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!

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

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