Book Review: Graphic Knits

Even though I’ve written a book about colorwork knitting, I have to admit a lot of the projects I knit are worked with a solid color or a self-striping yarn rather than working in stripes or a colorwork pattern on my own.

Colorwork is a lot of fun, though, and it makes projects look a lot more interesting than if they were worked in a solid color or allover stitch pattern.

Alexis Winslow defines graphic in the title of her book Graphic Knits: 20 Designs in Bold, Beautiful Color to mean both colorful elements and variations of stitch pattern in an otherwise solid garment.

Her tops, hats, mitts and other accessories look like a lot of fun to knit and something a little beyond the ordinary in terms of construction techniques and the skills involved.

Some of my favorite projects include the Minnow Top, worked with stripes of chevron lace and eyelets; the Rockling Cardigan, which gives the grandpa sweater a colorwork update; Woodstar beret and mitts, lovely pieces worked in three colors with star and diamond motifs; the Tanager Shrug, an origami-like design worked in three colors of stripes broken up by eyelets; the Liwi Top, a simple Stockinette shell with mesh lace at the bodice; the Sweetness Pullover, a top-down, circular yoke sweater with dots of different colors; and the Burren Pullover, which uses short rows to make skewed stripes.

Check out all the designs on Ravelry.

I think this book is a great one for people who might not knit with a lot of color or who tend to stick to Stockinette. It will broaden your horizons and increase your skill levels while providing you with really lovely projects to wear and use.

About the Book: 136 pages, paperback, 20 patterns (no skill levels given). Published October 2014 by Interweave/F+W, retail price $24.99.

Next Pattern:

Some knitters have trouble coming up with projects they can both knit and wear when it’s warm outside. Especially if you’re not ready for garments (thought tank tops and summer tops are great first garment projects!) it might seem like there’s nothing to do when it’s hot outside.

One way to remedy this situation is by knitting headbands. Headbands are great any time of year to keep hair out of your face and make you look a little more pulled together without any effort. Wider headbands double as ear warmers when it gets colder, but skinnier ones are great throughout the year.

A couple of great examples are from designer Elly Donner, who has a set of headband knitting patterns on Ravelry you can buy individually or as an ebook. Homebody, shown here, is worked in garter stitch (the ties are crocheted but you could also use I-cord), while Slipstream uses slipped stitches and garter ridges, and Sounds of Spring has little cables. The patterns use DK weight yarn and are a great way to use a little leftover yarn from another project.

I also recently came across the lovely Plush Braided Headband by Yevgeniya Li. A free pattern on Ravelry, this wider design is covered in lush cables for a sleek and fancy look. It uses worsted weight yarn and you can customize the length for a perfect fit.

Celeste Knitwear’s Spikelet is a simple twisted headband with columns of eyelet lace to keep it from being too heavy. It’s worked flat and sewn together to make the twist, and uses DK weight yarn. It has three sizes available.

This skinny lace headband from Lusi Knits is another cute choice. It calls for fine weight cotton yarn, but you could use heavier yarn if you have it on hand to make a wider headband (or use any fine yarn you have available). It uses ties to customize the fit.

And if you want to go super basic but still really cute, try the easy ring headband from Lulu Pattern. The sample is knit pretty wide, but you could make a narrower version if you want, and the little ring turns it from a plain loop into a bow with very little extra work. It calls for worsted weight yarn but you could also use whatever weight you like for this one to change up the look and size.

Next Pattern:

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