Knitting the National Parks : 63 easy-to-follow designs for beautiful beanies inspired by the US National Parks /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Knit unique beanies inspired by the jaw-dropping and unique landscapes from each of the 63 US National Parks.

From the brightly colored pebbles of Lake McDonald in Montana's Glacier National Park to the regal granite cliffs of El Capitan and Half Dome in California's Yosemite Valley, the US National Parks contain some of the most recognizable and iconic natural landmarks in the world. Capture the majesty each national park offers with original beanie patterns created by knitting designer and outdoor enthusiast Nancy Bates.

Beanies range from simple beanie constructions to more challenging stitch patterns such as the two-color crossovers inspired by South Dakota's Badlands or the multiple cable designs inspired by New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns. Clear charts, easy-to-read keys, and thorough instructions help any knitter, whether beginner or experienced, through these gratifying projects. Show your love and appreciation of our national parks with these beautiful and practical beanie projects you can wear any time or any place.

63 KNITTING PATTERNS: Every US National Park is celebrated with a unique beanie design, including the newly designated park New River Gorge in West Virginia

BEAUTIFULLY PHOTOGRAPHED: Each pattern is accompanied by photos of the finished beanie and gorgeous images of the park's landscapes that inspired it

INSPIRED BY NATURE : Learn about each national park's unique fauna, flora, and landscapes that inspired each original beanie, from the Painted Wall in Colorado's Black Canyon of the Gunnison to the Salt Flats in California Death Valley

EASY-TO-FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS : Each of the 63 beanies knitting patterns have been tested and verified and offer clear charts so that knitters of every skill level can knit a beanie in no time

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. 8)
• Choosing Yarn (p. 10)
• Gauge and Sizing (p. 11)
• Casting On (p. 11)
• Wet Blocking a Hat (p. 12)
• The Northeast Region (p. 14)
• Acadia (p. 14)
• New River Gorge (p. 18)
• Shenandoah (p. 22)
• The Southeast Region (p. 26)
• Biscayne (p. 26)
• Congaree (p. 30)
• Dry Tortugas (p. 34)
• Everglades (p. 38)
• Great Smoky Mountains (p. 42)
• Mammoth Cave (p. 46)
• Virgin Islands (p. 50)
• The Midwest Region (p. 54)
• Badlands (p. 54)
• Cuyahoga Valley (p. 58)
• Gateway Arch (p. 62)
• Hot Springs (p. 66)
• Indiana Dunes (p. 70)
• Isle Royale (p. 74)
• Theodore Roosevelt (p. 78)
• Voyageurs (p. 82)
• Wind Cave (p. 86)
• The Intermountain Region (p. 90)
• Arches (p. 90)
• Big Bend (p. 94)
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison (p. 98)
• Bryce Canyon (p. 102)
• Canyonlands (p. 106)
• Capitol Reef (p. 110)
• Carlsbad Caverns (p. 114)
• Glacier (p. 118)
• Grand Canyon (p. 122)
• Grand Teton (p. 126)
• Great Sand Dunes (p. 130)
• Guadalupe Mountains (p. 134)
• Mesa Verde (p. 138)
• Petrified Forest (p. 142)
• Rocky Mountain (p. 146)
• Saguaro (p. 150)
• White Sands (p. 154)
• Yellowstone (p. 158)
• Zion (p. 162)
• The Pacific West Region (p. 166)
• American Samoa (p. 166)
• Channel Islands (p. 170)
• Crater Lake (p. 174)
• Death Valley (p. 178)
• Great Basin (p. 182)
• Haleakala (p. 186)
• Hawaii Volcanoes (p. 190)
• Joshua Tree (p. 194)
• Kings Canyon (p. 198)
• Lassen Volcanic (p. 202)
• Mount Rainier (p. 206)
• North Cascades (p. 210)
• Olympic (p. 214)
• Pinnacles (p. 218)
• Redwood (p. 222)
• Sequoia (p. 226)
• Yosemite (p. 230)
• The Alaska Region (p. 234)
• Denali (p. 234)
• Gates of the Arctic (p. 238)
• Glacier Bay (p. 242)
• Katmai (p. 246)
• Kenai Fjords (p. 250)
• Kobuk Valley (p. 254)
• Lake Clark (p. 258)
• Wrangell-St. Elias (p. 262)
• Resources (p. 266)
• Index (p. 267)
• Acknowledgments (p. 269)
• Author Bio (p. 271)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Designer Bates has written a creative collection of knitted hat patterns inspired by U.S. National Parks. Each chapter contains a description of a park, a knitted hat pattern, and a photograph of the park that inspired the design. Bates's approach is flexible; she lists the recommended yarns, needle sizes, etc., for the hats but encourages knitters to experiment. The book is for intermediate-level knitters. It assumes readers have already mastered the basics, and it employs techniques such as cables, bobbles, and color stranding, with minimal instruction on these techniques. While the charts are easy to follow, they exhibit the three flaws common to knitting books: they assume the knitter is right-handed (left-handers will need to know how to make modifications to accommodate their handedness); it lacks metric conversions (non-U.S. readers will need to know how to do metric conversions); and it lacks a chart defining the stitch abbreviations. VERDICT Buy where there is reader demand for intermediate-level knitting projects, with the caveat that this is for experienced right-handed U.S. knitters; left-handed and non-U.S. knitters will need to know how to do their own conversions and where to look for stitch abbreviations.--Marjorie Mann

Publishers Weekly Review

"Artists... have captured and immortalized these beautiful places and personal memories for generations. The time has come for knitters to do the same," urges pattern designer Bates in her innovative debut. Each of her gorgeous designs highlights features of America's national parks: brown bears and salmon adorn the Katmai National Park hat, textured stitches mimic balancing rocks for the Arches National Park beanie, and fall colors make up the Shenandoah hat (autumn's the most popular time to visit the park). Though newbies will miss a knitting 101 section, crafters who are confident in the basics and are up to speed on reading colorwork charts will have no trouble following the patterns, which range from simple stranded designs to the more intricate cables and bobbles found in the Joshua Tree cap. Trivia about each park is a nice addition--readers will learn that "at 14,400 feet, the peak of majestic Mount Rainier is covered with snow year-round, even during summer," and that "95% of Biscayne's 173,000 acres" are underwater. This is a treasure trove of creative patterns that seasoned knitters will turn to time and again. (Aug.)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Nancy Bates is the founder and entrepreneur of Nancy Bates Designs, and the author of Knitting the National Parks: 63 Easy-to-Follow Designs for Beautiful Beanies Inspired by the National Parks. She has been knitting and crocheting for 45 years and is passionate about making knitting fun and attainable. Find her at nancybatesdesigns.com where she also sells knitting kits for her beanie designs.