Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook (33 page)

Finally, in September and October, the Craft Yarn Council of America organizes what they call
Knit-Outs
in various locations across the country. Thousands of knitters show up at these things, and it’s a great chance to mix and mingle with your local knitting community. Visit
www.craftyarncouncil.com
for more information.

I love knitting books almost as much as I love knitting. I’m especially enamored of knitting books that go into the history of knitting or some specific technique, although I adore pattern books as well. In fact, my bookshelf at home is bulging from the weight of my giant knitting book collection. Here, then, are just a few of the favorites from my shelves:

K
NITTING IN
P
LAIN
E
NGLISH,
Maggie Righetti (1986, St. Martin’s Press)

Righetti is my personal knitting guru: She’s funny, she’s smart, and she really helped me understand some of the knitty-gritty. She’s also got sass: The lame but extremely instructive projects at the back of her book are called things like “the dumb baby sweater” and “the stupid baby bonnet,” and her “Buttonholes Are Bastards” chapter is unforgettable. Unfortunately, Maggie has faded from the knitting scene since her books were first published, but this is the one I always recommend to beginning knitters who want to learn more.

T
HE
R
EADER’S
D
IGEST
K
NITTER’S
H
ANDBOOK,
Montse Stanley (1986, 1993, Reader’s Digest)

If you buy only one knitting book in your lifetime (besides the one you’re holding in your hands right now), it should be this encyclopedic resource of knitting techniques. This knitter/author knows more tricks of the trade than anyone going (and I’ve read them all). In fact, I’ve found solutions to some of the most obscure knitting problems here that aren’t addressed anywhere
else. Stanley’s writing can be as dry as dust, and her they-came-from-the-’80s patterns are pretty cheesy, but who really cares about all that when this lady can teach you over forty (count ’em!) cast-on methods?

K
NITTING
W
ITHOUT
T
EARS,
Elizabeth Zimmermann (1971, Simon & Schuster)

Just as James Brown is the godfather of soul, and Iggy Pop is the godfather of punk, Elizabeth Zimmermann is the godmother of American knitting, and this book is the perfect introduction to her smart ’n snarky “opinionated knitting” philosophy. A mistress of “unvention”—she loved to find new and easier ways of doing things—Zimmermann has convinced thousands of American women to drop the yarn from their right hands and throw away their straight needles in favor of Continental-style knitting in the round, which she’s convinced is easier and more efficient.
Knitting Without Tears
is not for an absolute beginner, but if you’ve knit your way around the block a couple of times and want to learn some great and innovative knitting tricks, this book is a must.

H
OW TO
K
NIT
and
K
NITTING
W
ORKBOOK,
Debbie Bliss (1999 and 2001, Trafalgar Square)

Debbie Bliss is the Queen Mum of British knitters. Known for her simple, attractive patterns, especially her sweet baby items, Bliss is one of the most prolific designers around. These two books are more inspirational than they are informational, as Bliss sometimes leaves out important details in her knitting method descriptions. But even if you thought you’d never want to knit cables, intarsia designs, or lace, you will once you see what Bliss can do with them.

T
HE
U
LTIMATE
K
NITTER’S
G
UIDE,
Kate Buller (2000, Martingale)

Buller is another knitting Brit, and her book of knitting lessons and techniques is set up in a most unusual way: Each page is cut into two parts, with the bottom fourth containing illustrated knitting techniques, and the top three-fourths consisting of patterns. The idea is that when you are working on a pattern and get to a part where you need to know a technique, there it is on the same page. The most valuable part of her book is the knitting methods themselves, especially the more advanced ones: intarsia knitting, short-row shaping, stranded and woven two-color knitting, and various finishing methods, all accompanied by instructive photos.

Each of these magazines is published only quarterly, so if you’ve really got a knitting pattern jones you’ll end up subscribing to all five.

Family Circle Easy Knitting

Don’t let the
Family Circle
moniker scare you away—the name is just licensed. Great assortments of basic knitting patterns (as well as a few clunkers) are, indeed, included for every family member: women, men, children, babies, and pets. But my favorite thing about
FCEK
is that so many of its patterns are reprinted from European knitting magazines.

Vogue Knitting

As in its namesake, the emphasis here is on patterns by big-name designers: Todd Oldham, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, and Oscar de la Renta have all contributed patterns. While that sounds like a great idea in theory, in practice—well, let’s just say that few things go out of vogue more quickly than some of the sweaters in
Vogue Knitting
. Nevertheless, there are always a number of great patterns, as well as instructions for various professional techniques.

Interweave Knits

Independently published out of Loveland, Colorado, Interweave Knits is beautifully designed and always includes interesting, often intricate, patterns. Articles for the knitting obsessed describe various yarns, techniques, and tidbits of knitting history. More than the others,
IK
seems to really capture the larger knitting culture. If you subscribe to only one knitting magazine, I’d suggest this one.

Rebecca

Because
Rebecca
is put out by the German yarn manufacturing company Muench, all its patterns are made using their yarns. But the stuff is so fun—hip, trendy, colorful, sexy, and modeled by attractive Aryans frolicking on the beach—that you won’t be able to resist. And you can always replace the yarn called for with something different. This one’s the coolest mag going.

Rowan

Another magazine put out by a yarn company,
Rowan
is so British you’ll want to invite it to tea. Featuring beautiful classic sweaters modeled by young people who look so much more cultured than you, these patterns will appeal to the Banana Republic and J Crew crowd. And while the patterns are simple, they’re often constructed in lighter-weight yarns, so expect them to take quite a while to complete.

