Books to Inspire Your Lace Knitting

May 16, 2014 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

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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Christmas Sock Knitting Patterns

Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

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