Feature: Cool stuff
Cool stuff
SR [Finished chest measurement for sweaters] = the smallest chest measurement to the largest chest measurement we could find in the book. There may be only one pattern with the smallest or largest size, but it's in there. Books are softcover unless noted otherwise. All prices USD unless noted. We are provided with samples to review for free, and we do not publish reviews of products that do not perform well in our testing. We are not paid to review any product.
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Surprise reviews! (Mar 2021)
Visible Mending: Repair, Renew, Reuse the Clothes You Love
by Arounna Khounnoraj
Quadrille Publishing
$22.99
buy now at Bookshop.org | Amazon
Do you follow Arounna Khounnoraj on Instagram? she’s Bookhou there. If you do, you know exactly how creative and inspirational this book is. I was up off of the couch, hunting in my various stashes and piles many times as I read through this book.
It is a practical book that shows and tells about supplies and techniques, has instructions and patterns. There is just enough information, and is well done in detailed photos and illustrations. But it's how she brings the ideas of repairing, renewing and reusing to life and together that really sparked excitement in me.
The book is divided broadly in to two parts: how to and projects. There are 20 projects that subtlety roll through the book’s subtitle: Repair, mending something with stitching and patching; Renew, refreshing a beloved garment with dyeing and surface design; Reuse, using multiple old fabrics to make something new.
Her projects, like her Instagram feed, are modern and tactile. They are inspiring and not overwhelming. You can follow along or use her ideas as a stepping stone to something wholly new and wholly you. If I was limited to one mending book, this would be it – it has just enough information for me to do the techniques and so much inspiration to follow along or [do my own thing] as I refresh or repurpose my clothes.
JM
Nordic Knits with Birger Berge: Traditional Patterns, Exciting New Looks
by Birger Berge
Trafalgar Square
$24.95, hardcover
SR= 33-57"
buy now at Bookshop.org | Amazon
Clearly inspired by traditional Norwegian knits, Birger Berge has developed a design style that's fresh and modern with skill and first-class technique.
It seems that lately, when designers re-imagine a style of traditional knitting, they loosen it, moving to big bright color palettes and enlarging gauges. Birger’s style is not that; it refines traditional Nordic knitting, working at a smaller gauge (22-28 stitches to 4 inches), and tightening motifs. There is a feeling of fineness to his designs, craftsmanship.
With over 30 patterns, some riffs on a single pattern (slippers and socks), I think most knitters will find something to enjoy knitting. There are six sweaters and the rest are a delightful mix of accessories, hats, socks, scarves slippers, even two ties (with an ingenious construction).
These are patterns and motifs that invite studying. One my first two passes, I was all in with the slippers, but today there is nothing lovelier to me than the hat patterns. I would love nothing more than to have one of the sweaters on the cover, but I know myself better than that – I would never finish. I am thrilled that the accessories in here are never an afterthought or a variation of a bigger pattern. Each one is its own well-thought-out design.
JM
Armchair Travel Knit Kit 3: The Far Fields Shawl or Poncho
by Suzie Briddsang
Rowan Tree Travel
$180.00
Kit Includes:
- 5 skeins of aran weight of Whistlebare’s Yeavering Bell
- Electronic Pattern (pdf)
- RTT Project Bag
- Alice’s Fantastic British Bakes (recipes)
- Kit Cards
buy now at Rowan Tree Travel
In this most strange of years, companies have had to get creative to keep their businesses vital and engaged with the world. The travel sector has probably been affected the most, especially companies focussed on vacation and pleasure travel.
A US-based small tour company, Rowan Tree Travel, has diversified themselves in an utterly charming way: with “Armchair Travel” knitting kits. They cleverly bring together yarns from previously visited destinations with patterns inspired by travel – or dreams of it, anyway!
All of their kits are nicely packaged in a custom project bag, and come with lovely extras – things like stitch markers, recipe cards, notes on the region where the yarn comes from.
Designer Suzie Briddsang’s Far Fields Shawl is a handsome design – cables and lace come together in an engaging but-not-too-challenging knit, and the instructions provide a poncho variation, too.
The Rowan Tree team chooses the kit yarns very carefully, finding something unusual and wonderful from a specific region, prioritizing smaller providers. The mohair and Wensleydale blend yarn used for this particular kit comes from Whistlebare, a family farm in Northumberland, U.K., that spins the yarn from their own flocks.
If and when you are ready to travel again, this kit would make an excellent on-the-go project. But if you’re staying a home for a while longer, enjoy a bit of virtual tourism with this lovely kit.
