Book Depository Link; strangely none on Ravelry. Dublin City Public Libraries
Fantastical Hats and Beanies - Jenny Occleshaw
These are hats for babies knit in dk or 4-ply yarns, knit mostly in the round and they are somewhat insane, and I mean that in a good insane way. They're almost works of art and a lot of work.
Starting with Busy Bee, with feelers and emroidered bees, I'm sure the embroidered bees could be replaced with buttons or pre-made bees. Pretty simple and cute
Apple Blossom - "This is a delightful hat for any little girl who loves pink" now when you're talking about 18 months to 4 years I have problems that this is a personal choice speaking or parental choice, but this is a white hat with dark and pale pink ruffles. The ruffles are crocheted on after the hat is made. Cute and could be made in other colours as a use up leftovers project.
Little Ladybird uses bobbles in black yarn on a red hat, cute. The bobbles are made after and sewn on.
Baby flowers uses pre-made felt flowers to decorate a plain hat.
Cheeky Elf uses noro yarn and applied i-cord leaves.
The Great Gatsby is a beret, scarf and shoes set inspired by the 1920s, fair-isle bands with a tweedy yarn. This is cute and while suggested for boys is fairly unisex.
Ladybird, ladybird has more complex ladybirds applied after the striped hat is finished.
Moonbeam is a nightcap style striped hat with some knitted balls added attached with i-cords
Baby Jester, knit in the round with two peaks, knitted balls finish of the tops
Hello Sailor is a floppy beret with beads and some matched slippers. Cute.
Pearly Queen, with pearly buttons on the top and a ribbon to tie it on, this one could be troublesome for teething babies.
Black Magic - Black mohair and velvet with polka-dot knitted balls, looks like a cupcake.
Coconut Ice - pink with kid mohair flowers in pinks. "Perfect for the little princess who loves all things pink and flowery" shades my perception of this hat.
Feathered Fancy - multicoloured with flower and feather decoration this one needs close supervision when worn.
Bluebells Cockleshells - uses blue oddments and has added bluebells and cornflower flowers.
Butterfly uses variagated striped yarn to create an interesting contrast to the plain yarns used. Has applied butterflies and bobble on the top.
Polka Dots, simple beany topped with red and white knitted balls and i-cords and an optional ribbon.
Chasing Rainbows uses multiple colours to make a colourful hat with stripes, bobbles and icord top knots.
Blue Top Knot is a blue variation of the polka dots pattern.
Starting from about here I was starting to think about tea cozies.
Cherry Ripe has cherries and leaves to decorate this red white and green hat
Strawberries and Cream, bobbles, beaded strawberries and leaves decorate this hat.
Twist and twirl has curly tails and bobbles and topknots and balls, a way to use up leftovers.
Loopy hat. Not a hat for a baby who dislikes hats as the 30 loops would make it very easy to catch on fingers. finished off with knitted balls.
Carnival looks like a carnival ride with multiple adornments.
Socks on the Washing line - 6 miniature socks would be a great use of leftover sock yarns and also a great way to try socks if you've ever wanted to knit them. A very busy hat.
Blooming Gorgeous has flowers and a watering can.
The Tea Party - cup cake with a tea party on top. The hat is pretty basic but the rest is fiddly.
Blackberry Pie has beaded berries and leaves adorning a textured stitch hat.
Autumn Harvest has multiple colours of autumn and some leaves and acorns.
Ho Ho Ho is red and white with some white leaves and red berries and a knit ball.
Fin's Penguin has a penguin(with a scarf!) and lots of bobbles.
Frog in a pond - multicoloured hat with a frog on top of leaves.
Hop to it, a rabbit on leaves
Plum in the garden has a cat on the top surrounded by leaves, flowers and flower pots.
Rabbit in a Hat, a rabbit surrounded with flowers.
Daisy mouse is a tube hat with a mouse peeping out of the top.
No knitting instructions but some embroidery instructions. The book goes from simple to complex and some of them could be adapted to be simpler. I did start to think about tea cozies half-way through and I'd say several of the patterns would be adaptable to that idea. Many of them look very complicated and fussy and you'd also have to ensure that all the items were well-sewn on.
I was also glad to see many unisex patterns but I had some issues with the pink for girls assumption. I know that later many children do have preferences but very young babies only have preferences given them by parents.
I got my copy from Dublin City Public Libraries who offer no inducement other than my wages and relatively easy access to the titles.
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