Highly recommend the nerdy knitter. I took an online class with her last year that went into all the math needed to adjust patterns for your size. You can get a lot of the same info from her channel. Pretty sure you know everything you need to in order to make knits that fit your body (it’s all about stitch/row gauge and short rows) what you need to know is how to select the correct size and when to base the size on which measurement, and how to make the perfect frankensweater for your body measurements.
I love her channel! Her videos are actually what have been making me want to dive into sweater customization lately. I will definitely dive more into her resources!
Woot! I just ordered some books. I would hesitate to recommend pattern books to you as we have very different bodies and very different preferences. I'm not a huge fan of round yoke colorwork sweaters, for example. Or cardigans, which tend to look frumpy on me. I am also obsessed with fit but, for me, that primarily means adjusting for a larger bust, larger biceps, short arms, rounded shoulders, and a slightly forward shoulder. Again, quite different than what probably concerns you. :). Anyway, thx for the podcast!
Thanks for the video, I always love to see knitting books! Of all that you showed, I hadn't heard only about the Knitwear from Finland and the designs there are truly stunning! The two that I own physical copies of were both gifts and stitch dictionaries, and both stunning: the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida, focused in cables and lace, and then Andrea Rangel's latest book KnitOvation, which is all about colorwork with modern and more graphic motifs. I absolutely adored Clara Parks' Book of Yarn and I still want to read her Book of Wool and her other books. I agree that the patterns aren't very appealing. Maybe they shouldn't be there, and rather give space for more detail information, which I still miss in some sections, especially about plant fibers. As for the Knitting Without Tears, this is another book whose focus is not in the patterns so much. As I understand, it's more like a conversational book in which she gives varied knitting advise. Maybe reading it like you read Clara's would make more sense and make the book more enjoyable? As for books I'd recommend about knitting construction and how to make a better fit, I'd say all of Ann Budd's books are a good start point, as well as "Sweater Design in Plain English" by Maggie Righetti. Then there is "Good Measure: Knit a Perfect Fit Every Time" and "Designing Knitwear" by Deborah Newton, Knitting the Perdect Fit by Melissa Leapman, "Knits that fit" and "Knitting pattern essentials", bot by Sally Melville, and both Knitwear Design Workshops by Shirley Paden
I agree with this take on EZ. A number of years ago I read through several of her books and remember really enjoying them and finding them inspiring even though I didn’t actually knit up anything from them.
Wow! Thanks for all the recommendations! I'm looking forward to jumping into some of these. I agree with wanting more detail instead of the patterns in the Clara Parkes books too, but they're still such great resources that I can't complain too much. I'm planning to do a readthrough of Knitting Without Tears soon. I'd honestly forgotten I had it until I made this video and filming made me realize that I needed to give it a chance.
The knitters handy guide to Top down sweaters by Ann Budd. Highly recommend. She explores differences between styles, such as raglan, drop shoulder, seemed, etc. 🙃
Thanks for the recommendations and your opinions. Someday I’m going to learn to spin yarn so I think the first two books should join my library. Twist my arm. I just cast on my first sock but I love the colors Summer Lee does. I really like beautiful books. I just bought the Nancy Bates National Parks hat book. Even if I only knit one hat, I still love looking thru the book.
What a great podcast! I LOVE the Summer Lee socks book and use it often. I do pick up one extra stitch on each side down into the heel when picking up stitches for the gusset. Summer's socks often have a bit of a hole there, easily remedied with one more deep stitch. As to Elizabeth Zimmerman, Carol Anderson of Cottage Creations took EZ's techniques and made them much more practical (see her patterns on Ravelry). I highly recommend her hooded pullovers, "Wallabys," for anyone from toddler to adult. The knitting is easy and I find it therapeutic.
I have lots of knitting books, most of which are either sock books or technique books. My current overall favorite is Patty Lyons Knitter’s Bag of Tricks. She has so many ways to make knits look better. There’s a workbook to go along with it and it looks wonderful although I haven’t bought it. I’ve read through the book several times already and keep it handy.
