03/14/18 • Crochet •

Snuggle and Play Crochet Review-Handmade Baby Gifts

This week for our Weekly Wednesday Review Katelyn took a look inside “Snuggle and Play Crochet” a brand new book by Carolina Guzman Benitez. Within the book you will find 40 Amigurumi patterns for lovey security blankets and matching toys. Be sure to read the whole post for a chance to win a copy of the book for yourself.

Weekly Wednesday Review Snuggle and Play Crochet

Table of Contents

*This post contains affiliate links. By clicking on one of these links and making a purchase a portion will go to the blog. The price you pay will not change and the small commission I receive helps me to keep brining you free content and giveaways on the blog. Thank you for your continued support.*

Snuggle and Play Crochet-Handmade Baby Gifts

About the Book:

It seems like every time I turn around someone else is having a baby! Being a crafty person who LOVES knitting and crochet I always want to make a handmade baby gift. Typically I try to make a blanket for the new baby. I am a BIG believer that all babies deserve something handmade.

Many times my project list is longer than I really have time for but I never want to skip on making something for new babies. This book will have a prime spot on my bookshelf as a go to for handmade baby gifts.

Looking through the book I love that there are two options for each animal. You are able to make the animal as a lovey or as a toy. Ideally, in a perfect world, I would be sure to have enough time to make the lovey for the new baby and the toy for their older brother or sister. It would be a great way to connect the baby with their sibling.

When Making Handmade Baby Gifts:

For those of you who aren’t yet a parent or those of you where it has been a while since you had little ones I wanted to take a moment and share some things to consider before starting your first project.

Material-Please consider the yarn that you are selecting for your projects. This goes for all handmade baby gifts, not just the ones from this book. Try to find something that is soft, as it will be near the babies skin, but something that is machine washable. Being honest, as a mom of two young kids, I am happy to get through all of our wash each week. Anything that requires special washing is no longer worn. Make the gifts that you give easy for the parents to maintain.

Eyes-Patterns from this book are made with eyes. It is important to consider what you use for eyes when giving the finished project to small children. In just the first few pages of the book Carolina reminds us that you can embroider eyes on for gifts to very young children. As the child gets old safety eyes are appropriate. Although safety eyes are supposed to never be able to come off there is always that chance, and one that I wouldn’t want to take. Again thinking of the parents I wouldn’t want them to worry that the eyes would fall off.

Holes-There are some people that are adamant that you never give babies projects that have any holes in them, that their fingers might get stuck. Others believe that babies will enjoy the holes and have something to play with. Really, I think it is a personal preference. If you are unsure you can always add a little reminder for the parent to watch the baby with the item until they are older.

Presentation-When you are wrapping up your gift don’t forget to add a tag or note with washing instructions for the new parents. Although you may know how to care for the item the parent might have questions since it will be handmade, have stuffing, and sewn on items. Let’s be honest, babies can be messy. We want them to have fun and explore but we also want to make sure that there is a way to clean their new lovey.

Animals Included in the Book:

I thought that you would be interested to know what animals are included in the books. Take a look at this list and you can start picking out which one you will make for your next handmade baby gifts.