Stitch Dictionary -- Recommendations?

#1

I’m interested in buying a stitch dictionary – preferably one with lots of simple knit and purl patterns, although I wouldn’t mind having a few other patterns for inspiration. :slight_smile: At the moment I am looking for a practical scarf pattern and knit/purl patterns are less likely to have an ugly wrong side.

I have the Vogue knitting book with its stitch dictionary and I like it so much that I thought I’d go with the Vogue series. While looking at the first volume (Vogue Knitting Stitchionary: Knit & Purl) I noticed that several reviewers mentioned Harmony stitch guides and books by Barbara Walker.

Does anyone have any experience with any of these series? :think:

Since the reviews on the Harmony guides were VERY mixed, I’m leaning towards gettng either the first Barbara Walker book – A Treasury of Knitting Patterns – or the Vogue Stitchionary, but I’m open to suggestions from people who have actually seen and used them. :slight_smile:

Many of the reviewers of all three series – both Vogue and Harmony as well as Barbara Walker – seem to favor the second Barbara Walker book over just about any other book around ;). However, I’m not sure if it is suitable for all levels – such as a beginner like me – or if it is for more experienced knitters looking for great design inspiration.

Thanks!

#2

Actually I go with the “The Knitting Stitch Bible by Maria Parry Jones”. I have looked at many of the books you mentioned and I stick with the stitch bible.

#3

I have a couple of stitch dictionaries but the one I seem to always go to is Super Stitches Knitting by Karen Hemingway. Simple to complex patterns with really good instructions. I think it’s a good idea to have more than one, but this is one I go to time and time again.

#4

I have Harmony (very old edition) and Big Book of Knitting Sts. My local lib has a few that are good but not something I’d spend money on. (The Reader’s Digest one also has large crochet section.) The old Mon Tricot books are fabulous but hard to find. You can always check either the lib or your local bookstore and see what’s available. The more you look at the more you’ll find some books duplicate a lot of the stitches.

#5

I’ve used The Complete Book of Knitting by Barbara Abbey for the last 30 years. I just recently purchased Super Stitches Knitting by Karen Hemingway and Vogue Knitting Stitchionary 3. The latter is color knitting patterns.
If you could compare the instructions for various stitch patterns and see if one makes more sense to you than others I’d get that one.

#6

Thanks for the suggestions – nothing like simplifying things by offering other books I hadn’t considered. :roflhard:

I’m looking at ordering online, so I don’t have the option of looking at them myself (which is always the best way to choose something subjective like this.) I have a couple of coupons and I wanted to add this to a Christmas gift order to save on shipping – the gift books already cost enough for free shipping and my extra coupon is only good online. I don’t know when any of them expire, so I need to order soon, like today.

I was hoping there would be a universal agreement, but it seems that stitch dictonary preferences are just as varied as yarn, needle and style preferences! :slight_smile:

I’ll check the library and my local bookstores for your recommendations – thanks again for sharing your favorites! :yay: (I really do appreciate it – it just cracks me up that I thought there would be stitch dictionary “bible” and you all were happy to prove me wrong. :thumbsup: I’m very fortunate to be able to get so many good opinions. :inlove: )

#7

I did check a book out of the library that I would like to own if I could only have one. It was a Readers Digest knitting encyclopedia I believe. It had a lot of info on knitting techniques, stitch patterns, finishing techniques. It’s definitely not one to through in a knitting bag and taking with you, but it had quite a lot of info. If I didn’t already have all my other books I might have considered looking for a copy.

#8

www.knittingfool.com

has over 400+ or maybe 500+ stitch patterns available to see.