Knitting in Plain English, Updated Edition [Paperback]

Maggie Righetti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2007

The first edition of this indispensable classic gave knitters easy-to-follow (and fun-to-read) advice on producing the knits of their dreams. Drawing on decades of experience as a knitting instructor and designer, Maggie Righetti offered step-by-step directions on avoiding common mistakes and getting out of tricky spots.
 
Now, in this completely updated and revised version, Righetti gives readers what they've asked for: advice on making all different garments, working with new patterns and different kinds of yarn, and even an introduction to her own legendary history. Neither aggressively hip nor bafflingly encyclopedic, Knitting in Plain English offers basic principles that will make any project---from a basic blanket to an intricate sweater---rewarding.
 
Having Knitting in Plain English on the shelf is like having your own knitting teacher available to help at all times with any thorny problem.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Perhaps more outspoken than plain, Righetti flavors her advice with starchy humor, especially when commenting on impractical details in designs ("the dumb baby sweater"; "stupid bonnet") or misleading pictures and sloppy instructions on patterns. Illustrated by graphic drawings and photos, the chapters here contain directions for a variety of knitting projects. There are notes on varying the basic knitting stitch, correcting slip-ups, conquering "the bastard buttonhole" and other problems that can plague the veteran crafter as well as the neophyte. Righetti is well known as a teacher of knitting, author of Universal Yarn Finder and contributor to craft magazines, including Knitters. She rounds out this text with a comprehensive glossary.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Righetti, well known in the knitting world, has produced a wonderfully down-to-earth, humorous, practical, and realistic book for the beginner and intermediate knitter. From selecting a pattern and equipment to completing a project, the directions are clear and unintimidating while good line drawings add to the "plain English" explanations. The author's years of experience have provided her with new and refreshing tips and solutions to problems faced at any knitting level. Although concentrating on the basics, she has included chapters on advanced techniques. Recommended for craft collections of all sizes, particularly the smaller library in need of a useful how-to-knit volume. Sue Black, Charlotte Hobbs Lib., Lovell, Me.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; Revised edition (April 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312353537
• ISBN-13: 978-0312353537
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Maggie Righetti, a certified knitting and crochet instructor, is the author of Knitting in Plain English and Sweater Design in Plain English. She lives in Southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly helpful, January 16, 2006

By 

L.S. Wylle "Author" (A ridgetop in the Appalachians) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knitting in Plain English (Paperback)

As someone new to knitting--and as someone without a mentor to help me--it was imperative that I find a good book. The first book I found targeted 9 to 14 year olds; I'm in my 30s. However, it was instant gratification: I could get needles, yarn and a how-to book all at once, and start knitting that afternoon.

After using the little booklet I got in the local crafts store, I was able to make the basic knit/purl stitch, but I had no idea how to keep track of where I was in a pattern. I had no idea how to look at a stich and tell whether it had been knit or purled. And although my stitches were quite even and attractive, I was getting extremely discouraged in trying to keep various patterns straight in my head: was that the sixth stitch after the yarn-over, or the seventh? Is this a purl row or a knit row? And when I tried to do a seed stitch, I often ended up making a rib by accident, simply because my eyes weren't educated; I didn't know how to look at the stitches I had just made.

How happy was I to get my copy of /Knitting in Plain English/ by Maggie Righetti! If you're a beginning knitter who has mastered the simple art of knit and purl stitches, but you need common sense advice on how to keep track of your knitting... if you want a clear illustration of the visual difference between knit and purl stiches as they lay on the needle... if you want a great reference for various simple techniques like I-cord... and if you need a troubleshooting guide with a wonderful index (a well-organized and thorough index is a key difference, I might add, between a good book and a great one) then this is the book for you. I can't recommend it highly enough. What's more, it's well-written and a fun read.

In fact, if you know any beginning knitters, you couldn't do any better than to make a gift of this book to them.

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Next best thing to having her sit next to you, December 7, 2001

By 

Faye Ku "I cook by the book" (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knitting in Plain English (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this book very much. My friend taught me hands on how to do the true basics, casting on, knit and purl, and looking at the work to see what I've done and where I'm at. But this book took me through full projects from buying tools to picking out a pattern to reading and making the patterns work to fixing mistakes to finishing up by hiding ends and hand blocking the garment. There's so much common sense and reassurance a person needs to get through a knitting project. When I met those little pitfalls and uncertainties that could make you throw your hands up and give it up forever, there was always an answer for it in this book. I felt safe in Maggie's hands, and it's always in my knitting bag. I'm on my second real project, after having completed three of the practice exercises and one fabulous success of a sweater.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Learn by doing, January 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Knitting in Plain English (Paperback)

This is an excellent book for beginners. I wish I had read it sooner. If you can knit and purl, you're ready to read this book. The author takes you through several areas of knitting explaining the pitfalls that can happen and how to avoid them. What I most like about this book is that Righetti stresses the need to be exact, to plan, to problem solve and to troubleshoot. At the end of the book she has little projects that she guides you through. Now these are very, very hokey and at least one of them is downright creepy (that capulet thing) . However, the skills that they teach, and the way she teaches them, make them very, very worthwhile. For example, in the middle of making a baby sweater she has you take the work off your needles and try it on a baby and measure it to make sure it fits--if it doesn't, she wants you to figure out how to fix the problem. That's what I liked about Knitting in Plain English. Righetti gives you skills that make you independent. Instead of blindly following a pattern, hoping against hope that it will somehow turn out, she teaches you to see the big picture, to think ahead.
I have to admit that when I first got this book I was very disappointed. (very few pictures..LOTS of chapters to read before she even has you pick up a pair of needles) After I had some knitting experience under my belt, I went back and re-read it. SLOWLY. I was amazed at how relevant and applicable to my own knitting the book was. All the mistakes I had made could have easily been avoided. This book will make you a smarter,more effiecient knitter in control of your craft. It will help you enjoy the process of knitting as well as the finished product.