Customer Reviews

Scrumptious Toppers for Tots & Toddlers: 30 Hats and Caps from Debby Ware

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

My sister and I attended one of Debby's workshops and had so much fun we've been haunting her ever since, waiting for this new book. I've already made the "Firecracker Topper" for my overactive nephew, and the "Pretty-in-Pink" hat for my niece. Debby's touches are unique, but once you master them, you can use the same techniques to embellish anything you can dream up. These hats are truly "scrumptious". I plan to start with the "Birthday Cupcake" hat in the beginning of the book and knit my way through all of them... until I run out of babies!

This book was a disappointment. I was expecting the usual flair from Debby Ware. The cute hat on the cover is not so cute when pictured on a baby's head inside. The hats also seem too small in the photographs - none of them cover the ears. I am unsure as to how to increase the sizes so they actually fit a baby of a certain age. I would not recommend this book.

Who else but the author of Too Cute could come with a "Baby Chick Cap" (pick up some yellow eyelash), a "Hearts & Flowers Hat" (get a silk flower), and a "Bull's Eye Beret" (needs chenille)? Nobody but designer Debby Ware, who presents 30 hats and caps in this new collection. The Tunton Press outdid itself with layout and photography in this 137-page offering. How did they get those babies and toddlers to sit still, lie still, and even pose? I'm told the answer lies in the employment of a "baby wrangler," someone equipped with both funny noisemakers and calming devices. Even better, in an instructive vein, are the close-up photos and graphs of the colorful and sometimes comical details that make Ware's designs so singular. In addition to her easy-to-follow patterns, the book includes a how-to drawing of her signature french knots. There is also a short section on "Special Stitches" like the welt, the I-cord, and the pom-pom. Ware encourages the reader's own creativity. In her description of the "Greenie Beanie," she notes "it is so easy to create that you'll want to knit one in every color of the rainbow." In her introduction she asks readers to "use my patterns as a starting point to your own one-of-a-kind creations." Her 30 hats are divided into three sections: "Homecomings," which feature many beanies for newborns; "Hooplas," which are holiday hats, and "Humdingers," which includes the sparkly "Lemon Drop Cream," the smashing "Feathers & Fringe Fedora," and a one called a "Wee Wild One" that has glittery ears and nose and a big smile. Scrumptious Toppers is one of those knitting books that make you glad you're a knitter who knows other knitters so you can share this beautiful book with them.

I consider myself a modestly talented knitter (about a 5 or 6 on the scale)and I was at first worried that these patterns would be too difficult. But it was just before Christmas and I wanted that Holly Holiday Hat, badly. The directions turned out to be good and the results great. I was challenged enough to try more. And more there are: Taunton Press has included 30 designs for just 20 bucks! The book itself is beautiful and the photos very cute and clear. I am going to be busy for a long time.

Someone in my knitting circle recommended D. Ware's first book (which I have loved), so I recently went looking to see what she's been up to. I'd gotten a couple of her sweet ready-made knitting kits and turned the circle on to them too--everyone put their own touches on them and we had fun sharing the finished products. I love this new book. Inventive, colorful and most of all, fun to knit. I can't wait to add to my nieces and nephews' collection of Aunt Kate knits.

Great styles for both boys and girls. Can't wait to get started knits for those special little persons.

I read some of the so-so reviews, but thought to myself "How can that be, the hat on the front of the book looks so cute??" Oh, it's true! The hats are not so cute, and not one of the hats pictured in the book looks like it fits. I would not reccommend this book to anyone! Buy Itty Bitty Hats and learn the basics from that book and branch out from there. You will get nothing and I mean nothing from this book.

a new grandson prompted me to buy this book. It is very simple, it is full of ideas, most projects are in "seed" stich, there are other simple stiches explained in back of the book, it is specially good for someone who has leftover yarns because you can use it to decorate toppers. Book has great pictures and you can knit cute hats!

This book is full of easy to make, cute baby and toddler hats. I especially love the birthday hat that looks like a candle on top.

Most of these hats have a lot of "after work", as in duplicate stitch, bullion stitch, patches sewn on, etc., so you're not done after you knit the hat. If you have lots of small amounts of scrap yarns in your knitting stash, there are some cute ideas here.


Also, I can see why in the editorial comments they say these will be heirloom hats--you should immediately take them away from your baby/toddler after the pictures are taken because these fluffy yarns can and do shed, and you don't want your child chewing on them.

As to the sizing issues, some of that can be fixed by using wool or acrylic yarns, which will stretch an inch or two, or a slightly larger needle/yarn.

If you have any of the author's other books (I have Too Cute!), you might find that there are not enough new patterns to warrant purchasing this one. Check out of your library first.