The Principles of Knitting, a Non-Pithy Review

To tell you the truth, I have had this book in my possession for a couple of weeks now, although it was released yesterday. As you know, bloggers are often asked by a publisher to review a book and when I was asked to review this one, I thought "why not"?

The thing is, this book, The Principles of Knitting, is totally overwhelming to someone like me.

To give you an example, just the other day I was in a yarn store and I asked a few people about interchangeable needles since I've never used them let alone touched them too much. The room went quiet and three pair of mouths formed "O's" and the owner whispered: "You don't have any?" as if I had five eyes.

Nope. I don't have interchangeables. I don't seem to have proper scissors, either. I don't even have half of the things that other knitters seem to have, want or need. Like a fleshed-out library of how-to books or reference materials beyond several stitch pattern books. To me, knitting is just a lot of fun and has happened to become a business. I knit continentally and I don't use straight needles ever (don't have any; I just have circs and some dpn's). I don't have a blocking board although I just received blocking needles from a friend as a gift. I use two types of cast on's: Long Tail and Cable (but only if I need to) and once in awhile I'll use Long Tail Provisional. And if I need a cable needle in a pinch, I'll go find a skewer and break it. I do own cable needles; friends, things aren't that bad, but I never have one handy and for some reason, there are loads of skewers in this joint. And we don't eat kabobs.

I'm a simple girl. I just cast on and see where it takes me. I don't need fancy cast on's or stretchy ones, well maybe I do need a stretchy cast on or bind off, but it never occurred to me so why should I?

So, this Principles of Knitting book is a big book to take on. But I did.

Did you know that there are things called Axis Cables? These cables are made with three sets of stitches rather than your usual two and the center section of stitches remain in position while the ones on each sides cross. You use two cable needles for these and in my case, should I work an Axis Cable, I would need two broken skewers.

Intarsia, probably my least favorite thing to do, has an entire section. And I guess it should if you are going to be thorough. She covers Basic Intarsia, Intarsia with Stranded Patterns, Small Scale Intarsia, Slip-Stranded Intarsia (slip-stranded?), Woven Intarsia, Circular Intarsia Worked in Rows (huh?), you get the idea.

June Hemmons Hiatt is a force to be reckoned with, let me tell you. This book is so meaty, so detailed, that my guess is you could--just like asking your iPhone Siri a random question and getting a pithy answer--come up with some left-toenail and random subject that just *might* be related to knitting and totally find the answer in this giant tome (a whopping 712 pages).

Except for being a little afraid of its contents (do I really need to know any more than three or so types of cast ons? What about swatching? Do I need to "dress it" as she says or is it okay to just block it any old way?), I think people who love reference materials and want something super comprehensive, will love this book. If you do, you won't need anything else reference-wise except maybe some supplementary books like Knitting From the Top by Barbara Walker and a couple stitch pattern books. It really is that comprehensive.

I will warn you, however, she does have some knitting handles of her own. For example, she calls continental knitting the "Left-Handed Method," and writes/insinuates that people who knit top-down and in the round do so to avoid purling, which could be marginally true in some people's cases but, hello. It's just knitting and if you want to avoid purling I'm not going to point fingers or anything else at you. Heck, I use skewers to hold stitches. Who am I to talk?

In the end, however; I am sure, in spite of my tendency to shut down when confronted with too much at one time, that I will get a ton of use out of this book.

Note that this is a follow-up and re-vamped version of an earlier edition. I don't have access to it so I can't tell you how it has changed, but from other people's comments I think the tone is a bit lighter than the first and she addresses circular knitting and top-down knitting a little bit more than before.

Comments

[Deborah B.]

You made me laugh, and I needed a laugh. Thanks for the review, I believe I will stick with Sally Melville. I love me some Sally Melville.

[netter]

I'm currently knitting a top-down sweater and since it's a cardigan, there is PLENTY of purling!

[Lauren]

LOL I just love the way you write. :) Thanks for the review of the book. That is a lot of info to take in. I'm just getting at expanding my knitting repertoire and don't have a lot of the correct tools or books either. Knitting should be fun! I do it because I like to knit. Experimenting is a fun challenge sometimes. We both seem to like to wing it. :)

[Cambria Washington]

712 pages?!? I had no idea that there was so much out there that it required a full tree to print off a single copy, lol.

[Marti]

Maybe if you're really lucky someone will gift you a book called "Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook". I received this for Christmas. All the animals who produce with maps. Only 435 pages though. I guess they had to do a dissertation on SOMETHING! Who knew you could suck the fun out of spinning yarn or knitting with it with so many words? There just really isn't that much to know. But that is the most I've seen you write on a single topic, so maybe its contagious. BEWARE!

[Becky]

I had to laugh at the skewers as cable needles. Before I got one in my Christmas stocking, I used small double pointed needles and rubber needle tips.

[Pamela]

Laughing here...I hate cable needles so much, I don't even use skewers, rather, I learned to cable without a cable needle. On top of that, when I knit entrelac (rarely) I knit backwards.
Best book review I've ever read!