Along the same line as The Knitter’s Book of Wool is The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook. It is one that usually gets recommended more for spinners, but if you find reading about different types of sheep breeds and their wool characteristics interesting you will probably enjoy that one, it covers a lot more breeds. You might enjoy Amy Herzog’s books for sweater modifications too. If your library has Hoopla I think the aforementioned books are all available there. I can’t always get knitting books from my library but when I can I try to check them out there first to see if they are books I want to invest in or if they are ones that I just enjoy flipping through. I’ve collected a lot of books over the years…
Ooh, good tip on checking Hoopla! I already downloaded one of Amy Herzog's books from there after reading your comment and plan to check out several more now
Loved seeing what books you have! I tend not to buy pattern books and rely mostly on Ravelry to find patterns. One book I'm enjoying, but only because I recenltly bought the workbook that goes with it, is Patty Lyons' Knitting Bag of Tricks. I bought the book a year ago, and only got a short ways in and found it confusing. I'm guessing I was not the only one, because this year she produced a workbook that goes with the book, and I'm going through it chapter by chapter, and learning A LOT!
Yes! Loved this video. I will need to check out those Clara Parkes books. I’ve been eyeing them already. As far as book recommendations, I love knitting colorwork- Strangebrew by Tincanknits is great. The patterns are beautiful and there are patterns to built your own motifs. Bottom up or top down construction, multiple gauges. Super cool book. I also have the Vogue knitting stitch dictionary! It has some cool mosaic colorwork charts I’ve never seen in other stitch books.
Honestly I personally am not too much a fan of knitting or pattern books. The interresting thing is that what I like today, or the reason I bought the book today ist totally different 3 years from now. That is what I find when I go through te few books I own periodically. It always surprises me. I really did enjoy your review. Now I am wondering what you would say about the same books a couple of years from now 😊 Thanks for the video and keeping me company while knitting.
Shirley Paden, Alice Starmore, Barbara Walker - all excellent authors. Elizabeth Zimmerman and Sidney Farley also good fundamental books. Beth Brown-Reinsel, Ann Budd, Anna Zilboorg and a few others also have a place in my library.
Completely unhelpful recommendations but my favourite knitting books are the personal essay types :) My all time favourites that I read and reread are by Susan Lydon Gordon (The Knitting Sutra and Knitting Heaven & Earth). I also enjoy the widely loved A Stash of Ones Own and I'm looking for a copy of At Knits End (by the Yarn Harlot). xx
I agree with you about Summer Lees sock book BUT it is not sturdy. Mine fell apart so I took it to Staples and had it spiral bound for about four dollars.
Bonnie, I want to recommend CRAFTSY, as you say you are a visual learner who benefits from videos. There are more than one class on customizing your sweater to fit your taste and your body. Now, if I say a class - every class has a number of lessons and could have up to 8 hours of teaching. Amy Hertzog has a class that I think would really excite you. She teaches you how to adapt and customize any pattern. She has also written a book on it, but I have not bought the book, so I can't comment on it, but I did the class and I can't recommend it enough. There is also a class by Kate Atherley, called Math for Knitters, which teaches your how to adapt your patterns and teaches you the math that goes with it. I worked through that as well and found it very helpful. You will do well to invest in a membership in Craftsy or alternatively just buy the class you are interested in. However I would recommend membership for a year where you have access to every single class and then decide what to do from there. I think they offer 50% off for the first year at the moment, which is $62 something. Good luck with your goals this year.
I’m with you on the Knitting for Olive book, beautiful, beige, and not a thing I’d knit. I didn’t know we were allowed to say anything 😂 Knitting for Olive is a sacred cow (sheep?)
Hahaha! It really did feel weird to say anything even kind of negative about them. I do adore their yarn though so I think they've earned a little of that sacred sheep status.
Lost me on you Summer Lee UA-cam recommendation…watched it once….had to listen to her talk about her new over the top house…actually gave a tour..yep in a knitting podcast….then actually showed her and her husband CLEANING her brand new flashy house…..why anyone wants to watch that for a knitting podcast or purchase anything from her……guess I am a old school actual knitter not the need to show new found wealth and cleaning practices
Skinny girl saying she will enjoy a knitting pattern book but wont recommend it because it's not size inclusive is such a tone deaf way to virtue signal.
