Book Review: Urban Knit Collection

Kyle Kunnecke’s Urban Knit Collection was originally published in 2016 but has been reissued in a new, updated edition.

The 18 knitting patterns inspired by urban life are the same as they were in the original, but I missed it the first time (or have no memory of it, so either way it’s new to me) so let’s take a look together.

The sweaters in the book are knit flat in pieces and have five or six size options. I like the Arabella Pullover, with an allover chevron lace reminiscent of Art Deco architecture and textured sleeves. The Savoy Cardigan, with colorwork swirls and stripes and low buttons, is also fun.

In addition to sweaters, there’s a chapter on wraps and scarves and one one on knit accessories like mitts and hats. The allover colorwork and intricate designs of the D’Amour Wrap would provide a fun challenge to knitters (the book emphasizes the difference between hard and time consuming, and also offers tips for working big projects with lots of charts).

The Ritz cowl uses colorwork and a repeating pattern of beads for extra sparkle. Check out all the patterns on Ravelry.

I don’t fully understand why certain things are given the amount of space they are (or where they are) in the book. For instance there’s a section on color bleeding, and many pages devoted to locking yarns when doing stranded colorwork, before being introduced to any patterns or other knitting techniques, and only 8 of the patterns use stranded colorwork.

There are more instructions for specific knitting techniques like cast ons, bind offs, increases and decreases, grafting and mattress stitch, short rows and shaping in colorwork to name a few.

It should be noted that while this is a new edition of the book, the patterns have not been updated to reflect yarns that might not be in production anymore (such as Brooklyn Tweed and Classic Elite yarns) or offer suggestions for substitutions. It seems like that would have been an easy thing to update rather than just reprinting the patterns without those modifications.

Still, the book is full of colorful patterns and detailed cables representing iron grates, subway maps and other urban inspirations.

About the book: 16 pages, paperback, 18 patterns. Published 2025 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $29.99.

This is a project that kind of stopped me in my tracks when I saw it while scrolling Ravelry. It’s such a fun contrast of a semisolid color worked in stockinette stitch and a more tonal yarn worked in a feather and fan variation.

(See more about feather and fan in this post on my blog; I also have a feather and fan scarf if you want to practice.)

The Nitty Wrap from Renate Dziedataja is worked in fingering weight yarn from a Finnish mill, and the name is the Finnish word for meadow. You of course can use whatever yarn you have handy.

It’s even more interesting because the project is worked from one short end across to make a long rectangle, and the two different sections are joined using intarsia. Generally we think of intarsia as being used for colorwork, so this is a fun different use of it. The lace section is charted in the pattern but it’s pretty easy to follow.

And of course it’s totally optional but to add a little more interest and tie the two colors of yarn together the designer also added some embroidery along the short edges on the stockinette side. A drawing of what she did is included but you can also add different designs if you’d rather.

The shawl has I-cord edgings to give it a nice finished look that doesn’t take away from the organic simplicity of the design.

As shown, the shawl measures about 22.5 inches/57 cm wide and 59 inches/150 cm long. You can of course adjust this according to your preference, the amount of yarn you have and the gauge you are getting. Try a thicker yarn to make a wider shawl if you like.

This pattern is available in English and Latvian for free on Ravelry.

Photo: Renate Dziedataja

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