Customer Reviews

Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn

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Socksters, this is a no-brainer. You NEED this book. Even if you haven't (yet) drunk the sock-knitting Kool-Aid, this book is worth your while for how it breaks down the world of handpainted yarns. She classifies them two ways--by contrast colors and by dye-run length--and explains how they work with different patterns and how to grapple with that bugbear of handpainted yarns--pooling.

The bad news is: part of the answer is, ya gotta swatch. Errrrgh. I know. But her advice is sound, and she offers a number of ways to cope, everything from directional knitting to knitting with two skeins to certain stitch patterns.

Each of the 21 patterns in this book is rated according to which brightness of yarn you have to work with, everything from almost solid (those luscious kettle dyes), to moderate to brightly painted (which she at one point jokingly calls 'clown barf'). That means once you identify what type of yarn you've yanked out of your stash, you can find a pattern to work.

The patterns are from well known designers (Ann Budd, Charlene Schurch, etc) and look challenging enough to be interesting, but not too intimidating. (Maybe don't knit while watching your favorite TV show, but when it's not your own personal Must See TV, you can knit away with confidence). The patterns feature everything from directional knitting (but, strangely, no mitered squares) to color stranding to a teeny bit of intarsia to lace. It presumes basic knitting knowledge and a good bit of the basics of sock construction as well, but I wouldn't put it above an 'intermediate' knitter. Beginners might hold off to get a sock or two under their needles first, but none of these patterns have complicated massive charts or anything else too intimdating.

If, like me, you've bought a bucket of handpaints but dread knitting them up into a pattern where either the stitch pattern gets lost in the color, the colors muddy up, or you're plagued with pooling, this book is just what you need. Do NOT have any socks on your needles when this book arrives.

Seriously, no hyperbole there. I know of few sock knitters who don't love sock candy, but it really is a pain sometimes to get it to look as good as a sock compared to its skeined up loveliness. Short of fiddling with stitch count or using the same old standby's over and over, what's a sock knitter to do?

This book is absolutely jam packed with great alternatives for feisty yarn. No matter if your taste runs from subtle to wild, you will be able to match your yarn up with a suitable pattern that will allow it to shine. I am extremely impressed with the range here. While there are a couple I just shake my head at, the vast majority are very well thought out and quite lovely.

This book is not for beginners, and for that I am also thankful. Why waste pages on 'how to' when there are so many other good resources out there, some of them free. I'm getting more patterns for my dollar here, or rather my brother did since he's the one who bought it for me for an early Christmas present. The book is a treat just for the gorgeous patterns and photos alone!

This book will hold a place of honor on my shelf, it has truly addressed a need in the sock knitting world.

I thought "Oh, ho-hum, another sock book about stripey yarn" but...no, this book REALLY has a lot to offer the sock knitter as well as yarn dyer or spinner.

The book discusses handpainted or varigated yarns and the problem of "pooling" or when blotches of color show up rather than stripes. The patterns are coded by whether the pattern is suited for wild multi-colors, muted multi color, or almost solid. So when you look at a particular model, there is a symbol to tell you what yarn might work the best. Some patterns, by using short and long stitches to break up the pool of color or to camouflage the effect.

Many of the patterns are textured. There are braids, zig-zags, and other patterns. Some are color patterns--like a flame orwaves of color accented by embroidery. The flame is great--looks like a custom Harley paint job (gray and flame-orange, with flames rising up the cuffs.)

I have a stash of all kinds of shaded yarns and I can't wait to try a number of the patterns. These are sufficiently different that I could confidently recommend this book to any sock knitter, even one with a huge library. If you have a stubborn "pooling" yarn or just a stash of shaded sock yarns, you are sure to find a wonderful pattern here.

I've been dragging this book to all my knitting friends' houses since it arrived. Carol Sulcoski has done a great job of pointing out how dye patterns can best be used in choosing a sock pattern. Not many books about hand-dyed yarns actually talk about repeats, pooling, use of bright colors or muted semi-solids. Those ideas (and more!) are the basis of this book, which begins with a nice introduction to color patterning in handdyed yarns, followed by patterns which illustrate the points she made in the narrative introduction. These are not just random sock patterns either. Some are true works of art. All are valuable to learn more about handdyed yarns. If you are a lover of the wide array of handdyes out there, you'll have a ball working your way through this beautiful and artsy book. A must-have for hand-dye lovers!

Even though the patterns in the book assume you're not making your first sock, and even though it's not crammed with "how-to" material, I found plenty of excellent information about the nature of handpainted yarns. The introductory chapters (all that stuff before the patterns) increased my knowledge about sock yarn exponentially.

I am a sucker for hand painted yarn - just can't resist it. I find that many times the striping comes out wonky or pools, or the colors go murky & muddy -- or worse yet once a pair of socks is knit, the are so different from one another you'd never know they came from the same skein! Very frustrating.

Then comes along this nifty book, which removes lots of guesswork. It's full of photos and ideas that are geared towards hand painted yarn. YAY! Sulcoski not only shows the beauty of hand painted yarn, but plays up it's strengths (color combinations & whimsy), while playing down the negative (pooling, muddy colors). She suggests which patterns work best for various styles (nearly solid, muted multi, & wild multi-colored) of hand painted yarn - brilliant! Plus the beginning describes & photographs in depth knitted results one might expect various hand painted yarns - example- how a sock knits up when the colors are in short vs long segments OR how gauge may affect the way colors may pool. There is even a nice selection of diagramed stitches/techniques.

Even if you don't like the hand painted yarns, the patterns alone a great! This is a must have for sock knitters of all kinds - especially those who fall for luscious hand painted yarns!

After a year of mediocre (at best) knitting books in 2008, this is one of the few I felt was worth my money and time. I am not crazy about all the patterns, but there are several I will definitely make. There are more to choose from than in most books (22 in all). I also really appreciated the detailed explanation of handpainted yarns. So far I haven't run into issues like "pooling" but when I do, this will be a great reference.

I'm as easily seduced by good handpainted yarns as the next knitter, but I admit I've been flummoxed about what on earth to do with them. Knitting plain socks bores me, and plain stockinette socks often pooled, or striped in ways I didn't like. Patterned socks were more fun to knit, but I couldn't always get the patterns to play well with the color changes.

This book is not only a repository of excellent sock patterns specifically designed to tackle those issues, it also includes an excellent technical/theoretical/inspirational introduction that has allowed me to see a way out of the woods. I will finally be able to knit through some of the handpainted sock yarn that's been sitting in my stash and mocking me for years.

I think a lot of us needed this book, and I'm happy to report it's well done.

This is a really good book, even if you only use it as a reference. It explains the types of handpainted yarns (3 categories) and then explains how to apply that in order to choose stitch patterns. There is extensive work about avoiding pooling and how to remedy situations.

The patterns are interesting, including pattern stitches for the three types of handpainted yarns. The photos are clear and gorgeous, and show the patterning beautifully.

All in all, it's worth the money, whether using it for patterns, or for a reference in order to use Yarn XYZ.

For a knitter who already loves socks, this one is a must have. There are a lot of patterns in this book with some very interesting construction techniques, plus an intro about color that could help out a rainbow. Maybe not the best for a beginning sock knitter, but certainly something to drool over.