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Fair Isle Style: 20 Fresh Designs for a Classic Techniqueby Mary Jane Mucklestone

 

Dive headlong into modern colorwork with this useful guide that will teach you how to knit Fair Isle inspired colorwork.

You’ll enjoy Fair Isle Style if:

• You’re a knitter looking to learn Fair Isle color knitting
• You love color knitting patterns for women and knitted accessories
• You want to knit modern garments inspired by traditional colorwork techniques

Hailing from a tiny island in the northernmost island group of the British Isles, Fair Isle knitting has been produced for nearly four hundred years and is still seen on runways today. Readers will discover true Fair Isle knitting, as well as more modern interpretations, and build fantastic colorscapes from the subtle to the exuberant.

 

Each knitted garment and accessory pattern in Fair Isle Style features a unique mix of traditional colorwork techniques combined with modern color schemes and patterns to make color knitting accessible to today’s knitters. Begin with color knitting on small knitted accessories, learn how to incorporate Fair Isle motifs in larger projects and garments, and challenge your color knitting skills with several all-over Fair Isle knitting patterns. This book is great for beginning color knitters as well as knitters experienced with Fair Isle knitting and features a wide variety of projects for all skill levels. Color knitting patterns include knitted socks, accessories like cowls, gloves, and scarves, knitted cardigans, and more.

 

Fair Isle Style offers a collection of patterns from a variety of established, rising, and new knitwear designers and focuses on fresh, modern uses of color for today’s knitters. A Design Notebook rounds out the book, giving readers further ideas for using Fair Isle knitting. Knitters will delight in a modern look from a traditional technique with Fair Isle Style.

 

Hip To Stitch by Melinda A Barta

 

Needlework is back in vogue because it's fun, easy, and a great way to add personal touches to just about anything. With only a needle, thread, and cloth you can embellish beautiful garments and decor for yourself, and your friends and family. Learn the basics of embroidery through 38 easy-to-follow stitch illustrations, 18 intriguing, hand-embroidered projects - which can easily be tucked into a tote bag or backpack - and two contemporary machine-embroidered projects. Sidebars throughout the book are packed with helpful tips and hints and tricks-of-the-trade such as hiding knots and thread tails, and how to sew a pocket. Individual projects include stitched patterns and motifs to dress up your favorite shirt or jean jacket, covered button hair ties, a day tripper bag, a groovy guitar pick case, a whimsical picnic baby bib, a butterfly picture frame, an heirloom-quality scrapbook, embroidered pillows, and more. Each project is presented with step-by-step instructions and illustrations, and can be made as simple or ambitious as you like by experimenting with stitches and the number and placement of motifs. Even more experienced stitchers are sure to find renewed inspiration in this fresh approach to embroidery.

 

Fall is an ever-popular season for knitters, and with November Knits you can knit warm and stylish garments and accessories to make the season a little cozier. Popular knit designers and authors Courtney Kelley and Kate Gagnon Osborn join forces with all-star contributors, including Melissa LaBarre, Cirilia Rose, Cecily Glowik McDonald, Kristen TenDyke, and many more.

Capture the essence of fall with 23 projects that range from casual cardigans and scarves to sweet, stylish wraps and sweaters. The book is divided into three moods:

• Farm Hands is the most casual design section, filled with rustic and durable garments to shield you through afternoons in a brisk wind.
• Ivy League features sophisticated and smart knitwear, featuring bolder colors and classic styling.
• Down Home is ideal for holidays and special occasions, bringing warmth and comfort to slightly dressier garments. These patterns feature elegant knitted lace, layered and worked for warmth.

With knitted garments and accessories by expert designers, November Knits is a must-have resource.

 

 

Op-Art Socks: Creative Effects in Sock Knitting

by Stephanie van der Linden

 

Not your ordinary sock! Here’s an eye-popping collection that raises the bar for sock knitting.

