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Book Review: The New Knitting Stitch Dictionary

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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.

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Stacking Stars Knitting Pattern

There are so many things I love about the Stacking Stars pattern from Frankie Brown.

First, it looks like a kid’s toy, which it totally could be, though the intent is to stack the stars into a Christmas tree bit of decor.

I love the rainbow gradient, which makes it all the more cheerful, and serves as a reminder that, while you can plan out your colors beautifully, you can also use your stash for your own brilliant hodgepodge of a star tree.

It includes patterns for nine different sizes of stars, from 2 inch to 6 inch, which makes the perfect pile to look like a tree. What’s more, these stars are worked in garter stitch, so it’s a pretty easy pattern, even if you’re new to knitting. And the stars are solid, so not only can you use them to make your own amazing stack of a tree, you can make more to decorate packages, use as Christmas tree ornaments, make a darling garland, or all of the above.

The pattern calls for DK weight yarn but of course you could play with the yarn weight, too, to make stars that are even larger or smaller than the ones shown. And the bigger ones are made by just working more repeats, so you could continue to work as established to make larger ones to suit all your crafty purposes if you like.

Frankie’s patterns are free on Ravelry, but they ask that people who enjoy their patterns send a donation to the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation. Through the years they have raised more that £26,000 for the charity, which helps families of kids with liver disease. You can donate to Frankie’s fundraiser here. They have tons of great holiday projects and other designs you can check out on their designer page on Ravelry.

[Photo: Frankie Brown]

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