Knitting California: 26 Easy-to-Follow Designs for Beautiful Beanies Inspired by the Golden State

by Nancy Bates

Overview

Knit unique beanies inspired by the beauty of California’s natural treasures and distinctive landmarks.

Eureka! From the sea life of Monterey and the surfing culture of SoCal, to the glamour of Hollywood and the majesty of the Coastal Redwoods, California has some of the most unique and diverse landscapes in the United States. Capture the history, spectacular scenery, and fascinating landmarks California offers with original beanie patterns created by knitting designer, author, and proud Californian, Nancy Bates.

The 26 beanie patterns in this book range from simple beanie constructions depicting the gold rush or the Golden Gate Bridge, to more challenging stitch patterns such as the Forests of the North. From wine country to orange groves, gray whales to monarch butterflies, and everything in-between, the beauty of California is depicted in these charming beanies.

Clear charts, easy-to-read keys, and thorough instructions help any knitter, whether beginner or experienced, through these gratifying projects. Show your love for California with these beautiful beanie designs you can wear any time and any place.

26 BEANIE PATTERNS: Including both simple and more challenging stitch patterns, there is something for everyone with these 26 beanie patterns

INSPIRED BY THE BEAUTY OF CALIFORNIA: From the state flag to the beautiful Big Sur coastline, each beanie pattern celebrates the beauty of California

THE PERFECT GIFT: Perfect for any knitting enthusiast, this book is the gift that keeps on giving with the beanies also being great gifts for fans of Californi

SPECTACULARLY PHOTOGRAPHED: Each pattern is accompanied by photos of the finished beanie and California's landscapes, landmarks, flora, and fauna

EASY-TO-FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS: Each of the 26 beanie knitting patterns has been tested and offers clear charts so that knitters of every skill level can knit a beanie in no time

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798886740219
Publisher:	Weldon Owen
Publication date:	10/03/2023
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	405,442
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 9.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Nancy Bates is the founder and entrepreneur of Nancy Bates Designs, and the author of Knitting the National Parks: 63 Easy-to-Follow Designs for Beautiful Beanies Inspired by the National Parks. She has been knitting and crocheting for 45 years and is passionate about making knitting fun and attainable. Find her at nancybatesdesigns.com where she also sells knitting kits for her beanie designs.

Editorial Reviews

10/02/2023

This charming guide by Bates (Knitting the National Parks) shows how to knit beanies featuring designs inspired by her home state of California. She recommends using worsted weight yarn because it’s “cozy” and “easy to work with,” and encourages readers to make practice swatches before starting a project to test the needle gauge. The playful designs consist of a mix of landscapes (the “Pacific Coast Highway” beanie shows a road running the circumference of the head above gray cliffsides and a foamy blue ocean), patterns (the muted orange, blue, and brown stripes of “SoCal Surf” pay homage to striped surfboards from the 1960s and ’70s), and abstractions (the tan “Death Valley” cap features winding asymmetrical purled cables that evoke the eponymous park’s cracked salt flats). Trivia accompanies each project; for instance, Bates notes that “while sequoias are the largest trees by volume (huge trunks!) the coastal redwoods of California are the tallest” and provides instructions for a beanie depicting silhouettes of the massive trees against a blue night sky speckled with white beads that stand in for stars. The simple color charts make it easy to follow the instructions, and the projects capture a broad cross section of what the Golden State has to offer. Lovers of the West Coast will want to take note. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

10/01/2023

In this collection of knit beanie patterns, Bates (Knitting the National Parks) celebrates the nature, history, industry, and culture of her home state, California. The patterns are organized by region, each with a narrative introduction that describes the locale that inspired the design. The majority of the patterns use stranded colorwork to create motifs that bring to mind diverse California settings such as Hollywood, Napa, the Central Valley, and the Mojave Desert, as well as iconic images associated with the state, such as palm trees, the state flag, and the Golden Gate Bridge. The beanies are knitted with worsted-weight yarn, which makes for a durable, quick-to-knit fabric. Suggested yarn brands and colors are provided as well. The designs are charted—the standard for stranded colorwork—with clear instructions for decreases, duplicate and slip stitches, bead placement, cables, and bobbles, as needed. A glossary of techniques provides basic instructions for a long-tail cast-on, a duplicate stitch, and bead knitting. VERDICT Bates's collection of patterns will appeal to knitters who enjoy stranded colorwork, nature-inspired motifs, or knitted hats.—Nanette Donohue

Library Journal