Baby hats! Oh how I love all things baby, cute and cuddly, small and smelling so yummy. Yes that newborn baby smell and rubbing my cheek on silk soft hair. STOP! All these dreamy thought of babies, ahhhh, that’s probably why I have 4 children. I’m done, I promise, cross my heart and hope to die….I’m enjoying the baby stage with my last little one, savoring each “little” moment because I know they don’t last long. So now it’s time for other people in my family and friends circle to have babies. I can enjoy cuddling with their babies and then I can give them back.
I love to make little things for babies, and I’m so excited to have a few people around me having babies. I can make all kinds of sweet things for little heads, hands, and feet. Oh joy!!!
My first, very first baby blanket I made was about….oh jeezums, now I have to think, well it was at least 12 years ago, maybe 13? I made a baby blanket for a little girl and it became her blankie. That did it for me! I was hooked at making handmade snuggly things for the babies I know! Just seeing this little girl walk around with a blankie, all tattered and torn, knowing she couldn’t sleep without it….and I made that for her just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I have made a baby blanket for just about every baby I know. There are a few I have missed over the years, but I have not forgotten them. Those babies will still get something special from me. 😉
Which by the way, random thought but I had to share….I finished the fringe on Shelby’s blankie. What do you think??
Anyhoo, I’m glad to be finished with Shelby’s blankie because it’s time to start new projects. Oh how I love the beginning of a new project. I don’t know what it is, just that fresh start that motivates me, I love it! Now, I cannot get into too many details over upcoming projects just yet. A few of my preggo friends may read this post and I cannot risk them finding out all the cute stuff I have up my sleeve. I promise you that as soon as the mommies know, I will post picture of the pure sweetness, after the baby showers. It wouldn’t be fair to spoil the surprise right? I want the mommies to be the first to see their keepsakes.
So about those baby hats….I have never been big on making hats. I’ve made a few, but never found any great patterns that I went ga-ga over. Last week I was at my neighbor’s house having a glass of wine (Thanks Kim C.) and we were talking about knitting baby things. Then she showed me this book, itty-bitty hats, by Susan B.Anderson.
I am just in love with the patterns. This book has a simple style that starts out with a few “basic” hats and then the book develops from there. Flipping through the book, this one was the first to catch my eye.
This hat uses different pattern stitches in each little panel, all panels knitted together (not sewn – yes it’s an interesting technique!) and the number of panels depends on the size of the finished piece. Don’t you love it?? I LOVE things that are just different. I’m not one to conform to most standards in regards to, well, just about everything! I guess that’s the artist in me.
I have a few more hats in the book I want to try before I return it to my neighbor. The original plan was I was going to photocopy just two or three hats that I liked and then return the book to its rightful owner, but after diving into this book I’m putting it on my list of must-have-craft books! I also went to her website and found that she has more “itty-bitty” books! I’m adding these to my wish list as well!
I am a pretty experienced knitter and am able to do just about anything so what seems easy to me may not be easy to some people, but I hope this is just as easy for a beginner. The book comes complete with a set of how-to instructions in the beginning of the book and includes terms and illustrations for the stitches, techniques and patterns used within it.
The patterns start out simple near the beginning and gradually get more complex throughout the book. When I say complex there is nothing in knitting that is really that complicated. As knitters we all know there are 2 basic stitches, knitting and purling, and everything else is a combination of the two. I believe that this book would be great for even a beginner and many of the patterns seem very versatile. I can see myself being able to make many hats of my own creation from a few basic patterns.
I just love girly stuff and frou-frou!
AWE-DORABLE!!!!
This book has many more patterns than the ones I have shown; these are just a few of my favorites. Every time I look at the book I find another one I want to make. There are so many possibilities with this book! If you like knitting baby stuff like I do, than this is the book for you. Even if you have never tried hats before I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is and this author is just fabulous!
So here is Miss Shelby in her new hat…
I can’t wait to get started on some more….
Just FYI: I am not a professional blogger and no one paid me to review this book, this is all my opinion. I am not including any patterns they are all copyrighted material. I just wanted to share about this awesome book with my crafty friends! I have included proper references to cite copyrighted photos. The other photos are MINE. 🙂
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You will find Susan B. Anderson’s blog HERE.
Reference: Anderson, S.B. (2006). itty-bitty hats: cute and cuddly caps to knit for babies and toddlers. Artisan; A division of Workman Publishing, Inc. New York, New York.
Clever Catastrophe 