Customer Reviews

Adorable Crochet for Babies and Toddlers: 22 Projects to Make for Babies from Birth to Two Years

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book has many patterns for girls and boys written in a simple, concise manner. The items have the look of expensive department store clothes. Each pattern has at least one variation of the style that is very appealing. There is a adorable dress with smocking in crochet on front and back that is perfect for that beautiful daughter (or granddaughter!) Nice variety and not humdrum look of so many patterns.

First a note, because a lot of people are reporting confusion: there are different editions of this book, one using the English crochet terms and one using the US terms. The version I have uses US notation and has ISBN 1-85585-993-9. If you look in the stitch explanation at the front and it lists both slip stitch and single crochet separately, you have the US version.

Anyway, the patterns are terribly cute, and are arranged in color groups. Most could be done by a beginner but are not so basic as to be boring to an experienced crocheter. The beautiful "Icelandic Jacket" is all done in one piece (no sewing seams!) and the blues blanket would work for any age. If you are looking for projects that don't just use pink and blue (though you'll find those too), this is a great book to try.

As a beginner, I absolutely love this book. It has clear, illustrated instructions in the beginning, and the patterns are divided into chapters according to colours. Patterns include Jackets for boys and girls, a sunhat, bears, bunnies and my favourites, a little pair of Mary Janes and sun sandals as well as an adorable beret. It also has patterns for several blankets. I recommend this delightful book for all abilities

It has some great patterns; unfortunately it also has a great deal of errors in the patterns! It is also a British book, and that means that the stitches are very different to American stitches, so unless you know the conversion, it's very difficult for an American to follow the patterns. Plus, the author tells you to do certain things, like particular embroidery stitches or pom-poms and then doesn't tell you how.
Definitely not for the beginner, and a real disappointment to me.

The edition of this book I have seen is from 2002, published in North America, and uses American terms. The photos are indeed adorable. the colors used are not the typical pastels and the designs are clean and modern. the color combinations are inspiring. I feel the smock pictured on the Amazon page (on the cover of the softback book) is the best design in the book. However, it is made in Patons Baby pure Wool 3-ply, which is apparently not available in the US. Finding a substitute for this yarn has proved quite difficult for me. The directions call for a 2mm (steel size 4) hook, which is quite small; I mention that because some crocheters do not like to use such small sizes. The garment size ranges are quite limited; the smock is in sizes 0-5 months and 5-10 months. Another nice design is the Icelandic cardigan (in reality a fairly simple variation on a round-yoke design)--this is for size 6 months only.

If you're an American crocheter, you must change the directions to American terms or learn the English ones used here. First 19 pages are crochet instructions for beginners which also explains the English terms. This is followed by 22 projects of all sorts. No schematics but some international symbols are used which is fine. As others have written, the projects are really cute. All the yarns are described as chunky or dk or whatever so it is easy enough to substitute. Lots of baby blankets, accessories and a rabbit and a really good looking bear. The sweaters are nicely done and some are quite unusual such as the Icelandic and Mexican jackets. Book is large paperback with good print and cute pictures.

I look at a LOT of knit and crochet books. This is one I am willing to buy. It has wonderful ideas that are a step above the standard baby crochet style. I found the instructions easy to follow, and the results rewarding. Even the book itself is a compact square shape, which fits easily in a project bag. I am an intermediate crocheter; it is possible that this book is a little beyound total beginners. But buy it anyway to get inspired!

The pattern instructions in this book are abysmal. Having tried 3 different items in the book, I am thoroughly annoyed. I am a moderately accomplished crocheter and knitter, yet many of the instructions were either so poor, incorrect, or non-existant I had to create some on my own to replicate what what shown in the final garment.

In following one of the sock patterns, the instructions resulted in a very wide ankle and body and then a very short distance to the toe. I ended up counting the blurry rows in the picture and then adjusting the pattern accordingly- and the gauge of the sock was too big anyway (using a super fine string yarn and the sock sized for 6 months would be big on my 2 yr old). In one of the sweaters, I had to both down guage my yarn and use a *much* smaller needle to match the gauge of the sweater.

The instructions tend to cater to the more exerperienced crocheter, often leaving repeat instructions out, tell you to repeat instructions from another place (even those the situation is slightly different and needs to be adjusted), assuming that the crocheter will know to put in a slip stitch here or skip a stitch there - all of which I can do, but would prefer instructions that were more consistent in how much of my own thinking I need to put into them.

In each pattern I tried in this book, I ended up working the items multiple times and was still not satisfied at the end. The garment in the pictures are truly lovely, but the patterns don't consistently deliver those results. I wonder if the people who gave such favorable ratings actually *made* any of the items.

Something NEW and wonderful!

Perhaps the British conversion would be too much to be understood easily... But this is the first crochet book for babies that does anything different in all ways from other stuff out there.

The yarn choices are important::: that "department store" sheen comes from the quality yarns used. (Lots of cotton and cotton blends, which goes with the newer trends for baby, as cotton is hypo-allergenic, and most babies wear it well.)

It's just a beatiful book with thoughtful patterns.

I absolutely LOVE this boook. I'm relatively new to crochet, and would consider myself an advanced beginner. That said, this book is definately NOT beyond the grasp of someone who is new to crochet. She does use british crochet terms, but they're all explained in detail (including pictures of how to do each and what they look like) in the first pages of the book. I've never made anything besides baby afghans and booties, and so I tried the smocked dress that's on the front cover of the book. It came out great - I had NO problems with the pattern. I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you're a beginner or you've been crocheting for a long time. There are a lot of great, unique, and absolutley adorable patterns in this book that you won't find anywhere else. Just be sure you read through the beginning so that the british terms don't confuse you. Have fun!!