Not just a handbook - a dictionary and bible too (The Knitter's Handbook: Yarns, Needles, Stitches, Techniques)

Member Name: Poison_kitty

Product:	The Knitter's Handbook: Yarns, Needles, Stitches, Techniques
Date:	19/03/09 (112 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clear and relevant colour photographs

Disadvantages: can't find it in stock anywhere

This book by Eleanor Van Zandt was my Bible when I first got back into knitting. It is mainly made up of stitch patterns organised into chapters according to difficulty, texture and colour, interspersed with instructions on various techniques from increasing and decreasing to grafting. It also explains many knitting terms and abbreviations in a more understandable way, and has a needle gauge convertor from UK metric and US sizes hidden in the back. Each stitch pattern is laid out on a separate page, and both stitch patterns and techniques have colour photographs to guide the knitter.

When I first got back to knitting, I tried out a lot of these stitch patterns (And I still have them somewhere!) and I was really surprised at how easy they were - literally you just followed the instructions and voila! It took a lot of the fear out of techniques that have confused knitters miles better than me. There is still a lot I haven't had the opportunity to try out, but I know with this book I will be well prepared when I do. This is no magical cure however, and I still stick my tongue out the side of my mouth when I'm grafting, and entrelac is beyond me!

I bought this book offline many years ago and I can't remember the price I payed, but it's RRP is £10.70 and although amazon currently have this out of stock, it is available in the amazon marketplace for £71.90 - not a price I'd be willing to pay!

Summary: A great handbook for anybody beginning knitting, or beginning again