KA
Maker’s Weekender
by Della Q for Jimmy Beans
$150
22" wide x 12" tall x 10" deep
available in Salmon (shown at top), Blue (shown below), Mustard, Olive, Red
buy now at Jimmy Beans Wool
I have a thing about giant bags and waxed canvas fabric. The Maker’s Weekender ticks both of those boxes, so I had major grabby fingers when mine landed in my mailbox. Why aren’t there more things made out of waxed canvas?
It is big bag: 22"x 12" x 10". I’d definitely call it a duffle bag. It’s one big open compartment, which almost disappointed me, but then I remembered Della Q and Jimmy Beans designed it, and they really know what they are doing. As I dug into the bag, and packed up the bag, my bag-smile just got wider. Waxed canvas means it’s wet-resistant. It will protect your stuff from a spilled coffee or cocktail, but don’t let it sit in a puddle. There is a padded strap that is removable and the leather handles are nicely flexible. On the outside there are two half-height pockets and project holder (more on that later). The bottom has five brass feet (the fifth is right in the middle). On the inside there is a water bottle holder, a laptop compartment, two zipper pockets, and a whole lot of space. There is a thread cutter built into the logo inside and it comes with a loose pattern sleeve.
This bag will hold a lot. It would hold two sweaters worth of yarn in my size XL-2X, or a blanket, or like the name suggests, a weekend’s worth of clothes and crafts.
Let’s talk about the project pocket I mentioned when I talked about the outside of the bag. This is a pocket I’ve seen on athletic bags for shoes. It’s a discreet pocket on the short side that goes into the bigger bag but keeps your shoes from touching anything inside. In this bag, you can fit a medium-sized project and yarn, and keep it separate from your other crafting supplies or clothes in the main compartment. It is not a magic pocket – it’s not Hermione’s bag of endless space – what goes in the project pocket takes up space on the inside of the bag, but it doesn’t get tangled up with any of it. The project pocket has a yarn guide that allows you to keep the zipper mostly closed, and knit without abrading the yarn with the zip teeth.
For spinners out there, I was able to fit my monster art yarn e-spinner (the Magpie by Daedalus) in this bag. There was room for my battery, a spinner’s toolkit, and lots of space to squish fiber around it. I haven’t been able to fit my Magpie in any other knitting bag.
If you want to carry lots of stuff, or big fiber crafts, or have a spiffy get away + craft bag, you can’t go wrong with the Maker’s Weekender.
JM
Super Skeiner
by Akerworks
$332- $338 (depending on wood)
buy now at Akerworks
Akerworks tools are always a perfect balance of beauty and practicality. They were the first folks (to my knowledge) to make those cute 3-D printed bobbins with different colors and patterns on the ends. They are crazy cute, and I have many. I would have bought a few even if they did nothing else. But they also come apart to store flat, and the patterns on the ends have lots of open areas that allow me to see how much of my bobbin is filled while I’m spinning.
The Super Skeiner is like that – oooh shiny new and so pretty. I only take mine apart when I have to, because I just like looking at it. The shape of it, the combination of wood and carbon fiber, and the wood is grainy and beautiful.
On the practical side, it is an exceptional tool. It’s compact. It folds flat into its own case, and can easily slide into a spinning bag with my e-spinner, onto a bookcase, or into my Lendrum bag with my wheel. It will wind a skein from 1-3 yards in ½ yard increments. It has a counter that counts the number of wraps (you do the math for the size of skein for yardage). The combination of its compact size and counter was the first thing that sold me.
The groundbreaking, rethinking-the-niddy-noddy thing about the Super Skeiner, is how it winds. You turn a small crank on the side and wind the yarn in a sort of side-to-side motion (like winding a warp). It may seem like a small thing or even a party trick, but this quieted my shoulder and wrist, which both often complain when I wind skeins on a regular niddy noddy. I was surprised and delighted. The cranking and winding, also causes me to be more deliberate with my winding, meaning I don’t hurry, meaning I do not wrap my skeins too tightly, which would stretch my yarn and distort my count. This deliberate winding also lets me get a good look at my yarn; I can do a first evaluation before I finish it.
This has become a tool I use with every skein I spin.