A F
IELD
G
UIDE TO
K
NITTERS

“HURTS SO GOOD” KNITTERS
:
These folks just like to knit—and the more complicated and challenging the project, the better. Also known as “process” knitters, they look at sweaters in knitting magazines and think, “I’d like to knit that,” before they think, “I’d like to wear that.” Complicated cable patterns, color work, and odd, angular knitting methods are what get them going. Lots of garments made by process knitters are unloaded as gifts.

“SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT” KNITTERS
:
It’s all about the finished product for these project knitters. Leafing through a knitting magazine is like reading a mail-order catalog for them: If it’s a sweater they want to wear, they’ll make it, even if it means night after night of boring, unchanging knitting on tiny needles. The things they make do get worn to death; unfortunately, no matter how long they knit, these knitters often don’t learn much beyond knit and purl.

“GET YOUR FREAK ON” KNITTERS
:
Throwing away their knitting magazines and relieving themselves of the shackles of a pattern, these knitters, also known as artsy-fartsy knitters, like to grab some yarn, grab some needles, and just make something up. Many of them are so busy expressing themselves that they can’t be bothered with knitting rules or techniques. The sweaters they make are one-of-a-kind, gorgeous concoctions, though you might not be able to get your head through the collar.

OLD-SCHOOL KNITTERS
:
Only antiquated patterns and, often, acrylic yarns will do the trick for these types. They abhor anything that smacks of modern, “hipster” knitting; aluminum needles snatched up from the local craft store and leftover balls of yarn from projects that some stranger made ages ago fill their stash. Their preferred colors are orange, green, and brown, and their favorite projects are afghans and baby hats.

DILETTANTE KNITTERS
:
They just learned to knit last week, but already they’ve spent more money on luxurious yarn than you did in the past year. Dilettante knitters throw themselves and their money at the craft of knitting for a short while and maybe manage to complete two thirds of a sweater before they get bored with the whole thing. The good news is that they’ll probably sell you their leftover yarn for next to nothing.

HOLIER-THAN-THOU KNITTERS
:
These are the snobs of the knitting world, the ones who turn up their noses at knitting trends and prefer those times when knitting has fallen out of fashion. “We’ve seen it all before,” they sigh as they watch the parade of newbie knitters marching through their local yarn store. “They’ll be gone soon enough.” They make fun of the folks who ask beginner questions, and they look any completed project up and down, thinking they could have done a better job than you did. Although these folks like to think that they are the true-blue knitters, it is the very way they associate knitting with privilege—instead of recognizing it as a genuine craft of the masses—that betrays them. Whenever a sneer from one of these folks gets you feeling down, just recall the centuries-old history of knitting and remind yourself, “They’ll be gone soon enough.”

The patterns in the next section were designed by knitters of varying ages, tastes, and levels of experience—from those who have been knitting only a year or less, to professional knitwear designers. (All have been vetted by a technical pattern editor. If you have a question about a pattern, send email to [email protected].) I’ve compiled them from knitters who belong to Stitch ’n Bitches, knitters with Web sites I like, and knitters I’ve met in person. The skills you’ll need to complete these projects range from super-easy to somewhat complicated. But all the techniques you need are included in this book, so don’t worry. Sometimes the best way to learn is to take on something complicated and pick up the skills as you go along. On the other hand, if you’re the type who’s easily discouraged, it might be better to begin with a project that you’ll be likely to finish. So grab your needles, get out your yarn, and get ready to stitch a lot, and maybe even bitch a little.

Knitting patterns can be really confusing to beginning knitters. Just like cooking recipes, which may call for 1 t of sugar and 2 T of butter, knitting patterns rely on abbreviations and shorthand to get their message across. However, once you know the lingo, it’s all pretty simple.

Most patterns are presented in the same way we present them here. First, the pattern will give you the finished measurements of the garment; these are the finished measurements, not
your
measurements. Thus, if you have a 36" bust (lucky you), you’ll be busting out of a sweater with a 34" finished bust measurement; a 36" finished knit measurement size will be nice and snug; a 38" finished measurement will give you room to breathe; and a 42" finished measurement will be downright roomy.

Next comes the list of the materials you’ll need to make the project, including the brand and amount of yarn; the size and type of needles; and any additional notions or tools.

After that is the gauge information, which is truly crucial. Here’s an example:

15 sts and 17 rows to 4"/10cm over k2,
p2 rib using size 11 needles

This means you should whip out your size 11 needles and knit up a swatch that’s a bit bigger than the 15 stitches, since edge stitches are difficult to measure—say, 20 stitches—in the stitch pattern requested. In this example, it’s k2, p2 ribbing. Knit for about 4", then bind off and lay the swatch down flat. Measure it. Do 15 stitches in fact make up 4"? Or does it come out to 4½" or maybe only 3½"? Your gauge may vary from the pattern’s because you are a tighter or a looser knitter than the designer, or because you are using a different yarn than the one recommended. But this can be dealt with. If your swatch comes out bigger than it’s supposed to, just reknit another swatch using knitting needles one size smaller—in this case, size 10. If the swatch comes out smaller than it’s supposed to, go up a size in your knitting needles (since there are no size 12 U.S. knitting needles, you’d go up to size 13). Keep doing this until you find the size needles you need to knit a swatch to the required gauge. This is super-important, because even a small difference in gauge can make a difference in a sweater. For instance, if your swatch comes out only ¼" under what it should,
a piece that’s supposed to measure 24", like the front of a sweater, will come out to be only 22", and that means that when you take the front
and
the back together, your sweater will come up a full 4" smaller than it’s intended to—which can make the difference between a hot-looking sweater and one that highlights every bubble and bulge, or may not even fit over your boobs at all.