Debbie BlissCritiques

Debbie Bliss is notorious for designing baby and children's knitwear that is extremely oversized, so I was pleased to see that this book includes measurements for each item's circumference and length as well as most if not all seams. The toys are adorable and the charming stitch patterns and intarsia (or sometimes stranded) colourwork is adaptable to other sizes or other types of items, so it's not a book that abruptly expires when your youngest child turns 6 years old.

paperback

I borrowed this book from the library because I had three problems I needed solved and insufficient internet access to consult YouTube: creating an I-cord border around a blanket, improving my darning technique, and grafting a mend in garter stitch. Debbie B told me how to bind off in I-cord (not useful on a 24 square blanket) and how to graft a mend in stockinette stitch. As for the darning, she shows purely the weaving technique and even the diagram looks messy. It’s nice that she covers mending at all (Hiatt doesn’t, she considers that only creating a knitted piece is within her remit; although she does tell you how to graft garter stitch!), and Bliss does have lots of information, but not what I needed—and the i-cord thing is actually pretty basic.

When a teacher asks the children in her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different in many ways – but the same in the one way that matters most of all. 2 copies. One contracted and one uncontracted braille.

25 handknits for all seasons.

Debbie Bliss knitting books are always a good bet, this one included! I appreciate that there are simple patterns, but also some that would be more engaging for a more advanced knitter. The patterns are all very sweet and are things you would actually want to make for a baby. The instructions are well-written and easy to follow. The photos are beautiful.

Baby's First Knits 20 Irresistible Knits For Babies by Debbie Bliss
Knit and crochet a lot of charity baby items so always looking for new ideas.
Lots of patterns choices and techniques to learn and use.
Contents are listed also with things you will need. Intro talks about the author and her works and how and why she creates the projects.
Book is created for the beginner and also an expert knitter.
The techniques are alpha listed and linked to their own section further in the book.
Beautiful colorful photos throughout the book.
Next section is yarns and why the ones chosen will work best. Lots of technical information about the patterns in mind.
Buying yarn and how to substituent yarn and garment care is discussed.
Equipment is next and how to read patterns.
Lots of explanations of knitting term and gauge is most important for wearables.
First steps are shown with diagrams of how to hold yarn and needles and what to do.Projects chapters are next
Each pattern starts with a title, summary of the item, measurements, materials needed, gauge, abbreviations used with link for more information on how to make them.
Pattern starts with row by row instructions. So easy for anybody to follow along.
Techniques are shown in between patterns with very simple easy to follow instructions showing in diagrams.
Such cute cowl for a child, too precious!
Lace blanket and patchwork blanket
is up my alley, can't wait to start on it.
Basic patterns but with a flair.
Some of the wearables also show finished sketch with measurements.
Like that most of the patterns can fit up to a 2 year old baby.
More techniques are shown at the end and further explained how to make them with pictures.
Even includes animal shapes.
Resources and index are also included at the end along with acknowledgements.
Received this review copy from Dover Publications via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
#BabysFirstKnits #NetGalley

A few cute things..

Some very cute ideas - most would take me longer than a week to complete... but I am a slowpoke. Will be making some Christmas gifts from here this year.

Some of these sweaters would be too heavy to wear or would stretch out of shape if made in pure cotton. The suggested yarns, fortunately, are often cotton blended with wool or other fibres. Some useful looking patterns.

Nice ideas but using her unusual ply yarns, which are more expensive than say 4 or 8 ply yarns.

Nice baby knitting but probably only works if using her (very expensive) yarns, as the plys of her yarns are unusual e.g. 5 ply.

25 seashore designs for babies and children up to 6 years old

Debbie Bliss is now the star name in knitwear design and is set to become an even bigger name - she now has her own yarn range, available throughout the UK, North America, Europe, Japan and beyond. Debbie's many previous bestselling books have established her as the most stylish but accessible designer of children's knits working today. In this book, she returns to her core territory, with a fabulous new collection of new ideas for 0-3 year olds, the key time when knitters pick up their needles and get to work. There are designs for baby blankets, first sweaters and cardigans, bootees and more unusual items, as well as lots of ideas for ultra-wearable, ultra-stylish kit for toddlers. To help even inexperienced knitters create these designs, each pattern includes extra info on the key stitches and techniques required, watchpoints and an estimated degree of difficulty and time required to knit it. All in all, an absolutely must-have collection from the star designer in knitwear today.

