Dislike knitted baby gifts from family member

[LoftyOliveDreamer]

A member of our family continuously knits baby gifts for our children, there is not usually much consideration for appropriate seasons regards to age/sizing and the patterns/colours are always quite garish. We feel awful because there is clearly a lot of time and effort gone into these. The person is a beautiful knitter however she will not take any suggestions on colours, or doing a more neutral/single colour piece that would mean it can be paired with other items.

We are left with sooo many items piling up unused, many are completely inappropriate sizing so they are zero use to us. However the ones that may fit are always wild patterns or very dated styles. Photo is just recent examples

We have tried to talk to this person many times but as mentioned before they do not listen. I feel pressured to quietly donate many of them because we simply do not have the space to store so many unused items, and I would hope someone else can appreciate and get some use out of them

Our last ditch attempt is suggesting a specific pattern book so hopefully this works, do you have any suggestions? Am I being unreasonable, are these examples nice?

That’s so tricky. I am a knitter myself and love knitting for family and friend’s babies but I always check their preference on colours/styles/sizes. A lot of effort has clearly gone into her knitting but I think ultimately, you’ve been clear with her and she’s not listening. I’d donate the items to charity instead

Such a shame as they’re clearly a talented knitter but yes, dated and garish styles. I see them at the Christmas fete at church and I wonder who buys them - they’d have more success with more modern styles and muted colours.

I would request specific items and buy the wool.

Just say thank you. Take a nice pic of the children in it and pass it on. No harm done.

I kept small hand knitted items and they were used as dolls clothes.

the wee cardigans would be adorable if they were subtle colours.

Pink with white trim one and hat are fine... id go as far as perfectly nice and very inoffensive

Grey patchwork is a bit out there but would be fine with black joggers

Pink patchwork is not great/ pretty awful

But I was expecting true horror.

We get a lot of knitted stuff i kind of hated it at first but its crazy practical and both my kids seem to love them so 🤷🏻‍♀️
Put it on your kids a few times and take a few snaps for your kind relative

I used to photograph and hand on, but not because of the colours, rather the wool was that squeaky synthetic stuff that made my fingers bleed trying to do the buttons up as the buttonholes were always a tiny bit too small.

Sympathies.

The knitting is good!

They may / may not like the idea of a specific book. I'd ask them.

Take photo of child in outfit, send to knitter, take to charity shop. (outfit, not kids)
We knitters/crochet people know that our younger relatives aren't loving what we've knitted but I appreciate the effort of sending photos of child in it /posing with toy😁.

I couldn't say anything, unless you see them regularly. Some child will like them.
Pass them on.

I loved the home made items that were made for DD but not the ones with the cheap synthetic wool.
the grey & white cardi looks fab if it was in a cotton wool

OP, you could buy a pattern and the wool to go with it, and give it to your knitting family member and say, “I’d be so pleased if you would knit this for DC in size 2-3” or whatever. That way you have control over both the yarn and the pattern. As a knitter, I’d be delighted if one of my DC did this - I knit for my grandchildren - but I’m happy to listen to what they say, and often run patterns past them before I knit them - it does take quite a bit of effort to knit a jumper, especially the Aran one in your picture.

Another knitter speaking. You could join Ravelry (a knitting site) and save patterns you like the look of in your library for her to see. That would need a bit of effort on your part if you aren't at all interested in knitting, but it would mean she would be able to see what you like - a sort of wish-list - and in her shoes I would love that. It might also mean that you get specially made things for your children that are to your taste.

Aww I think they're adorable, liquorice allsorts colours. Loads of good suggestions in other posts. Bright colours are super good for babies development if that helps soothe the irritation 🥰🫶

Oh I would love knitted stuff. Don't care about the colours etc, just the thought of it being knit amazing

Thank you all, i really appreciate al the comments. It’s nice to hear from other knitters they would be happy to given specific requests. I will update if the new pattern book goes down well! Also checking out the facebook group suggested by ShyMaryEllen.

I hate to think of anyone wasting their time and if I had a hobby that could be gifted I would rather hear from the recipient if the gift is desired and would be treasured

They are giving Bertie Basset

Has the meaning of "garish" changed recently? I was expecting purple, orange and lime green, not pale pink, gray, black and white!

I'll take them! 😍

This is all you have to do,nothing else .

I'm a knitter but wouldn't endlessly churn out stuff made of cheap acrylic yarn. My baby knits tend to use a wool/synthetic mix and the material cost stops me overdoing it. Ive just finished a toddler jumper and the yarn cost around £25!

As a tactic, could you ask them to make you a cot blanket, in 4ply non synthetic yarn (cotton, sheep wool etc)? Stipulate the colour etc as that should keep them occupied for a few months as a 4ply blanket will takes ages and cost that much they might not offer again.

(If you aren't in the UK 4ply is generally known as fingering weight).

I agree. I think the pink and white cable jumper and hat are quite nice actually. My little ones needed warm cardigans for all seasons too. But as others say, take a photo and pass it on. No harm done.

Obviously not from the perspective of a baby, but my first thought was that that the specific pink and grey/brown used here would make me look like a corpse, based on my colouring. The two-tone cable ensemble is otherwise nice, though. What baffles me most is that she's not checking sizes with the parents - can't she see that they're not the right size when she sees the child (or a pic of the child) wearing them, or is she perhaps making them large to grow into?

Most likely the yarn chosen will be the cheapest. Because the other was too expensive...

Exactly. I think those items are actually beautiful 🤷‍♀️ clearly I' in the minority

It's not a FB group, @LoftyOliveDreamer.

It's here - https://www.ravelry.com

You'll need to sign up, but a whole world of yarn crafts will open before your eyes, whether you like it or not😎