Knitting

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Giveaway: The Knitter’s Book of Finishing Techniques

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the knitter's book of finishing techniques

Congratulations to knittingdancer!

We could all use a little help when it comes to finishing our knitting projects well. Of course the knitting itself matters a lot, but finishing can really make or break a project. If your buttonholes are a little wonky or you don’t pick up stitches evenly for your edging, you project is just not going to look that great.

The Knitter’s Book of Finishing Techniques by Nancie M. Wiseman aims to help knitters finish as well as they start, with tips on things you would think of as finishing, like bind offs, picking up stitches and seaming. But it also includes tips on casting on stitches, increasing, decreasing, using selvedge stitches, making buttonholes, even things like how to store finished sweaters.

It’s a really great and concise guide to a lot of issues that perplex knitters.

If you’d like a chance to win a copy of this book, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, June 21. If you want, tell me the area of finishing with which you have the most trouble. For me, lately, it’s grafting; I always seem to do it backward!

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

Comments

  1. I find binding off and finishing edges around collars and button bands tough. What a wonderfully useful book this would be to have.

  3. The hardest thing is setting the sleeves in. it is like grafting in a circle…. horrible to do. I always bind off before I remember to three needle bind off and then I am committed to grafting in a circle…again.

  4. I have double/triple vision. I’m already disabled from my back problems and now it’s harder to see so I’ve been trying to figure out what I’m capable of doing. I recently started knitting and crocheting, something I haven’t done since childhood. I’m currently making sweaters for Christmas gifts. They look nice but I know they could be better. This book would be an awesome help! Thank you for the possibility of getting it.

  6. Seaming pieces together to make it look good is my “tricky” and sticking with the same ol’ same ol’ bind off because I don’t want to worry I can’t fix a mistake and then I think I’ll ruin my piece lol

  7. Eeeeek, Any kind of Finishing would be helpful for me as I am useless at doing anything more than stitching. I seriously need to learn how to do stuff properly but then I’ve only just pushed myself back into knitting after the 8ft long unfinished Scarf I started while pregnant with my daughter, she’ll be 14 in November lol
    She has had lots and lots of Dresses and Costumes. But anything Knitted or Crocheted comes from her Aunt and Granma lol

Have you read?

Classic Dishcloth Knitting Patterns

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use. 

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make. 

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!). 

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn. 

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart. 

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern. 

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.