Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks [Paperback]

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2006

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, best-selling author of At Knit’s End and celebrated blogger and humorist of the knitting world, is back! Funnier than ever, Pearl-McPhee continues her running dialogue with her knitting compatriots — cheering them on to ever-greater heights in the climb to make knitting universally recognized as THE peak life experience.

Both a celebration of knitting and a sourcebook for practical information, this book is a collection of useful advice and emotional support for the knitter. Pearl-McPhee examines essential truisms of knitting, side by side with tongue in-cheek warnings, realities, and fantasies about the act of knitting and the people who do it.

In chapters on everything from yarn needles, gauge, and knitting bag essentials to hats, socks, shawls, and sweaters, Pearl-McPhee unravels the mysteries of what it is that makes knitting click, from the inside out. She dares to question longstanding rules and uncover the true essence of what makes a hat a hat, a sock a sock, and so on. Insights into why certain techniques work encourage knitters to take control and knit in the way that works best for them. As she says, “There are no knitting police.”

The result is an illuminating, liberating (and hilarious!) look at knitting that will comfort the experienced knitter, surprise the mainstream one, and entice the beginner.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“She has become something of an unwitting rock star in the world of knitting.”

(Interweave Knits )

“[Stephanie Pearl-McPhee] has created another laugh-out-loud masterpiece . . .” (Vogue Knitting )

About the Author

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee entertains knitters with her unique blend of humor and knitting highwire acts via her popular online blog, articles, and essays. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband and three daughters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580178340
• ISBN-13: 978-1580178341
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (128 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Needlecrafts & Textile Crafts > Knitting

More About the Author

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is the author of Yarn Harlot, At Knit's End, Knitting Rules!, and Casts Off. She maintains a popular blog at www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/. She lives with her family in an untidy, wool-filled house in Toronto, where she avoids doing the laundry and knits whenever she gets a minute.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

246 of 247 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I'd give it 6 stars, if I could! June 16, 2006

By PurpleKat VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I work at a yarn store, and I take this book to work with me every day. There's rarely a day goes by that I don't have the chance to use it. Aside from the humorous anecdotes and essays (like the story of the lady in 'gauge denial' who makes a sweater that's more like a tent), the book contains extremely helpful tips for eyeballing measurements, making ballpark guesses as to how much yarn will be needed for a scarf, blanket, or shawl, making simple hats and socks, among other things.

Actually, let me say a couple of words about the author's "sock recipe". Before I read this book, many of the regulars where I work were urging me to start making socks so I could help them when they had trouble. I'd looked at sock patterns and felt very intimidated. But the way that the Yarn Harlot explains the process is so clear and so simple that it took away all of my fear. She helped me to visualize what I would be doing, and because of that, I now have a wonderful pair of finished socks! Everyone admires them and are stunned that they're my first pair, and that I made them without a pattern.

I would recommend this book to any knitter of any skill level. Even if you own no other knitting books, you should own this one.

136 of 143 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Knitting Rules is a must have for every knitting library April 7, 2006

By nanapama VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Knitting does rule and this book rocks! What I love about Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is she allows me to combine my two favorite addictions, books and knitting. As a confirmed knitaholic and bookaholic, this book is exactly the kind of reading Im constantly looking for. I not only get to read about my favorite past-time and (this important for all you bloggers out there) I can put it on my bookshelf where I can pull it out and enjoy it again and again.

I've got nothing against blogs but there is nothing like a wonderful book, a book you read once, then go back and read again. "Knitting Rules" is full of great knitting tips, fun callouts and interesting facts. This is a book that will have turned down pages, comments in the margins and a rolled up cover. This is a book that will show how much it is loved.

I recommend "Knitting Rules" not only for your personal library but as a great gift for a person who is a new knitter or someone you are try to incite to the knit side. For those people who say knitting is too complicated,takes too long and is boring, they need to spend a little time the Yarn Harlot.

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars the yarn harlot strikes again! March 26, 2006

By Violet

Format:Paperback

this book is a little more technical than Steph's first two, but a must-have for any fan of her humorous celebrations of the Knitterly Lifestyle. she includes invaluable size charts, tips, tricks, and "recipes" that make are incredibly handy and make for a well-rounded set of "tools" every knitter should know. she writes in a friendly, humorous, and accessable tone that i have come to love. the only reason i give this book 4 stars instead of 5 is that, like i said, it's a bit more technical, and i prefered the personal stories and scenarios from the first books. however, if you're a Knitter-with-a-capital-K, you'll love this book!

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars hilarious, irreverant, a great gift and a fantastic read for beginning knitters... September 17, 2006

By dori mondon

Format:Paperback

i consider this book a splurge, or a great gift to get a knitting friend - especially a beginner. it answers some of the OTHER questions you may have about knitting that aren't technical, such as...

"how much yarn is TOO much yarn in your stash?"

(answer, thank goodness, is... really, you can NEVER have too much).

i am a long-term crocheter who has just entered the knitting world - as someone with an embarrassingly large stash of yarn and related books, reading this book definitely made me aware that i am not alone in my disease, and that, well, it's perfectly okay.

i also enjoy her irreverent approach to knitting (at times, tho when it comes to gauge, the chapter on how important is is, let's just say she drove that point home in her funny, funny way), especially being one who has always modified my patterns a bit and tend to find my own way to go about things (i crochet left-handed, for instance). this woman is hysterical! absolutely funny, i think i spent half an evening reading parts of it aloud and laughing with my mother as i fumbled my way through my first dishcloth while she breezed her way through yet another 4-DPN sock.

regardless - for anyone who isn't a beginning knitter, it's not a completely necessary item for your library (unless you've got the disease which makes almost any knitting book a necessary item in your library).

whether you've got the disease or not, not only will you love her running commentary on the knitting lifestyle, you'll love the cute style of the book itself, too - great layout, cute illustrations, and enough creative suggestions that you'll feel okay if you're not a by-the-book kind of person, either. just...

DO THE DARN SWATCHES, no matter what!

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Curse you, Yarn Harlot January 9, 2007

By Magicmaker

Format:Paperback

Oh, I was so satisfied with my flat knitting and big needles. I had no interest in knitting socks or fine gauge items. But the Yarn Harlot beguiled me with her seductive descriptions of the joys of hand-knit socks, so I have rushed out and purchased miniscule needles and fine gauge yarn and struggled with the sorrows of starting my first sock six times before finally making a go of it. I hate to rip out, but she freed me to feel like I can. Now, I am hooked...not because I've got a sock done yet, mind you...but because it truly is satisfying to watch these fine pieces emerge from my needles. Now I am looking for opportunities to knit in the round (sweater bodies, sleeves...) because of the Yarn Harlot's siren call. This is a fun, breezy read, and will light a fire under your knitting self to break out into new types of projects and not to fear mistakes and to try new things. I liked this book a lot! It is practical and useful, and empowered me to believe I could do anything.