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Giveaway: Knitting Know-How

June 13, 2016 by Sarah White

Knitting know-how giveaway

Congratulations, Heidi!

It seems like people are always interested in general knowledge books about knitting. Whether we are new knitters (or knitting hopefuls!) or people who have a lot of knitting skills but want to know if there’s a better way to do something, I think most knitters have a few reference books on their shelves. The Internet can tell us a lot, but sometimes it’s nice to have a book close when you need to know how to make a short row or turn a cable.

The book Knitting Know-How: Techniques, Lessons and Projects for Every Knitter’s Library by Dorothy T. Ratigan and Judith Durant is a good reference for knitters of a variety of skill levels. It’s a big book, but at 270 pages it isn’t so big that it’s overwhelming. It also includes a lot of large pictures, which make it easy to see what’s going on in tutorials and swatches.

And it covers a wide variety of things a knitter would want to know, from the basics of yarn and needles to reading patterns, forming stitches, casting on, binding off, shaping, working flat and in the round. It also looks at a variety of color knitting, cable and lace techniques, knitting with beads and how to plan and design garments. There are also eight project lessons that help you use your new skills as you read.

I’m giving away a copy of this book this week. If you’d like a chance to win, leave a comment on this post by the end of the day Sunday, June 19. I’d love to know what skill level you consider yourself, whether complete beginner or truly advanced. (I’m pretty advanced, but I still mess up when I try to knit lace, pretty much every time.)

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

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Comments

  1. annehaun says

    June 13, 2016 at 5:27 pm

    I am a complete beginner but love what I have learned so far.

  2. craftilady says

    June 13, 2016 at 5:32 pm

    I would love to have this book. I am sure it would answer the questions I have when starting a new stitch pattern

  3. Marisa says

    June 13, 2016 at 5:43 pm

    I would love that book. I have been wanting to learn since forever, my mom tried to teach me once, but she is left handed and it didn’t went very well.

  4. Martha says

    June 13, 2016 at 5:44 pm

    I have been knitting for 52 years, so I consider myself an advanced knitter, but like you I still do make those mistakes. I think we all do.

  5. Shawn Tochette says

    June 13, 2016 at 6:08 pm

    I am a complete beginner so this book would help me a great deal! Thanks for the chance.

  6. Anne Marie says

    June 13, 2016 at 6:58 pm

    I would say I am advanced, but I tend to stick to simple patterns anyway.

  7. Denise says

    June 13, 2016 at 7:20 pm

    Would love to win this book, I consider myself somewhere between intermediate and advanced (depending on the technique)

  8. charmedlife2006 says

    June 13, 2016 at 7:50 pm

    I’m somewhere between a beginner and an intermediate. Your review of the book is great so I’d love to add it to my craft book library. Thanks for another wonderful giveaway.

  9. Elaine says

    June 13, 2016 at 7:59 pm

    I’m a total beginner and would love to learn to knit socks.

  10. Patrice says

    June 13, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    I consider myself an advanced beginner when it comes to knitting. Would love to add this book to my library of craft books. Good Luck to all

  11. Kitty Oechler says

    June 13, 2016 at 8:36 pm

    Intermediate, but like to use books and the Internet for guidance

  12. Valoria Dauma-Elliot says

    June 13, 2016 at 8:59 pm

    I have the barest of basics. I would love to increase my knitting skills. Y’all are so generous to off up this opportunity! Thanks!

  13. Karey says

    June 13, 2016 at 9:02 pm

    I think I’m an intermediate knitter. I can do certain things but not everything yet!

  14. Donna Reed says

    June 13, 2016 at 9:10 pm

    I would love to win!

  15. Cindy says

    June 13, 2016 at 9:26 pm

    Everyone needs a new knitting book.

  16. April says

    June 13, 2016 at 9:41 pm

    Awesome book! I think i am a confident beginner, but this book may tip me over to advanced beginner!

  17. Patricia Dillon says

    June 13, 2016 at 9:48 pm

    I would love to win this book to extend my skills. I am probably someplace between a beginner and intermediate level.

  18. yarnaddicted says

    June 13, 2016 at 11:14 pm

    I’m probably an advanced beginner, thanks for the chance to win this awesome book!
    Kim R.

  19. Martha Amin says

    June 13, 2016 at 11:41 pm

    Me gustaría ganar el sorteo del libro, hoy es mi cumpleaños y es un buen regalo para aprender filas cortas y encaje.Soy principiante.Gracias.

  20. Aaiza Iftikhar says

    June 13, 2016 at 11:58 pm

    I’m a beginner to intermediate crocheter but I’m not a knitter. I have however held a couple of needles before (way before I started crocheting) and I tried making an earwarmer, which wasn’t going anywhere good so I frogged it. This would be a much needed help and boost to pick the needles up again

  21. Aimee Morse says

    June 14, 2016 at 12:28 am

    I would to have this in my knitting library, i consider myself an beginner but with a little bit of knitting knowledge lol

  22. Nikki Bufkin says

    June 14, 2016 at 2:27 am

    I would really love this book. I’m advanced at lace & cables but feel like I’m barely beyond beginner at garments.

  23. Wendy Hatton says

    June 14, 2016 at 2:56 am

    I’ve been knitting for a long time but nothing very elaborate. I love seeing and trying new ideas so would enjoy this book.

  24. Ofelia says

    June 14, 2016 at 3:03 am

    I’m totally a beginner, but I know how to make simple cables!! 🙂
    I’d like to know to make lace.
    Thank you for the giveaway.