 

Stephanie van der Linden is a master knitter and shows her technical skills to great effect in Op-Art Socks. A collector of op-art ceramics, she was inspired to translate graphic optical illusions into knitted patterns for knitted socks, replicating their eye-popping effects.

 

Op-Art Socks contains 19 knitted socks projects. Readers will explore knitting techniques such as graphic colorwork, textured knitting (knit and purl), shadow knitting, and shifting ribbing to create optical illusions. The book includes black-and-white swatches of all patterns so that readers can readily perceive the op-art illusions in each piece.

 

Opt-Art Socks is truly unique in theme and designs. Knitters will go beyond ordinary sock knitting into new territory!

 

Inspired by the sublime, subtle tones of wintry northern landscapes, Shades of Winter offers more than 35 projects that will give you an inside look into the natural beauty of pure undyed wool amidst a Scandinavian winter’s snow crystals and cold.

These gorgeous garments range from tops, sweaters, dresses, and coats to hats, mittens, scarves, and shawls and evoke wool’s warmth and softness in many different patterns and textures. Organized by the natural tones of the yarns, these fine woolens are visually stunning and hold the promise of doing no environmental harm. You'll be enchanted by the possibilities: garments ranging from simple garter and stockinette to more elaborate cables, bobbles, texture, and lace patterns.

With over 35 dreamlike, knitted wool designs using stunning techniques captured with captivating, artful photography, Shades of Winter will have you feeling like you're in a modern fairy tale.

 

Mollie Makes Crochet 20+ Cute Projects for the Home, Plus Handy Tips and Tricks

Customize your space with fun crochet projects from Mollie Makes!

