Review: Two Easy Ways to Knit for Babies

I was cleaning in my office yesterday and I cam across a couple of cute Leisure Arts booklets about baby knits that I thought you all might enjoy.

The first, Garter Stitch for Baby by Candi Jensen and Heather Vantress, features 10 projects for little ones that mostly use Garter Stitch (there’s also a ripple stripe blanket that uses Feather and Fan). The baby hat and striped leg warmers are super sweet, and that hooded sweater on the cover is adorable, too. There’s also a little knit toy (called a sweetie, it kind of looks like a cat) a vest, a striped blanket, a pair of booties, mitts and fingerless mitts. All the projects are rated easy except the hooded sweater, and this would be a great place to start for a newer knitter who really wants to knit for a baby.

If you want to try knitting in a different way, check out Karen Ratto-Whooley’s Projects for Baby Made with the Knook. A Knook is more like a crochet hook, but you work back and forth in rows more like knitting, and the finished fabric looks like knitting. (It’s actually kind of like Tunisian crochet.) The great thing about this book is that it includes instructions for using knitting needles as well, so you can go either way with your projects. There are six in all: the sweater on the cover, two hats and three blankets. I like the baby beret and the Tracks & Trails Afghan best.

Have you ever used a Knook? I’ve never tried it but it’s on my list. I’d love to know what you think!

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

Comments

Have you read?