JM
Maker's Canvas Portfolio
by DellaQ for Jimmy Beans Wool
6.5" tall, 9.5" wide, 2" deep (fabric can expand to 2.25" without stressing the zippers)
Shown in red. Available also in blue, mustard, olive and salmon
$75.00
buy now at Jimmy Beans Wool
Waxed canvas and leather are an irresistible combination in bags, and this new version of the della Q Maker's Portfolio looks and feels amazing in these textures. Approximately the size of a thick Trade Paperback book, it holds an awful lot without feeling overloaded or messy. It has two full-zips that open different sides. One has a pattern window that lets you slip a printout behind a clear plastic window, and two wide zip pockets that hold whatever accessories you carry most often.
The other side has 12 thick matte-finish vinyl pockets where you can slip in your needles, cables, or other large accessories and tools (and a page of needle-size stickers if you want to label the pages!). On the left wall of that section, there's a set of elastics that hold a full set of interchangeable needle tips and on the right side, 10 deep, sewn pockets that are perfect for DPNs or crochet hooks. Here's how mine is set up:
I use my Lykke interchangeables and my HiyaHiya long/sharp interchangeables most often, so I set this case up with both. My lovely rabbit, Schmoo, destroyed the Lykke case, so it was handy to be able to store them in the Maker's Canvas Portfolio. The cables and connectors fit nicely in the vinyl pockets. The HiyaHiyas come in a slim case, so I just slipped the case itself in the front section of the Portfolio. You can see I've added little rabbit clips to the top of the vinyl pockets for the most-full pages, where I've stored my most-used fixed circulars. I find that I often open zippered cases upside down, and this prevents anything falling out if I do that. The needle tips and DPNs are secure in their elastic or pockets, and I don't worry about them going anywhere.
So I've stuffed quite a bit of my gear into this case, and this next pic shows what it looks like when zipped up.
It's very full, but the zippers are not overly stretched and zipping it closed was easy. It looks a bit asymmetrical because of where the stuff inside is located - the bag is perfectly square and flat on its own. I also really like the leather handle on the spine of the case (see pic at top). This makes it super easy to carry. I'm really enjoying taking this case with me, knowing I have most any needle or tool I could want right at hand, a quick flip away.
This is a very sturdy, well-built and attractive case that can be bent to the knitter's will: make it do what you want! So many pockets of different sizes and configurations makes it almost infinitely adaptable!
AS
Norah Gaughan’s Twisted Stitch Sourcebook
by Norah Gaughan
Abrams Books
$29.99, hardcover
SR= 30-62"
buy now at Bookshop.org | Amazon
It is always a good day when a new Norah Gaughan book hits my desk. I had heard a rumor soon after her amazing Cable Sourcebook came out that she was exploring twisted stitches. To me, twisted stitches are a more subtle cousin to cables. Cables are rock and roll, straight forward and brash; twisted stitches are jazz, suggestive, with a little more meander.
The book is divided in to three sections. Part one is Stitches: 130 different twisted stitches, most of them, like in her Cable Sourcebook, are Norah’s invention. Part two is Garments: twelve sweaters, two scarves, and a hat/mitt set. Part three is Design Your own, with information about designing both twisted stitches and patterns that use them.
What I like so much about Norah and her work is that she doesn’t shy away from complexity, but she doesn’t hold it like it’s a secret club. She always offers different levels, and has a sneaky, subtle way of showing that complexity may take time, but isn’t hard.
A knitter could lose themselves, very happily, in this book or just snack in it. I am wowed (as usual) by her garment patterns, interesting to make and look at, and there is no way someone would mistake one of her patterns for an off-the-rack garment. They are proudly crafted by hand. My two favorites from this collection are the Cropped Cardi, perfectly paired with Jill Draper’s Valkill; and the Hexagon Pullover, in part because it doesn’t fit like a ‘regular’ sweater.
JM
Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Stitch Dictionary
by the Editors of Vogue Knitting Magazine
Sixth & Spring Books
$39.95, hardcover
buy now at Bookshop.org | Amazon
Eight! Hundred! Stitches! Winter is a great time to swatch. Swatching is a perfect thing to do when you don’t want to really follow a whole pattern, but want to engage your brain with more than garter stitch or stockinette. This collection is mostly pulled from the original multi-volume Vogue Knitting stitch dictionaries, plus 100 new stitches
The chapters of types of stitch patterns are flagged with color edging on the pages, making it easy to browse just the kinds of stitches you are hunting for. The stitch chapters are Knit and Purl, Colorwork, Cables, Lace, and Edgings. The patterns are charted, and most are written out as well. The photography looks fresh and bright and shows better stitch detail than the original books. The book is big and heavy; it lies flat when opened and is easy to knit from.
