Customer Reviews

Knitting in Plain English, Updated Edition

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I bought this book when I was a beginner to learn how to knit.
From the online reviews it looked like it was the book I have
been looking for.

And in many ways it is. It has a lot of useful information about
knitting and the reasons behind doing things the way described.
However, the actual part where the author described the stitches
are impossible. Most instructions are based on a simple drawing that is illegible. You cannot really tell which way the stitch
should be formed.Given that the drawing is black and white and very basic, it is really hard to make anything out of it.
That's when I actually needed a second book with nice illustrations and everything became much clearer.

Apart from this, all the other useful tips were invaluable.
I would also prefer if there were more projects at the back.

This is the book that managed to convince me that I could knit a sweater and not just endless scarves. Her chatty style may annoy some people, but I found it enjoyable, and her advice on picking patterns invaluable. It's the book I gave my sister-in-law when she was learning to knit. My only real gripe is that the recommended projects in the back are really nothing I'd want to make, so I had to look elsewhere to find a first real knitting project.

I must say, I enjoyed reading this book. The author talks about knititng in a very casual, anecdotal manner--you hear stories of knitters she has known, of yarns she has purchased, of sweaters she has knit. Many of her stories are amusing while also practical. Reading this book is like learning from the mistakes of others.

However, alone, this book is not enough to teach you how to knit. While it is worthwhile reading for the tips you pick up, if you need to look up a particular technique, you might be better using a book that is more organised, or with chapter headings that are less humourous and more informative.

When you first start to knit, reading this book is like having a friend by your side telling you where you can go wrong, and for that is very useful. But it is best used in conjunction with some other less chatty book, such as Debbie Bliss's "How to Knit" or one of the many encyclopedias of knitting techniques (many excellent OP titles can be found at second hand bookstores).

The cover claims that this book is the only one any knitter will ever need. Anyone who knits will know that isn't true - after all, Righetti stresses throughout that there's no such thing as the one 'right' way to knit, so obviously not everything here is going to answer any question any knitter might have. If you're an absolute beginner - if you've never done so much as picked up a pair of needles - this definitely isn't the best book you could choose. For that, I'd recommend "Kids Knitting" by Falick (yes, even for adults). If you have a good familiarity with the basics, though, this is an excellent choice. In fact, if it consisted of no more than the few pages on buttonholes, I'd still say it was worth buying.

There are a lot of enormously useful hints in here. The various types of increases and decreases are well-described, and there's a wealth of helpful advice on the details most knitting books tend to skim over, things like organizing your supplies and why it actually makes sense to have more than one project going at once. (as if any of us need an excuse for that...)

In spite of all its virtues, I subtract one star from this book for the artwork. It's perfectly competent - you can tell where the yarn ends and the needles begin, at any rate - but the drawings are clumsy and take away from the professionalism of the material.

I first read this book years ago when I was just beginning to learn to knit. Although I now design and knit garments professionally, I STILL turn to this book for inspiration and information. Reading this book is like sitting down with your own grandmother for a private lesson. Her folksy, easy to read style warms the heart, and her explanation of the basics of knitting is thorough and understandable. Once you've read this book, you will fear no set of knitting instructions ever written. When people ask me to recommend a book on the basics of knitting, this is always the one I tell them to buy.

I decided I wanted to take up knitting when I was home one vacation. My mom gave me some needles, some yarn, and this book. I read it through and then started knitting. Every time I had a question, I looked it up. When I encountered a problem, the book helped me fix it. Now I'm hooked on knitting for good, and I still use this book as a constant reference. One of the other reviewers below questioned whether this was a good book for beginners, so I wanted to say to all would-be knitters: if you want to knit and don't know how to start, this is the book you want.

As a beginning knitter, I find "Knitting in Plain English" to be an excellent tutorial. However, I have a couple words of warning. The most important is this: the method Righetti describes as "Continental or European purl" is actually something known as "combined" purling. She does warn of the danger of twisted stitches when using this method, but if you want to know how to do true Continental purl, do a Google search and there are plenty of websites that show the correct way. Also, I haven't read every pattern stitch in the book, but although the pattern she gives for seed stitch is correct, she describes it as "knit into a purl and purl into a knit" -- which is incorrect. I won't list every error in the book, but just wanted to use these examples as a way of pointing out that if something seems wrong, get a second opinion.

My other problem with Righetti's style in general is that she's very opinionated. While she says over and over again to experiment and do what works for you, the implication is always there that her way is best and that's that. Know as you read that although she has a lot more experience than the average beginner, she doesn't know what works best for everyone.

That said, Righetti's book has been very, very valuable to me in my efforts to learn to knit. She discusses things a lot of authors tend to overlook, and her directions and diagrams are mostly very clear. I would recommend the book, as long as you realize that her word is not gospel and that other experienced knitters may disagree.