Showing posts with label baby crafts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby crafts. Show all posts

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Baby Crochet Pattern Book Review

Baby Crochet Book Cover
Baby Crochet available on Etsy and Amazon
When you create a handmade gift for a baby shower, or to welcome a new arrival in the family, your gift becomes extra special. A 'Made with Love' gift.

For those who love to crochet, this pattern booklet by Lois Daykin called 'Baby Crochet' is filled with 20 wonderful designs for newborns and little toddlers. 

The collection includes garments such as booties, a wrap cardigan, and practical & pretty bibs and bottle warmers.  There are also patterns for soft toys and nursery decor, along with a crochet cushion and blanket set.




Teddy Bear Scarf and Hat



Examples from the Baby Crochet book

The teddy scarf and hat for a toddler is adorable. The scarf has pockets for tots to carry around little stuffed animals. This pattern is very easy to crochet if you do the simplest form (as seen in the image on the left).  


There is an alternative version that has little teddy decorations that are crocheted and stitched on after the scarf and hat are finished (image on right). The little teddy bear motifs take a bit more crochet skill, but are not all that difficult and add a really cute finish, along with the bear ears with tassels, making the set truly TEDDY!


Nursery Decor


This pattern book also has cool accessories for decorating the nursery, such as a little rabbit diaper holder and a mobile of crochet hearts.  


Soft Plush Toys

Soft Toys images from the Baby Crochet Book

Soft plush toys for toddlers are also included in this baby crochet book.  Choose a cat, a curly snake or some big soft crochet building blocks!  Use simple bright primary colors for these soft toys, to catch baby's eye, or choose soft baby pastels.  Any color yarn makes crocheting for babies fun to do. 




Baby Crochet


A collage of pattern images in the Baby Crochet Book

Many of the projects in this book can be done in a few hours and the instructions are easy enough for even novices to make successfully.  

The book was published in 2007.  It is a soft cover book with 120 pages and is nicely illustrated with color photographs.



Author Lois Daykin


Lois Daykin is a very successful knitwear designer whose designs are regularly featured in the prestigious Rowan magazine. She is the author of some of their best-selling pattern booklets, including Little Treasures


Baby Crochet, along with Baby Knits, is her first book to be published in the United States. She lives in Derbyshire, England with her husband and their three small children.



Little Treasures and Baby Knits

 

Baby Knits and Little Treasures Book Covers
Little Treasures on Abe Books & Baby Knits on Amazon

Baby Crochet Book Covers
Baby Crochet Front & Back Covers


Quick Links:



(c) Wednesday Elf 10/28/2017


*Images shown in this article were photographed by or compiled from stock photos by (c) Wednesday Elf.





Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


Saturday, May 17, 2014

Babies Can Craft, Too!

When it comes to crafting with small children, there are always lots of ideas out there for toddlers and preschoolers. But what about the babies? 

Believe it or not, it's never to early to start getting arty with the bubs! Once they are of an age where they can sit unaided and grip things, you can start experimenting with them. Most activities will need to wait until they are between 18 months and 2 years old, but there are some things you can do as early as 8-9 months. 

My 9-month-old son LOVES getting his hands dirty. The gooier and stickier, the better! Unlike my now 4-year-old daughter, who hated getting her hands messy as a babe, my little boy has his hands straight in his breakfast, lunch and tea as soon as he possibly can. As he loathes having his hands and face wiped, I encouraged him to dab his messy fingers onto some kitchen roll (paper towels) and showed him the "finger painting" he had done - which made him giggle! 

baby finger painting
(c) Image copyright of the author

Once he got the idea (rinse and repeat until it clicks with baby that he is the one making marks), I whipped up some homemade edible finger paint (made from squished fruit and veg, mainly!) and let him start having fun on paper. You can do this with edible play-dough and sensory materials like rice, pasta and so on, too! Baby can even try stamping with potato stamps using food-based "ink"! 

If baby doesn't mind having food and edible paint on his or her hands, then hand printing is a lovely craft to do! It makes a beautiful keepsake to enjoy for years to come. All you need to do is cover baby's hands with the paint and help them press down onto the paper. We have done this with all the family, printing the hands inside one another according to size (Daddy's first, then mine on top, then my daughter's, then my son's) to create a lovely "our family" picture for the wall. You could make cards for friends and family, too (which older siblings can get involved in making).

I cover this and many other ideas for older babies in Crafts for 1 Year Olds. If you like the hand print idea, then crafting connoisseur Pastiche has lots more of them in her Hand Print Crafts guide.

If you want to have a go at making homemade paint for baby, then you'll find several recipes in Homemade Paint for Kids  (just make sure you pick the ones that are entirely food-based and edible, so it is safe for baby to put in his mouth). As for play dough and clay, homemade recipes are covered in Recipes for Fun - Kids Play Doughs and Clays by jkvkdailey.

Now go and enjoy nurturing your tiny one's creative spark!




Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


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