I do wish there was a chart that sorted the motifs by stitch count, so I could search for just the right size patterns.
The Ultimate Stitch Dictionary along with the revised Vogue Knitting Ultimate Knitting book is a great anchor for any knitter’s bookshelf.
JM
1000 Japanese Knitting and Crochet Stitches: The Ultimate Bible for Needlecraft Enthusiasts
by Nihon Vogue, Translated by Gayle Roehm
Tuttle Publishing
$29.99
buy now at Bookshop.org | Amazon
This is a translation of a Japanese stitch dictionary originally published in 1992. It was one of three or four stitch dictionaries that were published in the early '90s that became legendary among knitters. I ordered one from Japan in the late '90s and have used it so often, it’s now held together with a big rubber band.
There are 700 knit stitches and 300 crochet stitches. They are the same stitches and the same charts as the Japanese version I have, but there is more description and explanation in Gayle Roehm’s translation. The stitch symbols have more detailed written explanations, and she goes into additional and very helpful additional detail about the particular stitch groups like brioche.
Gayle Roehm explains things succinctly but with precision. She has been teaching online, regularly for Vogue Knitting and Stitches Events, different aspects of Japanese knitting, I look forward to taking a class from her one day.
If you don’t already own a Japanese stitch dictionary please treat yourself. The stitches are distinct and original, and even the easiest stitches will elevate your knitting.
JM
Evolution: 13 Wearable Hand Knits Inspired by the Vintage Shetland Project
by Susan Crawford
Susan Crawford Vintage
£25 GBP, hardcover
SR= 28-62"
buy now at Susan's website
Evolution is a splendid collection of garments inspired by vintage Shetland knits. Susan Crawford, who put together this beautiful book in the midst of the Covid crisis and her own health issues, has been studying and knitting vintage Shetland knits for decades. She developed The Vintage Shetland Project from this love. The Vintage Shetland Project was an eight year in process book that reproduced Shetland knitwear held in the Shetland Museum archive.
In these 13 patterns, Susan uses that intimate knowledge, hones it and presents us with modern and very wearable garments based on a specific constructions, a color chart or portion of a stitch pattern.
The patterns, six sweaters, one vest, two hats, one pair of mittens, one pair of socks, a shawl, and a scarf, have a thoroughly modern feel, with a whisper of something older at their core. There are lace-yoked sweaters (a favorite is Orchidaceae), colorwork enlarged from vintage charts, sweater shapes that flow and swing, a shawl with an old stitch in a modern silhouette, and another favorite – a hat, Steek – with a colorwork pattern based on a steek chart.
The photos are many and beautiful, and Susan models every one of her designs, looking powerful and serene in her home landscape. The book is a wonderful hardback with a design that owes as much to art books as knitting books.
Evolution is a book, of lovely and easy to wear patterns, but it distinctly shows the progression and transformation of a designer over time.
JM
On the Farm: Heritage & Heralded Animal Breeds in Portraits and Stories
by Aliza Eliazarov
10 Speed Press
$30.00, hardcover
buy now at Bookshop.org | Amazon
The photography in this book will make you catch your breath. It is stunning. Aliza Eliazarov lovingly photographed heritage breeds of farm animals. Her photos show them as individuals – noble, majestic and full of personality. They are individuals I want to hang out with.
She also tells stories about these animals from anecdotes, personal stories, and discusses the importance heritage breeds play in the biodiversity of our world. I have been entertained and educated by this book in equal parts.
I have no illusions that this book is snapped up for the glorious photography, but you will learn so much if you also read the words.
JM
Punch Needle Rug Hooking: Your Complete Resource to Learn & Love the Craft
by Amy Oxford
Schiffer Books
$27.99, hardcover
buy now at Bookshop.org | Amazon
You would be correct in thinking that the inventor of the indispensible and ubiquitous Oxford punch needle would write a great, sensible, and straightforward book on the craft.
Amy Oxford has been making and teaching Punch Needle Rug Hooking for quite a long time. She is a creative designer and an excellent teacher, and this book reflects that. Here’s an example: most books that are a how-to and overview of a craft start with either materials or history. This book has both of those, but in a genius move, Amy begins her book with a quick-start guide, 20 pages of a just-the-facts-ma’am guide for those of us who are ready to go and don’t want to read the whole book yet (me).
