Knitting

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Book Review: The Knitter’s Book of Knowledge

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the knitter's book of knowledge reviewDebbie Bliss knows a lot about knitting. She’s been a renowned designer for decades, has published more than 40 books and has her own line of yarn.

So you might guess that a book filled with her knitting knowledge would be pretty long, and you’d be right. The Knitter’s Book of Knowledge: A Complete Guide to Essential Knitting Techniques covers everything from casting on to knitwear design, and it’s a huge book at 320 pages and weighing in at just over three pounds.

The book includes pretty much everything you need to know to get started knitting and beyond. There are thoughts on yarn, needles and other supplies, tips for holding needles and yarn, nine different cast on methods and eight different bind off methods.

There’s a rundown on knitting terms, tips on reading charts, tutorials for various means of shaping knitting, tons of ways to add texture to projects, a short course in color theory and color knitting techniques, ways to embellish knitting like surface embroidery and beading, finishing touches like fringe and pom-poms, edgings, seaming, finishing techniques and more.

You’ll learn about buttonholes and pockets, sewing in elastic and installing zippers, how to measure bodies and garments for knitwear design and all the things that go into making a successful project from scratch.

There’s also a troubleshooting section that covers fixing dropped stitches, knitting backward and ripping out knitting, making projects shorter or longer and mending holes, among other things.

Throughout the book there are large drawings to illustrate techniques. It’s a great guide to the basics and beyond. If I had any complaint it would be that there aren’t enough relevant pictures. For instance, the section on bobbles shows in drawings how the bobbles are made, but there’s only a picture of one kind of bobble, and it’s not a great photo. The only other actual picture in the whole section is just of a ball of yarn. It would have made the book that much more valuable if there had been swatches showing what the different techniques look like in real yarn.

Still, if you only want to buy one knitting book to get you through a lot of the things you will want to know as a knitter and you like a lot of step-by-step illustrations, this book is worth checking out.

About the Book: 320 pages, hardcover, no patterns. Published October 2015, Lark Books. Suggested retail $29.95.

Comments

  2. I love Debbie Bliss patterns, the directions are always very well written and easy for me to understand. With that in mind, this book sounds amazing because it sounds like it’s all of the nuts and bolts that go into making and finishing a piece, which is fantastic!!!

Have you read?

Knit a Classic Aran Cardigan with this Free Knitting Pattern

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time. 

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring. 

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. 

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row. 

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves. 

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body. 

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy. 

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn. 

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]