Book Review: Arm Knitting

The arm knitting craze really first started with a viral video made by Amanda Bassetti, the blogger behind Simply Maggie. Since learning to arm knit so she could make projects she’d actually finish because they took less time than knitting with needles, she’s developed tons of patterns made with nothing more than your arms and some really fat yarn.

And now she has a book, too. Arm Knitting: 30 Home and Fashion Projects for Your No-Needle Needs is a really comprehensive, detailed and inspiring look at this craft that just might get you to put aside your needles for a brief time.

One thing I really liked about this book is that it is heavy on instruction and showing you that there’s more to do with arm knitting than the single stitch a lot of those online tutorials use. She shows how to knit and purl, make Garter and Stockinette, ribbing, Seed Stitch and Linen Stitch. She also explores making cables, increasing and decreasing, so with this book by your side the sky’s the limit in terms of what you can make.

The book also includes 30 projects, arranged by how long they take to make, form a 10-minute headband to a pillow cover worked in Linen Stitch that takes about an hour.

That’s probably the biggest appeal of arm knitting: even the biggest projects don’t take all that long to make.

And while all arm knitting books and sites are heavy on projects like blankets, scarves and cowls, there are some other options here, too, like bags, shawls, mug and bowl cozies, even a 10-minute hat.

More than really following the patterns, this book inspires me to try some different things with arm knitting (I’ve made a cowl and a scarf and a blanket I ripped out because the stitches were too open), which is a great way to use a lot of yarn, fast, particularly if you happen to have a lot of bulky yarn in your stash.

Have you tried arm knitting? I’d love to know what you thought of it.

Book specifications: 144 pages, paperback with interior flaps, 30 patterns. Published by Barron’s Educational Series, September 2015. Suggested retail $17.99.

Next Pattern:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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