One of my gifts to myself was The Sock Knitter's Workshop. In one word: "Wow!".
New How-To Sock Book
What a thorough guide to knitting socks--perhaps too much info for the newbie sock knitter (in my modest opinion, Ann Budd's book Getting Started Knitting Socks is by far the best sock book for the newbie). Now that I have a few socks under my belt, I'm ready to experiment with different heel and toe constructions. And there's plenty to explore with 5 different cast-ons (along with variants within), 3 main heel types (with at least 4-5 variations within each type) and 7 types of toes. Although toe-up and circular knitting are discussed, the main focus is on top-down construction.
For me, the big pluses are the ample illustrations and the various charts to help the knitter determine the stitch count for various foot sizes AND foot shapes (the latter of which I have not seen elsewhere).
Lots of Colour Illustrations
My other book choice was The Essential Stitch Collection. Published by Reader's Digest, it is a basic stitch dictionary with about 300 stitches divided into knit&purl, twists, cables, lace, bobbles&leaves, stranded&intarsia and the unusual (stitches that don't really fit into one category).
New Stitch Collection
As I have no real stitch dictionary (other than what's in my handy dandy Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book), I think this collection could be useful for altering a pattern or maybe even creating my own design (hey, it could happen).
Lots of Colour Photos
I like a few things about the book, mainly the colour illustrations and the use of charts. There are written instructions paired with the b&w charts. Although small, the charts should be easy enough to enlarge on a photocopier; however, the more complicated stitches ONLY have charts. For the time being, it will serve my needs.
And now, back to my knitting . . . :)
I'd love a copy of the sock knitter's workshop... might go over to amazon ;)
ReplyDeletePip, I definitely recommend the Sock Knitter's Workshop. Lots of great reviews over at Ravelry too.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the middle of knitting my first pair of socks. I'll have to check out the sock books you've mentioned. I love books of stitch collections. I have the Harmony guide to knitting stitches and love browsing through it!
ReplyDeleteLove the art of needle painting. Knitting tutorial seems to be a wonderful gift. Thanks for sharing the idea.
ReplyDeleteAllison, I think you have the better stitch dictionary from what I've read on Ravelry. Many have recommended the Harmony collection. I'll have to get my hands on that at some point.
ReplyDelete