Shelia is our winner.
This is another one of those books that I love because it’s just really smart and helpful and has great patterns, too.
The Art of Seamless Knitting
by Simona Merchant-Dest and Faina Goberstein really grounds knitters in good techniques before presenting any patterns, so if you take the time to read all that material (and you should) you’ll start out feeling a lot more comfortable about where you’re headed.
The first chapters of the book cover things like different ways to construct garments seamlessly, how to read patterns and charts, preventing jogs in patterns worked in the round and ensuring you make a garment that will fit by measuring, swatching and altering if necessary. It even makes changing up patterns seem less daunting as it covers adding and subtracting length with and without shaping and designing your own garments with and without sleeves.
The next three chapters take you through different kinds of projects — with lace, cables and textured stitches — that can be worked seamlessly. They offer tips on designing garments with those sort of stitches, how to work shaping within designs and how to combine patterns to make a garment with more interest. Each chapter also includes a few sample projects (there are 12 in all) to get you started. Check them out on Ravelry. I love the cabled tunic and the lace stockings.
This is a really smart, well thought out book and the patterns are pretty, too. You’ll want to knit them and then take your new knowledge and confidently alter patterns or design your own with just the stitch patterns and shape that you want.
If you’d like a chance to win this book, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, April 23. I’d love to know if you have any experience designing or altering patterns and how that experience has gone for you in the past.
Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck!
The only experience I have in altering patterns is accounting for a mistake I made that I don’t want to frog it out!
I make a lot of hats that I knit using magic loop techniques and it makes it a lot easier! That’s the only way that I use for no seaming knitting!
I’m a pattern follower…so I have no experience designing or altering patterns. This book looks like a wonderful chance to do just that.
I almost always make up my own designs. Sometimes it works great, sometimes I do more frogging than knitting, but I get there in the end. Resources like this book to help my planning, so I can do more knitting than frogging would be great!
The only alterations I have done are to lengthen a pattern. I find cute patterns that are too short for my liking and just add length to them. Thanks for the chance to win.
I have altered patterns with varying success. As I hate seaming this book sounds fabulous!
This book sounds like a great resource as I only knit seamless sweaters.
I have no idea how to alter patterns, but I would love to learn!
I’ll make minor alterations to a pattern on occasion and the sweaters have come out…well…ok. It’s not often that I’ll knit a sweater anymore because I’m never thrilled with the finished item.
I can never learn enough.
I love the look of that cover sweater. Cables are one of my favorite techniques.
I have changed stitch patterns in shawls if I don’t like that particular stitch. I liked to make them a little different from the pattern.
I have altered a pattern when the size that I wanted is different from the original pattern.
I usually create my own designs, sometimes making it up as I’m knitting. I hate seaming, so I even figured out a way to do saddle shoulders without seams.
I haven’t designed any patterns, but I am certainly all for knitting a sweater without any seams in it. Sounds like a helpful book.
I have knit many sweaters that were written flat, in the round so they are seamless.
I have been knitting for a few years, maybe 6 or 7, and still have so much to learn. I have altered a little by adding stitches, length, to ensure right fit, but didn’t really have any guide to follow for this. Sounds like a wonderful resource.
I’ve turned a skirt pattern into a shawl. I liked the repeat & thought it would make a nice shawl. It does. I also find that if I knit a scarf or hat and like the print, I’ll attempt to make a set.
I can barely follow a pattern, let alone alter one!
I am apple shape so alway have to alter patterns to fit. So far used top down patterns. Still working on getting jumpers to fit to flatter. Would like to design own jumpers from scratch.
I just love seamless sweaters! I made already a few for myself and family members. Sometimes I follow the pattern and other times I just like to play around the pattern and make my own version. In the end it worked fine. I’m still wearing my hacked sweaters.
My experience altering patterns is usually limited to changing sleeve length and girth, unfortunately through trial and error ????
I need this book! I want to knit a cotton sweater for summer and would love to learn how to make a seamless one.