Dear KnitBits subscribers,

Today I am going to talk about knitting for kids and babies. For little ones, it seems like the most attractive quality in a fabric is softness. Children often find it hard to part with the softness of their baby blankets.  In fact, some will carry around even the tiniest remnant of a favorite blankie for many years. For them, comfort equals softness and for those sensitive souls we have a fabulous soft and fuzzy yarn called Hush. Of course, it's washable and it comes in 6 space dyed colors that will complement the nursery’s palette.
 
Our free patterns today include a Hush baby blanket called Dickory and a 'Lil Hush Purse. The blanket is soft, warm and cozy and it makes a baby gift that will be treasured. The wee purse is knit in one piece and then folded and sewn to make a chic little handbag. It has a single button and a handle that is made by cutting a length of hollow aquarium tubing, drawing a strand of Hush through it and then attaching it to the bag at either end by drilling holes for book rings. These rings can be purchased at any office supply store.
 
We created a companion yarn for Hush called Lullaby, which is a soft nylon ribbon that's dyed in shades that coordinate beautifully with Hush. Lullaby is available in 10 solid shades as well as 7 variegated shades that are dyed to match Hush. You might like to mix these or you might choose a shade of Lullaby that complements our ever popular baby yarn, Berroco Plush™ as we did in our Rosamunde Baby Set.  
 
For a look at more baby soft patterns in Hush, Lullaby and Plush, click here to view our web gallery of all our designs for kids & babies in these yarns.
 

Famous Poncho. We have had so many requests for the crocheted grey poncho that Martha Stewart was recently photographed wearing on her release from prison. It was crocheted for her by a fellow inmate as a going away gift. Martha was of course seen by millions of people donning the famous poncho and many of you have asked us to do a Berroco version. Since it is springtime you might want to make our spring version, the Famous Poncho. It is crocheted in Suede. Our thanks to Belinda Carter, who whipped it up in no time so that we could post it here today.

For the knitter, we have our Linda poncho also in Suede.

To view more of our many poncho patterns, go to the Poncho Fever section of our website.
 




Stella H from Harrisburg PA asks, "I am knitting a scarf and I want to make it as long as possible before I bind off.  I only have 2 balls of yarn.  Is there some way to know when to bind off and be sure to have enough yarn to weave in the end?”
 
Stella, from my experience if you can wrap the yarn around the width of the fabric 4 times loosely, you will have enough to bind off and enough tail to weave in securely.


All the best,


Margery Winter
Creative Director