An internationally recognized authority on knitting design and instruction presents charted patterns from her personal source materials. Alice Starmore includes her own geometric and nature-inspired motifs as well as traditional patterns from around the world, plus practical instructions on incorporating them into unique designs. Suitable for beginning and advanced color knitters and for both hand and machine knitting.
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
61 of 62 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
FINALLY! back in print, the essential reference for colorwork knitting
October 3, 2011
Format:Paperback
This book has recently been put back in print; the previous edition was so coveted and scarce that copies were extremely hard to come by and very expensive to buy used. Why is a book of 125 pages of black and white charts so desirable? First, it's put together by that master of Fair Isle (two color per row knitting), Alice Starmore, who is known for her exquisite colorwork interpretations of traditional Fair Isle knits. Her books are treasured around the world.
If you like to knit, you may be the sort that branches out from recipe-patterns and adapts them to your own tastes, or you may be a designer who starts from scratch or nearly from scratch and wants a source of two color patterns to blend into a knitted design.
The patterns run from the traditional geometric OXO Fair Isle with "Peeries" or the smaller, narrow bands with small stitch repeats, going only up a few rows. These are traditionally put between bands of the larger OXO. There are also patterns derived from nature: flowers, birds, berries. Of course, there are pictures of finished work to give you inspiration or just for the joy of their beauty.
In particular, if you are an aficionado of colorwork, there are patterns that are derived from various cultures such as the Peruvian motifs and my personal favorite, the geometric designs of the Komi, Sami, Latvian, Estonian and other northern peoples from Eastern Europe and Western Asia. These designs are particularly interesting as they take advantage of a peculiarity of stockinette (flat) knitting done either circularly (all knit) or knit-purl flat knitting. In this case, the stitch to row ratio is 5:7 meaning if you do five rows, it takes seven of them to make a square bit of knitting. But these folk designs, which look like large diamonds with fronds or branches, make perfect squares sitting on their points due to the way knitting works up. They are often seen on hats or mittens. The design is said to be a geometric representation of the sun and its rays.
In addition to band patterns (run horizontally), there are center panel patterns (run vertically). And there are all-over patterns, useful for blankets and sweater bodies.
This book has been long awaited to come back on the shelves and it's one book I consider a MUST-HAVE reference if you do any of your own knit designing or modification of existing patterns. Now it's available for all and that's a really good thing. This book of patterns is one I highly recommend for anyone who loves colorwork.
If you like to knit, you may be the sort that branches out from recipe-patterns and adapts them to your own tastes, or you may be a designer who starts from scratch or nearly from scratch and wants a source of two color patterns to blend into a knitted design.
The patterns run from the traditional geometric OXO Fair Isle with "Peeries" or the smaller, narrow bands with small stitch repeats, going only up a few rows. These are traditionally put between bands of the larger OXO. There are also patterns derived from nature: flowers, birds, berries. Of course, there are pictures of finished work to give you inspiration or just for the joy of their beauty.
In particular, if you are an aficionado of colorwork, there are patterns that are derived from various cultures such as the Peruvian motifs and my personal favorite, the geometric designs of the Komi, Sami, Latvian, Estonian and other northern peoples from Eastern Europe and Western Asia. These designs are particularly interesting as they take advantage of a peculiarity of stockinette (flat) knitting done either circularly (all knit) or knit-purl flat knitting. In this case, the stitch to row ratio is 5:7 meaning if you do five rows, it takes seven of them to make a square bit of knitting. But these folk designs, which look like large diamonds with fronds or branches, make perfect squares sitting on their points due to the way knitting works up. They are often seen on hats or mittens. The design is said to be a geometric representation of the sun and its rays.
In addition to band patterns (run horizontally), there are center panel patterns (run vertically). And there are all-over patterns, useful for blankets and sweater bodies.
This book has been long awaited to come back on the shelves and it's one book I consider a MUST-HAVE reference if you do any of your own knit designing or modification of existing patterns. Now it's available for all and that's a really good thing. This book of patterns is one I highly recommend for anyone who loves colorwork.
