Book Review: The New Knitting Stitch Dictionary

I am a sucker for stitch dictionaries. I’ve pared down my collection over the years, but I still have more than a few, and I love to look through them for inspiration for designs (though admittedly most of what I knit is still garter, stockinette or ribbing, but I do love to have options!).

I hadn’t actually picked up a new stitch dictionary in a while, but The New Knitting Stitch Dictionary by Lydia Kl?s caught my eye at the library the other day so I decided to take a look.

This book has 500 knitting stitch patterns, from the basic to anything but. They’re organized into a few different categories to make it easier to find what you’re looking for (assuming you are looking for something in particular):

Knit-purl patterns
Cable and traveling stitch patterns
Aran, Alpine and Celtic patterns
Lace and dropped stitch patters
Nupps and flower and leaf patterns
Brioche and multi-row patterns (still not entirely sure what that means)
Decorative edgings
Stranded colorwork and intarsia
Patterns using special techniques not covered elsewhere (this includes things like mosaic, illusion knitting and knitting with beads)

Each stitch pattern is shown in a photo and with a chart explaining how to work the stitch. Charts are shaded to indicate the repeat and shown in different colors where different colors are used.

Some of the colors in the charts and in the knitting itself are so similar it’s a little hard to decipher what color is being used, and the text explaining the special stitches used is rather small, especially as the patterns get more complex. If I were working from this book I’d probably take a photo of the chart on my phone so I could zoom in better (and yes, I do feel a million years old typing that!).

This book offers a good collection of lots of different kinds of stitch patterns, so whether you’re just starting your collection or you already have a bunch of stitch pattern dictionaries like I do, this one is worth checking out.

About the book: 336 pages, paperback, 500 patterns. Published 2023 by Stackpole Books. Suggested retail price $27.95.

Next Pattern:

Using your yarn stash is important to me throughout the year, but as I start to feel the end of the year coming on I get more excited about using things I already have in the house. Maybe that’s because I don’t want to go to a store in the thick of holiday shopping times, or I like the idea of having a little space in my stash when the new year rolls around.

It’s super satisfying to use up all the little odd balls you’ve made over the year (or years), and I have several stash busting blankets I work on when it’s cold and will maybe finish someday.

If you’d like to start a stash busting project that’s perfect for using up odd balls, check out the Soukish pattern from Neisha Abdulla. This pattern is made for fingering weight/sock yarn, and it’s worked in a tube with allover color work.

This is great for a couple of reasons. You don’t really have to weave in your ends when you can hide them in a tube (this is one time you might even get by just tying a knot when you change colors!) and you can change colors whenever you run out of yarn and it will look good.

Of course the pattern is made with blocks where the designer changed colors, but you can change yours more or less often as you need to make it work for your stash. You can use blank charts to design your own color combinations, or even your own stitch patterns if you like. You can also adjust the length of the scarf as needed or turn it into a cowl based on the amount of yarn you have.

This project looks like a lot of fun and would be a great thing to have on hand to stitch up and then to wear during the cold, gloomy months.

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Neisha Abdulla]

Another Way to Use Up All Your Sock Yarn Scraps

Gather Your Scraps for a Fun Wrap

A Scrappy Shawl Knitting Pattern to Use All Your Odd Balls

Use All Your Yarn Scraps on This Great Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

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