[review] Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit & Crochet Blankets Book

Spoiler Alert – I’m a HUGE FAN of this book!

There’s so much to love, but I’ll give you a few details:

The blankets are divided into 3 main sections:

• Traditions – there’s a big variety here and the blankets include eyelets, lace, cables and texture. There’s a bit of everything in this section.
• Minimalism – it starts with very light neutrals. But these blankets are definitely not basic or boring! There’s garter stitch, ribbing, texture, loopy chevrons and even a blanket that takes its cues from a loom.
• Colorplay – Brooklyn Tweed’s yarn colors open up a whole world for playing with color! I love to see what they put together because it’s a great way to learn about different color combos.

Not Just for Blankets

The book is a treasure even if you’re not interested in making blankets. A few ideas:

• Use some patterning in a cowl
• Make up a much smaller piece and frame it as artwork
• Take a favorite stitch pattern and use it to make a pillow cover
• Place a section on the back of a sweater/cardigan
• Put them on a pair of socks

I can see making up a piece to frame it on my office wall here.

Don’t dismiss this book just because you’re not a fan of making blankets.

My Favorite Section Might Not Be a Pattern at all

At the beginning of the book, Jared mentioned that he came to love making blankets because of his mom’s quilts that she made for him (and just about everyone else).

But he covers it in more detail in “the quilt that started it all”. I love how he shows her original quilt and then his knitted tribute side-by-side. It’s impressive just how similar he was able to make it, even in a different craft.

How this Review Started

I got a Brooklyn Tweed email and they shared that they’re adding a few colors to one of their yarn lines. I thought it would be a great impetus to do a yarn review.

Over the course of about a week, many emails flew from both Kel (BT) and me.

I saw a bit about the blanket book and I was hooked. I knew I needed to combine the two.

Since it would be too much to put it all in one post, you can read more about my thoughts on Imbue and I made up a few “swatches” as well. Swatches is in quotes because they’re on the large side. I chose the stitch counts based on what I’d be able to see. And, I also got to really test-drive the yarn, patterns, charts and even some of the design elements:

• Homewood: the biggest swatch of them all! It took an entire skein of yarn and I definitely played yarn chicken with this one. Read/See more >
• Umaro: I fell hard for this when Jared first released it on his blog over 10 years ago. I’ve regretted that I didn’t make it then, so I knew I needed to once I saw it in the book! Read/See more >
• Branching: Ribbing and Cables combine in an almost-geometric way. And I love the tactile ribbing and stretching it incessantly. Read/See more >