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is an amazing reference for an advanced knitter familiar with basic sweater construction and colorwork.
The first 25ish pages cover a few potential colorwork layouts (allover patterns, horizontal bands, center panel, etc) but does not provide any in-depth instructions for specific patterns or the actual technique of two-color knitting.
The bulk of the book is about 125 pages of crystal clear black and white charts that resemble those on the bottom half of the cover of the book (with slightly smaller squares). They range from basic to amazingly complex large repeat patterns. They are arranged by country of origin then a few random categories (birds and flowers, etc) at the end. The last few pages of the book is pure eye-candy. Gorgeous examples of colorwork sweaters that come directly from the charts included in the book.
I highly recommend this to anyone who is ready to tackle a colorwork project. If you are not familiar with construction techniques, you'll also want a guide on construction of garments (any of Elizabeth Zimmermann's books would serve you well here) to accompany this reference.
The first 25ish pages cover a few potential colorwork layouts (allover patterns, horizontal bands, center panel, etc) but does not provide any in-depth instructions for specific patterns or the actual technique of two-color knitting.
The bulk of the book is about 125 pages of crystal clear black and white charts that resemble those on the bottom half of the cover of the book (with slightly smaller squares). They range from basic to amazingly complex large repeat patterns. They are arranged by country of origin then a few random categories (birds and flowers, etc) at the end. The last few pages of the book is pure eye-candy. Gorgeous examples of colorwork sweaters that come directly from the charts included in the book.
I highly recommend this to anyone who is ready to tackle a colorwork project. If you are not familiar with construction techniques, you'll also want a guide on construction of garments (any of Elizabeth Zimmermann's books would serve you well here) to accompany this reference.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am so thrilled that this book has been reprinted! I love it. This book is meant to guide a knitter in developing patterns for sweaters including color-work motifs. Alice Starmores's books and patterns are magical, especially this one. What could be better than being able to knit a sweater that fits and having all the motifs you want wotking out perfectly?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Patterns from the queen of colorwork
Alice Starmore does some of the most stunning Fair Isle sweaters seen on the earth. She has added incredible knowledge to the knitting world by sharing her method of color changing... Read more
Published 13 days ago by Nancy Docken
5.0 out of 5 stars
Listened to reviews
I got this for a reference book as suggested and it is very easy to follow and will allow me to adjust and create works of my own when I get to that point. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Timothy Schilling
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Great charting , great ideas, good to have the added chapter about color and I would like to see more ideas
Published 1 month ago by Ann McDonald
5.0 out of 5 stars
Knitting charts
Book is a wealth of information for multicolor knitting fairisle sweaters--lifetime project. Alice Starmore is the queen of fairisle knitting.
Published 2 months ago by carolyn pinney
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lots and lots of clear charts
Get this if you want crystal clear charts to play with. I had the cover cut and ring bound at Staples so it's easier to follow or copy the designs. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Suzan de Lison
5.0 out of 5 stars
Alice Starmore's Charts for color Knitting
Great charts, easy to read, useful for many articles and I have recommended it others wishing to improve their knitting.
Published 4 months ago by Learning more
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must have reference for any knitters library!!
For fans of Fair Isle or colorwork, this book is a MUST HAVE!!! I can't recommend this book highly enough!
Published 4 months ago by Dinsdale5
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful!
This book I find is for the advanced or experienced knitter. Definite ability to read and follow charted designs is required.
Published 5 months ago by Paulette L Reed
5.0 out of 5 stars
Color Knitting
This book has so much to offer. I love to knit and the wilder the challenge the happier I am with the patteren. Thank you for the new Ideas...
Published 5 months ago by The Granny
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you love color knitting
This is a great addition to ones library. It is after all Alice Starmore. Great patterns and useful ideas. No regrets purchasing this item. Read more
Published 5 months ago by weaver516
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Listmania!
|
|
