Creative Knitting

Illustrates the way in which to use traditional stitches to create unusual effects and textures.

A knitting sourcebook full of patterns and techniques for making shawls and wraps with ease Kate Atherley and Kim McBrien Evans aim to equip adventurous knitters with the skills to knit and create shawls and wraps of all shapes and sizes and to help them forge their own shawl-knitting paths. Tips and tutorials address the technical aspects of shawl knitting, from shaping to adapting stitch patterns to making color and fabric choices. A gallery of patterns using a variety of yarns both mainstream and indie provides knitters with inspiration for customizing and creating their own designs. More than a dozen patterns illustrate the featured knitting techniques. One-third of the patterns are aimed at beginning knitters, one-third teach intermediate knitters new skills for intriguing results, and one-third offer creative instruction in customizing. The featured yarns are a mix: some luxury fibers, some classics. Together, Atherley and McBrien Evans provide a 360-degree view of the shawl-creation process from designing to knitting

The simplest stitch--the most spectacular results! Featuring a foreword from knitwear designer Holli Yeoh! Garter stitch is the first stitch pattern we learn as knitters--and now, we celebrate the beauty and sophistication of this simple stitch with Garter Stitch Revival. In this gorgeous collection, each project highlights garter stitch in its detail work, as a supporting role for other stitches, or as the star of the show. In projects such as Be True Fingerless Mitts and the Flapper Cloche, the beauty is in the details created with the use of the garter stitch. In the Beachcomber Braided Poncho, the Santa Monica Cardigan, and more, you'll discover how perfect the garter stitch can be for offsetting other stitch patterns. And when used as the main stitch in designs such as the Festival Halter Top and the Autumn Evening Shrug, the texture and lovely repetition result in stunning finished pieces. Whether you've always loved the garter stitch or you're returning to an old friend, the twenty gorgeous projects in Garter Stitch Revival certainly show that it's a classic for a million beautiful reasons.

You're no idiot, of course. You can sew a button, tie a knot and even thread a needle in under 30 seconds. But when it comes to knitting and crocheting, you feel as prickly as a pin cushion. Don't unravel just yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Knitting and Crocheting shows you how to create beautiful crafts worthy of becoming heirlooms.

Most knitters know: Getting through a difficult time often means knitting through it. Its this home truth--and all the homespun wisdom behind it--that comes through clearly in the writings gathered in this book. These pieces--some by contemporary writers like Donna Druchunas and Sherri Wood, others excerpted from the WPAs Federal Writers Project--tell stories of knitting through adversity as widespread as war or the Great Depression, as personal as political anxiety, as unyielding as a prison term, and as tenacious as the hardships endured by the Native American community over centuries. Men and women, young and old, rural and urban, white and black--their knitting narratives are poignant, often lyrical, rich with personal and cultural history and vivid imagery. They conjure hardscrabble lives and immigrant experience, the work of anxious hands kept busy creating warmth and beauty or earning desperately needed money. Along with the stories from the WPA project, the book features black and white photographs from the Library of Congress archives, as well as a sampling of patterns to help knitters through their own difficult times.