Book Review : 200 Knitted Blocks

200 Knitted Blocks by Jan Eaton is one of those wonderful books that I know will always live on my bookshelf, close to hand, ready to reach for as a brilliant reference book, but also to inspire new projects.

There is a great variety of patterns and techniques in this book which have been written into patterns for squares that you can mix and match into beautiful blankets. You could easily cast on more or less stitches to make different shapes and use the basic techniques to inspire your own designs.

This book is beautifully laid out and clear to read and you will find patterns for cable, lace, fair isle, rib and bobbles – to name but a few! Each square tells you how many colours you will need, the difficulty level and which direction the pattern is worked in, be that backwards and forwards or diagonally. In the back of the book there is a complete list of the wools used, so if you fall in love with a colour combination you can buy those exact wools to recreate the square.

There is a great variety of colours used throughout this book, which is great because there is something to suit every taste. The last 28 blocks in the book show the pattern knitted up in four different colourways. This is really useful because it shows you how a change in colour can completely change the look of a pattern.

For the beginner there are some very clear pictures of the basic techniques you will need in the back of the book and a great guide on how the patterns turn out using different wools and needles that any knitter will find invaluable.

When you have found your favourite squares and are ready to embark on a blanket, the book has lots of suggestions! At the bottom of each page there are three suggested squares which work nicely with the first. There are also eleven designs already planned for you like the one below. The book also gives you patterns for six different knitted edgings to make your blanket that extra bit special!

This book is very easy to use, it would make a great reference book for more experienced knitters and would also provide valuable inspiration for novice knitters – once they see all the possibilities they won’t want to put their needles down!

200 Knitted Blocks is published by David & Charles and you can pick up your own copy from Amazon. Please note : The Amazon links in this post are affiliate links so if you buy the book through this link I receive a small referral fee.

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