Right have decided to start knitting again for baby due In July what do I need?

[sweetkitty]

I love little handknitted cardi's on babies and have no one to knit them for me so am thinking of knitting them myself.

I can do the following:

cast on
basic stocking stitch (knit and purl)
decrease stitches
cast off

can't do:
anything fancy
button holes

So knitting guru's where do I start? Haven't the foggiest about needles, wools, patterns etc is there a good book that you recommend?

[marina]

Sublime's Little Books 1 and 2 of Baby Knits
It's lovely soft wool and the excellent instructions assume that you might be a complete beginner
Books are quite modestly priced, yarns less so, but they are ace quality

[sweetkitty]

Marina - do Sublime's books recommend certain yarns then? There is a wool shop in towm but I'm a bit intimidated going in there a complete novice.

[marina]

Well, they recommend their own yarn but it is all dk, so you can substitute
A number of labels do posh cashmere blends now, and although it's not the cheapest to buy, it is gorgeous to knit with
Rowan, Debbie Bliss - in fact Sublime is part of the Sirdar company
here's the first book
It's been so successful I am sure your yarn shop will either stock it or buy it in for you. And if they are any good they will welcome novices and make you feel right at home

[DutchOma]

Sweetkitty, you will get tremendous pleasure from knitting things for your little one yourself and I'm sure that with the expertise you already have you could easily learn the other skills.
Any wool shop will be delighted to help you.
If all else fails, I would be perfectly happy to help you when you get stuck or to knit for you, I have an e.mail address on my profile.

[florenceuk]

also a good basic knitting book will help - either Stitch and Bitch or the Knitting book for dummies - both are very clear. Your library may stock the Debbie Bliss books for babies which have lots of very easy patterns.

The sublime book is lovely and full of very simple knits. However the wool is handwash only, Rowan and Debbie Bliss make a DK weight wool called cashmerino which has a bit of acrylic in the mix which is machine washable on low temp/gentle wash - not quite as nice in some ways but much nicer than pure acrylic.

The wool shop ladies will be keen to help! John Lewis always has very helpful knitting ladies around as well.

[FillyjonkisCALM]

Ooooh I was in a similar situation about 3 years ago, before dd was born. Except I could do only knit stitch and a weird, weird cast on...

I would really really recommend

simple knits for cherished babies

I think it ticks all your boxes, its what my mum gave me and I pretty much learnt to knit by working through the simple, yet nice, patterns.

You should be able to knit most of the stuff in the book with the skills you have already

and the stuff you don't have (eg buttonholes) - she doesn't say "now make a buttonhole", she pretty much tells you how to do them, and if she doens't have enough info for you, there are plenty of instruction online. Or agree, s&b is very good and clear for general basic info.

Also, get in the queue for ravelry , it is a really really good resource.

The best way to learn for ME is to have some one show me. Options for you might be your local yarn store, who are normally very happy to teach paying customers stuff, or you probably have a local knitting group.

[FillyjonkisCALM]

(gosh I think its EXACTLY 3 years since I started knitting

dd was a July baby, and iirc I started knitting 5 months before she was born )

[sweetkitty]

Thanks for all the advice will definitely be looking out for some of the books can't wait to get startes now just wish I had started when DD1 was a baby, this is DB3 wish I had knitted the others some cardi's now.

[soremummy]

if u email me can send u some easy peasy patterns tha knitted for dc4 in may 07.

soremummy @ hotmail.co.uk

just send addy and will post this week for free

[Miaou]

Something else to knit for your baby - a wee blanket to tuck round them when they are in their car seat. I made mine from wee squares (20 sts by (I think) 26 rows), then made a garter stitch border which I then sewed on separately. It's so simple but really effective and I have used it daily since ds1 was born (now using for ds2)

[sweetkitty]

oh just found this again

Finally got around to buying some needles, the Debbie Bliss book and some lovely soft cream yarn.

Have been practising my basic knit and purl today, ready to graduate onto something a bit more complicated, it's like learning a new language.

soremummy - will def e-mail you thanks

[bundle]

gosh marina had totally missed sublime
thanks for link

[PaulaYatesBiggestFan]

oooh those are just lovely - hmm the travel rug appeals but what colours when unsure of gender?

[PurlyQueen]

I like the simple knits one as well - I've made quite a few things for my forthcoming little one.

The sex of the baby will be a surprise - I started knitting with white and cream but got bored, so I branched out into turquoise, green, khaki, purple and red because I thought those colours would work well with either pink or blue.
My latest project is this Baby Yoda Sweater in a cornflower blue chunky cotton yarn.

[sweetkitty]

hello again have been practising with my practice yarn, I have Essential Baby knits and I think it's a bit mroe advanced, I'm finding it hard to follow have mastered basic stocking stitch, rib, decrease (increasing still a mystery), moss stitch and casting off (which is far too tight).

Feel a bit downheartened today the patterns are so hard to follow.

[MrsBadger]

you can always cheat re casting off - knit the last row on a bigger needle.

I always photocopy patterns and annotate them madly, then tick off the bits as they're done so I don't lose my place.

cardigans are hard

My most useful baby item has been dd's prambag - a piece of stocking stitch 35cm wide and about 80 long with one short edge folded to make a hood and the other turned up to make a sleeping bag (only good if you have a carrycot though as you can't put a harness round it)

[sweetkitty]

MrsB - that looks good I am getting a P&T so baby in the back for a bit am not getting the whole cocoon as it's a Summer baby so a wee pram bag would be lovely.

I will not give up though I will crack this knitting malarky!

[PurlyQueen]

Don't get downhearted, sweetkitty.

There are tons of knitting resources online - if you type knitting and decrease into Google, you will find more advice, diagrams and videos than you can throw a stick at.

If you live near a John Lewis that stocks knitting yarn, they often have assistants who can knit and will be only too happy to show you how to increase.

[Joekate]

I'm addicted to Sublime - the lady in the wool shops face lights up when she sees me coming! I've knitted most things from baby 1 and will be getting baby 2. Does anyone know if you can use the grown up wool for baby knits as well - they seem to be the same weight and have more interesting colours (fed up of piglet and waterlilly now!)?

[florenceuk]

i can't think why not - it's exactly the same mix of merino/silk/cashmere isn't it?