Reader's Digest Knitters Handbook

Reader's Digest Knitters Handbook by Montse Stanley
I don't bring out The Knitter's Handbook too often, but every time I do, I say thank you to Pam. According to the inscription on the front page, Pam was given the copy I now own as a gift from her Mom and Uncle Mike back in 1997, and then the book found its way into a used bookstore and my bookshelf.

This book covers the basics and beyond with an organizational system that fills me with awe. This is my desert island knitting book. That it is still available new and used at reasonable prices (there is also a paperback version) makes this great book even better. June Hiatt's The Principles of Knitting is a fantastic technical manual as well, but copies go for $200 and up! I don't know what I did before I got this book. No, wait, I remember. Before I knew it existed, I frequently threw my knitting across the room*. After I knew it existed, I checked it out from public libraries repeatedly. When I found it priced at $8.95 in a used bookstore, I giggled and held it to my chest until I got to the register.

If you want to learn 23 (!) different ways to cast-on (with variations!), matching bind-offs, and how to choose the right cast-on and bind-off for your project, this is the book for you. If just knowing that there are at least 6 ways to do a double increase makes your heart go pitty-pat, this is the book you want in your personal library. If you have ever wanted to scream while frantically scanning through cute anecdotes trying to find a clear explanation of a buttonhole technique in a chattypants knitting book, the dry, technical, no-nonsense tone and simple, clear illustrations for 7 different types of buttonholes will bring you joy. On the other hand, if you'd like a pattern example of certain techniques (like medallions**), you might throw the book across the room. Short rowing was a concept I initially had trouble with, and this book gives a nice technical overview and several applications, but what I needed was an explanation including "cast on X number of stitches and use this formula". I got a little nuts reading re-reading this chapter and still not getting anywhere - fortunately for me, combined with books by Elizabeth Zimmermann, Maggie Righetti, and Barbara Walker, the lightbulb finally went on and my passionate love affair with short rowing grows ever stronger. Also note that there is not one single pattern in this book: it is a technical manual, not a pattern book.

Trivial bonus: did you know Kate Moss modeled for Rowan catalogues before becoming the Calvin Klein underpants girl? There's a photo in here to prove it.

*I still throw it across the room from time to time, but for different reasons now
** for the basics of medallions, I recommend Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns and Barbara Walker's Fourth Treasury of Knitting Patterns

Comments

[wendi]

Another very enjoyable review. Hey, anyone who enlightens and entertains me AT THE SAME TIME is a role model in my book!