Nicely illustrated with photos mixed with line drawings. Patterns require expert adjustment to meet the title criteria (dogs of all shapes and sizes) as mostly designed to fit pugs and bulldogs.

I've made several gifts from this book and I'm so happy with how they turned out. Highly recommended.

This book was really useful to start up knitting and as a reference. I did most of the simple projects in it and from there grew and expanded into other designers. I think that Debbie Bliss is one of the easiest authors for knitting.

Debbie Bliss has, as usual, given us a collection of darling patterns for the little ones. Along with beautiful clothing there's even a knitted teddy bear complete with his own knitted sweater. This little book will give you many happy hours of contemplation and knitting.

This book is okay if you know nothing about design, but it is very shallow and not particularly helpful if you want to make something from scratch. The projects are nice. I really like the cable yoke sweater, but the cable sweater that changes the size of the cables adds too much bulk in the hip area. If you really want to design from the ground up try Shirley Paden's Knitwear Design- it's full of math and like a textbook- or if you just want help with sizes and gauge adjustments try Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Guide to Patterns or Knitter's Handy Guide to Sweater Patterns .

Great patterns for boys and girls alike! Very helpful for new knitters, with illustrations of complicated techniques and gradual progression from easy to difficult patterns. I particularly liked the smart Jacket with Moss Stitch Bands and the V-Neck Cardigan with Contrasting Rib (so cute!). Hope to put those patterns to good use either for charity or for coworkers'/friends' kids.

Lovely patterns. Will probably end up knitting the stuffed rabbit, if I do make anything from this book. I also liked the picot dress and the argyle cardigan, but I take forever to knit things, so I think I would save those for the next baby I plan to knit for, or do them after attempting a beginner-level garment.

One thing I did notice is that, while the patterns were cute, they seemed to be geared mostly to girls -- the vest, the bolero, the jackets all looked very feminine and pretty, but not really meant for boys. If there were any boys in the lot (and admittedly I can't really tell the difference between baby boys and baby girls at that young an age), they were shown with the unsized items such as the blanket, shawl and carrying bag. Still, I suppose the argyle cardigan and pullover could be made in more masculine colours...

But yes, if you know you're knitting for a girl, or you like some of the one-size-fits-all items in here, this book is a good choice.

Good for pattern ideas. The designs are quite modern which is a plus. I would recommend this for an intermediate knitter. It has clear instructions on the basics like how to knit and purl and slightly more advanced techniques at the front of the book. There are a couple of basic patterns not requiring gauge like cushions, basic bags, a cute little tie and a pencil case which are better for beginners but the garments are more suited to intermediate knitters. I had my eye on the "zipped gilet" pattern which is a short sleeved jacket with plenty of pockets for little boys to keep all their tools! There are plenty of pictures and generally looks like a very nice book. My criticism would be that It's harder to scan/photocopy since it's not a standard size (it's a square book like quite a few of the Debbie Bliss books) and there are many pictures in the middle of the instructions so you have to scan/photocopy quite a few pages.

I picked this book up from my local library, mainly for something to browse, not a book I would buy - personally. Only because I prefer Jumpers, Cardis etc for knitting. This has one or two cardigans in, they both knitted up well. Debbie's designs are always beautiful and the bootees in here are very adorable but too fiddly for me :)

I have...mixed feelings about Debbie Bliss Tips for Knitters. From an artistic perspective, it is very beautiful. The photography is gorgeous, and the pages and sections are well laid out. The text flows nicely, and each section includes a goodly amount of diagrams.

Unfortunately, beauty of design seems to be more or less the only thing this book really has going for it. The beautiful photographs are of Debbie Bliss designs--that much information can be gleaned from the front matter of the book--but there is no reference list of the patterns shown included anywhere in the book.

The scope of the knitting techniques described and discussed is quite narrow, and at least some of the terms used are non-standard to knitters in the United States (and possibly elsewhere as well). As an example, this book gives two different methods for casting on stitches. Two other comparably-sized guides give between six and eight cast on methods, complete with diagrams. Binding (or casting) off fares similarly.

As a very basic book for a beginning knitter this would be reasonably adequate. For a more advanced knitter there may be some things of interest or use (I do like that it includes patterns for several knit lace edgings which can be added to the work, and the colorwork section seems decent as well). In general, however, I would have to recommend picking up a different book if you want a quick reference for your knitting bag.½