls, a couple of hats, a hand puppet and slipper socks, among others. Check out the full table of contents on the publisher’s website (the book is British; you can buy it from Amazon if you’re not in the UK).

This book is inspired by the Waldorf tradition of teaching kids to knit when they are young, and there are lots of photos of kids knitting and playing with the projects to show your young knitters that they can do it, too. This is a great book for little ones (and others) to learn the basics and beyond and get inspired by simple but cute and fun toy sand other projects to knit.

About the book: 168 pages, paperback, 26 patterns. Published 2021 by Wynstones Press, suggested retail $24.95.

It’s a common complaint among women and femme dressing folk that our clothes do not include enough (and enough useful) pockets. And even if your clothes do have good pockets, there’s always a chance that you’d rather have another pocket to put some essentials in rather than having to carry a whole bag.

But because we are knitters, we can take this problem into our own needles and knit ourselves some auxiliary pockets.

Beatrice Mase did just that, with a kind of fancy toolbelt pocket accessory that they call VELVET Pockets.

The stitch pattern has a plush, sort of velvet effect, thus the name, but it’s worked with regular fingering/sock weight yarn. (The sample uses wool, but you could experiment with other fibers, too.) It calls for 776 yards of 710 meters, which you might just have in your sock yarn stash.

The pattern includes several pockets of different sizes, with the main body of the pocket worked flat in one piece and the exterior pockets sewn on at the end. You also have the option of adding screw rivets and a coordinating clasp that make it look even more toolbelt chic.

The design is worked with a loop of knit fabric at the top so it can slide onto a belt. The pattern includes explanatory diagrams, photo and video tutorials and is adjustable to fit different sizes of belts.

It’s almost enough to make me want to start wearing belts again, even though I haven’t for years. Because who wouldn’t want a few extra little pockets to hold things when you don’t have enough to really justify carrying a bag around?

The pattern is available in English and French on Ravelry and you can also buy a kit complete with the yarn, rivets and clasp (the pattern is not included in the kit) direct on Etsy.

[Photo: Beatrice Mase]

Have you read?