DIY baby costume for next year? Cupcake head!

It's never too early to start thinking about your newborn's first Halloween costume. And that goes double if you're one of those crazy, crafty people who insists that every costume will be hand made. (We'll see how far you go with that.) So, if you've got a little one fresh out of the oven -- or even in utero -- I recommend that you check out "Wacky Baby Knits: 20 Knitted Designs for the Fashion-Conscious Toddler" published this year by Perigee. The book is filled with kooky projects like a Mohawk hat, bear feet socks and the most insane colorful robot knitted suit I've ever seen, all for babies up to a year old.

The patterns, mostly beginner level, are by Alison Jenkins, who also brought us "The Knitting Directory" and "The Lost Art of Towel Origami." I can vouch for the simplicity of at least one of the projects: I made the cupcake hat complete with cherry on top for my niece Eloise (pictured above) in about three days of on-the-beach knitting last summer. (There's nothing like knitting for a newborn. The projects are so teeny that they knit-up in hours.)

Of course, the patterns and projects in "Wacky Baby Knits" aren't just for Halloween. Babies can get away with wearing frog suits, pirate outfits and cupcakes on their head any day of the year.

 

-- Deborah Netburn

Photo credits: Top is by Michael Polizzi; bottom three are courtesy of Penguin Group.