Actually I was hoping she would mention if any of them were size inclusive, I feel like that’s super relevant information to reviewing any book with patterns in it.
I personally disagree. I am not going to give you a long explanation for why I purchased this particular book, but I will say that I didn't realize the lack of size inclusivity until I had already made the purchase. My mentioning of the sizing issue was my way of admitting an error. We are all human and the best we can do is try to do better going forward once we realize we've made a mistake. I personally think supporting designers who are doing the work to design size inclusive patterns is an important aspect of this community and it will continue to be a priority for me going forward. On a more practical note, I do not know who is watching my videos and some viewers may not be able to purchase this book because of the limited size range. They deserve to have the information they need to make an informed purchase.
Honestly I disagree. As someone who is over weight I didn’t feel like she was virtue signaling and she was being honest. Over using the call to call out people for virtue signaling diminishes the use of calling someone out for when they are really virtue signaling.
Several years ago I bought the book 6000+ Pullover Possibilities: Interchangeable Options for Custom Knitted Sweaters by Melissa Leapman. It really helped me to understand sweater construction better. Everything is knit flat, but it is like a choose your own adventure novel because you basically design your own garment and then follow the directions to make it. I love this book, and I've loved everything I've made from it.❤🧶
Highly recommend the nerdy knitter. I took an online class with her last year that went into all the math needed to adjust patterns for your size. You can get a lot of the same info from her channel. Pretty sure you know everything you need to in order to make knits that fit your body (it’s all about stitch/row gauge and short rows) what you need to know is how to select the correct size and when to base the size on which measurement, and how to make the perfect frankensweater for your body measurements.
I love her channel! Her videos are actually what have been making me want to dive into sweater customization lately. I will definitely dive more into her resources!
Another Chanel to check out is @mostly knitting. Tash does lots of tutorials and explains knitting maths so well
Woot! I just ordered some books. I would hesitate to recommend pattern books to you as we have very different bodies and very different preferences. I'm not a huge fan of round yoke colorwork sweaters, for example. Or cardigans, which tend to look frumpy on me. I am also obsessed with fit but, for me, that primarily means adjusting for a larger bust, larger biceps, short arms, rounded shoulders, and a slightly forward shoulder. Again, quite different than what probably concerns you. :). Anyway, thx for the podcast!
The book I turn to time and again is The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd - it's like a choose-your-own-adventure guide for knitting.
Thanks for the video, I always love to see knitting books! Of all that you showed, I hadn't heard only about the Knitwear from Finland and the designs there are truly stunning!
The two that I own physical copies of were both gifts and stitch dictionaries, and both stunning: the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida, focused in cables and lace, and then Andrea Rangel's latest book KnitOvation, which is all about colorwork with modern and more graphic motifs.
I absolutely adored Clara Parks' Book of Yarn and I still want to read her Book of Wool and her other books. I agree that the patterns aren't very appealing. Maybe they shouldn't be there, and rather give space for more detail information, which I still miss in some sections, especially about plant fibers.
As for the Knitting Without Tears, this is another book whose focus is not in the patterns so much. As I understand, it's more like a conversational book in which she gives varied knitting advise. Maybe reading it like you read Clara's would make more sense and make the book more enjoyable?
As for books I'd recommend about knitting construction and how to make a better fit, I'd say all of Ann Budd's books are a good start point, as well as "Sweater Design in Plain English" by Maggie Righetti. Then there is "Good Measure: Knit a Perfect Fit Every Time" and "Designing Knitwear" by Deborah Newton, Knitting the Perdect Fit by Melissa Leapman, "Knits that fit" and "Knitting pattern essentials", bot by Sally Melville, and both Knitwear Design Workshops by Shirley Paden
I agree with this take on EZ. A number of years ago I read through several of her books and remember really enjoying them and finding them inspiring even though I didn’t actually knit up anything from them.
Wow! Thanks for all the recommendations! I'm looking forward to jumping into some of these. I agree with wanting more detail instead of the patterns in the Clara Parkes books too, but they're still such great resources that I can't complain too much.
I'm planning to do a readthrough of Knitting Without Tears soon. I'd honestly forgotten I had it until I made this video and filming made me realize that I needed to give it a chance.
