I recently bought a copy of 60 Quick Baby Knits featuring Cascade 220 Superwash yarn. I thought it would be fun to share a review of this book.
60 Quick Baby Knits is exactly what the title implies. The book includes 60 patterns of baby items that can be knit fairly quickly and easily. Every pattern is photographed beautifully in high quality photos enabling the knitter to see the front and many times the back of each item. The quality of the photographs is very good - the stitch definition of each piece is clear and very visible.
I like the idea that every pattern in the book is knit up in Cascade 220 Superwash yarn. This is a quality wool yarn that has been treated so that it does not felt or shrink. It is machine washable and dryable which in my opinion, is very important if you are knitting something for a baby. Cascade 220 Superwash is available in many bright and fun colors and the price is very reasonable.
I paid $12 for my copy. Typically I don't buy pattern books because there is usually only one or two patterns I would be interested in actually knitting and I cannot justify the price of a whole book for that. However, there are about 25 patterns in this book that I would like to knit and probably about 10 that I will knit. That makes the price per pattern very reasonable.
The patterns are fun and some of them are just unique enough to grab my attention. I especially like the sheep hat which features the head and front legs of a sheep on the front of the hat and the tail and back legs on the back of the hat. There is also a sweet Ruffled Cloche flapper style hat that I can see on my little granddaughter. I also especially like the fact that there are several boy patterns that are clever, colorful and they look fun to knit. It is hard to find cute little boy knitting patterns and I have marked about 5 in this book alone that I can picture myself knitting for my little grandsons. Among those is a very cute cabled fisherman sweater and a tennis vest.
I also like that there are several blanket patterns in this book. I have knit a few blankets for my grandbabies and my daughters have become big fans of knitted baby blankets. They are soft, warm, and they stretch and wrap around baby in a very snuggle-y fashion. Baby blankets knit up fairly quickly, especially with a worsted weight yarn. They make great gifts for those special babies in your life. This book contains patterns for baby blankets that have unique shapes - not just the typical square or rectangle blanket.
This book means what it says when it says Baby knits. Most patterns only go up to a size 18 months and a couple are written up to 24 months. I would have liked it to up to toddler sizes but it does not. If I were a more confident knitter I could try revising the patterns - but I am not there yet!
Overall, this book was well worth it's money. Each pattern is rated easy, intermediate, or experienced and the back of the book contains a small legend of abbreviations and stitch diagrams. The information is not extensive by any means. There is an 8 inch ruler on the back cover which I think is very handy.
This book can be purchased at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Go ahead and get a copy - I think you will find a lot of useful and fun patterns for your knitting pleasure.