  25. Lisa bibby says

    June 14, 2016 at 4:05 am

    I absolutely love knitting and would love this book it looks amazing x

  26. Linda Rumsey says

    June 14, 2016 at 5:26 am

    I consider myself an advanced knitter, but there are always new things to learn!

  27. R. Hyre says

    June 14, 2016 at 8:48 am

    I am an intermediate knitter. I am knitting my first ever sweater this summer.

  28. Dina S. says

    June 14, 2016 at 9:38 am

    Intermediate knitter! I can do lace but not without a lifeline.

  29. Alisha says

    June 14, 2016 at 9:46 am

    I am an intermediate knitter. I have 3 WIP/UFO’s. ???? It really brings me joy to see someone wearing what I made for then.

  30. Asifa Majid says

    June 14, 2016 at 11:10 am

    I am a learner and Wish to learn fast with good skills….I want to be the best knittwe
    With awesome practise but it will require time. This book will giveaid to my aim.

  31. Julie Racelo says

    June 14, 2016 at 11:12 am

    I consider myself an intermediate knitter. I’m sure I could learn a lot of good tips from the book.

  32. dana says

    June 14, 2016 at 12:28 pm

    I’m an intermediate, I guess. My ‘issues’ include not being able to tell what exactly went wrong in a mistake (other than a dropped stitch), usually. I just rip and start over. Thanks for the opportunity.

  33. Kim says

    June 14, 2016 at 6:45 pm

    I am a knitter that needs help!. My original teacher moved away.

  34. Mary says

    June 14, 2016 at 10:42 pm

    I am a beginner, I’m still working on my first real project. I have knitted stuff but it was just practice and I unravelled it afterwards.

  35. Carmen N says

    June 14, 2016 at 11:28 pm

    I consider myself an intermediate knitter – I can do quite a bit but still have a lot I can learn.

  36. maureen says

    June 15, 2016 at 12:17 pm

    I think that I am either an advanced beginner or intermediate. There are so many things that I do not know how to do.

  37. Elena Tucker says

    June 15, 2016 at 12:29 pm

    I’d say I’m intermediate. I am comfortable with some techniques, but still have challenges with a couple others

  38. Julie esponge says

    June 16, 2016 at 12:01 am

    I am a newbie,I would love this book to advance my skills! Always looking to become better at my crafts!

  39. opalspeacock says

    June 16, 2016 at 12:06 am

    Definitely a beginner but do enjoy it.

  40. Rachel says

    June 16, 2016 at 9:21 am

    Definitely a complete beginner! Would love a book of advice! Thanks for the chance.

  41. Maureen Gibb says

    June 16, 2016 at 10:13 am

    I would say I was an intermediate knitter. I will have a go at anything. You can never have too many knitting reference books. New patterns coming out all the time.

  42. Noreen says

    June 17, 2016 at 12:24 am

    I am an intermediate knitter, I do some advanced but it takes a few tries (ripping out stitches)

  43. missmagners says

    June 17, 2016 at 6:24 pm

    I’m an intermediate knitter, but sometimes I still mess up with basic stitches or counting and have to rip out several rows… but I always try to notice why or where I failed to be aware next time! (although the reason is usually that I’m not paying enough attention)

  44. Kelly says

    June 18, 2016 at 7:44 pm

    Awesome! I could really use this as I am a beginner. ????

  45. Anne L says

    June 19, 2016 at 7:12 am

    This sounds just like the sort of book I need! I’m a beginner these days (did knit a little many many years ago) as can be seen by the square I’ve re-knitted at least three times as there were slipped stitches, holes or raggedy sides ….!! so it sounds as though this book would be wonderfully useful!

  46. michelle03878 says

    June 28, 2016 at 5:25 pm

    I would consider myself an advanced knitter, but there are always things to learn and new and easier way to get things done

« Older Comments

Have you read?

Book Review: Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary

Stitch dictionaries are a fun way to learn new-to-you knitting stitch patterns or to take a deep dive into a particular technique. Debbie Tomkies offers 100 cable stitch designs and thoughts on how to incorporate them into projects in her Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary.

Each stitch pattern is shown in a large swatch photo and with written and charted instructions. Any special stitches are included on the page. The stitches are rated on a difficulty scale of 1 to 3, and the pattern notes also indicate how many extra stitches you should add to a project if you’re going to work this cable (since cables pull the fabric closer together you need to compensate for that) as well as how many stitches and rows are in the repeat if you want to design a project yourself.

The cables are arranged into sections: classic cables, combinations, all-over panels, creative cables, motifs and panels and cabled edges and borders.

It’s fun to flip through the designs to think about projects you can add a single cable or two to or make with an allover cabled design. Or you could make swatches of different cables and sew them together into a pillow cover or a throw.

At the back of the book there’s a section on general cable knitting techniques, reading charts, working swatches and avoiding errors (though it mentions working the wrong number of rows between cable turns, it doesn’t share how to count rows between cables to avoid this mistake).

It also talks about how to design your own cables, combine cables in a project, choose the right yarn and needles and determine how many more stitches you need to cast on when working cables instead of stockinette stitch. There’s also a glossary of symbols and abbreviations you may find in cable knitting and other patterns.

The book provides a good overview of things you can do with cables, as well as some fun things you might not have tried like infinity cables and horizontal cables. It’s a great book for a designer who likes to work with cables or a knitter who wants to play with different stitches in their projects.

About the book: 176 pages, paperback, 100 stitch patterns. Published 2024 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $26.99.

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