The knitters handy guide to Top down sweaters by Ann Budd. Highly recommend. She explores differences between styles, such as raglan, drop shoulder, seemed, etc. 🙃
Thanks for a great video! Going to get Clara Parke’s books asap - info missing in my knitting knowledge. Looking forward to your next video.
Great video - loved seeing some books I haven't had a peek into and your reasons for liking/not liking was really useful.
Kudos for not including Amazon links! Any book can be ordered from local independent bookstores.
Thanks for the recommendations and your opinions. Someday I’m going to learn to spin yarn so I think the first two books should join my library. Twist my arm. I just cast on my first sock but I love the colors Summer Lee does. I really like beautiful books. I just bought the Nancy Bates National Parks hat book. Even if I only knit one hat, I still love looking thru the book.
What a great podcast! I LOVE the Summer Lee socks book and use it often. I do pick up one extra stitch on each side down into the heel when picking up stitches for the gusset. Summer's socks often have a bit of a hole there, easily remedied with one more deep stitch. As to Elizabeth Zimmerman, Carol Anderson of Cottage Creations took EZ's techniques and made them much more practical (see her patterns on Ravelry). I highly recommend her hooded pullovers, "Wallabys," for anyone from toddler to adult. The knitting is easy and I find it therapeutic.
I have lots of knitting books, most of which are either sock books or technique books. My current overall favorite is Patty Lyons Knitter’s Bag of Tricks. She has so many ways to make knits look better. There’s a workbook to go along with it and it looks wonderful although I haven’t bought it. I’ve read through the book several times already and keep it handy.
Patty Lyons book is great.
Along the same line as The Knitter’s Book of Wool is The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook. It is one that usually gets recommended more for spinners, but if you find reading about different types of sheep breeds and their wool characteristics interesting you will probably enjoy that one, it covers a lot more breeds. You might enjoy Amy Herzog’s books for sweater modifications too. If your library has Hoopla I think the aforementioned books are all available there. I can’t always get knitting books from my library but when I can I try to check them out there first to see if they are books I want to invest in or if they are ones that I just enjoy flipping through. I’ve collected a lot of books over the years…
Ooh, good tip on checking Hoopla! I already downloaded one of Amy Herzog's books from there after reading your comment and plan to check out several more now
Loved seeing what books you have! I tend not to buy pattern books and rely mostly on Ravelry to find patterns. One book I'm enjoying, but only because I recenltly bought the workbook that goes with it, is Patty Lyons' Knitting Bag of Tricks. I bought the book a year ago, and only got a short ways in and found it confusing. I'm guessing I was not the only one, because this year she produced a workbook that goes with the book, and I'm going through it chapter by chapter, and learning A LOT!
Yes! Loved this video. I will need to check out those Clara Parkes books. I’ve been eyeing them already.
As far as book recommendations, I love knitting colorwork- Strangebrew by Tincanknits is great. The patterns are beautiful and there are patterns to built your own motifs. Bottom up or top down construction, multiple gauges. Super cool book.
I also have the Vogue knitting stitch dictionary! It has some cool mosaic colorwork charts I’ve never seen in other stitch books.
I'll be sure to check those out! I've heard such good things about Tincanknits and have actually been eyeing that stitch dictionary for a while.
Honestly I personally am not too much a fan of knitting or pattern books.
The interresting thing is that what I like today, or the reason I bought the book today ist totally different 3 years from now. That is what I find when I go through te few books I own periodically. It always surprises me.
I really did enjoy your review. Now I am wondering what you would say about the same books a couple of years from now 😊
Thanks for the video and keeping me company while knitting.
Knitting from the Top Down by Barbara Walker. Can't recommend enough.
Me too. The Knitting for Olive book was boring and beige. The front cover was pretty but glad mine was a library book. Each to their own I suppose
Inspired to pickup Sock Project to go along with on your sock journey!
Shirley Paden, Alice Starmore, Barbara Walker - all excellent authors. Elizabeth Zimmerman and Sidney Farley also good fundamental books. Beth Brown-Reinsel, Ann Budd, Anna Zilboorg and a few others also have a place in my library.
