Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49557 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781596680982
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review

About the Author

Customer Reviews

Satisfying!
Socksters, this is a no-brainer. You NEED this book. Even if you haven't (yet) drunk the sock-knitting Kool-Aid, this book is worth your while for how it breaks down the world of handpainted yarns. She classifies them two ways--by contrast colors and by dye-run length--and explains how they work with different patterns and how to grapple with that bugbear of handpainted yarns--pooling.

The bad news is: part of the answer is, ya gotta swatch. Errrrgh. I know. But her advice is sound, and she offers a number of ways to cope, everything from directional knitting to knitting with two skeins to certain stitch patterns.

Each of the 21 patterns in this book is rated according to which brightness of yarn you have to work with, everything from almost solid (those luscious kettle dyes), to moderate to brightly painted (which she at one point jokingly calls 'clown barf'). That means once you identify what type of yarn you've yanked out of your stash, you can find a pattern to work.

The patterns are from well known designers (Ann Budd, Charlene Schurch, etc) and look challenging enough to be interesting, but not too intimidating. (Maybe don't knit while watching your favorite TV show, but when it's not your own personal Must See TV, you can knit away with confidence). The patterns feature everything from directional knitting (but, strangely, no mitered squares) to color stranding to a teeny bit of intarsia to lace. It presumes basic knitting knowledge and a good bit of the basics of sock construction as well, but I wouldn't put it above an 'intermediate' knitter. Beginners might hold off to get a sock or two under their needles first, but none of these patterns have complicated massive charts or anything else too intimdating.

If, like me, you've bought a bucket of handpaints but dread knitting them up into a pattern where either the stitch pattern gets lost in the color, the colors muddy up, or you're plagued with pooling, this book is just what you need. Do NOT have any socks on your needles when this book arrives.

Handpainted Sockahlics Dream Come True
Seriously, no hyperbole there. I know of few sock knitters who don't love sock candy, but it really is a pain sometimes to get it to look as good as a sock compared to its skeined up loveliness. Short of fiddling with stitch count or using the same old standby's over and over, what's a sock knitter to do?

This book is absolutely jam packed with great alternatives for feisty yarn. No matter if your taste runs from subtle to wild, you will be able to match your yarn up with a suitable pattern that will allow it to shine. I am extremely impressed with the range here. While there are a couple I just shake my head at, the vast majority are very well thought out and quite lovely.

This book is not for beginners, and for that I am also thankful. Why waste pages on 'how to' when there are so many other good resources out there, some of them free. I'm getting more patterns for my dollar here, or rather my brother did since he's the one who bought it for me for an early Christmas present. The book is a treat just for the gorgeous patterns and photos alone!

This book will hold a place of honor on my shelf, it has truly addressed a need in the sock knitting world.

Knocked my (handpainted) socks off!
I thought "Oh, ho-hum, another sock book about stripey yarn" but...no, this book REALLY has a lot to offer the sock knitter as well as yarn dyer or spinner.

The book discusses handpainted or varigated yarns and the problem of "pooling" or when blotches of color show up rather than stripes. The patterns are coded by whether the pattern is suited for wild multi-colors, muted multi color, or almost solid. So when you look at a particular model, there is a symbol to tell you what yarn might work the best. Some patterns, by using short and long stitches to break up the pool of color or to camouflage the effect.

Many of the patterns are textured. There are braids, zig-zags, and other patterns. Some are color patterns--like a flame orwaves of color accented by embroidery. The flame is great--looks like a custom Harley paint job (gray and flame-orange, with flames rising up the cuffs.)

I have a stash of all kinds of shaded yarns and I can't wait to try a number of the patterns. These are sufficiently different that I could confidently recommend this book to any sock knitter, even one with a huge library. If you have a stubborn "pooling" yarn or just a stash of shaded sock yarns, you are sure to find a wonderful pattern here.