The Knitter's Dictionary: Knitting Know-How from A to Z by Kate Atherley
| The Knitter's Dictionary: Knitting Know-How from A to Z by Kate Atherley | |
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| Category: Crafts | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A must-have for every knitter. I've been knitting for more than sixty years but I was still surprised by how much I learned. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 128 | Date: October 2018 |
| Publisher: Interweave | |
| ISBN: 978-1632506382 | |
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I've been knitting for well over sixty years, following patterns of varying complexity with success. I've knit Aran sweaters, socks by the dozen and I'm currently knitting blankets for a charity to sell. There hasn't been an occasion when I've been stuck and people have often come to me for help when they've been stuck. Would a knitter's dictionary really be of any help to me? I was surprised by just how much I got out of it.
What you get is a proper dictionary: we work our way through the mysteries of knitting, covering everything from the types of yarn which you're going to encounter, the equipment you're likely to need and exactly what those strange abbreviations in patterns really mean. We were still in the letter A when I was taken back to one of my more expensive mistakes. I had a navy skirt and shirt and thought that it would look very smart with a camel waistcoat, preferably in something rather luxurious. I bought some alpaca yarn and made my waistcoat. If I'd had The Knitter's Dictionary I could have saved a lot of money. It tells me that alpaca sheds, and my waistcoat shed big time - all over my navy shirt and skirt. Not only did it shed - it stuck to the clothes and finally I had to remove it with sticky tape. I never really managed to remove it all. There are plenty of little gems like this in the book. Acrylic freezes, which is why knitters don't use it for winter wear. Some yarns are more elastic than others - and this dictates what you can use them for and how you treat them.
The sections on yarn attributes and weights are gold dust: for me the information is worth the cost price of the book. I buy a lot of my yarn in charity shops and using the book I've already been able to sort my stash more sensibly. I loved the acronym SABLE too - stash acquired beyond life expectancy! I also learned that unravelling or picking back your knitting is called 'tinking' - tink is 'knit' backwards.
If I had to be picky about the book it's that it's really written for the North American market, with many of the phrases not being in common use in the UK - what we in the UK call casting off is binding off for instance. But - there's no reason now why I shouldn't buy patterns from across the Atlantic. I'll certainly be able to approach them with confidence. It's a book to keep handy in your work bag - you might be as surprised as I was about how much you'll learn.
I've never tried knitting with wire, but if you'd like some unusual jewellry have a look at Wire Knits by Heather Kingsley-Heath. If you'd like to make some fairy tale knits have a look at Fiona Goble's Fairy Tale Knits: 20 Enchanting Characters to Make by Fiona Goble. If you'd like some fun, try Knit 2 Socks in 1 by Safiyyah Talley.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Knitter's Dictionary: Knitting Know-How from A to Z by Kate Atherley at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Knitter's Dictionary: Knitting Know-How from A to Z by Kate Atherley at Amazon.com.
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