Stashbuster Knits: Tips, Tricks, and 21 Beautiful Projects for Using Your Favorite Leftover Yarn


Melissa Leapman - 2011
      As renowned knitwear designer Melissa Leapman knows all too well, every knitter has a stash of yarn that they just can’t bear to part with: the one or two extra balls of yarn bought “just in case,” or the bits and pieces leftover from completed projects. Stashbuster Knits gives you the absolute best way to use—and enjoy—your treasured yarn collection guilt free. Leapman offers valuable step-by-step guidance on organizing and shopping your stash to inspire creative new knitting ideas and color combinations. Then she gives you 21 ingenious projects for men, women, children, and home that are designed so no one will ever guess they were made from odds and ends. Included are projects both large and small, from a glorious Fair Isle sweater for your favorite guy to a chic little scarf made with a Magic Ball. Each yarn weight has its own chapter, from super fine to super bulky, ensuring that knitters will find a way to use every piece of stored-up yarn. Filled with tips and hints on customizing projects and ideas to use even the tiniest bits of yarn, Leapman’s Stashbuster Knits will help transform your beloved stash into projects you’ll love even more.   So dive into your closets, dig into your bins, rifle through your drawers, and bring your precious yarn out of hiding. Let’s begin putting that stash to good use!

Wendy Knits Lace: Essential Techniques and Patterns for Irresistible Everyday Lace


Wendy D. Johnson - 2011
    With twenty original patterns for gorgeous lace shawls, delicate camisoles, sweaters, hats, scarves, and socks, Wendy D. Johnson provides thorough instruction on the best lace techniques.At last - gorgeous lace projects that are not only sumptuous, but designed for your everyday life.

Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot Unravels the Mysteries of Swatching, Stashing, Ribbing & Rolling to Free Your Inner Knitter


Stephanie Pearl-McPhee - 2006
    Stephanie Pearl-McPhee unravels the mysteries of tangled yarn, confusing patterns, and stubbornly unfinished projects. Daring to question long-standing rules and encouraging crafters to knit in the way that works best for them, this illuminating, liberating, and hilarious look at the world of knitting is full of surprises and delightfully inspiring ideas."

Weekend Hats: 25 Knitted Caps, Berets, Cloches, and More


Cecily Glowik MacDonald - 2011
    Cecily Glowik MacDonald and Melissa LaBarre have brought you the best in designer knit hat patterns all in one beautiful and fun-loving collection. Inside you’ll find:*Expert advice to spark the interests of a variety of skill levels with special attention paid to exploring cables, lace, color, and texture.*Twenty-five contemporary designer hat patterns that range from the distinctly feminine to the sporty gentlemen, including cloches, berets, beanies, tams, snoods, and more!*Tips and tricks on how to maximize the use of specialty yarns and accessories to add a little panache to your designs.All the designs in Weekend Hats are ideal projects for travel, gifts, or sneaking in between larger knit projects. Whether you’re interested in comfort, style, or just knitting enjoyment, Weekend Hats is your all-in-one resource for creating want-to-wear knitted caps.

Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Small Indulgences


Judith Durant - 2008
    More than 100 patterns include elegant wraps and scarves, cuddly baby blankets, evening bags, and dozens of other projects destined to become cherished heirlooms. Indulge yourself with a small sampling of creamy cashmere, lustrous alpaca, seductive silk, exotic soy, or organic linen. The softest fibers make the greatest treasures, even in small doses.

Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi: More Than 40 Itty-Bitty Minis to Knit, Wear, and Give


Anna Hrachovec - 2011
    Toy knits designer Hrachovec presents more than 40 super-cute, humorous patterns for miniature toys, plus techniques for tiny knitting; ideas for using the tiny knits as wearables, decorations, and gifts; and instructions on how to convert a pattern for a tiny project into a bigger toy.

The Knitter's Bible


Claire Crompton - 2004
    Original.

Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls


Martha Waterman - 1993
    Everything you need to know to design and knit your own shawls is provided, including detailed instructions for eight shawls.