Completely unhelpful recommendations but my favourite knitting books are the personal essay types :) My all time favourites that I read and reread are by Susan Lydon Gordon (The Knitting Sutra and Knitting Heaven & Earth). I also enjoy the widely loved A Stash of Ones Own and I'm looking for a copy of At Knits End (by the Yarn Harlot). xx
Patty Lyons bag of tricks for especially starting garment knitting...
the Zimmerman book will blow your mind, when you are ready to receive the information.
That’s what I’m hoping! All the comments about it are making me excited to really dive in
I agree with you about Summer Lees sock book BUT it is not sturdy. Mine fell apart so I took it to Staples and had it spiral bound for about four dollars.
thank you for not linking to Amazon! 🎉
I have to learn from video too. I am left handed, so I have to mirror flip all the directions
Bonnie, I want to recommend CRAFTSY, as you say you are a visual learner who benefits from videos. There are more than one class on customizing your sweater to fit your taste and your body. Now, if I say a class - every class has a number of lessons and could have up to 8 hours of teaching. Amy Hertzog has a class that I think would really excite you. She teaches you how to adapt and customize any pattern. She has also written a book on it, but I have not bought the book, so I can't comment on it, but I did the class and I can't recommend it enough.
There is also a class by Kate Atherley, called Math for Knitters, which teaches your how to adapt your patterns and teaches you the math that goes with it. I worked through that as well and found it very helpful. You will do well to invest in a membership in Craftsy or alternatively just buy the class you are interested in. However I would recommend membership for a year where you have access to every single class and then decide what to do from there. I think they offer 50% off for the first year at the moment, which is $62 something.
Good luck with your goals this year.
Love the Clara Parke’s books! I think Vogue knitting is highly overrated, and needs a MUCH better index! Unfamiliar with Summer Lee.
I found Knitting Without Tears pretty useless for me too. It just doesn't work for my brain.
I’m with you on the Knitting for Olive book, beautiful, beige, and not a thing I’d knit. I didn’t know we were allowed to say anything 😂
Knitting for Olive is a sacred cow (sheep?)
Hahaha! It really did feel weird to say anything even kind of negative about them. I do adore their yarn though so I think they've earned a little of that sacred sheep status.
So are the books in the first two categories size inclusive? It would have been helpful to mention for each book if it was or not
I realize that I dropped the ball on this information a bit and I apologize. I will add notes in the description with this information.
@@AKnitterObsessedthat’s really awesome thank you!
Lost me on you Summer Lee UA-cam recommendation…watched it once….had to listen to her talk about her new over the top house…actually gave a tour..yep in a knitting podcast….then actually showed her and her husband CLEANING her brand new flashy house…..why anyone wants to watch that for a knitting podcast or purchase anything from her……guess I am a old school actual knitter not the need to show new found wealth and cleaning practices
Skinny girl saying she will enjoy a knitting pattern book but wont recommend it because it's not size inclusive is such a tone deaf way to virtue signal.
Actually I was hoping she would mention if any of them were size inclusive, I feel like that’s super relevant information to reviewing any book with patterns in it.
I personally disagree. I am not going to give you a long explanation for why I purchased this particular book, but I will say that I didn't realize the lack of size inclusivity until I had already made the purchase. My mentioning of the sizing issue was my way of admitting an error. We are all human and the best we can do is try to do better going forward once we realize we've made a mistake. I personally think supporting designers who are doing the work to design size inclusive patterns is an important aspect of this community and it will continue to be a priority for me going forward.
On a more practical note, I do not know who is watching my videos and some viewers may not be able to purchase this book because of the limited size range. They deserve to have the information they need to make an informed purchase.
Honestly I disagree. As someone who is over weight I didn’t feel like she was virtue signaling and she was being honest. Over using the call to call out people for virtue signaling diminishes the use of calling someone out for when they are really virtue signaling.
Several years ago I bought the book 6000+ Pullover Possibilities: Interchangeable Options for Custom Knitted Sweaters by Melissa Leapman. It really helped me to understand sweater construction better. Everything is knit flat, but it is like a choose your own adventure novel because you basically design your own garment and then follow the directions to make it. I love this book, and I've loved everything I've made from it.❤🧶
Ooh, that sounds fantastic! I will definitely be checking that out.