Cute Stuff for Kids

A few adorable projects for little ones have come across my radar lately, so if you’ll looking to stitch something sweet for someone small, check these projects out.

The Jelli Beenz Baby Cardigan (from Plymouth via Noble Knits) is a really simple shape but it ups the skill level and the interest by working one side of the sweater in one color and one side in another. Yes, it’s intarsia. No, it’s not hard.

The Tumbling Blocks Blankie from Lion Brand Yarn is super cute in pastels as shown, but could be worked in more grown up colors for a modern baby on the go. Either way, it’s a great way to practice entrelac on a big scale.

When I posted my heart hat knitting patterns the other day, I completely forgot that I had been saving up this one, from Cascade via Love Knitting (free registration required). It’s worked from the bottom up and the colorwork is all near the beginning of the project, so once you get through that it’s smooth sailing. The ear flaps are pretty adorable, too.

When peeking at the recently published projects on Ravelry the other day, I spied this adorable cowl for kids from Blue Highway Hand Dyes. Called Castilleja, the genus name of the Indian paintbrush flower, it’s perfectly sized for a preschooler who won’t wear a scarf.

Toys are always a great choice for little ones, too, so check out a roundup of toy patterns at Love Knitting, and don’t forget to stop and ooh and aah over Barrison, a lovely little bear from Berroco.

Have you come across any cute knits for kids lately? I’d love to see them!

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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