Just before Christmas, we started stocking some Adriafil yarns, one of which is called Knitcol.  Knitcol is a self-striping DK yarn. It’s 100% merino wool and being a standard DK yarn, you could use it for so many things, but we think it works best with simple stocking stitch items, which will allow the stripes of the yarn to stand out.

I was dying to try it out myself, so I knitted this little baby hat, using Knitcol.  The pattern is from Sirdar pattern 1242 that includes instructions for 4 different types of baby hat.  Isn’t it cute?

We couldn’t resist trying out Sirdar’s new Smiley Stripes yarn and so my Mum knitted up this little bolero to put on display in the shop. It is so cute and catches the eye of many customers when they come in.  Being a blend of bamboo and merino wool, it feels silky soft and the colours available are so much fun!

This bolero pattern can be found in the book Hearts & Stripes which contains a variety of patterns for boys and girls up to age 7.

Rowan Summer Baby is a beautiful brochure full of fun and colourful knits for little girls and boys. Featuring designs by the Rowan design team in their favourite cotton yarns, this lovely pattern books is sure to be a hit with parents and grandparents alike.

Designs range from pretty floral dresses and party dress cardigans to graphic animal stripes and star patterns for the boys.

Amongst the recent releases of Rowan pattern books are two books that you might like if you enjoy knitting for children.

Rowan Miniature Classics knitting pattern book contains 16 patterns for babies and toddlers aged from 0-3 months to 3 years.  The designs use Rowan Handknit Cotton, Rowan Calmer, Rowan Denim, Rowan Fine Milk Cotton and Rowan Cashsoft DK yarns.  All simply adorable in my opinion!

Rowan Miniature Classics

Rowan Kids is the second children’s knitting pattern book Rowan are releasing this Spring.  There are plenty of baby and toddler knitting patterns around, however there never seems to be much for older children.  To accompany Rowan Magazine 46, Rowan released some patterns on their website for teenagers, and then to fill the gap they have published this book which contains 18 designs for the 6 – 12 age range.

Rowan Kids

Children in this age group might not always like wearing hand knits, but I don’t think they would have many objections to some of these patterns.  Rowan have done very well here in my opinion.

Both books are only £7.95 each.

I thought that you might be interested in seeing a picture of a baby sweater that I finished yesterday, just in time to give to the recipient’s parents with whom I had dinner last night!

They really liked it and were particularly impressed that it has buttons across one shoulder so that it is much easier to pop over the baby’s head.

Little Humphrey Sweater from Sublime

The pattern is the Little Humphrey Sweater from The Second Little Sublime Baby Cotton Kapok DK Book (628) and is made with Sublime Cotton Kapok DK in Porridge.

The yarn was nice to knit with, feels good when knitted up though and blocks well.  The pattern was very straight forward to follow and I didn’t come across any mistakes.

Highly recommend if you fancy a baby knit!

A good friend of mine and his wife are expecting their first baby this week and of course, I want to knit something for the new arrival.  I’m sure that they will be showered with gifts of newborn baby clothes over the next few weeks, so I think I’ll knit something for a slightly older baby – maybe 6 months old.  Then the baby will have something to grow into.

But there are so many gorgeous baby knitting patterns available at the moment, it’s hard trying to decide what to knit! 

One of the trends for 2009 is the use of eco-friendly, organic yarns and both Rowan and Sublime use new and special fibres in their baby knitting patterns.

Rowan Milk Cotton Baby Collection

Rowan Fine Milk Cotton and Rowan Milk Cotton DK are beautifully soft cotton based yarn additions to the Rowan family so called because the yarn contains 30% milk protein.  Its softness makes it ideal for this collection of classic and charming baby knits.  Featuring 14 garment designs by Marie Wallin and Martin Storey and 7 accessories by Lisa Richardson this collection has everything from coats, baby shrugs and kids hoodies to romper suits and enchantingly details dresses and cardigans, complimented by soft toys, slippers, shoes hats and a classic blanket.

Sublime Baby and Children knitting pattern books

Sublime have produced several patterns books containing knitting patterns for babies and children.  New for 2009 is their baby cotton kapok dk yarn and accompanying baby knitting pattern book.  Cotton kapok is a good baby yarn because of its unique properties.  It keeps baby warm in winter yet cool in summer, has a nice drape to it and perhaps most importantly for parents – it’s machine washable!  These are just some of the patterns from the cotton kapok book.

But for me, the best baby knitting yarn has to be the Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK. It’s so incredibly soft and in the most gorgeous colours.  In fact it is so popular that Sublime launched a Cashmere Merino Silk DK for adults.  It’s exactly the same yarn, but in more “grown-up” colours and doesn’t have “baby” in the name!  Here are some patterns from the Third Little Sublime Handknit Book.

My Mum recently knitted this striped baby blanket in Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK from the First Little Sublime Hand Knit book.  She wasn’t knitting for anyone in particular and she doesn’t have any grandchildren yet – she just loved the yarn so much that she wanted to knit something with it!

I’ll let you know what I decide to knit for my friends and will of course, post a picture!