Review: Kids’ Ultimate Craft Book

If you’ve got kids home for the summer or are just interested in indoctrinating them into the world of crafts at any time of year, Kids’ Ultimate Craft Book is a fun place to start.

This compilation craft book from the editors at Quarry Books covers knitting as well as beading, crochet, knotting, braiding and sewing. Each of the five chapters includes an overview of materials, tools and techniques needed to get started, and then there are a few patterns the kiddo can use to practice that craft.

The knitting chapter begins with an introduction from Mary Scott Huff and includes tips on yarn weight, gauge and fiber, essential tools, how to measure and count stitches and rows, working a cable cast on, the knit stitch, purling, working in the round and binding off.

It also includes some tips for fixing mistakes including how to tink and frog. There are also photo tutorials on basic increases and decreases, how to weave in ends nad blocking. It’s a pretty solid education in the basics that will help a new knitter learn on their own or refresh your memory on how to talk through the basic steps to make teaching someone else easier.

The knitting patterns included are a bias knit garter stitch washcloth, a cowl worked in the round with ribbed edges and a stockinette stitch body (shown in two colors, which adds another skill) and a pencil roll worked in two colors. They’re cute projects but I don’t know if a new knitter would stick with the cowl or the pencil roll long enough to finish them. (That said we do usually start knitters on scarves, which isn’t exactly a fast project, so these could be fine, too!)

Since a lot of us like both knitting and crochet (and it’s great to try to teach kids both in case they take to one more easily), I’ll mention the crochet section covers the parts of a hook, abbreviations and reading charts (though charts are not used in the book), how to hold the hook and yarn, making a slip knot, chain, slip stitch, single crochet, double crochet, and tips for working in rows and rounds. The patterns include a braided friendship bracelet made out of chains, a monster with a rectangular single crochet body and twisty arms and legs, and a granny square scarf.

This book provides a quick overview of a bunch of different crafts your teen or tween might be interested in and tells you the basics you need to know to make some fun and relatively easy projects. I think this would be a great book to have on hand for summer, or rainy days, or winter, when those I’m bored feelings creep up (especially if you have a well-stocked craft room so these projects can be started without a trip to the craft store).

About the book: 192 pages, paperback (ebook edition also available), 16 projects (3 knitting patterns). Published 2021 by Quarry Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

Next Pattern:

Knitters are always looking for ways to continue to knit and to wear their knits even when it’s hot outside, so there are tots of great T0shirt knitting patterns to choose from. I love knitting short-sleeved shirts because they feel so much faster than sweaters, and you can wear them on top of dresses or even longer-sleeved items when it gets cooler.

There are lots of different styles of knit tops, from the basic to the more detailed. On the more basic side are things like the Perfect T-Shirt from Originally Lovely, a basic raglan tee with nine sizes and worked in worsted weight yarn; Paper Bloom by Yvonne Hugo (free on Ravelry), available in six sizes and worked with cotton and silk yarn for extra coolness; or Iris H’s Amelia Top, also on Ravelry, a slim fit, DK weight top with nine size.

Jazz it up with a bit of lace like on the Athens Lace Hem top by Sarah Hatton (Ravelry). This otherwise simple project has a bit of lace at the bottom, which is an easy way to make a project more interesting without a ton of work. This one uses fingering weight yarn and comes in nine sizes.

Another simple embellishment is to emphasize the lines of your top with different stitches. The Spring Lines top uses twisted ribbing at the center front and V-neck and along the raglan lines to give it a slimmer fit and more interest. This design from Turquoise Toque Designs has 11 size options and is available on Ravelry.

Silfurberg by Joji Locatelli uses both of these elements, with lace panels at the center front and back and purl ridges throughout to make it a little more fun to knit and to wear. The pattern uses fingering weight yarn and comes in 10 sizes. Learn more on Ravelry.

Keep it simple or add puffed sleeves (and/or long sleeves) to the slim fit Knitty Committee top by Lily Kate France. This one has two length options, waist shaping and optional bust darts to fulfill all your curvy top dreams, and it comes in nine sizes. You’ll find it on Ravelry.

Take it even more romantic with the Daphne Top from Friday Knits, which has puffed sleeves and applied I-cord to emphasize the bust and sweetheart neckline. It comes in eight sizes and uses DK weight yarn.

Or add some sweet flowers with the Gigio pattern from Emilie Luis. This pretty pattern found on Ravelry has cable panels running up the front with the option for adding sweet embroidered flowers. You can also add decorative buttons if you like. It comes in 11 sizes and calls for sport weight yarn.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?