Nursery Décor for beginners
Coats & Clark
Creative Publishing, hardback, 128 pages, £11.95
If you don’t like the nursery decorations available in the shops,
have you thought about turning your hand to making your own?
This book tells you how to create baby blankets – easy for even
first-timers as long as you have access to a sewing machine – think
of how much money you’d save if you just made these!
There are also plans for fitted sheets, a nappy stacker, padded
wall shapes and a window topper to complete the nursery décor.
The instructions are very detailed and although they are basic to
allow a first timer to work out what to do, they offer inspirational
ideas for the more advanced to get adventurous.
The book is ring-bound, a nice-touch that means you can leave it
lying open and flat while you work.
Wool Embroidery for babies
Christine Harris
Sally Milner Publishing, paperback, 72 pages, £9.95
No, not embroidery you give to your baby to do, but embroidery to
create the sweetest little patterns on everything surrounding your
baby.
You can customise the plainest of blankets or create your own small
projects – coathangers, nappy pincushions and even a bottle warmer!
There are designs in here that are just perfect for a plain cot
blanket, from a pretty spray of flowers to a detailed and very
professional Jack and Jill, Baa Baa Black Sheep and Mary Mary Quite
Contrary designs that would be indistinguishable from shop-bought
versions.
There’s even a sleeping bag, which converts into a dressing gown
as baby grows, with a cute teddy bear pattern.
This book offers inspiration on every level, from the fanciest of
designs to the tiniest of stitches, giving you the chance to turn a
standard blanket into an heirloom with just a few hours work.
Pipsqueaks,
Kim Hargreaves
Tadpoles & Tiddlers, Kathleen Hargreaves
Rowan, paperback, 86 pages each, £9.95 each
When you have a baby, especially if it’s the first of the next
generation, you’ll find all kinds of great-aunts and third cousins
come out of the woodwork to see the baby and present their offering
– a matinee jacket.
Now, while we’re not saying you shouldn’t be grateful, wouldn’t
it be nice if just a few of those cardigans and jumpers presented to
baby were absolutely gorgeous? Bet they’d be the ones you picked out
the pile over and over again!
Now you can make sure that those around you with a love of knitting
can create baby designs you just can’t resist. There are designs
that go right up to ten years old too, so older children can get funky
tops their friends won’t be able to buy!
These two books are packed with clean, modern designs with
standardised patterns to make it easy for anyone who knows how to
wield a knitting needle.
Pipsqueaks has 35 designs, including a gorgeous jumper with a star
called Mickey and a funky cardigan called Muffin.
Tadpoles and Tiddlers is filled with 32 designs, including a pretty
Highlander jacket and a complex but stunning Hearts and Flowers
jumper.
Special
Delivery Quilts
Patrick Lose
C&T Publishing, paperback, 112 pages, £15.95
The quilts and wallhangings in this book look so beautiful and very
unusual, particularly in the UK where quilting is not as big a hobby
as in the United States.
The directions look clear and concise and seem to offer guidance at
every stage to make the process as easy as possible.
And the designs are just beautiful, including Rub A Dub, with a
happy baby in a tub with his duck, A Horse of a Different Color (it is
an American book!) starring a fuschia rocking horse and Hugs and
Kisses, a smart pastel quilt.
There are just eight quilts and wallhangings in here, but if you
have any talent for this particular type of artwork, every design is
irresistible and will see you making quilt after quilt not just for
your own baby but for friends as well!