The rest of the book is just as clever and packed full of excellent how-to, history, and inspiration. There are three soup-to-nuts projects in the book: a beginner project, a more detailed project, and a project focused on using different-sized punch needles. The projects are so detailed with big, step-by-step photography, and such good direction it’s like Amy is in the room with you.
The book covers assembling a punch needle kit, in-depth information about punch needles, fabric, frames, yarn, transferring designs, hemming, repairing your work, and a lot of inspirational photos of punch needle work.
This book really feels like the best kind of workshop.
JM
Star Wars: Knitting the Galaxy
by Tanis Gray
Insight Editions
$29.95, hardcover
SR 27-57"
buy now at Bookshop.org | Amazon
I am so happy that the folks at Insight Editions are wise enough to hire excellent knitters and designers to edit their books based on movies and tv. Harry Potter and Outlander came before this one. Do you remember the days of the ‘inspired by’ knitting books with projects that were 90% chunky yarn without much connection to property or fandom they were celebrating?
Tanis Gray (who also helmed the Harry Potter knitting book) has done a fantastic job gathering a wonderful variety of patterns and designers to celebrate the Star Wars universe. The patterns are fun, have great detail, but aren’t so complex as to be off-putting for the casual fan and knitter.
The designs are knit in a good mixture of gauges, and the difficulty is ranked in number of light sabers. The book is loaded with photos and quotes from the first six movies which really gives the book a feeling of a fun adventure (in a galaxy far, far away).
There are four main parts to the book. Toys has a good selection of stuffies, from a tiny Pocket Yoda and a fuzzy Wookie, to a big a squishable Death Star. Costume Replicas features a fantastic recreation of Rey’s Vest and Arm Wraps. Inspired Apparel is the largest section (17 patterns), and the one where designers really flexed their creativity. There are patterns for when you want your love of Star Wars to be obvious, Yoda or R2-D2 Mittens; Order of the Jedi Pullover; A Galaxy Far, Far Away Mittens; or the Darth Vader Pullover. And there are patterns where only other fans might notice the connection, the detail is so fine like the Rebel Alliance Shawl, Darth Maul Mittens, Lightsaber Sock or the exceptional Wookie Socks. The book wraps up with Home Décor: a BB-8 blanket, Droid pillow, and one of my faves – Villainous Mini Sweater Ornaments.
This book was developed before the Mandalorian tv series came out. There is not a Grogu pattern, but with a few modifications Pocket Yoda can become Baby Yoda. The Yoda in the Order of the Jedi pullover looks more like Grogu than Yoda, and there is a Boba Fett chart as part of the Villainous Mini Sweater Ornament set.
JM
Textile Travels
by Anne Kelly
Batsford
$29.95, hardcover
buy now at Bookshop.org | Amazon
I picked this up thinking it would be an embroidery book. It is so much more. It is a collection of fiber art pieces inspired by travel. Author and artist Anne Kelly tells the stories behind her own pieces and showcases other artists that have inspired her.
There is some loose how to. The basics are outlined for a few of Anne Kelly’s pieces. The methods are simple and straightforward, but the inspiration and execution are where the magic happens.
Art, memory, and place combine in sections entitled Mapping the Journey, Heading South, Due North, and Space and Exploration. There are maps, folded travel books, wall hangings, and common objects transformed. The work is stitching (both machine and hand) block printing and appliqué. My favorite pieces combine maps, ephemera, vintage textiles, and hand stitching, especially when the finished piece is small enough to be tucked away like a treasure memory.
This is much more a book of inspiration, but there is just enough instruction to give you the final push to capture your travels creatively.
JM
MDK Field Guide #16: Painterly
$9.95-$15.95
buy now at MDK
Kaffe Fassett has never gone out of style, and the knitting world has never stopped admiring him. We understand his need to move to cloth and quilting, and treasure every visit he makes back to yarn.
The new Modern Daily Knitting Field Guide has three patterns by Kaffe all using Rowan Felted Tweed (one of my desert island yarns). The first time he visited MDK, he came with stripes this time it’s intarsia.
The patterns are all designed for the new intarsia knitter, and there is an Intarsia 101 guide to help. There is the Watercolor Cowl, I-Cushions, Kites Throw, and the Village/ Cityscape Scarves. All have different amounts and feels to the their intarsia. If you want just a taste, the house motif from the Village/ Cityscape Scarves have taken on a life of their own. Knitters have turned the motif into stand-alone stuffed abodes – just enough intarsia to feel accomplished, and small enough to not feel overwhelmed.
JM