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Get a Grounding in Knitting with the Knitter’s Bible

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the knitter's bible

Phyllis is the winner.

I’ve been at these knitting book giveaways for so long I regularly come across books that I’m sure I’ve given away before. The Knitter’s Bible by Claire Crompton is one of those, but you all are lucky I haven’t given it away before because it’s a good one.

This is one of those comprehensive knitting instruction books that covers everything from the basics of getting started knitting to increasing, decreasing and understanding knitting abbreviations. A creative options section covers lace, Fair Isle, cables, embossed knitting, short rows, twisted stitches, intarsia and circular knitting.

Another section covers things like beaded knitting, loop knitting, entrelac, mitered squares, fulling and smocking, among other embellishments.

It talks about how to read knitting patterns, knit garments and alter patterns to your needs. You’ll learn about edgings, buttons, embroidery and more.

Beyond all that, there’s a stitch library with:

  • knit and purl stitches
  • gansey patterns
  • texture stitches
  • rib stitches
  • cables
  • lace stitches
  • edgings

And then there are 25 patterns that cover a lot of the techniques explored in the rest of the book. Check out all the projects on Raverly.

This is a great one-stop guide to a lot of things you need to know to get started knitting or to build your skills. And someone is going to win it this week!

If you’d like a chance to take this one home, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, May 14. It’s Mother’s Day in the states, and because my mom is one of the people who taught me to knit, I’d love to know who taught you.

Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck!

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Comments

  1. Oh, I’d love to have this book, Sarah. I love to knit, but there’s always room for improvement. It seems like no matter how long I’ve been knitting and how much I learn, there’s just more and more out there that’s waiting for me. I think it’s amazing how many new stitches people come up with for something that’s been around for so long. We have an amazing planet, filled with so many talented people.

  2. I figured it out while I was recovering from abdominal surgery, while having one leg in a cast and an 8 month old baby I was not allowed to lift. I really needed something to hold my whole concentration. So I had my husband pick up a book and some needles and yarn, and I was off to the races. Slowly. This book sounds like it would help fill in some of my blanks.

  4. My third grade teacher taught me to knit. She started an after-school knitting club which I joined. I moved away part way through that school year, so my mother continued to teach me. I have been knitting now for over 50 years!

  5. I was taught by several people…..first my Grandma, then my Mom and a neighbor. I was communially taught and I am very greatful.

  6. I taught myself to knit…
    This book looks like one I’d appreciate
    in my library.

  7. My mom taught me to knit when I was little, but I didn’t stick with it. I re-taught myself from library books when I was in my 30s.

  8. Sounds like an amazing book every knitter should have. Thanks for the giveaway.

  9. It looks like a “must” in any knitting library. Thank for the opportunity. Good knitting!!

  10. Oops,I forgot,my granny taught me to knit and crochet but I prefer Knitting. 😉

  11. My mom didn’t knit so I took a class at Joann’s to learn. I’ve been addicted ever since!!

  12. This book would be a great game changer for me. Next level would be great.

  13. From my mother I learned crochet when I was a child (though I never got past a basic chain), I leant knitting from my sister a couple of Christmases ago. 🙂

  14. My mother showed me when I was about 10 years old but I never knitted much that summer. When I was 50 I saw that one of the recreation centers in my area was having a knitted felt purse class and talked my sister in taking the class with me. She had picked knitting back up a few months before. I bought a teach yourself to knit kit a couple of weeks before the class. I was surprised how much came back to me from my childhood. We have been knitting every day since then.

  15. I just picked up my needles after 39 years of just crochet. This book sounds awesome.

  16. My mother in law taught me the basics of knitting. We are both left handed and knit right handed, go figure.

  18. I took a beginner’s class at our local technical college and I was off and running learning new stitches from pattern books. I love these types of reference books. One always has room to learn more new stitches.

  19. I was taught the very basics by a neighbor as a child. I would love to learn more stitches to expand my skills!
    Thanks, Kim R.

  20. My mom taught me the basics. Through the years I have learned a lot more. I am totally addicted to knitting. So there is always a need for even more knowledge. I would love to win a copy of this wonderful sounding book!
    Vivian H

  21. I love this! I love seeing all these really cool things that you post! I also love to knit and would love to win that book!

  22. A teacher at primary school taught me to knit many years ago then I sort of picked it up as I went along. There is always room to learn more. I find it much easier to learn from books rather then the computer.

