Do you enjoy knitting, crocheting and crafting gifts for all your friends and loved ones? Are you always on the lookout for quick but gift-worthy patterns to work from? If so, there’s an older pattern book you’ll definitely want to consider picking up. You might have initially overlooked it — and these days, the book is available at bargain prices that are simply too good to pass up. For real!

Here’s what you need to know about this excellent craft pattern book:

Book Title: Gifted: Lovely Little Things to Knit and Crochet
Author: Mags Kandis
Publisher: Interweave
Copyright Date: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59668-178-1
Format: Trade Paperback
Number of Pages: 136

The projects in this book are divided into two sections: “gifts for the body” and “gifts for the soul”. This division seems a little strange; The “gifts for the body” section is straightforward enough, but I had to wonder how exactly things like a netbook cozy would be considered “gift for the soul.” Once I got past that, I enjoyed the book.

The author is skilled at many different types of needlework and other creative endeavors, including knitting, crochet, felting, needle felting, embroidery, sewing and cooking. The projects featured in this book include a mix of all of the above.

If you’re a multi-talented crafter like she is, you’ll get the most value out of this book. If you’re primarily a knitter, this book includes plenty of outstanding patterns for you to choose from.

Crochet Patterns Included in This Book

For those of you who don’t knit, be aware that you won’t be able to use the majority of the patterns in this book. There are only 7 crochet projects included. From the title, it wasn’t clear to me that there are so few. But – this book might still be a worthwhile purchase for you if you’re drawn to the crochet patterns that are included. Particularly since this book is available for cheap — you aren’t going to pay much to obtain these patterns.

Three of the crochet projects require felting, so if felting isn’t your thing then that narrows the field even further.

These are the crochet patterns included in the book:

• Felted Granny Square Bag: Granny squares are ever-popular, and since this project offers one more way to use and combine them, it has mass appeal. While there are a zillion different granny bag patterns out there, this one stands out. It is lined, and it has a few unique details to differentiate it, like the hand-stamped greeting on the lining.
  
  The only downside is that the finishing instructions for this bag are a bit vague. I was disappointed that there are no work-in-progress photos to guide me through. Even considering that, it’s a great project.



• Crochet Flower Brooch: This project is gorgeous, and so inspiring. The flower has a bobble center; beaded fringes dangle from the flower. Love this!



• Cheerful Earmuffs: Cute, unique, innovative, and creative. What a fun project! The only downside: The author recycled the frame from an old pair of earmuffs to create these — which is good for the environment, but that doesn’t help you figure out where to get your own earmuff frame. Mags suggests going to a local rummage shop. Great, but what if you don’t find any?



• Gilded Mesh Scarf: I love everything about this; it’s chic, elegant, versatile and easy. I’m thinking everyone on my gift list would love one of these — a definite winner!



• Colorful Crochet Flowers: Playful, fun, and creative — I can see making bunches of these for many different purposes, and not just as gifts.



• Felted Yule Bling: These are felted crochet circles with embroidered details. The embroidered designs are snowflakes, so even if you don’t celebrate Christmas maybe you could find a use for these. They’re chic and simple.



• Felted Trivet and Coasters: These are felted crochet circles with details made by needlefelting and embroidery.

Knitting Patterns Included in This Book

There’s a fantastic diversity of knitting patterns included in Gifted by Mags Kandis. A few highlights:

• Weekend Socks: This is my favorite project in the book. I think these socks are fab! They’re knit in three different colors of worsted weight yarn. They look like they’d be a delightfully challenging project.






Modern Mangas (Sleeves), a colorful pattern for knitting a pair of eye-catching arm warmers. This pattern is included in a book called Gifted by Mags Kandis, published by Interweave.



• Modern Mangas (Sleeves): British fair isle meets Peruvian style in these colorful arm warmers. The sleeves are worked from a color chart, and then you work embroidered designs on top.



• Felted Egg Cozies: This is one of those hit-or-miss projects. If any of your friends need a knitted hat for their breakfast eggs, then maybe this is the pattern for you. Otherwise… I thought the project was good for a giggle, but there isn’t a single person on my gift list who would “get it” if I presented them with one of these. However, there are plenty of people who collect egg cups; maybe this project would appeal to those people.



• Cabled Boot Toppers: I think these are an interesting concept; the author designed them because she didn’t like seeing handmade socks hidden under boots. Cool idea, but I’d hesitate to give these as a gift; I’m not inclined to spend hours attempting to explain the entire concept to the gift recipient. I think perhaps knitters will get it, but everyone else? I’m not convinced.

Other projects include a baby jacket, a shoulder cozy, a tea cozy, paper rose napkin rings, mittens, a slouch cap, a ribbed hat, and more.

Felting

If you enjoy felting, this book gives you a broad range of different projects to play with. I counted 16 different felted projects in the book; I mentioned a few of them already. A few more:

• Felted leaf brooch
• Embroidered arm cozies
• Lavender sachets — These are sewn from linen and accented with tiny felted fabric scraps

Conclusion:

Overall, this is a beautiful and creative book, although it is a little bit schizophrenic in its approach. There’s hopefully a little something for everyone contained within its pages. I’m pleased to recommend this book to knitters; I do think crocheters will enjoy the book too, but because there are so few crochet projects, I recommend that crocheters take a look at the projects before purchasing the book.

Where to Buy This Book

Click Here to Shop for Gifted: Lovely Little Things to Knit and Crochet at Amazon.

More Cute Knitting Books With Gift-Worthy Patterns

• Arne and Carlos Favorite Designs: This is another craft pattern book that has a majority of knitting patterns plus a few other types of patterns too — crochet blanket patterns, embroidery patterns and more. This is a newer book that is heavily focused on holiday patterns, but it has some everyday patterns too. There are patterns for knitting Christmas ornaments, dolls, toys, sweaters, accessories and more. GREAT book — one of my all-time favorites!





• Knockout Knit Hats and Hoods — Hats make fantastic gifts. If you’d be interested in knitting hats to give to your friends, family members and colleagues, check out this book featuring lovely patterns for hats and hoods.








Dogs on Sweaters: Knitting Patterns for 18 Different Dog Breeds by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne, Published by Trafalgar Square Books

• Dogs on Sweaters: Knitting Patterns for 18 Different Dog Breeds — Do you have any dog lovers on your gift knitting list? If so, grab a copy of this book to find excellent dog-themed knitting charts plus projects you can make using the dog charts. This book is a definite winner in the gift-giving department. It includes options for men, women, children of both genders and babies.

See Also: Up-To-Date Crochet Books for 2023 and Beyond

Knitting Supplies

• A Beginner’s Guide to Knitting Needles
• Yarn for Knitting and Crochet
• Hand Sewing Needles for Finishing Your Knitting Projects

Posted By: Amy Solovay

This page was last updated on 7-29-2023.