Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Natural Knits for Babies and Toddlers

Natural Knits for Babies and Toddlers by Tina Barrett.

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Our library is quite good at regularly updating the knitting books. Just about every time I go in I spot something new. Last visit saw me come home with this new book by Tina Barrett (Amazon link here) which I thought I'd share for today's morning report.

First impression was a good one. There are some *seriously* cute patterns in this book. The styling is attractive and appealing and there is a good range of knitting techniques. Nothing looked seriously difficult but there were a couple of cable and lace patterns for those wanting to branch out a little bit. What really caught my eye was a really nice emphasis on finishing and the little details that make the pieces stand out as something special.

As the title suggests the patterns are written for natural fibres - yes wool and cotton but also projects made in hemp, soy, corn, silk and bamboo. The Earth Mama's will love this book - as well as being all about natural fibres, the book features not only the usual baby blankets, jeresys and hats- there are also patterns for nursing pads and nappy liners! I think it's great to see some branching out of traditional baby knitting patterns.

There were a couple of things I thought were a little 'off ' (like a cabled jumper in bright stripey wool) but 90% of the patterns were very "knittable" to my mind. A nice range of styles for boys and girls and some very cute baby accessories which would make lovely gifts.

My picks?
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Possibly swayed by the adorable modelling and styling but this alpaca cardy with matching beret went straight to the top of my winter wish list for M1. I think perhaps the ruffle hem was the clincher there.

And this
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A swing dress and matching leggings. The pattern was written for hemp but I'm doing it in bamboo/cotton. I've cast on for the 1-2y but with the sudden autumny change we're having at the moment I'm wondering if perhaps I do the 2-3y size instead ready for next summer. Sigh.

Any new knitting books caught your eye lately?

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Ohhh drooling... I'll reserve the book from the library too!!!
I'm lusting after the Simply Sublime Organic Cotton Book myself... Lovely lantern pics btw - we enjoyed it too! x Lies

Rose Red said...

Oh sweet!! Love both of these outfits, both are so divine! What a shame kids grow so quickly though!! (but it does mean there's always more great stuff to knit, doesn't it!)

Heart Felt said...

Looks beautiful....not sure if we have that one in our library....x

Nova said...

ooo looks nice! i like the jacket & beret combo too.. i've never been a fan of the beret look until lexi was given one, but she can *totally* work it, so i've been converted :)

can't wait to see you knit them up!!

Mama Bird said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mama Bird said...

Oh Lovely!

I looked it up at our library but its not available :(

I am still stuck on my itty bitty nursery :)

I find it really hard to get styley patterns for 3+ age group. All the cutey/stylish ones are for babies and toddlers!

Jo's Place said...

oh that looks like a great book. I love the swing dress and matching pants. Will have to check out our libraries.

Anonymous said...

Oh that sweet frilly cardigan! I could definitely have predicted you loving that one! :)

Anonymous said...

Aww, too cute! I love the little beret and jacket!