Simple Knits for Cherished Babies

By Erika Knight

Simple Knit for Cherished Babies is the best-selling baby knits title in the world and is now available in a new smaller format!

Her designs, in pure yarns such as merino wool, silk and cashmere, are not only marvellously soft and gentle for a new baby's delicate skin they are absolutely modern in feel, while retaining as their core inspiration the best of baby's classic knits – bootees, bonnets, cot blankets and cardigans – but with a modern edge. This new format is set to appeal to the current market.

The stitches she uses are quick and simple to knit, but highly textural in feel. Even a complete novice can master most of the patterns in the book, and the simplest will take only an evening or at most a weekend to knit. In a carefully chosen colour range of art-shade pastels and neutrals that have a long-lasting appeal, these knits are the heirlooms of the future. Any parent will want to knit them, own them and keep them for future siblings or as mementoes for the future.

Previous ISBN: 9781855859265

Other titles in the series include 'Simple Knits for Little Cherubs' (ISBN 9781843400189), also being reissued in this new and exciting format.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Nov 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781910231890

Book preview

getting started

Illustration

about yarns and needles

Illustration

Graded from left to right, three principal weights of yarn – fine, medium and chunky – in cotton, silk and wool are shown with suitably sized bamboo needles alongside. The pattern instructions in the book explain which yarn weights and needle sizes are needed for each project.

EACH BABY is special and unique, and the garments we make for them should echo these qualities and offer softness, warmth and protection. Time spent selecting delicate soft natural yarns suitable for babies will never be wasted, nor will the money spent on the best quality ones. Cashmere, silk, fine merino wool, and cotton, are a little more expensive to purchase than more traditionally available yarns designed for babies, but each have a very special quality. They provide luxurious softness to cocoon and cosset, and to keep babies warm in winter and cool in summer. Natural fibres allow the body to breathe, absorb moisture and circulate the air around a baby’s delicate body, and they wash and wear with a quality second to none. Cashmere is a noble fibre and the ultimate in luxury. It is ultra soft, light and beautiful to the touch. Silk has a renowned natural sheen and also an exquisite drape. It is luxurious and sensuous to the touch. Fine merino wool is strong and flexible, making it a joy to knit with as it creates a smooth, elegant fabric that keeps its shape well. It is warm in winter, cool in summer and does not crease. Botany wool is strong and light, but also warm. Cotton has a natural look and is soft and cool to the touch. It is available matt or shiny, smooth, slubby or textured. It is hardwearing and easy to wash. You need very little yarn to create garments for small babies. The tiny projects for new babies take just a ball or two of wool or silk. Depending on the size or weight of the yarn, you will need the appropriate needles. Bamboo needles are particularly suited to fine work, being wonderfully smooth. You will need relatively few sizes for the patterns in this book, the sizes needed being given at the start of each pattern.

about tension (gauge)

Illustration

The same yarn is knitted on three different sizes of needle to illustrate how tension will affect the finished size of your project. The tension in the centre is the correct size. On the left the tension is too tight and on the right it is too loose. To adjust the tension, a change in needle size is needed.

IF YOU WANT THE PROJECTS you knit to be the correct size, your knitting must be the correct tightness or tension. Tension is the term given to the number of stitches and rows you should have to the centimetre/inch you knit on the given needles, yarn and stitch pattern. For accurate sizing, the tension must be correct. If you knit too tightly, your garment will be too small; if you knit too loosely, your garment will be too large. Every project instruction will give you the yarn, needles and tension required for that particular project. To check your tension, knit a sample square slightly larger than 10cm (4in) using the yarn, needles and stitch requested. Smooth the square out on a flat surface without stretching it. Then, using a ruler, mark out a 10cm (4in) square in the knitting and count every stitch and half stitch; check this number against the tension requested. Count the rows in the same way. If you have too many stitches and rows your knitting is too tight, and you will need to use a size fatter needle. If you have too few stitches and rows it is too loose, and you will need to knit with a size finer needle.

about the patterns

Illustration

Three little vests demonstrate the variation in sizes depicted in the project instructions: 0–3 months, 3–6 months and 6–9 months respectively.

THE PATTERNS IN THIS BOOK are written following normal pattern writing conventions. The instructions are written out in full, whenever possible, with as much information as it is feasible to give to make them easy to follow. Where there is a repeating instruction within the pattern, this passage is marked with asterisks. Where special techniques, such as increasing and decreasing or making an eyelet, are needed, this is indicated at the beginning of the pattern and a cross-reference given to the explanation, which is listed at the back of the book. The technique is then incorporated into the pattern following the normal pattern writing convention.

sizing

Even new born babies vary greatly in size, from a premature baby weighing just a few pounds to an extra large baby whose birth weight is equal to that of a naturally small, three-month-old baby. It is important, therefore, not to go merely by age, but to work out actual sizes. If you are knitting in advance for a baby, guess at one of the middle sizes or, if the parents’ family history indicates large babies, go for the biggest size – the baby will grow into it! Instructions are given in three sizes for each project, worked out on averages of age and weight but are intended as a guide only. In each pattern, the first instructions are given for the smallest size and the figures inside the brackets refer to the next sizes up. The sizing has been worked out to allow a little extra room for comfort. The three little vests shown here show the different sizes included in the instructions, 0–3 months, 3–6 months, 6–9 months. At the back of the book are details of the projects, with the actual baby measurements for which each size is intended, as well as the finished sizes of the knitted garments. To ensure the garments are the correct size, you should measure the baby first, if you can.

Illustration

Look for attractive trimmings, collecting and hoarding remnants saved from

Reviews for Simple Knits for Cherished Babies

[rainwood_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Easy, quick knits for babies. Easy to follow patterns. Great staple for the knitting library, although the author has a thing for silk and cashmere. Dry clean only + babies = silly.