Knitting the National Parks: 63 Easy-to-Follow Designs for Beautiful Beanies Inspired by the U.S. National Parks

“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.)