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Saturday, December 6, 2008

Help a sister out!

Ismarah just asked for some suggestions for good knitting books for a lapsed knitter-- my first two recommendations are:

Yarn Harlot-- Knitting Rules
The Yarn Girls' Guide to the Basics

I'd especially like something like the Yarn Girls' Guide to the Basics without quite the hefty price tag to recommend-- the patterns really ARE basics--but they're classic and very useful. I use their little kid pattern books ALL THE TIME--and, again, just basic stuff, so I obviously like the format.

But you all knit--you all have your favorites-- what suggestions do you have?

10 comments:

NeedleTart said...

How about any of the one skein books? If you had a basic knittin bood and one of those here seem to be a lot of interesting things to knit in them and it wouldn't require a huge stash to feel productive. Note that I didn't say it wouldn't lead to a huge stash.

Louiz said...

knitting without tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann.

It was the first knitting book I read when I came back to knitting this time, and I literally read it, cover to cover, and it got me all interested and excited about knitting all over again.

Galad said...

As someone who had to relearn a lot of skills after a 30 year break from knitting, I'd recommend the Yarn Harlot and Teaching Yourself Visually Knitting. The former got me excited and the latter has very clear explanations and photos.

Saren Johnson said...

I like Big Book of Knitting.

Donna Lee said...

I love,love,love Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. It is great for garment construction tips and how to make your knits look good on you. And there are some really good patterns.

Julie said...

I'm with Louiz. Knitting Without Tears. Calm, concise, with dry humor. Can't beat it. Knitter's Almanac is another goodie. Both are affordable.

For sheer joy-of-knitting and basic-to-difficult motivating patterns, the first Mason-Dixon knitting book (with the ballband washcloth pattern in it). This is hardcover and she may prefer to get it from the library.

For oh-my-god(s), Unexpected Knitting by Debbie New. This one is probably a library type thing, but nothing sparks the 'THIS IS COOL' thought as much as that book.

Knitting Rules! is an excellent choice. When I read it, I kept thinking "I wish I had this when I started knitting". Which says it all, really. Plus it's paperback and affordable.


My confirmation word is 'innes'. Badly-spelled Tudor era housing.

roxie said...

When I went for my Master's certificate, I bought the Vogue Knitting Book. It's invaluable. I pull it out every time I want to kitchner. But to re-learn, how about, how about picking up one of the easy knit magazines in the grocery store?

Galad said...

One of the biggest helps for me has also been online resources like the tutorials at Knitpicks or YouTube videos.

ismarah said...

Thank you so much ladies! And Amy for the post!

TinkingBell said...

I second Knitting wothout tears - and raise you by Cat Bhordi's Treasuries of Magical Knitting - both 1 and 2
Just inspirational - and the Yarn harlot always makes me cry laughing at some point!