Hi Everyone
I am thinking about buying a knitting pattern book or magazine. Do you have any suggestions on which one to buy? Or is it worth doing? Thanks
Is there something in particular you like knitting? It might help to know what sort of suggestions you’re after.
I have one knitting book, Japanese stitch bible which is beautiful, gorgeous stitch patterns but no full projects so you have to calculate size, gauge, stitch count etc yourself for whatever you want to make. It is a heavy book though and doesn’t open fully flat so when i use it I have the page photocopied and I jot down the key and any descriptions i need for the symbols.
Can you look at the magazine online or purchase a copy to see if you like the level and kinds of patterns? There are often knitting books of patterns in the public library and they are worth auditioning in case there’s one you like. Friends and the local knitting store can be sources for books to help you decide which you’d like to purchase or subscribe to.
Are you on Ravelry? It’s free to join and has lots of patterns both paid and free.
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Thanks for the suggestions. No , never heard of it
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Ravelry is a sort of social media for yarn crafts. There are literally millions of patterns, and people post their versions along with photos and comments that can be helpful.
The sheer number of patterns can seem overwhelming, but there are lots of ways to filter the results. Knit or crochet? What kind of yarn do you have? Free or paid patterns? Etc.
In terms of buying a book or magazine, I’ve learned never to buy one that doesn’t have at least 5 things I’d like to make. And now that patterns are so readily available online, it doesn’t make sense for me to keep books unless I’ll get a lot of use out of them. So I tend to get books with tips on how to improve my knitting, or tricks to fix mistakes.
There are also books that give a sort of formula for designing your own sweater, like Amy Herzog’s “Ultimate Sweater Book”, or Barbara Walker’s “Knitting from the Top”.
And there are whole books on knitting dishcloths, or Norwegian mittens, or items with a Harry Potter theme. It’s hard to suggest a book without knowing what you’re most interested in. I would certainly start at your local library.
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Here’s a link to the ravelry home page.
You can browse different highlights or click on the top bar for “patterns” then use the filters or search feature.
There are also chat forums on there.
Personally i find it all rather too big but I do use it to find patterns.
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Thanks, this is helpful
Thanks so much for the link
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