tea for two

Knitted Mug Hugs by Val Pierce is another title in the 20 to make series so again is available at £4.99. As the title suggests there are twenty patterns here to make mug hugs, (think a mini tea cosy type affair to keep your drink warm) all are knitted with various embellishments and are shown in different colour ways to give more ideas. I must admit to being a little sceptical about the practical application of a mug hug, although I remember the early days of having children when a ‘hot drink’ was always enjoyed cold some time after I intended to drink it! I think what is nice about this book is that it would introduce a range of knitting techniques to a new knitter; cable, fair isle, i-cords, appliqué and gives an opportunity to make something cute with very little yarn needed, in super quick time. Maybe an older child would enjoy making them as gifts for Christmas? I also like the fact that one could make good use of all the cute novelty buttons that accumulate. There is no reason why these patterns couldn’t be knitted shorter as cool cuffs or wider and with more buttons as cafetiere cosies. I had a go at knitting a Fair Isle heart mug hug and found that the chart and number of stitches in the pattern didn’t match. This wasn’t a problem once I’d realised but it might really throw a new knitter. My tension was shot as I was using wools of a slightly different weight and was watching Diagnosis Murder but the hug did come out at a size to fit most mugs in the cupboard. I can’t see all my mugs wearing hugs anytime soon, but I can see this book does have a lot to offer and again at a really good price.