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Review: Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

The Yarn Harlot is well-known in knitting circles for her blog full of amusing yarn related anecdotes and Knitting Rules! is written in that style, but also contains lots of helpful knitting content. You can easily read it through from start to finish, or just look up the information you need.

A photo of the book - Knitting Rules!, subtitle the Yarn Harlot unravels the mysteries of swatching, stashing, ribbing & rolling to free your inner knitter. The cover is orange with a full lenth photo of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, a white woman with bushy brown hair in dark top and trousers, knitting some garter stitch on straight needles
Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee ©Rachel Gibbs

If you’ve ever felt bad about knitting too much, having too much yarn or not being able to get through a conversation without mentioning knitting, then Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is here for you and even has handy tips and quizzes to help you deal with it. The first two chapters are “What is Knitting and How Does it Get Like This?” and “Yarn and How Not to Feel Guilty About It” and are recommended reading for any budding knitting-addict. The section on identifying mystery yarn is something that all knitters will find comes in handy at some point, and contains multiple ways of identifying fibres, weights and yardage.

A photo of a page reading: "Dear Inventor of Ziploc bags: On behalf of the knitting community, I would like to take a moment to thank you for your contribution to our art. All over the world, knitters (and spinners) have yarn stashed away in the clear protective prison of a Ziploc bag, In my experience, the miracle of these resealable plastic wonders in multifold."
Letter to Inventor of Ziploc bags ©Rachel Gibbs

Highlights include “Five Reasons Why People Don’t Knit” (and why they’re all poor excuses), a quiz to assess your level of knitting obsession (I come out as a Scientist, unsurprisingly), a letter to the inventor of ziploc bags thanking them on behalf of the knitting community. It also has a section on identifying mystery yarn, which is something that all knitters will find comes in handy at some point and contains multiple ways of identifying fibres, weights and yardage.

Chapter Three is called “Know Your Stuff” which is all about stuff knitters use that isn’t yarn, i.e. needles, bags, patterns and notions (it has a handy list of what should be inside a model knitting bag). l. It’s also the only book which I’ve seen mention casein needles. I inherited some casein DPNs from my grandma and can attest to her point that they taste very, very bad, despite being made from milk protein.

The next chapter is “Gauge, Swatches, and Learning to Accept Them” which includes 10 Times When You Should Worry About Gauge” and “5 Times You Don’t Need to Get Gauge”, to cover all the bases. She includes a cautionary tale to remind you about the perils of ignoring gauge, but in a  very amusing way.

A photo of a page titled Ten Reasons Not to Knit Socks. "1. Sock knitting may be addictive. 2. Knitting socks can lead to an obsession with any form of footwear. It may be a gateway to other uncontrollable ..."
Ten Reasons Not to Knit Socks ©Rachel Gibbs

The final four chapters are about different types of project: hats, socks, scarves and shawls, and sweaters. Each gives 10 reasons to knit that type of object (the socks chapter has 10 reasons not to as well) and then has basic patterns for everything other than sweaters, including size charts to fit almost anyone. There are then suggestions on how to build on the basic patterns to make more interesting things.

For a small book, it packs in a lot of information and in a very accessible way. While the technical bits are probably more suited to a beginner knitter, I think all knitters can get something out of this book as Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is a very relatable writer. Not only does Knitting Rules contain guidelines for knitting, it’s also a celebration of knitters everywhere and the crazy things they do for love of the craft.

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Review: The Knitter’s Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes

There’s nothing I like more than geeky knitting books. I don’t mean this in the sense of patterns based on sci-fi or scientific concepts (although I like them too), I mean being geeky about knitting, getting really technical about how things work and why. The Knitter’s Book of Yarn, in Clara’s words, shows you how to be a “yarn whisperer”, to understand the fundamental differences between yarns and how this will affect your finished object.

A photo of the front of the book on a wooden table. There are tendrils of yarn coming up from the bottom ending in a spiral in different colours and textures. The subtitle is The ultimate guide to choosing, using and enjoying yarn.
The Knitter’s Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes ©Rachel Gibbs

The book has four sections: Fiber Foundations (the book uses American terminology and spellings so when quoting I will too), Making Yarn, Ply Me a River (which has patterns) and Putting it all Together. It is a book packed with information and can either be read straight through or dipped into at your leisure if you want information on a specific type of yarn.

Section 1: Fiber Foundations

The endpapers have a jumper, mittens and hat in the middle with tendrils out to the different yarn sources - cellulosic, synthetic, cellulose and protein with pictures of the animals or plants
I love the endpapers of The Knitter’s Book of Yarn ©Rachel Gibbs

This section talks about the fibre that is used and is split into protein fibers, cellulose fibers, cellulosic fibers and synthetic fibers. It goes into detail about the different animals that can be used, talking about differences in scales, micron count, staple length and what that means about warmth, elasticity, felting and water absorption. It explains why, lovely though it would be, you don’t want a bulky sweater made of qiviut and why one made of mercerised cotton wouldn’t keep you warm.

