Available from 7th August!

The latest in a series of baby and children’s hand-knit books, Debbie Bliss’s ‘Blankets, Bears and Bootees’ is beautifully put together. Pages of full colour photographs lie between gorgorgeous patterns that are guaranteed to capture your eye.

The book opens up with an easy to follow contents section. Each pattern is listed along with a colour photograph of the item, allowing you to glance at all the projects in one go.

The first section of the book is called ‘knitting basics’. This section introduces the yarns, garment care and the techniques needed. Everything is explained clearly with coloured diagrams - making this book ideal for even a beginner.

The patterns themselves are easy to follow. They all include large colour photographs of the finished project, size materials needed and abbreviated instructions (all explained in the introductory section).

The projects include blankets, knitted toys, bootees, other clothing, a memory book, building blocks and more. The clothing projects are designed for babies aged 3-6 months but many can be adapted for up to at least 18 months.

We would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for beautiful, modern and something a little different for their young ones. It will not disappoint.

This book is produced by Quadrille Publishing and is available for only £14.99 RRP.

We’re taking a look at two of Erica Knight’s newest books – ‘Beads & Buttons’ & ‘Natural Nursery Knits’.

Beads & Buttons

Erica Knight is a well know knitwear and crochet designer. Working for well known fashion houses and designing her own range of designer knitwear, Erica has produced many crafting books since 2000.

‘Bead & Buttons’ is her first venture into the world of jewellery making to create 25 projects incorporating some of her well known techniques.

Split into 3 sections – playful, natural & vintage - there is a project for most handmade jewellery lovers. Some of the projects are a little more complex than the others but on the whole this is a book ideal for beginners to the beading world. The book also includes an introduction with detailed descriptions on materials and the basic techniques needed.

Each technique is accompanied by illustrations which as well as adding a unique pretty look to the book, are very useful in understanding some of the more complex instructions.

Each project is also accompanied by the same illustrations, a complete materials list and a full page colour photograph of the finished piece of jewellery.

We had a go at the ‘double button and glass bead bracelet’ on page 78 - part of the playful collection. It was a simple project to follow but looked really effective once finished.

As people who like unique jewellery, this book and it’s projects are right up our street at Easy Craft Projects. They are modern with a vintage twist. Although some of the materials aren’t readily available locally, there is a list of suppliers in the back of the book to help you track down all the materials you need. Overall we would highly recommend this book.

Beads & Buttons is available for £12.99, published by Quadrille.

Natural Nursery Knits

Our second Erica Knight book is Natural Nursery Knits. This is a collection of 20 hand knit projects for newborn babies – all made using organic or sustainable fibres.

Just from looking at the front cover you can see how beautiful this book is. The natural pastel shades of colour make you want to pick this book up. The book begins with an introduction to the natural fibres used in the projects. The main portion of the book is split into two sections – Natural Nursery Collection and Natural Nursery Patterns.

Natural Nursery Collection is page after page of beautiful photos of the projects & closeup photos of detailing on the projects. Mixed in with these pictures are some of natural settings – the sky and a rose for instance. It feels like you are looking through a catalogue and choosing what to buy - we think this is a very nice touch and adds something a little bit different. Each project photo has a page reference to the instructions & patterns to allow you to find them easily.

Natural Nursery Patterns is exactly what it says – the patterns and instructions for each project. Each project is set out with easy to follow instructions, an introduction and some more photos on a few projects. Each page is edged with a pastel shade of colour which adds a little whimsical touch to the book.

Whilst so many people will love the items made in this book, this really is a bok aimed at people with previous knitting experience and not beginners. Our advice – go and find someone who can knit to make the items for you so that you can still enjoy them!

We would certainly recommend this book to anyone who has or knows someone with a newborn and would like some natural items for their baby.

Natural Nursery Knits is available for £16.99, published by Quadrille.

We have reviews of 3 great new crafting books…

 

Make! by Cath Kidston

More than just a book, ‘Make!’ is also a kit complete with a plain tote, thread and a Cath Kidston pencil. This book is ideal for anyone who wants to inject a little Cath Kidston style into their textiles.

The book begins with an introduction to basic techniques, materials and equipment needed for the projects in this book – and for a basic sewing workbox. The book then leads on to more than 40 different projects – clothing, gifts, bags and items for the home. Each project is complete with a list of materials and tools, full page colour photograph, skill level and simple step-by-step instructions.

The back of the book is complete with both outline and colour templates & patterns which makes them ideal for producing templates and as use as a colour guide for embroidery. There is also an inspiration section with more ideas and an addresses section with UK suppliers for the materials.

We decorated the tote bag included in the book. We would have likes a few more ideas for decorating this tote bag.

Other projects we would like to try are the ‘Framed Flowerpot’ and the ‘Greetings Cards’.

We would recommend this book for people of all sewing skill levels.

Make! is available for £14.99, published by Quadrille.

 

Papercraft

Another book from the Marie Claire Ideas range, ‘Papercraft’ includes a wide variety of projects for the home.

The chapters of the book include ‘for the table’, ‘flowers and vases’, ‘lights’, ‘gift wrap’ and ‘Christmas. Each project is accompanied by a large colour photograph, list of materials needed & a set of instructions.

Most of these instructions are easy to follow, which makes this book ideal for both beginners and those more advanced who want to use their papercrafting in more than just card making or scrapbooking.

 The back of the book includes a section of diagrams and templates for some of the projects.

We had a go at making one of the flowers from the ‘Wedding Posy’. This turned out to be quite a bit more difficult than we thought, but once a few are made and tied together with some pretty ribbon, we think this would make a gorgeous bouquet for a home.

Other projects we would like to try include the ‘Baroque Lampshade’, the ‘Summer Lantern’, the ‘Stationery Bags’ and the ‘Little Angels’.

We would recommend this book if you would like to create something a little different with paper and gives some items in your home that handmade touch.

Papercraft is available for £12.99, published by Quadrille.

 

Irresistable Bags

Part of the Marie Claire Ideas range of books, ‘Irresistible Bags’ has a wide selection of ideas from fashion bags to home ware items. Full of large colour photographs for each project, this book is ideal when you’re looking for some inspiration.

All the projects are accompanied by diagrams or charts where needed, as well as instructions for stitches and embellishments. Each bag also has a finished size, giving you a good idea of the perfect project to try.

 Although most of the projects are easy to follow, a few instructions for the more complex bags can be quite difficult and could do with a little more explanation from diagrams or photographs.

We made one of the bags from the ‘Shopping’ section – ‘Off to the Orchard’. Using only a few basic supplies this bag was quite easy to make and has that rustic farm look.

Other projects we would like to try are the ‘Full of Nostalgia’ handbag, the ‘Natural Knapsack’ and the ‘Laundry Bags’.

Easy Craft Projects would greatly recommend this book but we do suggest that some prior sewing experience is required.

Irresistable Bags is available for £12.99, published by Quadrille.