Crocheting a baby blanket

Crocheting or Knitting

Ask any knitter why they knit, and you'll get an incredulous look. "Why knit?" asks Elizabeth Boyle, the mother of two boys from Seattle, Wash. "Oh, goodness, if you were a knitter you wouldn't even ask that."
For long-time knitters, continuing while pregnant comes naturally. "Knitting is something that is so much a part of motherhood, whether you are expecting your first or your fifth," Boyle says. "Knitting a project is just like expecting a baby."

What makes knitting perfect for that nine months waiting for your baby to arrive? "Knitting is relaxing," says Marie Connolly, author of The Expectant Knitter: 30 Designs for Baby and Your Growing Family (Potter Craft, 2008). "The movement of the needles, working with wonderful fibers, creating special garments/gifts for your new baby, it is all a wonderful way to connect to the new baby. And in the end, the finished pieces help to link the pregnancy to the post delivery. Nine months can be a blur, but you can remember the knitting and enjoy the garment/gifts long after the pregnancy is over."

For relaxation, few things beat the clacking of needles as you express your creativity with fibers from acrylics to silks, wool to cashmere. "It is meditative, contemplative, quiet and reliable," Boyle says. "It is there when you need just a few moments to de-stress and when you have a few hours to curl up and finally have some 'me time.'"

Another benefit of knitting is its culmination in an item that can become a family heirloom. "What else gives such a satisfying sense of producing something useful and/or beautiful and long-lasting?" says Shirley Robb, a mom from Decatur, Ga., who has been knitting since childhood and continued throughout her pregnancies. "Unlike gourmet food, which must be challenging and fun to make, handmade items may be around for generations. A knitted blanket my mother made in 1954 for my first baby was used by all five of [my children], then by some of their 15 children, and now by my six great-grandchildren."

Grab Those Needles!

Even if you've never picked up a pair of needles before, it's not too late to learn. Knitting books abound, many, like Connolly's, with instructions for beginners.
Shelley Brander, owner of the Tulsa, Okla., yarn store Loops (www.loopsknitting.com), loves the bestselling book Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook for its beginner's instructions and funky patterns. But she admits learning from a book can be difficult. "Classes really are the best way to go," Brander says. "Check for a local yarn store in your area. If you don't have a good one, try online video tutorials, like the ones at www.KnittingatKnoon.com. Videos are much easier than written instructions and pictures."

You'll find most knitters love to pass along the skill to a new generation. "Does your mother knit? Or what about your mother-in-law? This might be a great way to announce the pregnancy and bond with the soon-to-be grandparents," says Connolly, who owns two Stitch DC stores in the Washington, D.C., area.
Other suggestions include joining a knitting group. Women coming together to knit and talk about their pregnancy experiences can have the added benefit of stitching together a lifelong friendship.


Hats and booties. Sweaters and blankets. What are the best projects to knit while expecting? Boyle's first pregnancy project was a blanket. "[It was] just a rather simple blanket knit out of acrylic yarn," she says. "Then I knit a more complicated sweater, which actually took my mind off the fact that I was on forced bed rest, and filled in all that with the usual assortment of cute hats and booties."

Kathryn Michelotti, a mom from Everett, Mass., knit both for herself and others while pregnant. "I knew eight people who were pregnant while I was," she says. "I had already knitted a lot of baby hats for friends who had babies, so I made mostly hats."

For beginners, Brander suggests starting simple. "A burp cloth or small blanket is the best way to start – something with straight sides, which requires no increasing or decreasing (that's why most beginners start with a scarf)," Brander says.

Brander says another popular item among knitting moms is the "soaker," knitted pants that go over cloth diapers. Robb was making soakers many years ago, too. "Cloth diapers were all that were available then, and plastic pants hadn't been invented, but wool is quite water-resistant, so a simple outer covering, often hand-knitted, was worn by lucky babies – or I should say, by lucky adults whose laps stayed dry," Robb says.

Connolly suggests knitting cotton washcloths as a beginning project. "Another great beginner project is the Easy Sweater," Connolly says. "Knit in machine washable cashmere and merino blend yarns and almost all in one piece, a beginner could make this sweater [which can be found in The Expectant Knitter]." Toys are also a fun advanced project, with knitted stuffed animals being popular.

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