Customer Reviews

Domino Knitting (Knitting Technique series)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Domino knitting is a type of knitting done in modules. Instead of starting at a hem (or a neck if you do top-down knitting), you make small "potholder" or tiles in knitted squares or strips. Then, using a "sew-as-you-knit" technique, you add square upon square, strip next to strip, and make your garment piece. In a way, it's like coloring in a line drawing in a coloring book, using small knitted modules to complete the front, back or sleeves. Those who learn this method of knitting say that it is addictive, and I can affirm that. I find it quite enjoyable. Many knitters find that it is less stressful on the hands, too--only a small piece is knitted at any one time, even though it might be attached to the larger part of a project.

Vivian Hoxbro is a Danish designer who was very smitten with Horst Schulz' "Patchwork Knitting." She attended his seminar in Berlin, and went back to Denmark to adapt it to her own ideas. Being Scandinavian, she uses simpler designs and more understated color schemes than the bright colorways Schulz favors. And her approach in this book is different, too. Rather than have you follow the pattern for a garment, she presents a number of potholder projects that teach various ways to knit and join modules. When you've mastered the potholders, you can progress on to coffee pot warmers, backpacks, shawls and hats. Hoxbro's colorways are novel and fashionable and her designs are quite clever--how about a knitted cache-pot to cover an African violet pot? Or a denim-like backpack or basket to hang on the Christmas tree. The modular aspect of domino knitting makes it versatile for more than just garments.

Most of the projects in this book are small, appropriate for learning a new technique. And also, the small projects are useful to learn patience, for, as Ms. Hoxbro points out, domino knitting is slower than standard knitting. I am in the middle of a project (a large jacket) and I can say that it is slower, but one reason for that is due to the size needle and yarn (2.5 mm needles and 2 ply shetland yarn.) However, once I mastered the technique, I found that the knitting progresses rather quickly after all, and it's quite hypnotic.

This book, which is a translation of the original Danish edition, is a small paperback. While it fits nicely into a knitting project bag, I found the print and pictures smaller than I would have liked. However, since this is both a technique book and a small project book, the smaller format works for a little knitting item you may stash in a purse or lunch bag for a take-anywhere project.

I've had this book for several months now and can't put it down. It is definitely a book for the creative knitter! I've knit and tested most of the patterns in it and have truly become addicted to the technique. The book is tiny, but packed from cover to cover with many ideas and projects from small to large. It emphasizes texture and color in a way that few other techniques do. Photos are clear and beautifully done. I like that the book works it's way from simple projects and techniques to more complex and larger ones towards the end. It grows with you. Charts, diagrams and patterns are clear and easy to understand. I think it is a book that even beginner can benefit from using and grow with.
Once you learn domino knitting, you will find yourself "envisioning" other patterns knit using this technique. It is a great way to use up leftover stash yarns, too!

When I bought this little book, it was but one of many new additions to my crafts library, so I leafed through it thinking "Hmm, that's interesting; I'll have to try that sometime," then forgot about it. Two years later, while thumbing through the latest issue of Vogue Knitting (Winter 2005/06), I came across a stunning and sophisticated geometric-patterned skirt (on p. 82) that *looked* as if it would be incredibly difficult to do, but VK rated the pattern only "intermediate" skill, and I recognized why: it was domino knitting! So I whipped my Hoxbro book off the shelf, read it through, and finally started learning the technique, which proved to be as easy as the author claimed.

I wish more of my knitting & craft books were this well done. Ms. Hoxbro's instructions are extremely clear, concise yet thorough; multiple drawings & sharp photos illustrate every step, and many helpful sidebars are interspersed throughout the book. As I worked through my first squares & joinings, at no point was I left wondering what to do next. For example, when she says to pick up a stitch "around the corner," she supplies a drawn diagram with an X marking the spot *and* a photo of a join-in-progress, so there's no mistaking where your needle needs to go.

