One-Stitch Baby Knits - Review

One-Stitch Baby Knits

22 Easy Patterns For Adorable Garments and Accessories Using Garter Stitch

Author: Val Pierce

Publisher: Design Originals

Release Date: June 10, 2019

ISBN: 9781054801102

Pages: 144

BLURB:

Welcome your new baby to the world with lovingly knitted garments and accessories! This book is filled with easy-to-knit projects you’ll want to make for the baby in your life. Top knitwear designer and author Val Pierce presents 25 simple patterns for practical but adorable baby knits, from bootees to hats to blankets. Whether it’s a kimono-style jacket that you don’t have to pull over a newborn’s head or drawstring mittens that keep your little one from pulling them off, One-Stitch Baby Knits is full of thoughtful details that parents will love. Each and every one of these irresistible garments is made entirely with the garter stitch—the easiest stitch in knitting—making them accessible to beginners and quick and simple for more experienced knitters. Designed with small babies in mind, Val’s patterns can be readily customized to get exactly what you want in a garment that’s cheaper and sturdier than anything you’ll find in stores.

MY THOUGHTS:

One-Stitch Baby Knits is one of those books that you will find yourself turning to again and again. It contains 22 patterns that are easy to construct and are based on just one simple stitch: the garter stitch. The garter stitch is one of those stitches that seemed to be overlooked because of it's simplicity, however there's no stitch that is as soft and squishy as well as absorbent (when it needs to be) as this stitch.

The author, Val Pierce, plays on this stitch to create some cute and beautiful items that would be welcomed by any new mother or mother-to-be. The items look more complicated to do than they really are, and the patterns are easy to read, follow and understand. The photography of this book is gorgeous and each photo calls out to you to make the item pictured.

Some of my favorite patterns are the Easy Burp Cloth, Bunny Earflap Hat, Sleepy Cow Hat and Drawstring Mittens (featured on the cover), T-Shaped Sweater and Simple Shoes, and the Geometric Blanket. I love how nicely they all work up and the best part is how simple they were to make! The Geometric Blanket is a little more fussy with the color changes and weaving all the ends in then piecing it all together, but the finished product looks so much more complicated than the blanket was! The Easy Burp Cloth is not the normal square cloth but one that has an interesting shape and also another that looks so much harder than it really is to make. Then there's the Cow and Bunny hats - absolutely adorable and not at all hard to construct.

One-Stitch Baby Knits is a book that needs to be added to anyone's library that knits for babies and new mothers as well as anyone who loves to make items to donate. This is a book that will be returned to again and again! 

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. I was not required to post a positive review - but one of my honest opinion. 

Bluprint -vs- Creative Bug

Photo by Surene Palvie from Pexels

I love all types of crafts, from needlework to making wreaths, so I'm always doing something with my hands and always looking for new and interesting things to try. I've done subscription boxes, combed the net for new projects, watched hours and hours of YouTube and am a member of a couple of guilds.

When I check my email, I'm always getting offers to join a new club, take a new knitting class, etc., and honestly, it seems like every time I try these things, they are underwhelming and I end up cancelling after just a couple of months.

Bluprint

So when Craftsy starting sending me their offers, I did the free week, downloaded a few of their free classes and patterns, but couldn't justify the price. Then Bluprint merged with Craftsy, and the price came down. I got some great offers, but still didn't join. Well, the price came down more and after a week free preview, an offer for a free knitting kit, I said to my husband I'm going to try it out. I paid the yearly fee up front (saving some money there) and picked out my kit from their list. I chose the LaMott Wrap Knitting Kit by Erika Flory featuring Cloudborn Highland Sport in the Santa Fe colorway. Within 2 days from the time I signed up, my kit was in hand! I was impressed with the quality of the Cloudborn wool as well as the pattern instructions. The kit retails for almost $47 - over half of what I paid for my yearly membership ($79.99)

The classes are well done and very professional looking. Yes, you can probably find videos that cover some, if not all, the topics on YouTube, but I can tell you, I've spent a lot of time trying to find exactly what I needed and weeding through a lot to finally find it, and sometimes the information that is given is not correct. Provided with the classes are downloadable materials. They may include patterns and/or other helpful information.

Another perk from the Bluprint membership is 12 keep forever classes that you choose. If you decided not to renew your membership, those classes will always be available to you to watch - as well as all the class materials that come with them. You get the codes for 3 of them every 3 months.

Included with the membership is free shipping on any order from Bluprint's shop. I didn't think I'd use it really, because the prices I viewed as a non-member seemed a bit high. Well, I got a surprise with that! Members get 15% off, which is ok, but the real savings comes from their coupons. For example, I found a 60% off coupon code on my member page off one item. I used it on a wool sweater kit. I chose the largest size I could  buy so that I was sure I'd definitely have enough yarn. This kit also has a class that goes with it, so not only am I trying a new technique, but I have a class to explain everything about this sweater. The cost? $33 including shipping! I got a lovely wool cardigan kit for the cost of what I would have spent on acrylic yarn to make the exact same sweater!

I have made a couple of other purchases since I've been a member, and believe me, the savings alone has more than paid for my membership! Everything is shipped by FedEx and I usually have the items in hand in 2 days. (This time frame could be different, depending on where you are located).

Creative Bug

Right after I became a member of Bluprint, I received a free month trial from Creative Bug. I wanted to compare both to see which was more useful and a better deal for me. Creative Bug offered me a membership for $7.99 a month and I couldn't find any place to pay for a year upfront.

With that membership came the video classes, class materials, patterns and CBTV.  Currently, they are offering a $10 JoAnn gift certificate when you become a member. I didn't find any other perks besides the videos, classes and Creative Bug TV.

The videos that I viewed didn't seem to have the same professional quality that Bluprint's has. Now, to be fair, it could only be the ones I chose and may not be that way with all the videos. It's possible they were older ones. The class materials were decent. I downloaded a couple of patterns and they were well written and easy to follow. One nice thing I came across on the videos I watched, was the opportunity to download a transcript of the class. It appears you had to download one for each segment, but still, it's nice to be able to have it in print instead of trying to find what you need in the video.

Which Is The Best?

So which is the best for you? It depends what you are looking for. With Creative Bug, you don't have to make along term commitment, since you pay monthly, you can cancel at any time, however, I could find no option to pay quarterly or yearly, so I found discounts on that price. I do know they run specials from time to time, so you may want to sign up for the newsletter to see when their offers become available. If I remember correctly, there was an offer for half price off of their normal price. Currently a year of Creative Bug runs $95.88 (12 x 7.99)

For me, Bluprint was the better deal. With free shipping, a free kit, amazing coupons and sales, lots of free patterns and nicely done classes/videos,  I am thrilled with my membership!! My yearly membership was $79.99. I've seen Bluprint have other sales and membership  has been lower. I've also seen quite a few nice offers of gift certificates. I'd suggest getting the Bluprint newsletter and checking the offers for yourself.

My only regret is not joining Bluprint sooner!

***Please note - I paid for the membership out of my own money. I was not given anything or asked by either company to do a review. This if from my own experience and sharing to help others decide if they want to try either/both companies out.