Books: for brand-new or nervous knitters

I love knitting. I love knitting books almost as much! I love to read about techniques, ogle the gorgeous fair isle or aran sweaters, read about how others do what they do when they ply two sticks and a string. I love to read ... and knit ...

Another thing I love is recommending knitting books. Many people ask me for advice on this book or that ... or I give them my critique even if they don't ask! I take pride in sifting through the knitting twaddle that's out on the market (and there is quite a bit!) and only recommending the ones that I own (or really WANT to own) in my personal knitting library (which, needs must, be kept small so dh doesn't go over the top).

As I said, I love recommending the good knitting books. For instance, here's a blog post on a fairly exhaustive bibliography I put together back in 2007; then there was the post about discovering two books with my designs in them; a post about MY book; recommended books on sock knitting; a post about some recent "finds"; and my most recent post on books for those who wanted to go beyond garter stitch.


But today, I found a book that will help all the beginners and nervous knitters out there. This is one that I am so impressed with and can't believe it was published 4 or more years ago and I'm just seeing it now. This will be my new "go to" suggestion when folks ask about starting out or wanting to go a bit ahead.

First Knits: Projects for Beginning Knitters by Luise Roberts and Kate Haxell is a perfect book for those who have never knitted ... but want to try ... as well as for those who have started knitting but don't understand some of the technical terms or want cool but easy projects, etc.


This book will guide you slowly, step by step, through your first garter stitch projects including how to measure a swatch, "get gauge" and other techniques. Then you'll move on to purling, ribbing, cabling, shaping, colorwork, button-holes, and more! The illustrations and text are very understandable and detailed.


The projects you'll make include garter stitch booties, garter stitch hat with flaps, cushion cover, backpack, heart cushion, adorable stuffed rabbit, knitting a true, in the round cap, cable handbag, lacy shawl, jacket socks, striped throw and a baby jacket. And these things are not only really cute, they're useful and fun and span old and young alike.


Although this book is a paperback, the cover is made of heavier-than-usual stock with overleaves that include basic abbreviations, tips and other information for quick reference.


This is definitely a book to add to your wish-list if you want to knit ... or want to knit better ... or want to teach someone else! Really excellent!

Books: when you're ready to go beyond ...

... a garter stitch scarf.

Here are some books that are currently out in the book stores that are really great for learning about knitting and going beyond garter stitch.

1. Melissa Leapman's new book, Knitting Beyond Scarves has wonderful illustrations and directions for increasing, decreasing, purling, reading directions, etc. Her projects are a bit "young" but I really liked a few of them and thought they'd be fun for new knitters to try. She's got a style that is very attractive but easy to follow.

2. Knitting School: A Complete Course is also excellent and should carry you pretty far in learning all the ins and outs. This book covers lots of things that many of the other how-tos don't. I like this as a reference-shelf book that you'd look into when you're stuck or don't understand a particular instruction.

3. Knitting in Plain English by Maggie Righetti is a chatty, really well-done book about how to knit, follow directions and make things. This is great if you want a gentle approach. It's a classic that doesn't have the glossy, fancy pictures but definitely covers ALL the basics. A fun book to read (ok, if you're a knitting-geek, that is!).

4. Debbie Bliss' How to Knit: The Definitive Knitting Course includes some great projects. She walks you through the process quite nicely. This is the one my teenaged daughter uses alot when she has a question about how to do something or for a simple project. She covers doing things like cable patterns and color-work ... but starts the reader out with baby-steps to earn confidence.

Those should help anyone trying to go a bit further with their knitting. There's so many knitting books on the market now that it can be hard to find those truly worth buying and keeping. Please post in the comments section if you have any other books that are "must haves".

EZ goes high-tech

For those of you who haven't been exposed to Elizabeth Zimmermann's mode of teaching knitting ... where have you been?

As I've mentioned many times before, her books are icons of hand-knitting tutorials. Her writing is unique as she chats you through the topic and gives you the confidence to "just knit".

For those of you who are visual learners -- as is my Kotch -- Meg Swansen, EZ's daughter, is reproducing the old EZ videos onto DVDs. But Meg isn't just taking them and reprinting -- she is editing, amending and adding to these videos, suggesting improvements or better ways of doing things that Meg and her mom discovered after the original books and videos were produced.

So, if you can afford to buy them, my recommendation is to obtain both The Knitting Workshop on DVD (and the companion book, The Knitting Workshop) and A Knitting Glossary on DVD. If you can't buy them, get them from the library (make sure they're the DVDs) and renew as often as possible.

The KW on DVD and in book form is so nice as it walks you through cast on, ribbing, hat making and on to your first sweater etc. EZ is quirky and chats you through these things -- watch or read through first and then go back and watch/read periodically as you learn. I re-read EZ's books at least once per year and also reference them periodically for specific projects.

The KG will prove invaluable as you develop your techniques -- and on DVD it makes it much easier to start, stop, rewind, skip, etc to just what you need. The companion book to KG has not been updated -- the DVD has been updated by Meg to include lots of great, new info -- (and is not easy to find) so that's a good one to check out from the library.

Happy knitting!

Shhhhh, don't tell anyone ....