I also like the format of the book: just the right size for tucking into a tote with my knitting, printed on glossy, quality paper, and while it may not lay absolutely flat, it flattens enough to work from and is sturdy enough to withstand creasing at the margin. Wearing eyeglasses, I often find fault with how some books are printed, but I have no issues with this one.

The learning projects in the book all have a distinctly Scandinavian flavor, and perhaps illustrate the versatility of the technique more than anything else. That gorgeous skirt in Vogue Knitting displays a very different style, which *this* experienced knitter might have hesitated to tackle were I not armed with a copy of "Domino Knitting," and thanks to Ms. Hoxbro's section on working triangles, I'll be able to change its hemline with confidence.

I've been knitting for 40 years but I am someone who can't knit without a pattern, whether I design it or someone else does. That is, until now. This skill is so deceivingly simple, I can't believe I didn't already know it intuitively. It has allowed me a method to knit without a pattern and when I have limited amounts of time. I really love how loose ends are woven in as you go to diminish finishing time.

This is a terrific addition to any knitter's skill set. I'd probably never make a sweater this way but have made quite a few afghans, pillows, hats and scarves.

The book has good instructions how to knit the different squares and triangles and how to make them all together. (My book is in Norwegian, I dont know the exact words.)In the beginning I was impressed by the book. It fascinated me to knit that way. But I experienced that the garments are shapeless and rigid. If they dont fit neither grown ups or children, you have spilt a lot of yarn; it is not possible to take it apart. I have bought a couple of other books giving the same method. The garments in them are looking very fancy, but in contrary to Høxbo, instructions are not good. Maybe with the mix of two books, I can come to a better result. The method is not quite new either. In Norway we have "kontestrikk", built on the same technique. Høxbo and others have used it to create modern fashion, and that is good. Grete

Not for people who buy books by the pound. But lots
of ideas and techniques for the $. I never made it
through a potholder project. The first potholder
grew into a preschooler sweater that is much worn and loved.

I liked this book better than the Horst Schulz book--Domino Knitting's projects stand up on their own without relying on fancy (read: expensive) yarns. The Amazon price is a more realistic one, considering the size of the book.

Vivian inspires innovation with this beautiful handbook. Sure, most of us can knit a sweater and numerous projects, but Vivian gives us instructions on basics, which can be used to adapt the pattern, and make it ours. She encourages adaptations. I skipped the potholders, started with the baby vest idea, used a larger yarn, turned it into a poncho, and totally redid the neck with a collar. This was accomplished without tearing out any stitches.

Also, I would like to add, that I have met Vivian at a yarn market, and she is a wonderful soul, and she even answers her email in Denmark.

Be happy knitting.

I've read many magazine articles on domino knitting, and have made pieces in the past. The small book clearly, in word and in diagrams, teaches how to use this technique. I finally understand *exactly* where to pick up stitches and I liked the way in which the projects referred back and forth to each other.

My low rating comes from the format of the book itself. The book is so small, and the cover is so stiff, it is very difficult to keep the book open to refer to while knitting. Also, entire sections of my book were misprinted--mostly blank pages, but then another section was printed slightly off center.

Unfortunately I have to say I was rather disappointed with this book. As an avid knitter of all styles, when I saw this I was intrigued and excited as I thought I had stumbled across something new. However when I got the book and eagerly opened its pages, I found nothing more than techniques I had been using for the last 15 or so years. Yes, they were presented in lovely format, and yes, the garment ideas are beautiful, and yes, for someone just discovering this sort of knitting I can see how they would be amazing. Having made numerous bedspreads and other items in this manner previously myself -- just calling them 'patchwork' [I guess I am just old....] -- I found nothing particularly new or inspiring here.

If you are fairly new to the craft of knitting then this book will teach you many things. It is a very easy book to digest, with beautiful full color illustrations of the finished items and clear drawings of techniques, so that a knitter of nearly any skill level could follow the patterns. However if you are an experienced knitter and well versed with stitch patterns and techniques such as entrelac, then I fear like me you too might find this book a shade disappointing.