Some of you may recall that, years ago, Threads magazine used to include articles on knitting and other fiber crafts in addition to sewing. Fabulous articles, really. Full of inspiration and useful how-to info. My heart sank when Threads decided to focus on sewing only. I mean, Threads is still an awesome magazine, and I can understand why the publishers narrowed its focus. But, jeez, I miss seeing new knitting articles from Threads.
Fortunately, most (all?) of the old knitting articles have been re-printed in a series of compilations. I have ’em all, and frequently tell knitters to search them out. Take this past weekend, for example. Once again, I found myself recommending specific articles... but not remembering which compilation contains them.
I hate it when that happens.
So, once and for all, I’m going to catalog here the names of the compilations, and which ones contain my favorite articles. Not all the articles, mind you (I’m too lazy for that); just my favorites, the ones I like to recommend to people. Maybe the exercise will help me remember which article is in which compilation. If not (and given the kind of trivia that refuses to stick in my head, “not” seems likely), at least now anyone can search this blog for the article names and come up with the compilation names. Sneaky, eh? Okay, here goes:
Great Knits: Texture & Color Techniques:
- “Knit One, Weave Two” talks about dropping stitches to create ladders of loose strands, and weaving fresh yarn into these ladders to create fabric that’s part knit, part woven. I used this technique years ago to create a vest that’s now part of my Hook Hocus-Pocus sample set.
- “Knitting a Basketweave Look-Alike” prompted my first foray into entrelac – I was totally smitten by the article’s feature sweater. It was worked seamlessly, using two green yarns of different textures (rather than two yarns of different colors) for contrast. The article’s author, Gwen Bortner, has since stuffed years of entrelac experience into her own book, Entree to Entrelac.
- “Darts Add Shape to Knitted Garments” is a must-read for every knitter. Lily Chin clearly lays out the whys and hows of both waist darts and bust darts.
- “Knitting with Cotton” suggests tricks for working with cotton yarns – including some stitch patterns that add a bit of “sproing” to the fabric.
- “Handknitting Gloves” by Deborah Newton is jam-packed with info on designing gloves, some using construction techniques I’ve seen nowhere else. Every time I skim the article, I’m enchanted by a pair of red gloves with a small cable running up the cuff and along the thumb, in line with the cuff and thumb shaping. Stunning, just stunning.
- “Fashion Doesn’t Stop at 40 Inches” is another eye-opening article from Deborah Newton. She talks about fitting the fuller figure in the context of sewing fabric mock-ups for two women in particular. Some of this same info appears in Newton’s Designing Knitwear, but for the full story you need to read this article.
- “Knitting Traditions: More than one right way” by Beth Brown-Reinsel is a delight. It shows knitters from around the world, each holding yarn and needles in her own unique way. It was the first resource I ever read that implied there’s no wrong way to knit.
- “Perfect Ribbing for All Fibers” covers a number of techniques. One I use all the time: it’s an alternating cast-on, perfect at the base of double-knitting or a tubular cast-on. Another I’ve been meaning to try for years: a mix of ribbing and double-knitting that’s supposed to create a resilient rib, even when knit out of yarn spun from inelastic fibers.
Knitting Tips & Trade Secrets:
- This last compilation is special. Rather than reprints of articles, it contains a slew of short tips, arranged by topic. I still learn stuff when I leaf through it.
Okay, those are my favorite articles in the Threads compilations. Many, many others are well worth reading too.
Do you have these compilations? What are your favorite articles?
Tagged: books.