Does anyone have any suggestions on which knitting reference book to buy? I have tons of smaller books with patterns, but I would like to purchase a good overall reference book - I only want to buy one. I am currently looking at Vogue Knitting or The Knitter’s Bible.
Thanks for your help!
The Knitters Bible is EXCELLENT. I think it has the clearest illustrations Ive ever seen. PLUS, it has a stitchionary and several cute projects.
How about this one?
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book.
Great pictures, great explanations.
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**Mod Squad was here 
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Is it mostly a stitich guide or is it a great all purpose reference book?
Thanks
I have the Knitters Bible (I’m not sure if it’s the same one, are there more than just one?) And I love it… it’s got patterns, projects, stiches and explinations…
I bought it mainly for the intarsia and fair isle instructions it had 
I learned a lot from the Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Guide, Knitting School: a complete course, and from Knitting Without Tears.
I haven’t tried the Knitters Bible.
I just purchased “Knitting for Dummies” from Amazon and it’s a good simple book. It answers a lot of basic questions.
well, i think that the teen knitting book was really great. 
too me, it was a really great book with awesome projects. the thing about it was that i didn’t know how to purl until coming to this website.
Yup, I have the Knitters Bible too. It’s very good. That other one looks nice too though, the one with the link. I have about six or 7 now coz I joined Crafter’s Choice so I could get BUNCHES! It’s so much fun and the cost is pretty darn good. I sent back 3 and got the ones I really liked after sitting at B & N and checking them out.
another great book to read is Stitch n’ Bitch. it is a wonderful book that you have to read. it is also really funny.
For a great reference from general/basic questions to advanced/specific ones, my fave so far is The Knitting Answer Book. I bought it because I didn’t want another book with patterns. It doesn’t have a single pattern in it, and the drawn pictures/diagrams are excellent.
I haven’t come across anything it didn’t answer. (Though I haven’t read every thing in it yet.)
HTH
Knitters Bible gets my vote, too…I love it. Knitting for Dummies is also very, very good
I vote for The Knitter’s Handbook. I borrowed literally dozens of knitting books from the library to figure out what to get for a general reference, and that’s what I ultimately decided on. It’s very thorough. The link is for the newest softcover edition, but I was able to find a (slightly older) good, used hardcover edition for about the same $ on ebay. (I just like the idea of having hardcover books for references.)
I love “knitting for dummies”. It taught me everything I know
Are you guys talking about “The knitter’s bible” by Claire Crompton or “The knitter’s bible” by Kate Buller? 
Thinking about ordering books…
I use the SnB book as my how-to reference and reserve my Knitter’s Bible (Crompton) for choosing stitch patterns (it has a beeeeaauuutiful little stitch library, but less wonderful explanations of how-to’s).
I have to vote for (a) Vogue Knitting and (b) Knitter’s Handbook by Montse Stanley. The are both technique and reference books (though Vogue has a few projects at the end – sort of an afterthought). And if you can only have one book, Vogue Knitting is it because the organization is so clear. I love Stanley’s style, but specific answers are sometimes a bit tricky to find. They’re all there, though.
The other books mentioned aren’t bad, and will take you through beginnerhood, but Vogue and Knitter’s Handbook will be your trusted friends for your entire knitting life. If you want to move beyond scarves and simple sweaters, go for the good stuff.
I like Vogue a lot too. It was a serious contender when I was deciding on a primary knitting reference, but the Stanley book edged it out by just a little bit. That said, I wanted to add that this morning I found a “very good condition” first edition (1989 hardcover) Vogue Knitting for under $6 shipped so I figured what the heck. (How could I not buy it for that price?) I had borrowed the newer version from the library and referred to it a lot before I had to return it. It’ll be interesting to see how the older edition differs. (At least two reviews I’ve read have said that there were few changes. I think the main change was adding “Ultimate” to the title. Oh yeah, the older cover is sort of ugly. I’m hoping it’s plain under the dust jacket.) I got my copy here: