Customer Reviews

Knitwear Design Workshop: A Comprehensive Guide to Handknits

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've admired Shirley Padden's stunning designs for years and have hoped she might someday publish a collection. Instead she has done something better: meticulously and comprehensively laid out her procedures for designing carefully fitted and beautiful garments. This book not only guides the reader step by step through all that is necessary to produce original designs, but also offers a backstage glimpse into the thinking process of a gifted designer.

The publisher has gone to the extra expense of binding the book with an enclosed spiral binding, which allows the pages to lie perfectly flat. Many knitters prefer this and take their books to Kinko's for a spiral binding, which unfortunately involves amputating the spine. Knitwear Design Workshop, by contrast, has a strong and decorative spine so it can be found in a bookcase.

This 343-page book is essentially a textbook for knitwear design. Every classic silhouette is each presented with detailed reproducible worksheets, schematics, and measurement instructions to insure success, with sleeve, cuff, neckline, collar and edging variations offered in a separate section. Practical suggestions include comparing your detailed body measurements to the detailed measurements of a knitted garment of similar weight and texture (my suggestion: if you don't have an appropriate garment, go shopping until you find one to try on, then lay it on a clean cloth in the changing room and measure it carefully) to discover exactly how much ease you want exactly where (and there is a worksheet for recording each individual ease measurement). The author also offers sober gauge advice: knit a more realistic 8-inch swatch, instead of the usual 4-inch size, and after working about 5 inches of the actual garment, stop and carefully compare the gauge of the the garment with your actual swatch). Why take such care? Well, we all know what a fickle creature gauge can be. Clearly, the author wants you to end up with a garment that fits!

A small collection of rather ambitious knitwear designs are included as well, each one demonstrating how to apply the principles described in the first part of the book. These designs are explained in much more detail than usual, because they are meant to teach you how to think like a designer. The mesmerizing cover garment, for instance, called Double Leaves and Twists Duster, runs from page 291 to page 305.

There are also interesting discussions of how different categories of knitted fabric behave -the way they move horizontally and vertically, and careful discussions of selvedges and how to use them to achieve perfect seams.

This is a book to add to your knitting library, to use for education, for reference, for inspiration, and as a map for designing and knitting an original garment.

I have been eagerly awaiting Ms. Paden's book ever since I heard it was being released, and now that I have it in my hands, I am not disappointed in the least. This is a complete reference on knitwear design, lacking almost nothing on the subject.

First and foremost, Ms. Paden presents the idea that we are creating FABRIC with knitwear design. The fabric that is made has it's own properties and characteristics; not just shaping and overall silhouette. This approach is similar to the dressmaker/sewer, who also works with a specific fabric in mind.

Ms. Paden begins at the beginning; that all design begins with the gauge swatch, and for the first time in all of my reading on the subject, she breaks down in a LOGICAL way all the math and how it corresponds directly to the gauge swatch. For example, the total yardage requirement for a sweater design is calculated by the total area of each garment piece (makes sense! I suspected this all along, but didn't quite know how to go about it...now I do), and how many "gauge swatches" will "fit" in the total area of the garment. Knowing the amount of yardage used in the gauge swatch can then be carried out to the entire garment. The entire design process is presented as a series of mathematical calculations that when broken down into logical steps, make perfect sense to even math-haters.

Garment shaping is also broken down into sections. For instance, different neckline styles (as well as many other garment areas) are actually graphed out so you can SEE the shape of the garment changing with increases and decreases. Ms. Paden makes graph paper the designer's friend; not the enemy, and makes the whole process easy to visualize and execute.

Another very notable and useful addition to the book is the series of charts and worksheets to be used for planning out the design. Using these worksheets in conjunction with the design schematic, a designer can create a blueprint for the garment construction, and progress from all the math into a written pattern. An ease chart ranging from actual body measurements of 32" to 48" is also included, as well as the complete CYCA standard size charts for all sizes from baby through men.

Some finishing techniques are also presented here, as well as an overview of fibers and yarns. The projects included are absolutely gorgeous, but not really necessary to this text; however, they do serve to show how the design process works with more complex garments. The cover design is an absolute masterpiece, and elements of it will be sure to inspire readers.

The ONLY thing that is lacking here is an explanation of designing top-down garments. Ms. Paden does cover cardigans that are knit in one piece to the armholes, then split into front and back, but I have not found anything on top-down design. Since this type of construction is fast becoming the favored way to knit a sweater, I was surprised to see it left out. It would not be so hard to apply all the design principles given to a top-down garment, though.