You’ll love this book if: You’re a beginning crocheter looking for a great first or second project You love to crochet home décor to customize your space You like bright and simple crochet designs that are fun to make and use This adorable book from the team behind Mollie Makes is more than a learn-how-to-crochet book. Although it covers the basics of crochet with step-by-step illustrations, it also features crochet projects and techniques for intermediate crocheters. Mollie Makes Crochet is perfect for those who have completed their first crochet project and are ready to move on to their next crochet challenge.   In Mollie Makes Crochet, an international range of crochet experts offer a selection of more than 20 contemporary crochet projects. Some are quick and easy; others are more time and labor-intensive, but well worth the effort. Enjoy simple crochet patterns for home décor like crochet pot holders, coasters, and fun crochet toys. Plus, find more advanced projects like crochet throw pillows and colorful crochet afghans. A section at the back of the book clearly explains the basics of crochet with step-by-step illustrations.   Cozy Knits: 50 Fast & Easy Projects from Top Designers by Tanis Gray Knit something cozy, quick, and cute!   Cozy Knits is a fabulous collection of 50 all-new patterns. Join editor Tanis Gray as she brings together an all-star cast of today’s top knitting designers to create dozens of delightful projects.   All of the designs in Cozy Knits are knit with Cascade Pacific and Cascade Pacific Chunky yarns. These affordable yarns come in an endless array of colors and are a blend of superwash merino wool and acrylic, making them ideal for creating projects for babies and kids, gifts, home décor items, and everyday accessories and garments.   Cozy Knits has techniques for knitters of all skill levels, including cables, lace, brioche knitting, intarsia, Fair Isle, and slip stitch, as well as tried-and-true stockinette stitch and garter stitch. This collection offers projects that every member of the family will love, including sweaters, shawls, shrugs, mittens, hats, afghans, and baby blankets.   Knitting Outside the Swatch: 40 Modern Motifs By Kristin Omdahl   Explore a new approach to knitting. Create and shape garments with joined motifs for outside-the-box knitting!   Knitting Outside the Swatch is an exploration of nontraditional construction techniques for creating and joining flowers, motifs, and various geometric knitted shapes to create inventive and dimensional knitted fabrics.   Kristin Omdahl presents a library of 40 original and innovative knit stitch motifs and shows how joining one or more motifs can create trims or whole fabrics. She demonstrates methods for center-out, top-down, and side-to-side construction.   Enjoy 10 project patterns including shawls, cowls, scarves, and sweaters. Kristin illustrates how to interchange various motifs in these patterns, how to integrate these motifs into the body of a garment, and how to decorate or embellish other knitwear by using motifs as edgings, bands, cuffs, and more.     Quick Knitted Scarves by Amy Palmer   A usual first project for beginning knitters, the knitted scarf is both a great way to learn stitch patterns and to create something quick! This Craft Tree collection of quick knitted scarves inspires the novice to advanced knitter with unique, innovative scarf designs that are both simple and make stylish, fast knitted accessories for the whole family. Even for your first knitting project!   This collection includes knitted stripes, cables, lace, and even seed stitch knitting techniques. Knit one of these neck warmers up quickly for last-minute knitted gifts, too.   Cherish the gorgeous and timeless appeal of America’s northeast with this irresistible collection. Inspired by autumn, winter, and spring in new England (where the savvy knitter is never far from a sweater between September and March), New England Knits delivers 25 gorgeous patterns with classic wearability and contemporary style. Inspired by their daily surroundings, New England-based designers Cecily Glowik MacDonald and Melissa LaBarre created each piece to distinctly showcase the weather, colors, and culture of the region they so love. Projects by four guest designers from new England yarn companies round out the collection. Lushly photographed, New England Knits is divided into three classic themes: Around the Town, Fall on the Farm, and Along the Coast. Within each section you’ll find beautiful multiseasonal clothes and accessories, such as cardigans for layering or scarves to warm your neck when the temperatures dip. You’ll also fall in love with soft sweaters, durable bags, cozy mittens, and more! With New England Knits, you’ll have everything you need for a perfect new England-inspired wardrobe. Beastly Crochet: 23 Critters to Wear and Love by Brenda K. B. Anderson   Find silly monsters, evil bunnies, and killer robots in this collection of creepy-cute accessories and toys!   Author Brenda Anderson presents 23 scary-cute accessories and toys to crochet, including furry monsters, carnivorous plants, killer robots, and menacing tiki figures. While there are some literal monsters in the bunch—toys and amigurumi—a majority of projects are wearable accessories and garments. Some projects, such as a robot-themed intarsia blanky, are for children to enjoy, while many others are for adults and teens who want to have a little fun.   Brenda shows how to tackle all the sewing and appliqué techniques required in her patterns, including how to install zippers, as well as subtle tricks for achieving personality in critter projects with a section on “The Principles of Cuteness.” With over 150,000 copies sold, Scarf Style is one of our best-selling knitting books! Get more scarves and more style with the sequel from Ann Budd, available now! You’ll love this if: You’re a beginning or intermediate knitter You love knitting scarves You want great ideas for knitted gifts to give You want to learn new knitting techniques Discover fresh new designs for scarves, shawls, and cowls. With Scarf Style 2, the follow up to the best-selling Scarf Style, you’ll learn how the knit the perfect scarf for any occasion from a wide range of knitting experts. Find 26 knitted scarf patterns from Lucinda Guy, Mags Kandis, Alexis Winslow, Galina Khmeleva, Deb Newton, Nancy Bush, Courtney Kelley, Ann Budd, and many more! Scarves are like comfort food for knitters and a great way to learn new techniques without a big investment in time or materials. Plus, knitted scarves are perfectly portable, making them a great project for on-the-go knitters. In Scarf Style 2, you will be introduced to many basic knitting techniques such as color, lace, and cables, as well as a wide range of projects for all skill levels. Discover great ways to use small quantities of luxury yarn or use up leftover yarns in your stash as you explore designs for the most popular go-to projects for knitters. In Scarf Style 2, you’ll find great introductions to color knitting, knitted lace, knitted cables, short-row knitting, and more techniques, as well as great unisex knitting patterns for men and women! Also included in Scarf Style 2 is a Designer’s Notebook that offers further advice for knitters on designing unique knitted scarf patterns.       Our books always have a 20% discount.