Book Review – Mini Knits for Christmas

“Mini Knits for Christmas” by Sue Stratford is a collection of 40 adorable Christmas mini knitted figures and decorations to make your festive season extra special. From Mary and Joseph to the little donkey and a stable, or a show-stopping Santa’s sleigh complete with all eight reindeers, you can knit a charming nativity scene. Other Christmas accessories to decorate your home, such as Christmas crackers, baubles, mistletoe and candy canes, will make your knitted Christmas complete.

The patterns in the book are clear, simple, and easy to follow, making it perfect for knitters of all skill levels. The author includes step-by-step photographs of useful techniques, making it easy for even a novice knitter to understand. These cute, pocket-sized knits are quick and easy to make, as well as a great way of using up leftover yarn.

Not only are these mini knits great for festive gifts, but they also make cute decorations that the whole family will love. This edition includes material from two best-selling Christmas titles, “Mini Knitted Christmas” and “20 to Make: Mini Christmas Knits”, making it the perfect guide for your holiday knitting.

“Mini Knits for Christmas” is a must-have guide for anyone who wants to create charming and unique Christmas decorations that will be cherished for years to come. With clear instructions, step-by-step photography, and a wide range of fun and festive projects, you’ll have everything you need to make your knitted Christmas complete.

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Stitch dictionaries are a fun way to learn new-to-you knitting stitch patterns or to take a deep dive into a particular technique. Debbie Tomkies offers 100 cable stitch designs and thoughts on how to incorporate them into projects in her Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary.

Each stitch pattern is shown in a large swatch photo and with written and charted instructions. Any special stitches are included on the page. The stitches are rated on a difficulty scale of 1 to 3, and the pattern notes also indicate how many extra stitches you should add to a project if you’re going to work this cable (since cables pull the fabric closer together you need to compensate for that) as well as how many stitches and rows are in the repeat if you want to design a project yourself.

The cables are arranged into sections: classic cables, combinations, all-over panels, creative cables, motifs and panels and cabled edges and borders.

It’s fun to flip through the designs to think about projects you can add a single cable or two to or make with an allover cabled design. Or you could make swatches of different cables and sew them together into a pillow cover or a throw.

At the back of the book there’s a section on general cable knitting techniques, reading charts, working swatches and avoiding errors (though it mentions working the wrong number of rows between cable turns, it doesn’t share how to count rows between cables to avoid this mistake).

It also talks about how to design your own cables, combine cables in a project, choose the right yarn and needles and determine how many more stitches you need to cast on when working cables instead of stockinette stitch. There’s also a glossary of symbols and abbreviations you may find in cable knitting and other patterns.

The book provides a good overview of things you can do with cables, as well as some fun things you might not have tried like infinity cables and horizontal cables. It’s a great book for a designer who likes to work with cables or a knitter who wants to play with different stitches in their projects.

About the book: 176 pages, paperback, 100 stitch patterns. Published 2024 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $26.99.

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