Lifestyle Book Reviews

Book Review: Simple Knits for Little Cherubs

By Sandy Amazeen Oct 16, 2008, 16:52 GMT

The title aptly states this collection of patterns for garments and accessories sized for the little people in your life. They use clean, simple lines accentuated by being worked in predominantly the stockinette stitch providing a palette for little embroidered embellishments as in the Short-Sleeved Sweater. The shrink-to-fit Denim Pinafore would be quite charming with a line of embroidered flowers around the neckline and hem. Little touches of fair isle Scottie dogs and intarsia stars added to pockets and hemlines make cardigans special.

Accessories include a fun Stripy Hat and a cuddly Patched Blanket that make excellent use for those oddball skeins knitters accumulate. The little ones in your family would be delighted to receive the simplistic garter stitched Velvet Rabbit or the more challenging pieced Top Dog animal toys which round out this collection. Each project is shown in multiple full-color, soft focus photos showing them being worn by little cherubs.

The majority of these patterns are well within the scope of beginning knitters providing they have mastered maintaining an even tension and even if they haven’t, it is unlikely the recipients will take notice. Two pages of size charts, typically from two to six year olds, with sweater dimensions in centimeters and inches are located at the front of the book. Readers may want to photocopy these for easy reference. The finer knitting gauge of 7 stitches to the inch may seem daunting but because of the garments small size, they will knit up much quicker then an adult sweater. A nice, simple collection that will appeal to novice knitters with a special little person in their life.