Knitty gritty: Knits: 25 fun & fabulous projects, from the DIY network, by Vickie Howell, host of Knitty Gritty.

Vickie Howell is such a dynamo, with verve and energy and excitement for the craft of knitting. She sure has played a big part in making knitting cool for the young crowd. This book is a spin off of her television program ‘knitty gritty’ from the DIY Network (have you all seen this? - if not you can check out videos online here). The book really follows a similar pattern to the show. Introduces the project and teaches the techniques needed to make it.

As on the show the techniques and stitches are really clear and simple. Using larger needles and thicker yarn in order to clearly see the stitches, with close ups of the stitches and materials and tools required. All the projects in the book are simple and suitable either for beginners or those with a little knowledge. However there are challenges, but with such good instructions that they make more difficult techniques look easy. Like the wild hats with cylinders coming out at all angles and the freeform knitted shoes.

The great thing about this book is that is making learning knitting fun and interesting. In each pattern there is a new technique or stitch to learn. Learn to make i-cord with knitting needles in order to make a necklace, learn about knitted pockets by making a cute garter, there are also ankle socks, earflap hats, armbands, and even a computer cosy. Each project is a lesson with full instructions and good directions.

My only beef with this book is how they have modeled many of the wearable projects - they use headless model dummies which often make the creations look baggy and shapeless. Otherwise great book - recommend it for beginner knitters.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 14th, 2007 at 12:28 pm and is filed under knitting+crochet+yarn, reviews+literature+media. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.