Gifted: Lovely Little Things to Knit + Crochet


Mags Kandis - 2010
    Designer Mags Kandis inspires with this delightful collection of beautiful and colorful little projects for you to knit, crochet, and felt.From wearable accessories such as hats, mittens, scarves, socks, and wraps to home decor including a tea cozy, pin cushion, needle case, and laptop cover, these 30+ pieces are sweet, lively and add a little joy to every household. Each project features creative embellishments and personal touches, including beading, buttons, needlefelting, applique, and embroidery. Mags also shares her recipes for easy food gifts and simple sewing projects such as sewn fabric gift bags and sachets to pair with fiber gifts. Directions for making these little add-ons that make a gift personal and extra-special are scattered throughout the book.Gifted will inspire you to grab another ball of yarn and invest a little time and love to create something special for someone special.

Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker


Debbie Stoller - 2006
    But guess what? For every one knitter in the world there are three crocheters—which translates into millions of hip, crafty, 18- to 35-year-olds ready to be happy hookers with Stitch ’n Bitch attitude, sexiness, ingenuity, and cool. Written in the author’s cheeky chick style, this heavily illustrated book—featuring four-color photographs and instructional illustrations throughout—is chock-full of instruction, inspiration, and to-die-for designs, from a Fishnet Skullcap to a lacy evening wrap. For knitters and new crafters exploring the hook comes the primer: the advantages of crochet and the ways in which knitters (and nonknitters) benefit by learning this sister craft; a discussion of tools; all the cool yarns available, and what the different gauges mean; plus basic techniques and stitch patterns—including the chain stitch, picot, flowers, filet crochet, changing yarns, and finishing. Then come 40 fabulous, funky projects—the kind that make Stitch ’n Bitch rule—for crocheters: Pom Pom Capelet, Retro Clutch Purse, Anarchy Irony Hat, Ms. Pac Man Change Purses, Doris Daymat, Va-Va-Va Voom Bikini, Animal I-Pod Cozies, Kid’s Sock Monkey Poncho. No, these aren’t your grandma’s doilies.

Knitting on the Road


Nancy Bush - 2001
    Perfect for beginners, it features helpful tips for each pattern and covers each step of knitting these stylish socks with charts and illustrations. Packaged in a covered-spiral binding that is easy to use and carry, these patterns are perfect to toss in the knitting bag on the way out the door.

Inspired to Knit: Creating Exquisite Handknits


Michele Rose Orne - 2008
    Stunning patterns are arranged by season, reflecting the colors and beauty of nature that inspire feminine designs. From an amber-beaded cardigan that captures the feeling of hay fields drying in the sun to a long, belted coat with a spray of coral roses inspired by flowers in local markets to an intarsia jacket that evokes memories of a fall hike in a forest, each pattern is rich with color, detailing, and romantic knitting style. The design workshops throughout this guidebook challenge knitters to find inspiration in their surroundings, build color palettes, swatch creatively through knitting and sketching, and finesse their style and fit.

The Knitter's Book of Wool: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Using, and Loving this Most Fabulous Fiber


Clara Parkes - 2009
    Now there is! Parkes demystifies the generic (non-breed-specific) wool yarn you'll find at your local yarn shop, showing you how to best determine what every yarn longs to be.What do I knit? Parkes went to some of the most creative and inquisitive design minds of the kniting world to provide more than 20 patterns that highlight the qualities of specific types of wool.The Knitter's Book of Wool teaches you everything you need to know about wool - and its journey from pasture to pullover. The next time you pick up a skein, you won't have to wonder what to create with it. You'll just know.

Knitters Handy Book of Patterns: Basic Designs in Multiple Sizes and Gauges


Ann Budd - 2002
    Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns

Finish-Free Knits: No-Sew Garments in Classic Styles


Kristen TenDyke - 2012
    Through clever planning and some simple techniques, the projects in Finish-Free Knits are shaped and joined during knitting— without sacrificing the pockets, buttonbands, shaped collars, and more that is accomplished in most designs by sewing together separate pieces. In addition, learn how to shape armholes, join pieces as you go, use short-rows for shaping, and more.Once these stress-free finishing techniques are learned, you will enjoy the freedom to apply variations of each method in projects beyond the book. With Finish-Free Knits you can avoid the dreaded “Some Assembly Required” phrase forever.