Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Giveaway: The Knitting All Around Stitch Dictionary

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knitting all around stitch dictionary giveaway

Martha is the winner!

My love of stitch dictionaries is well documented. They’re so fun to look through, play with and get inspired by.

One of the potential problems with using stitch patterns in projects, though, is that they can look quite different when worked in different ways, such as flat versus in the round or from the top down versus bottom up. And you might want to work different parts of the same garment in different ways (such as bottom up, flat pieces for a cardigan but working the sleeves top down in the round).

Wendy Bernard has devoted a lot of time to thinking about, swatching, twisting and turning stitch patterns so they can be worked in all directions. She’s written two books on the subject: The Up, Down, All Around Stitch Dictionary and her latest, The Knitting All Around Stitch Dictionary.

Both books contain 150 stitch patterns and have instructions — written and charted — for how to work them flat and in the round, top down and bottom up. They are great references whether you want to change the stitch pattern used in a knitting pattern you already have or you want to design something for yourself.

What’s even better about this book is that you can see more of each stitch. When a swatch is reversible, the back of the swatch is shown along with the front side. When a top-down version looks slightly different than the bottom-up version, both versions are now shown. The pictures are large and detailed so you can really see what the patterns look like.

There are also six projects in the book you can knit as they are or change up the stitch patterns, as well as some plain vanilla projects just waiting for you to thrown on a stitch pattern, which is great design practice.

This week I’m giving away a copy of the latest book as well as some Blue Sky Alpaca yarn like what was used in the swatches seen in the book. Thanks to STC Craft for the generous prize!

If you live in the United States and are interested in winning this book, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, May 29. I’d love to know if you have any stitch dictionaries and, if you do, if you have a favorite. I have to say volume one of Barbara Walker’s Treasuries of Knitting Patterns is almost never on my shelf because I use it so much!

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

Comments

  1. The only knitting stitch dictionary I have is Wendy’s first up down all around book. I LOVE it and would love to add this to my library. I love that It is spiral bound and so easy to use. Thanks for the chance to win!

  3. I have a few how-to books from the 40s/50s which, while not as comprehensive as a stitch dictionary, do have sections with some stitches in them that I haven’t sen in the stitch dictionaries at the library, so I’ll always want to hang on to them. Thanks for the giveaway from KittenWhiplash on Rav.

  4. I own a lot of stitch dictionary but my favorites are the Japanese stitch dictionaries. They are really unique.

Have you read?

Knit a Classic Aran Cardigan with this Free Knitting Pattern

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time. 

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring. 

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. 

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row. 

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves. 

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body. 

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy. 

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn. 

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]