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?

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.

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

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.

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!

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!