Books to Inspire Your Lace Knitting

I’ve reviewed lots of really fun lace knitting books through the years, and if you’re the sort of person who still likes paper, these are some that you should check out to help you on your lace knitting journey.

Knitting Lace by Susanna E. Lewis is a totally amazing book that details the lace patterns found in a sampler from the 19th century housed in the Brooklyn Museum. Which doesn’t sound as dramatic as it is, because the sampler is 15 feet long, averages about 14 stitches per inch worked on 0000 US needles (1.25 mm) and includes 91 different lace patterns. It was never bound off. Lewis re-creates the patterns and includes a deep exploration of how lace knitting works. There’s also information on designing lace patterns. This one is definitely a must-read if you’re interested in lace.

If you’re looking for patterns that include lace, I like Knitted Lace by Anne Merrow, which has 25 patterns including sweaters, socks, hats, tops and more.

Donna Druchunas’ Successful Lace Knitting is kind of a combination of the two, offering garments and projects based on the work of Dorothy Reade, a prolific and creative lace knitter of the 1950s through 1970s. She was a big proponent of using charts to teach lace knitting because they’re a visual representation of the knit project and are less likely to have mistakes in them for that reason.

Do you have a favorite book about lace knitting? I’d love to hear about it!

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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