The Principles of Knitting

Some books are nice additions to a library, and others are cornerstone selections. This book is one of those foundational references you can rely on for years to come.

From its easy-to-use format, to the collection of 200 pattern stitches, this book is a quick and easy guide to all things knitting. The techniques and insight you glean from Knitting - The Complete Guide can be applied to any project, such as the socks, gloves, hat and sweater projects featured inside.

This book is equally appreciated by beginner or expert. It contains most valuable information and instructions for everyone who crochets or wishes to learn to do this beautiful work. It embodies a very careful selection of designs; and, from the simplest to the most ornate, every successive step is explained and illustrated so fully that perfect results are a certainty.

    It describes the making of the newest designs for the ever popular use of crochet and gives instructions and patterns for Edgings, Borders, Scarf-Ends, Insertions, Yokes, Lunch-Sets, Doilies, etc.

The first thing to be done in knitting is to cast on or, as it is sometimes called, to "set up the foundation." (Figure 1). There are several methods for this, the following being that preferred and generally used by the writer: Leave a spare end of thread, sufficient for the number of stitches you wish to cast on, lying toward the left, the spool or ball from which the working-thread is drawn being at the right. Lay the thread between the little finger and the third of the left hand; bring the working-thread across the palm of the hand, around the thumb and back between the forefinger and second finger; bend the forefinger over this thread (which passes between it and the second finger), pass it under the thread which crosses the palm of the hand, and then draw the forefinger back, or straighten it, which will give you a loop with crossed threads. Put the needle under the lower part of this loop, which draws from the ball, bring the working-thread (or ball-thread) around the point of needle from right to left, as in plain knitting, draw it back through the loop, slip off the latter, and draw up the left thread. Then proceed to make the crossed loop and knit it off in the same way for the next and following stitches. The whole operation is very simple, although the instructions seem long because explicit. Take your needle and yarn or thread and follow them through carefully, and you will very soon master the "crossed casting on."

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's deepest wish is that everyone understand that knitting is at least as fun as baseball and way cooler than the evil looped path of crochet. Every project, from a misshapen hat to the most magnificent sweater, holds a story. Yarn Harlot tells all those stories with humor, insight, and sympathy for the obsessed.

Over 50 million people in America knit. The average knitter spends between $500 and $1,700 a year on yarn, patterns, needles, and books. No longer just a fad or a hobby, knitting has advanced to a lifestyle.

Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter moves beyond instructions and patterns into the purest elements of knitting: obsession, frustration, reflection, and fun. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's humorous and poignant essays find humor in knitting an enormous afghan that requires a whopping 30 balls of wool, having a husband with size 13 feet who loves to wear hand-knit socks, and earns her yarn harlot title with her love of any new yarn--she'll quickly drop an old project for the fresh saucy look of a new interesting yarn.

Since the upsurge in knitting began in the early '90s, the number of women under 45 who knit has doubled. Knitting is no longer a hobby for just grandmothers--women and men of all ages are embracing this art. Describing its allure is best left to Stephanie who explains: It is a well-known fact that knitting is a sparkling form of entertainment, as spiritual as yoga, as relaxing as a massage, and as funny as Erma Bombeck trapped in a PTA meeting.

“An intelligent, moving read” (Pages) and “a testament to women’s friendship and to Ann Hood’s talent” (Hilma Wolitzer).