Book Review: No Needles Knitting

Years ago Vickie Howell wrote a book for kids about finger knitting, and as those crafty kids have grown up, she wanted to revisit the world of finger knitting for an older audience. The result is what she calls the unofficial sequel to that book, No Needles Knitting.

Instead of knitting by wrapping yarn around the fingers, this technique starts with a chain through which you pull up loops to form the stitches. This makes it more flexible because you can make more than four stitches at a time. You’re also working on a table top instead of holding the work on your fingers, which should produce less strain. (Finger knitting is also explored, as well as finger crochet.)

The book opens with a discussion of the yarns used and how to work knit and purl stitches, make cables, increase, decrease and add new yarn. You’ll also learn how to bind off, weave in ends and seam pieces of knitting together.

From there the book is full of projects to wear and to use in your space. It opens with a super bulky, boxy, striped cardigan, which is rated as a skill level 2 on a scale of 4. If you have some familiarity with knitting or crochet this might be a fine piece to start with, but I might choose something that didn’t need to fit a body to start with.

There’s also a cabled hat, basketweave cowl, flat hat and a couple of scarves, as well as a bag made out of T-shirt yarn, a shawl and a blanket yarn bed coat (aka robe) among other things. I love the tartan super scarf made with a base of stitches and contrasting color yarn woven through the stitches.

In the home section you’ll find things like a flower pillow, a fuzzy throw, a wreath and a throw pillow. There’s also a cute cat bed, a simple trivet and a basket. You can finger knit a vast cozy, stitch a strand of LED lights and turn plastic bags into upcycled hand knit placemats.

The book is fun and colorful and has projects for a variety of skill levels and that give you a lot of different looks, which is fun. There are 28 patterns in all, most of which fall in the skill level 2 or 3 area. There’s one level 4 project (a log cabin style throw) and five rated level 1. There are a few things here I think I’d enjoy making, and it’s also an inspiring book to show you what can be done with a bit of yarn and no needles.

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 28 projects. Published 2025 by Quarry Books. Suggested retail price $22.99.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to instructional books about knitting. Either focus in one particular technique or kind of knitting (stranded knitting, say, or brioche) or try to cover a little bit of everything in a reference book that knitters will use throughout their careers.

The Knitting Book by Frederica Patmore and Dr. Vikki Haffenden aims to be the second kind. The subtitle is: a step-by-step guide to creating imaginative projects for the home and to wear. I’m not sure it does that, exactly, but it does include a quick look at a lot of different techniques and stitch patterns you might use in your projects.

A “guide to creating imaginative projects” sounds to me like it’s about design, but this book is not. There’s 1/3 of a page about altering patterns that only talks about how to add length to a sleeve and adjust where the increases go.

There’s nothing about measuring your body (the section on choosing a size in a pattern only suggests measuring a garment you already own), general garment construction, ease or stitch pattern multiples. The section on gauge (which is the last third of the page with choosing a garment size and altering patterns, discussed above) just says to knit a swatch, block and measure it to compare to a pattern, with no discussion on how you might use your swatch to design your own project or alter a pattern to meet your gauge.

If you ignore the subtitle, what you will find is a lot of information about different kinds of knitting and various techniques you might want to try on your projects. There are 20 cast ons and 15 bind off options, for instance, all discussed before you learn how to knit or purl. (Another quibble I have with this book is the order in which things are presented, but that’s relatively minor.)

You’ll find quick hits on increases and decreases, twists and cables, lace, colorwork, textured effects like fisherman’s rib and brioche, loops, mosaic knitting, double knitting, decorative stitches, shadow knitting, bias knitting, mitered squares, entrelac and more. There are tips for selvedge stitches, knitting with beads, adding buttonholes, picking up stitches and more.

A few patterns at the back give knitters a taste of some of the techniques included, but they’re not rated by skill level and the first one is a bias knit gradient scarf worked in six different colors of mohair, which isn’t a thing I’d wish on any beginner.

And I guess that’s maybe what my issue with the book is. I don’t know if it’s meant for beginners and it doesn’t seem to, either. I feel like this book would be overwhelming to new knitters and doesn’t really give you a place to start or all the information you might need to do projects well.

The variety of techniques included is fun, and there are also stitch patterns in the back you can use on your own projects, but again it doesn’t really provide any guidance for how to design your own projects so I don’t know how helpful all of that is.

I want to like books like this because having one reference that helps you with a lot of different things is great, I’m just not sure this is the one. If you can find it at your library or local book store and flip through it before buying, I think that would be a great idea to see if it’s a book that would be helpful for you.

And if you have this book and love it please let me know! I’m sure it’s good for someone I’m just not sure who.

About the book: 336 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by DK. Suggested retail price $40.

Have you read?