Review: Teach Me to Knit

I’m teaching some classes at the “summer camp” at my daughter’s school this year that will include a couple of general fiber arts courses for different age groups and a class just focused on learning to knit.

So I have been looking with special interest lately at books that aim to help get kids interested in learning to knit and that include easy projects younger people will enjoy making and using.

Teach Me to Knit from Leisure Arts is a brief booklet that covers all the basics, from yarn and needle selection to casting on (long-tail), knitting, binding off, purling,decreasing, seaming, increasing, working yarn overs to make eyelets, slipping stitches and producing the make 1 increase.

Each lesson is accompanied by a project or two that will help knitters of any age use their new skills. It starts with Garter Stitch coasters and a flower made by casting on, binding off and sewing up. There’s another coaster worked just in purl (which is still Garter Stitch), a washcloth, can cozy, dog’s ball toy, eyelet scarf, lap afghan made with the ripple stitch and a pillow worked in wedges that are seamed together.

Other projects include a fish-shaped cat toy, leg warmers, mitts and a hat, all worked flat.

There are lots of pictures and words to guide knitters who are learning new skills, and links to online video tutorials are included for anyone who needs more help. If the child knows an adult who knits, so much the better, though it’s not strictly necessary to be able to follow this bookk.

I like the variety of patterns in this book and that it manages to cover a lot of skills quickly, giving new knitters confidence to try new things and to make projects they will love to use and give as gifts.

I will definitely have this book on hand while I’m teaching this summer.

Book specifications: 64 pages, paperback, 13 patterns. Published by Leisure Arts, December, 2015. Suggested retail $14.99.

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

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