  23. My mom taught me to knit. I used to have this book, but we lost everything in a fire. I’m slowly getting my knitting needles again with wiser choices. All bamboo circs this time with dpn’s too. But no books yet.

  24. I basically taught myself, but I have my knitting grandma’s genes!
    I am completely crazy about it, having restarted in January, after 30 years of not knitting!

  25. I’d love to have this book. Anything to help me become a better knitter is fine by me.

  26. I think it was my Mum who started me knitting, I also remember knitting with my aunt and we used to knit at school. This sounds like a good book would like to win.

  27. My mom taught me multiple times when I was young, and I kept forgetting, so eventually she refused to teach me and I re-taught myself with the help of the internet as an adult.

  28. My grandma taught me, wish I would have kept going. Can just do the basics, want to learn the continental stitch.

  29. My mother refused to teach me to knit. She could only knit the Continental style, and from my cousin’s experience at school, this method was unacceptable. I’m glad to say there is no such prejudice today. I managed to save my pocket money and bought a knitting book, teaching myself to knit almost fifty years ago and have never looked back.

  31. My poor mother tried to teach me but it was better for our relationship for me to take a class.

  32. My grandmother taught me! She is not with me anymore but knitting for me is a way to feel that she is always with me. We spent precious time knitting together and she helped me with my first sweater for my first boyfriend!

Have you read?

Book Review: Knitted Safari Friends – 20 Adorable Animals to Make

If you have a weakness for knitted animals wearing tiny clothes, Knitted Safari Friends by Sarah Keen is going to be very difficult to resist.

This colourful collection includes 20 safari and savannah animals to knit, including a lion, tiger, elephant, flamingo, hippo, crocodile, rhinoceros, zebra and giraffe.

And yes, many of them have their own little outfits.

The lion in purple overalls is probably enough to sell me on the whole book.

Cute Animals With Plenty of Personality

What I like about this collection is that the animals are clearly designed as characters rather than realistic wildlife models.

They are bright, friendly and a little quirky, which makes them particularly appealing as handmade gifts for children or animal-loving adults.

Looking at the sample pages, the hippo and flamingo patterns have a cheerful illustrated layout, with the finished animals shown in little safari scenes alongside the practical pattern information.

There is also plenty of variety in the shapes, which means you aren’t simply knitting the same basic body 20 times and changing the ears.

If knitted animals with interchangeable clothes are already your thing, have a look at our Knitted Wild Animal Friends book review. That collection includes elephants, giraffes, lions, tigers, zebras and other animals with an entire wardrobe of tiny knitted clothing.

Is Knitted Safari Friends Beginner Friendly?

The publisher describes the patterns as easy to follow, and the book includes a techniques section, abbreviations and knitting conversions to help you through the projects.

I would still put this more in the confident beginner to intermediate category rather than recommending it as someone’s very first knitting project.

Toy knitting usually involves shaping, joining pieces, stuffing and finishing neatly, and that finishing stage can sometimes take almost as long as the knitting itself.

Ask anyone who has ever had a finished knitted animal sitting in pieces on the craft table for three weeks waiting for its legs to be sewn on.

For knitters who are still learning the basics of toy making, our Knitted Amigurumi Animal Friends review is another useful option, with smaller animals and simple clothing pieces.

A Great Gift Knitting Book

These would make lovely handmade gifts for children, particularly if you matched the animal to their favourite safari creature.

You could also knit several of them together as a nursery display or create your own little safari collection.

The clothes and accessories add another level of fun, too. Once you’ve knitted an elephant, there is something wonderfully satisfying about then deciding what that elephant ought to wear.

Apparently this is where my crafting priorities are now.

My Take

I think Knitted Safari Friends is one of those books that you buy intending to make one project and then immediately start planning an entire knitted zoo.

The bright colours, cute facial expressions and tiny outfits give the animals loads of personality, while the variety of creatures should keep the knitting interesting.

Sarah Keen has been designing knitted toys for years, and that experience shows in the way these animals have been turned into characters rather than simply miniature versions of real wildlife.

If you enjoy toy knitting, handmade gifts or anything involving animals in overalls, this one is definitely worth a look.

Knitted Safari Friends: 20 Adorable Animals to Make is written by Sarah Keen and published by GMC Publications. It was released on April 21, 2026, with a listed RRP of $26.99.