What sort of things would a new mom enjoy knitting?
April 19, 2018 1:58 PM Subscribe
I have a friend's birthday coming up: She's pregnant with her 2nd child and is a knitter. I have an idea to put together a knitting kit for her so she'll have a project to work on while she's off work with the new baby. I'd buy the pattern, yarn, & materials and package it all up nice as a birthday gift; now all I need is ideas!
I could easily find clothing patterns to make herself a nice scarf or other garment so I don't really need those sort of suggestions and I'm not looking for baby clothes or toy patterns; but I thought it'd be nice instead to find something unusual. Are there knitting patterns out there for non-clothing, non-toy items that would be of particular interest to a mom? It can be something practical/useful for around the house or something she could use with her baby/children/family, or something pretty that she'd enjoy for herself. Easy to mid skill level, not too complicated. She's a pretty outdoorsy/woodsy person but likes creature comforts around the house too. Thanks in advance for all suggestions!
I could easily find clothing patterns to make herself a nice scarf or other garment so I don't really need those sort of suggestions and I'm not looking for baby clothes or toy patterns; but I thought it'd be nice instead to find something unusual. Are there knitting patterns out there for non-clothing, non-toy items that would be of particular interest to a mom? It can be something practical/useful for around the house or something she could use with her baby/children/family, or something pretty that she'd enjoy for herself. Easy to mid skill level, not too complicated. She's a pretty outdoorsy/woodsy person but likes creature comforts around the house too. Thanks in advance for all suggestions!
Maybe a nice, super bulky, throw? The speed it would knit up with might be satisfying, and not hard to keep track of the pattern! The yarn for this can get expensive though, I don’t know your budget.
Right after my baby was born, I really enjoyed knitting “matching” sweaters for us out of the same yarn. I know you said no clothes, but that was my personal postpartum project that I really enjoyed.
posted by sometamegazelle at 2:16 PM on April 19, 2018
Right after my baby was born, I really enjoyed knitting “matching” sweaters for us out of the same yarn. I know you said no clothes, but that was my personal postpartum project that I really enjoyed.
posted by sometamegazelle at 2:16 PM on April 19, 2018
Do you know if she plans to breastfeed? She might enjoy making a nursing cover -- if you poke through patterns you can find some that work for this purpose and make nice shawls as well, when nursing is over.
posted by OrangeDisk at 2:26 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by OrangeDisk at 2:26 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Does she have a Ravelry account that you know about?If so, maybe do some sneaky recon and see if she’s bookmarked any recent patterns that you could make a kit for!
posted by Stacey at 2:49 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Stacey at 2:49 PM on April 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
The first thing to come to mind for me is some kind of hanging organizer with lots of pockets that she can put either on the side of a crib, on the back of a car's passenger seat, or on the wall or a door to hold a whole lot of those little baby things that accumulate like magic.
Unfortunately I'm perusing ravelry and it seems like almost all of these are crochet projects (that's what I do and I'm used to crocheted things having way more knitted versions available but this is a rare case where it's the other way around!) This one's knitted. If she's also a crocheter, this one is super cute, and this one could be pretty infinitely customizable.
posted by Mizu at 2:57 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Unfortunately I'm perusing ravelry and it seems like almost all of these are crochet projects (that's what I do and I'm used to crocheted things having way more knitted versions available but this is a rare case where it's the other way around!) This one's knitted. If she's also a crocheter, this one is super cute, and this one could be pretty infinitely customizable.
posted by Mizu at 2:57 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
I know you prefer no clothes, but I want to put in a vote for the free Hosenmatz pattern (here's a direct link to the English PDF) along with a really fun and funky skein of hand-dyed sock yarn. I made these for my baby, they are cute, breathe well, and are so much easier to put on than cotton pants.
posted by beyond_pink at 3:15 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by beyond_pink at 3:15 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
If she's planning to nurse and is confident about it / has a sense of humor then she might enjoy this baby hat.
Alternatively, she might enjoy making an octopus.
posted by vignettist at 3:20 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Alternatively, she might enjoy making an octopus.
posted by vignettist at 3:20 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
A gift certificate from one's favourite yarn store is always appreciated by a knitter. Just sayin'.
posted by heatherlogan at 6:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by heatherlogan at 6:45 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I know you weren't looking for baby clothes, but Monster Pants are pretty awesome.
Most of the toys I have bookmarked are crochet amigurumi, but these two bunnies and this hippo are knit.
These two pillows suit the outdoorsy/nature theme. For something quick and easy in amongst the new-baby chaos, these washcloths are more interesting than just a square shape. If you find a cool color-shifting or gradient yarn, here's a pillow that would look great with it. And here's a cool-looking chair cushion in a bulky yarn that will work up quickly.
posted by octothorp at 1:18 PM on April 20, 2018
Most of the toys I have bookmarked are crochet amigurumi, but these two bunnies and this hippo are knit.
These two pillows suit the outdoorsy/nature theme. For something quick and easy in amongst the new-baby chaos, these washcloths are more interesting than just a square shape. If you find a cool color-shifting or gradient yarn, here's a pillow that would look great with it. And here's a cool-looking chair cushion in a bulky yarn that will work up quickly.
posted by octothorp at 1:18 PM on April 20, 2018
I don't knit but crochet. When I had my second child last year, I found a crocheted indoor frisbee to be really useful, as I could play fetch with my son (using just one hand, I was only theowing and he broght it back) while I nursed my daughter. There are knitted versions on ravelry here and here.
posted by eierschnee at 3:58 AM on April 23, 2018
posted by eierschnee at 3:58 AM on April 23, 2018
Response by poster: Thank you so much for all the ideas! I definitely have my eye on a couple of these. Much appreciated!
posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy at 1:19 PM on April 24, 2018
posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy at 1:19 PM on April 24, 2018
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posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy at 2:11 PM on April 19, 2018