... but there really is no mystery or magic to knitting! There is no secret code or handshake or club dues ... other than you have to knit.

After yesterday's post, I've been thinking alot about the misconceptions out there about knitting. I think the "granny in the rocker" image has been dispelled FINALLY. But there is still the idea that knitting has some magic to it; that designers have some magic wand they wave over their yarn and then they have an haute couture design -- NOT!

Knitting is considered a craft rather than an art -- because it's not hard, you don't need some special talent to knit; anyone can create with knitting. It's an issue of self-confidence, I think. It's an issue of muscling through the initial discomfort of going outside your comfort zone and trying to knit.

One thing that I realized early on, when I was teaching myself to knit, is that the final product is much more critical than the process. In other words -- just knit. Don't worry about holding the yarn just like the pictures; don't worry about holding the needles in a certain grip; don't worry about "looking the part".

Do, however, worry about your knit stitches looking like nice, even, V's. Do worry about your purl bumps being consistent. Do worry about being comfortable and having fun with knitting. I think more people have been turned off knitting because they were told there is one way to do it and that's how it MUST BE DONE! Malarkey!

Here are a couple of books that will really illustrate what I'm talking about:

• Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann is THE bible about knitting (IMHO). Mrs. Zimmermann is the mother of all knitters; she explains in this very readable volume that knitting is not hard, knitting is not difficult, and knitting is what YOU make it. She wrote a few other books, sprinkled with her words of wisdom and pearls of tips -- check my Amazon store-front for others. There is a blog group that just talks about Zimmermann -- and posts lovely pictures of their work.
• Knitting in the Old Way by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts is a treasure trove of ethnic knitting patterns. But more pertinent to this particular post, this book also shows many different ways of knitting; methods that folks have used throughout history and the world to create with two sticks and a bit of thread. Some carry the yarn behind their necks; some use their left hand to throw the yarn; some wind the yarn 'round their hands -- the bottom-line is that the final result has knit stitches looking like nice, even V's and the purl bumps looking like nice, consistent dash lines.
• Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns and Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd will take all the mystery out of most knitted garments. In these two books by the former editor of Interweave Knits (a magazine all should have on their shelves -- my goal is to get a design published in there, it's THAT good), you have basic patterns in multiple sizes for traditional knitted garments. The first book covers hats, gloves, mittens, sweaters, scarves, and socks -- simple, clean designs that can be made with any kind of yarn, in any kind of gauge and Budd has done the math for you. The second book delves into more design options for sweaters -- raglan, circular yokes, saddle shoulders, etc. Both of these books will free you to create your own designs -- in any size you want. Last year I posted about these books -- they'd be the 2 of the half dozen I'd grab from my collection if the house was on fire or flooding!

Bottom-line for this verbose post -- have fun with knitting, enjoy the sensual feel of the yarn and needles and the growing knitting in your lap. And most of all, relax!

Here's a really easy pattern

Here's a really easy, but cute, starter project that I designed a few years back for Lion Brand Yarns. They produced it as one of those freebie leaflets you see at the craft stores.

A Simple Starter Project --
Super-simple Beginner Backpack

This backpack is made all in garter stitch on size 10 needles using chunky yarn. It goes together quickly and looks great!

Materials: 2 skeins chunky yarn (such as Lion Brand "Jiffy"); size 10 needles; tapestry needle; homemade button (1") and bead (large enough hole to pull doubled drawstring cord thru) or purchased; 60 inches of knitted or purchased cording.

Backpack Base: Using size 10 needles, cast on 15 stitches. Knitting every row (garter stitch), work until you have 15 ridges on both sides (30 rows). Bind off.

Backpack Body: Cast on 25 stitches. Knitting every row, work 9 rows than place drawstring hole -- K2, yarn over (YO), K2tog. Work 9 more rows, work drawstring hole (make sure you're working on the same edge!). Continue in this way until you have 72 ridges done (144 rows) and 14 drawstring holes. Bind off.

Using big-eyed needle ("tapestry needle"), sew backpack body cast-on edge to cast-off edge. With drawstring holes at top, sew base to body tube -- ridge to ridge every 4 ridges, than 2 ridges from body to 5th ridge of base. Continue sewing tube to base by sewing to cast-on and cast-off edges of base just as you did the ridges -- until you have sewed tube all around base.

Backpack Flap: Using one of the size 10 needles, pick up 18 stitches (9 either side of back center seam) from top of body tube by inserting tip of needle from front to back into the edge stitch of the tube, wrap yarn around needle and "knit" stitch onto needle.

Garter stitch on 18 stitches for 5 ridges (10 rows) than begin to shape flap: k2 tog, work across to last 2, k2 tog -- every other row until 8 remain. Work buttonhole -- k2, k2tog, YO, k2tog, k2. Work 2 more rows on 7 stitches and bind off.

Make knitted cord by casting on 4 stitches and working until cord is 60" long -- or you can purchase a cord of similar color. Thread this cord, starting at the back center, in and out thru each drawstring hole. Thread both ends of drawstring thru large bead; tack ends of drawstring to two back corners of base. Sew button to front of backpack (pull drawstring and close flap -- mark where buttonhole falls and sew button there). Tuck in all loose ends and enjoy!