[Gina in the SF Bay Area]

I'm right there with you in being overwhelmed by these encyclopedic reference books. However, a few months ago I purchased one of those little handbooks of knitting terms and techniques. I wanted something I could keep in my knitting bag "just in case," and this one was a little bigger and heavier than I expected. It turns out to be the perfect go-to guide for me, since its hard cover and thicker pages stand up to my less than tender treatment of the book as I have tried (unsuccessfully) to balance it on my lap or the closest flat surface while trying to execute its instructions. So - who knew that I didn't know what I needed until way after I had found it!

[Norma]

My husband gave me a book store gift certificate for Valentine's Day, so with all the buzz about this book that's what I ordered. Just got an email this morning saying it's been shipped. Can't wait to see if it is going to live up to all the hype. 712 pages...yikes!

[Seanna Lea]

I've been interested in this book as an ebook for a while. I'm hoping that having it as an ebook will stop me from looking up the stupid things I just cannot be bothered to remember like the tubular caston or Kitchener.

That said, it is probably more book than I need.

[Judi A.]

I learned to knit when there was only one way to do everything and only three types of yarn to choose from. So much simpler! I do like a lot of the different yarns and techniques, but at times they can be very frustrating! I think I'll not purchase that book.

[Anne]

I just use a spare dpn when I need a cable needle. I had a couple of them, but they're MIA. And like you, I use the long tail cast on 99% of the time. I have so many knitting books that I can just about grab a random one and find what I need to know, so I won't buy this one, but thanks for your review!

[Bonnie]

OMG!!! LMAO!!! (I too have had the folks in the LKS gasp at my questions.......)

Love your work, Wendy!!

[Helen]

Thanks for your honesty. I think some people just say a knitting book is AWESOME, or you need to own it or else you can't call yourself a knitter because they don't want to rock the boat. You are the second person who mentioned she has different names for things that are commonly known by something else. Is that necessary?
There are alot of knitting books out there that I want and I appreciate the honest reviews.

[Robin F.]

Thanks for an honest review. There are plenty of knitters who will want to know all that info= but after 55 yrs. of knitting I'm still working on what I already know! I do own both of your custom knits books= my 3 girls love the sweaters I make them from those books.

[AnnF]

Thanks for your comments. They made me smile! I preordered this book from Amazon, mostly out of curiosity about what the big fuss was all about. I'm sure some of the information inside will be helpful, but we all have to remember that none of should take ourselves too seriously, since knitting is supposed to be fun. :-) I appreciate the balance of books available--from the more technical to the very practical, including your own great books!!

[Nik]

We're the same in that we like things simple. I mostly use long tail cast-on, and I'm going to teach myself how to complete a tubular cast-on just to see if I like it. There's just been no reason for me to learn others because the long-tail works just fine for me. I do, however, like to gather information about what is out there, so I might enjoy this book...

[Tammy]

Okay, this is something I've often wondered about... does anybody actually *like* purling? Is not liking it a bad thing?

[KarenJ]

I used to use garden variety bobby pins for cabling. All those little ridgy bits kept the yarn from slipping off. Worked wonderfully on DK, worsted and aran weights. No good for socks:>(

[Linda Cannon]

I too can never find a cable needle when I need one, knit continental, love top down and circular knitting. Oh well. I do have a set of Boye (probably plebian to mention the brand) interchangeables, which I love as I do quite a bit of traveling and I have all the circular needle sizes I need this way.I also have arthritis and love circular needles for that reason. And I use bamboo dpn's more than metal for the same reason.

i really hate garter stich though (only if it is a great pattern) and truly do not mind purling, probably because I knit continental and throwing the yarn would hurt my shoulder (arthritis).
I love your two books, have the second on a trip with me as you really think like I do and although I have been knitting a multitude of years, I will learn as I go if the pattern demands it. Thanks TEACHER for the good lessons.

[plumbing]

Knitting is a fun hobby. Aside from the best past time you can make money from it. One of the important tool for this is the pattern.

[Lynn]

LOL I love your candid review of this book. If it was something I wanted to get, I would get it regardless of what others said of it, but I tend to lean toward your way of knitting, whatever is nearby! I have a cable needle but I dont cable very often. I have straight needles but prefer circs. I *do* have an interchangable set of needles, Denise. I LOVE them and use them exclusively, but I have a friend who wouldnt use them if they were free. Go figure.

[technikat]

I love that you knit such great things with a minimum of equipment. While I do have interchangeables I realize that much of what I buy is for the fun of it, not because it is necessary. I have to admit I like learning new techniques for the sheer pleasure of it. I may never use it but I now know how something is done!

[kathleen]

You rock! That tip about using the skewers as cable needles and stitch holders is wonderful! We don't have kababs, either, but there is a huge heap of skewers in the junk drawer. Go figure.

[Jeanie]

You are awesome! Thanks for the laugh. I think this book would be fun to have in your arsenal, but have fun knitting-there is no right or wrong (IMHO).