Essential Baby: Over 20 Handknits to Take Your Baby from First Days to First Steps (Hardcover)

by Debbie Bliss (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Presenting twenty-four patterns, Bliss offers some usual suspects—but knits up some surprises too. Stash this tome for your next baby boom."  —Vogue Knitting

 

 

Product Description

A complete knitwear collection for every new baby, this guide includes 20 must-have designs for babies ranging in age from zero to 18 months. Divided into three main sections—Coming Home, On the Go, and Downtime—the author has carefully considered the needs of any new parent and devised an assortment of essential projects for their newborn.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square Books (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570763682
• ISBN-13: 978-1570763687
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #69,546 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars over simplistic and derivative, November 10, 2007

By	nybiblio - See all my reviews

This is a disappointing book. On the positive side, the first portion of the book is dedicated to teaching knitting, from casting on to instructions on reading patterns. The explanations and accompanying graphics would be helpful to a complete newbie. However, all this information is available for free on knitting help websites and they have video.

The patterns are nice, but nothing spectacular nor even very creative. Garnstudio has a website which provides hundreds of free patterns for knitted baby items. You can find every one of the the 22 items in the book at that website or other sites, such as Knitty.

The photography for this book is quite lovely, but focuses on the baby rather than the project. The babies are adorable, but this is a book about knitting for babies, not babies in knits. Thus, we never see one blanket in it's entirety, just the bits which are visible while it is wrapped around the baby. The lace pattern on that blanket is given as text, with no accompanying chart.

Also, as with all knitting writers these day, Debbie Bliss has her own yarn line, so all the patterns call for her yarn, with no suggestions for substituting.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Debbie Bliss Does It Again, October 10, 2007

By	Caroline (New Jersey, Vermont USA) - See all my reviews

Pure heirloom but easy to knit, not the usual run of the mill type of creation that most babies are wearing. Debbie Bliss really does rock as usual.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect gift for needlecrafting mothers-to-be, November 5, 2007

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Expert needlecrafter Debbie Bliss is a former designer for Baby Gap and the author of a number of 'how to' books on knitting including "The Baby Knit Book", "Debbie Bliss Knitting Workbook", "How to Knit", and "Classic Knits for Kids". Her latest contribution to the growing library of knitting instructionals is "Essential Baby" Over 20 hand Knits To Take Your Baby From First Days To First Steps". Enhanced with 75 color photos and 65 color artworks, "Essential Baby" offers a complete collection of knitting projects for dressing new babies in soft and comfortable handmade garments with sizes appropriate for newborns to 18 months. Each individual project comes with thoroughly 'user friendly', step-by-step instructions along with helpful charts and templates. A perfect gift for needlecrafting mothers-to-be, "Essential Baby" is a very highly recommended addition to personal and community library knitting reference collections.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch