Brave New Knits: 26 Projects and Personalities from the Knitting Blogosphere


Julie Turjoman - 2010
    The Internet has made it possible for the knitting community to connect through photos, pattern-sharing, and blogs that document the knitting projects and passions of dozens of designers and enthusiasts. With a Foreword written by Jessica Marshall Forbes, co-founder of Ravelry.com, Brave New Knits includes 26 must-have garment and accessory patterns, all gorgeously photographed by knitting celebrity Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed. Contributors range from established designers like Norah Gaughan, Wendy Bernard, Anne Hanson, and knitgrrl Shannon Okey, to rising stars such as Melissa Wehrle, Connie Chang Chinchio, and Hilary Smith Callis. In-depth interviews with the designers reveal their design philosophy and passions. From shapely sweaters and delicate shawls to fingerless gloves and stylish hats, each of the knitted designs features detailed directions and charts to inspire both the beginner and experienced knitter.

Knits Men Want


Bruce Weinstein - 2010
    Men aren’t being intentionally cruel; they’re just not comfortable in knitwear made with bright colors, itchy yarn, or flashy designs. So what’s a knitter to do? Understand the male psyche, says knitting instructor Bruce Weinstein. In Knits Men Wan he presents ten hilarious essays, each based on a rule that helps women knit for men successfully. “Men Are Babies” explains why guys need to wear soft fabrics. “Men Hate Fittings” describes how to create a sweater based on one that’s in his wardrobe. Following each essay is a timeless master pattern, from socks, hats, and scarves to an array of sweaters, all in a range of sizes and most written for multiple gauges. With this book in hand, women finally have the secret to knitting garments that men will appreciate and actually wear.

Knit Fix


Lisa Kartus - 2006
    Beginners and seasoned knitters alike are promised that learning from mistakes improves the technique and inspires personal style and that sometimes the best solution is to let the mistake stand. This sturdy, spiral bound book explains the correct way to cast on and bind off, decipher charts, choose fibers, and more.

The Baby Knits Book: The Ultimate Collection of Knitwear Designs for Newborns to 3-Year-Olds


Debbie Bliss - 2002
    A collection of gorgeous knitwear designs for infants and toddlers - from sweaters and jackets to blankets, booties, and hats.

Bag Style: 20 Inspirational handbags, totes, and carry-alls to knit and crochet


Pam Allen - 2007
    From a zenith carpet bag to a felted messenger bag to a delicate purse with handles made of bracelets, each project features gorgeous photographs and step-by-step instructions, and all techniques are explained in easy-to-understand detail. Whether an avid bag knitter or creating one for the first time, this book has all the inspiration, technique, and details crafters need.

A Treasury of Knitting Patterns


Barbara G. Walker - 1967
    Book by Walker, Barbara G.

Look I Bought Plants: And Other Poems About Life and Stuff


Taylor Garron - 2021
    From career struggles to astronomical student debt to climate change angst, there's a lot to worry about. Look I Bought Plants: And Other Poems about Life and Stuff was dreamt up by two twenty-somethings—Taylor Garron and Eva Victor—who love jokes and sex, in that order. From silly slices of life to R-rated encounters, their witty, irreverent, and satirical poetry reflects on everyday challenges, relationships, and everything else there is to be anxious about.For the millennial trying to put together their IKEA furniture, your cool niece with the septum piercing, or anyone who has ever dated someone in their head, Look I Bought Plants is a funny, charming reminder that you aren't alone and we can all commiserate.• TIMELY AND RELATABLE CONTENT: Millennials may be exhausted, but their own amusing attitudes towards their exhaustion never tire! This book takes a cynical yet laughable approach—the millennial experience perfectly encapsulated in verse. Each poem is highly relatable and you may find yourself saying, "Okay, this is me."• RISING STAR AUTHORS: Eva Victor's writing is published in The New Yorker and she has appeared on various media outlets including Forbes. Taylor Garron's work has been featured in The New Yorker, The Onion, and Vulture.• GREAT PRESENT OR SELF-PURCHASE: With a vivid design, a low price point, and relatable content, Look I Bought Plants begs to be shared with all of your friends and gifted to you by your family. It's trendy and affordable—just the way millennials like it!

The Field Guide to Fleece


Deborah Robson - 2013
    Each breed profile includes a photograph of the animal and information about its origin and conservation status, as well as the weight, staple length, fiber diameter, and natural colors of its fleece. This is a great primer for beginners, and a handy guide for anyone who loves working with fleece.

Knitting in Plain English


Maggie Righetti - 1986
    Drawing on decades of experience as a knitting instructor and designer, Maggie Righetti offered step-by-step directions on avoiding common mistakes and getting out of tricky spots.Now, in this completely updated and revised version, Righetti gives readers what they've asked for: advice on making all different garments, working with new patterns and different kinds of yarn, and even an introduction to her own legendary history. Neither aggressively hip nor bafflingly encyclopedic, Knitting in Plain English offers basic principles that will make any project---from a basic blanket to an intricate sweater---rewarding.Having Knitting in Plain English on the shelf is like having the gift of your own knitting teacher available to help at all times with any thorny problem.

Mary Thomas's Knitting Book


Mary Thomas - 1938
    . . Mary Thomas's Knitting Book. It's a veritable encyclopedia of knitting, clearly and definitively explaining and illustrating every method, operation and stitch, and a good number of the patterns you are ever likely to need or use. After an engaging history of the craft and its implements, Miss Thomas carefully lays the foundation of knitting in the opening chapters ― how to hold needles, wind yarn, gauge stitches, control tension, etc. ― and builds gradually upon it in the following sections. These explain in lucid progression every operation in common knitting, from basic knit stitch and purl, casting on and casting off, shaping by decreases and increases to turning, triangular shapes and mitres, and knitting on the diagonal or bias. For the reader who has mastered these fundamental procedures, Miss Thomas devotes the remainder of the book to fancy knitting stitches and techniques, including color knitting by stranding and weaving; pattern weaving; knitting woven, by frame with its complement of stitches (plain, raised, rib, etc.), looped, beaded, embroidered by chart, using cross stitch, honeycomb, etc.; and making patterns for garments and working out their details (armholes, belts, buttonholes, collars, hems, necklines, pockets et al). To put what the reader learns into practice, she offers instructions and patterns for making various Shetland shawls, gloves, and socks. More than 250 technique diagrams clearly illustrate every operation and pattern as to position of hands, yarn, and needle, so the knitter will have no trouble in following along. For all knitters, whether beginner or adept, a chapter of helpful knitting hints on blocking, picking up dropped stitches, lengthening, knitting up, mending, taking-back (correcting), etc. completes these invaluable and personalized lessons.Unabridged republication of original (1938) edition.

The Weaver's Idea Book: Creative Cloth on a Rigid Heddle Loom


Jane Patrick - 2010
    The Weaver's Idea Book presents a wide variety of patterns for the simple rigid-heddle loom, accompanied by harness drafts for multishaft looms. The techniques include leno, Brooks bouquet, soumak, and embroidery on fabric. Each chapter contains weaving patterns along with swatches illustrating the techniques, accompanied by step-by-step photography.The book is arranged by structure or type of weave, from variations on plain weave to doubleweave. With traditional patterns from around the world, bands, and fabrics woven on two double heddles, The Weaver's Idea Book brings together a variety of ways to create exquisite cloth. Weaving tips and tricks help weavers at all levels achieve their textile dreams. In addition to pattern drafts, Jane offers project ideas that guide the reader through creating functional woven projects, from wearables to home decor.Weaving, especially on rigid-heddle looms, is enjoying a resurgence, and contemporary weavers are in need of a book to bridge the divide between basic books and complex text designed for advanced weavers with sophisticated tools. Celebrating the immense potential for creativity possible with the simplest of tools, The Weaver's Idea Book opens new avenues for exploration on both the rigid-heddle and multishaft looms.

Unexpected Knitting


Debbie New - 2003
    The designs emanate from an extraordinary mind, ... but the author has written out detailed and comprehensive instructions for the rest of us. Some designs include: Form knitting, Scribble Lace, Swirl, Sculptural, Virtual, Cellular Automaton and Labyrinth knitting.

Just Stitches: 70 Knitting Stitch Patterns to Inspire Your Next Project (Tiger Road Crafts Book 4)


Tara Cousins - 2014
    New 2nd edition includes 70 stitches!From beginner stitch patterns such as the basic stockinette, moss stitch, and craftsman stitch, all the way up to intermediate stitches such as a variety of cables and lace mesh designs, this stitch guide is sure to inspire your next knitting project!In order to work the stitches, you will need to have a basic understanding of how to read knitting patterns, how to cast on, bind off, and work the basic knit and purl stitch.

Confessions of a Learner Parent: Parenting like a boss. (An inexperienced, slightly ineffectual boss.)


Sam Avery - 2017
    Both are pretty easy to put off as they're very expensive and tend to wreck your house.' Stand-up comedian Sam Avery (aka the Learner Parent) started his award-winning blog when his twin boys were born. A million nappies, Peppa Pig episodes and a lot less sleep later, he shares all the lows, highs and hilarious in-betweens of his experiences of first-time parenthood in this, his highly anticipated first book. Sam's honest, messy and laugh-out-loud account of trying for a baby (which transpired to be babIES) and figuring out what to do with them once they arrived - right up to the toddler years of talking, walking and tantrum-ing - will have you crying with laughter between your own nappy changes and nursery runs.

Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting


Ann Hood - 2013
    They share their knitting triumphs and disasters as well as their life triumphs and disasters…These essays will break your heart. They will have you laughing out loud." —Ann Hood, from the introductionWhy does knitting occupy a place in the hearts of so many writers? What’s so magical and transformative about yarn and needles? How does knitting help us get through life-changing events and inspire joy? In Knitting Yarns, twenty-seven writers tell stories about how knitting healed, challenged, or helped them to grow. Barbara Kingsolver describes sheering a sheep for yarn. Elizabeth Berg writes about her frustration at failing to knit. Ann Patchett traces her life through her knitting, writing about the scarf that knits together the women she’s loved and lost. Knitting a Christmas gift for his blind aunt helped Andre Dubus III knit an understanding with his girlfriend. Kaylie Jones finds the woman who used knitting to help raise her in France and heals old wounds. Sue Grafton writes about her passion for knitting. Also included are five original knitting patterns created by Helen Bingham.Poignant, funny, and moving, Knitting Yarns is sure to delight knitting enthusiasts and lovers of literature alike.