Book Review: Vogue Knitting The Ultimate Quick Reference

There are a lot of great knitting reference books out there but a lot of them aren’t very portable. Vogue Knitting aimed for a comprehensive guide to knitting that you can still stick in your knitting bag and take with you on the go with their Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Quick Reference.

The book crams a lot into 184 pages, including:

Basic techniques, such as holding yarn and needles, casting on, knitting, purling, increases, decreases, binding off, cables, stranded knitting, intarsia, stripes, mosaic, lace and correcting mistakes.
Advanced techniques like entrelac, modular knitting, center-out shapes, brioche and double knitting.
Understanding instructions including gauge, schematics, counting rows, abbreviations and symbols
Correcting errors like twisted, dropped and incomplete stitches, lifelines, mending and darning.
Finishing, which includes blocking, grafting, picking up stitches, hemming, cleaning and storage of knits.
Embellishments like embroidery, beads and sequins
Tables and Tools such as needle and hook sizes, conversions and yarn weights.

Even the back flap of the book is useful, as it includes a stitch gauge and needle gauge you can take with you anywhere you take your knitting.

Techniques include written descriptions, how-to drawings and photographs of finished swatches. The pictures are a little small but not so small that they aren’t useful, and small illustrations help them include more information in a smaller space.

This book covers just about everything you might need to know when you’re away from a computer or a more thorough knitting reference book. If you find yourself often wishing you had a handy guide to remembering how to do Kitchener stitch or the right way to pick up stitches or you just want to learn on the go this is a great guide to have.

Flip through the book with me on Instagram.

About the book: 184 pages, paperback with flaps. Published October 2019, Sixth & Spring Books. Suggested retail $22.95.

Next Pattern:

Knitters are always looking for ways to continue to knit and to wear their knits even when it’s hot outside, so there are tots of great T0shirt knitting patterns to choose from. I love knitting short-sleeved shirts because they feel so much faster than sweaters, and you can wear them on top of dresses or even longer-sleeved items when it gets cooler.

There are lots of different styles of knit tops, from the basic to the more detailed. On the more basic side are things like the Perfect T-Shirt from Originally Lovely, a basic raglan tee with nine sizes and worked in worsted weight yarn; Paper Bloom by Yvonne Hugo (free on Ravelry), available in six sizes and worked with cotton and silk yarn for extra coolness; or Iris H’s Amelia Top, also on Ravelry, a slim fit, DK weight top with nine size.

Jazz it up with a bit of lace like on the Athens Lace Hem top by Sarah Hatton (Ravelry). This otherwise simple project has a bit of lace at the bottom, which is an easy way to make a project more interesting without a ton of work. This one uses fingering weight yarn and comes in nine sizes.

Another simple embellishment is to emphasize the lines of your top with different stitches. The Spring Lines top uses twisted ribbing at the center front and V-neck and along the raglan lines to give it a slimmer fit and more interest. This design from Turquoise Toque Designs has 11 size options and is available on Ravelry.

Silfurberg by Joji Locatelli uses both of these elements, with lace panels at the center front and back and purl ridges throughout to make it a little more fun to knit and to wear. The pattern uses fingering weight yarn and comes in 10 sizes. Learn more on Ravelry.

Keep it simple or add puffed sleeves (and/or long sleeves) to the slim fit Knitty Committee top by Lily Kate France. This one has two length options, waist shaping and optional bust darts to fulfill all your curvy top dreams, and it comes in nine sizes. You’ll find it on Ravelry.

Take it even more romantic with the Daphne Top from Friday Knits, which has puffed sleeves and applied I-cord to emphasize the bust and sweetheart neckline. It comes in eight sizes and uses DK weight yarn.

Or add some sweet flowers with the Gigio pattern from Emilie Luis. This pretty pattern found on Ravelry has cable panels running up the front with the option for adding sweet embroidered flowers. You can also add decorative buttons if you like. It comes in 11 sizes and calls for sport weight yarn.

Next Pattern:

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