Book Review: Japanese Stitches Unraveled

April 13, 2021 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

I have quite a collection of knitting stitch dictionaries, but sticking to stitch patterns that are available in English limits your possibilities. In recent years Japanese knitting books and all their fun stitch patterns have become more available in the United States and elsewhere, and publishers have sought to provide English versions of these pattern books to a wider audience.

Wendy Bernard’s Japanese Stitches Unraveled: To Knit Top Down, Bottom Up, Back and Forth, and In the Round offers 160 stitch patterns inspired by those found in Japanese knitting books, described anew for an English-speaking audience.

Japanese knitting books often use different symbols and don’t provide a lot of explanation as to what the knitter is supposed to do to execute the stitch. Bernard says in her book that even with some knowledge of Japanese, as she has, it can be difficult to decipher the instructions in these books. They’re also expensive and difficult to come by as they are not regularly exported.

Bernard provides translations of a multitude of stitch patterns as well as instructions for how to work them top down or bottom up, flat or in the round. They are also charted as well as having written instructions.

Some of these patterns will look familiar but many are unique, and she has given them fun names (Japanese stitch dictionaries use numbers rather than names). So now you can knit Charlie Brown twisted ribs (a sort of chevron rib pattern), Dragon and Cables (a wide cable with a zigzag of traveling stitches on top), Spiders (bobbles combined with tuck stitches) and Beetle Cables, to name just a few.

Each chapter — focusing on knits and purls, ribs, fancy and textured patterns, cables, and lace — includes a pattern showing how you might use one of the stitch patterns, and there are three from-scratch projects (a blanket cocoon cardigan and oversized cowl) you can knit as designed or add your favorite stitch patterns.

Japanese Stitches Unraveled is a fun addition to any knitter’s stitch pattern book collection, and it provides plenty of inspiration and tips for designing projects using these fun stitch patterns.

About the book: 288 pages, hardcover, 160 stitch patterns, 8 knitting patterns. Published by Abrams Books, suggested retail $29.99.

Looking for more knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Looking for more Cable-styled knitting patterns? Check out these Cable Knit Patterns on Etsy

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Book Review: Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit & Crochet Blankets

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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