I like that it talks about the history of where the fibres came from – how alpacas were nearly rendered extinct by Spanish conquistadors and the struggle to produce artificial silk. This is not strictly relevant for knitting purposes but I find it interesting.

Section 2: Making Yarn

A photograph of Section 2 Making Yarn. There are four headings: Mills and Microspinneries, Farm yarns and fiber festivals, Color in yarn and The original spin with a short description and page number.
Section 2: Making Yarn ©Rachel Gibbs

While the first section helps you to decide on a type of yarn, the second helps you decide between specific yarns on sale. Why you might prefer one brand over another, and how many indie dyers are using the same base. As the author is American, when talking about specific mills and fibre festivals, they are all US-based. It is also ten years since the book was written and so while the concepts remain the same, some of the mills may not longer be operational and some yarns discontinued.

This section also covers different dying techniques and how this affects the colour of the knitted object. It contains warnings on pooling, bleeding and dye lots, all things that are a good idea to think about before you spend hours knitting.

Section 3: Ply Me a River

The way the yarn is spun (worsted or woolen) and the concept of plies is introduced in section 2 but expanded here. This section is split into number of plies and suggests yarns and projects that are suited to that type of yarn. Specific yarns are mentioned, but also advice is given on substituting.

Some patterns use charts which aren’t always as readable as they could be, since a lot of the page is taken up with the key. None of the patterns are particularly complicated, but there is often more than one size given and they seem to be clearly written. For shawls it’s indicated if the measurements are before or after blocking, and sometimes both are given which is useful.

The patterns use a range of yarns – commercial and small-scale, all different types of fibre. Again, being American, many of the yarns are unavailable here in the UK (or have been discontinued) but as the point of the book is to explain what it is about the yarn that makes it suitable for the pattern, this should make finding alternatives fairly easy.

Putting It All Together

The final section contains tips on washing, specific to the different fibres and including how to get rid of odors and moths. It then talks about the different yarn weights and has a handy chart of the standard yarn weight system (with the numbers in a picture of a skein). A glossary is then included, which is handy as, although terms are explained when they are introduced, it’s useful to have a central resource.

Conclusions

This isn’t a book for everyone. If you’re happy petting yarn and don’t really care why it’s so soft and cuddly or don’t want to do a lot of reading to find out why your latest project is pilling, or wearing through, or hanging oddly then carry on knitting and don’t worry about it. The patterns are ok, but probably not worth buying the book for.

If however, you’re like me and love the technical side of things (once an engineer, always an engineer) then I would recommend The Knitter’s Book of Yarn. It will help you understand the fundamentals of yarn and what to expect when you encounter something new. While it is a little out of date and American focussed, this doesn’t change the principles. I find the style engaging and the concepts explained well.

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Review of Sock Architecture by Lara Neel #shareCPlove

I bought Sock Architecture a few months ago and it’s become one of my favourite reference books. While it includes some patterns, the main focus is on different methods of knitting socks. It has the most comprehensive selection of heels and toes I’ve ever seen. It’s maths heavy and includes equations on how to apply the methods to any number of stitches. I’m someone who likes to understand how things work so I find that really interesting.

I was particularly interested in the afterthought heel section. It had never occurred to me that most types of heel could be done as afterthought heels, even flap and gusset. I’ve been knitting lots of self striping socks lately and an afterthought heel allows the striping to go from the leg to the foot without a disruption to the stripes.

I made my Dad a pair of socks for Christmas using an afterthought heel with gusset and the extra needle technique. This involves using a provisional cast on for the gusset stitches and holding the heel stitches on a spare circular needle while knitting the foot (I tend to knit all my socks top down although the book includes instructions for toe up as well). I found it a little fiddly with the extra needle getting in the way but I really liked the results, I think in future I would use waste yarn instead of the extra needle. I decided to use a different yarn for the heel and toe which complemented the stripes, as the shorter rows affect the spacing of the stripes.

Last week the cold weather really set in (although being in the south I barely got any snow) and I decided this was the perfect opportunity to cast on some socks in Regia Snowflake. For these I used an afterthought heel without a gusset and the thumb joint flat top heel and toe. The only afterthought heel I made before had a hat top heel and I wasn’t happy with the fit as it left a point at the back of the heel so I wanted to try another option.

Three photos of a stripy sock - the finished sock with a round heel with decreases down the centre, a tube with a row of stitches in a contrasting yarn and the sock with a circle of stitches picked up in the middle of the body on a short circular needle.
The process of an afterthought heel ©Rachel Gibbs

The heel stitches were knit with waste yarn and then picked up after the foot was complete. With some careful planning I was able to make the heel stripes flow seamlessly from the body of the sock. It fits well and I’m really happy with it. I’m sure by the time the second sock is finished the snow will have gone but hand knit socks are always welcome.

I would definitely recommend it if you have a geeky interest in sock composition. I wasn’t paid to review this book, I’m just a fan. This is part of #shareCPlove, a competition to promote the great publications from Cooperative Press.

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