Expectant Little Knits: Chic Designs for Moms to Be

by Suzanne J.E. Tourtillott

Just open a magazine or turn on the TV and it’s clear that moms-to-be are proud of their “baby bumps.” No more hiding those growing bellies; today’s pregnant woman wants to wear stylish, modern, even edgy fashions. And these 22 gorgeous knit projects, created by a pool of talented designers, fill the bill. Expecting mothers—and the friends and families who want to knit them a gift—will be overjoyed to find so many attractive possibilities. A truly luxurious cashmere car coat features bell sleeves and ribbed cuffs, while a v-neck tank design (made from a simple stockinette stitch) uses pleats that can accommodates an expanding tummy. From a cleverly designed cowl sweater with discreet nursing panels to a dazzling beaded black evening dress, every garment is beautiful.

Genres: Knitting, Nonfiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Suzanne Tourtillott was born in post-war Germany but lives and works, happily, in Asheville, North Carolina. After studying and then teaching fine art and commercial photography, she turned to writing arts journalism for periodicals and, ultimately, to writing and editing craft books. Suzanne has edited more than 50 titles in jewelry, ceramics, needle crafts--even poetry. Her business/Twitter is @editorious; see the site at http://editorious.org and tweets via #editorious. you can follow Suzanne's visual interests on Pinterest (pinning as username suzanne33).

Reviews

[H3dakota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this one up because daughter in law might be in need of some of these tops. 😉 Some great ideas here, some that I can see knitting for someone as a gift. I love the red dress design, though it's a lot of knitting! LOL It would be good if you know the person wearing it will maybe enjoy it for more than one pregnancy.

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good idea, many knit for the baby; why not for the mom?

[Jennifer Gee Conway]

It turns out there aren't so many books on maternity knitting patterns. And maybe that's a smart thing, since who wants to go to so much effort to make garments for such a short period of time? Well, maybe those of us who have waited about 10-12 years hoping for a pregnancy and are now about to go through IVF? Let's not leave out all those with long torsos and/or noticeable bellies who aren't even pregnant but might like such designs. I admit I was lured to this book by the cute empire top on the cover and will likely knit it for myself - especially since, if all goes as planned, I'll be very pregnant in the heat of the summer - the perfect time for a sleeveless top in a light cotton or perhaps bamboo? Only a crazy person would knit the "red twist dress" on page 101 - that's a lot of alpaca and a lot of stitches for a "temporary" dress, however fab it is. Of course, if it turns out I'm very pregnant in the winter, I might change my tune. Other patterns worth noting: the "abigail hemp top" on p. 76 for the clever use of removable side panels (if not executed in quite the manner I would do it)and the "day to night dress" (or possibly tunic) on p. 50, which I could envisage wearing oh, say, every other day or so in the warm weather. Being that it's hard to resist anything with either "goddess" or "comfy" in the title, the "goddess tank" on p. 23 and the "comfy camo top" on p. 14 each deserve some consideration - and the camo top also deserves not to be made in acrylic. *shudder*

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice patterns and some really strange patterns in this one, but I must say, it's the only book I've seen that's dedicated just to knitting for maternity styles. Other books have a few patterns in with all the baby stuff, but this is a really nice change. Looking through it, I'm impressed that they have a range of patterns - things for work and things for lounging, things with yarns that cost $2.79 a skein and things that cost $13 a skein. One of my favorite patterns in here calls for a beautiful Rowan mohair, and I just can't bring myself to splurge even though it's a long cardigan and could be worn non-maternity-wise. I'm going to be trying to knit up a simple sleeveless empire-waist top with a tie. This book is helpful in that it gives the weight and style of yarn needed, but also tells you what specifically was used for the item pictured. I also like that it tells you what experience level each pattern is appropriate for. However, looking at some of the patterns, I have doubts about their ability to actually cover a pregnant belly. Could it be that they just modified a regular sweater pattern to add a little ease, but didn't really design it from the start with a full-term belly in mind? I'll soon find out, I suppose, as I start on the Anjou Sleeveless Top.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful patterns (except for that removable panel top, it looks so home -ec). Some really gorgeous and fashionable stuff here, but is it the most practical? The designer does a great job of making the maternity clothes things that you can continue wearing, a lot of sweaters that would be versatile, patterns with easy instructions on how to just not knit the extra belly room, etc. BUT the reason I found so many of the designs attractive is that they aren't designs best geared toward knitting. These beautiful tops are things I would be willing to buy in a store, but not knit up extra yards of fabric for the beautiful drape of that to die for dress. It is all things that are great labors of love, but cheaper and widely available in stores.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not an announcement of any pregnancy- just saw the book at the library and thought I'd leaf through it.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are only really 2 or 3 patterns in this book that I consider wearable.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful, complicated knits. Decided prenatal knitting was not my thing.