This book is a must-buy for anyone even remotely interested in the knitwear design process. No, it is not for the faint of heart: this is a serious text that could easily be used for a college course in design. There's no fluff here. Everything presented here, however, will transcend all fashion trends and styles and will be useful for students of fashion and avid knitters alike.

Knitwear Design Workshop bills itself as 'A Comprehensive Guide to Handknits'. It is published by Interweave Press, a very reputable publisher that also puts out Interweave Knits Magazine, my favorite knitting magazine.

I think that this book is a very valuable resource for the intermediate and experienced knitter. However, is a too difficult for a beginning knitter.

The book covers a wide range of topics, all essential for designing knitwear: design planning, ways to select fabric, pullovers, cardigans, skirts and dresses, armhole shaping, sleeves and cuffs, necklines and collars, finishing techniques. It also includes projects.

I am working on a project now that I need to modify and this book is perfect to help me redesign what I'm working on so I can get just what my friend wants in a neckline.

I highly recommend this book as a valuable resource for design and pattern modification as well as complete pattern design. Some of the projects included in the back of the book are also beautiful, especially the Twist Flowers Pullover and the Pea Coat.

The only caveat I have for the book is that it is not for the beginning knitter. Otherwise, it is a wonderful resource.

Bonnie Brody, February 26, 2010

How long we knitters have waited for the magnificent textbook Shirley Paden has worked so long and hard to producE !!

I am not, nor ever will be a knitwear designer, but with the help of this book, I can not only use commercial patterns more constructively, I can check them for accuracy and modify them easily. Ms. Paden gives you the techniques and the mathematical formulas needed to chart patterns so if you already have a commercial one, you can check it easily by charting it to confirm that there are no errors and/or you can adjust it to match your gauge and your personal body measurements.

Granted it may not be the first book a beginning knitter might want to buy, nevertheless, many of the techniques should be taught early to all knitters so that they do not stumble blindly for years, and only later, learn what they could have mastered in the first place. And those who criticize this for not being aimed at beginning knitters could be asked, "Where are the books to assist more advanced knitters in improving their techniques ? Have there ever been any that come even remotely close to serving those of us who have been knitting for years ?"

I ask Ms. Paden to please begin work on Volume 2 to address many of the topics that simply could not fit in her first volume and which, if included, might have made the book too heavy to lift ! And please do make the second volume spiral-bound so that it too can be laid flat and kept open without the binding eventually breaking as with traditionally bound books that one has to weigh down in order that they be read hands-free...many readers like to knit and read at the same time.

In conclusion, congratulations and thank you very much, Shirley Paden !

The techniques and designs that are covered in this book are covered well: numerous sweater styles and some other garments are gone through methodically and logically using well-set out arithmetic equations, charts and photos of example pieces in the featured style. Many types of detailing are covered - the numerous neck-lines, collars and sleeves will cover most projects I can imagine designing.

Unfortunately, several techniques and design elements are missing: top-down, circular-knit design; and more importantly any coverage of shaping to give 3-d contours such as vertical or horizontal darts. I'm going to need another book for that! Also missing are any tutorials for designing small items such as gloves or socks. Again, I'm going to need another work to help me with that, even though some techniques here could be extrapolated to such items.

Despite these criticisms there is much to gain from this book and I'm very pleased to have it. It is already inspiring me to start designing items I wouldn't have thought of before.

Shirley Paden's designs appear in publications such as Knitters Magazine and her work is characterized by shaped garments such as coats, jackets or sweaters that have a strong textural fabric created by cabled knitting and traveling stitch.

Now Shirley shares her considerable knowledge of clothing design with knitters and this book is the result. The book is bound with spiral binding and covered in "perfect binding" (a sort of glazed paper over boards) so that it can lay flat as you study the diagrams. This is, therefore, a book for people serious about design. If you are looking merely for some patterns, yes, there are four of them in the back for coats and a pullover, but the major thrust of the book is about how to design sleeves, necklines, collars, and make the garment fit according to your vision. For that reason, this book is unique. If you want to make fitted knit garments (even if you machine knit), I think the info in this book is particularly valuable.

Each part of the garment is covered: from lapels, to the silhouette, bands, sleeves, cuffs, hems, collars, shoulders. Blocking and how to attach bands (picking up) are also covered.

The book shows you how to implement your vision after you choose a source of design for your idea, how to achieve various styles of neckline and sleeves (bell sleeves, long sleeves, etc, boat collars, off the shoulder necklines, cowls and turtlenecks) and more importantly, shows you how to measure your model to get the fit. She warns about gauge (and this is vital if you use textured knitted stitches like Paden's)--a few fractions of an inch off and your coat may not fit the way you intended. Her advice is very detailed, including swatching, row and stitch count, gauge and choosing the right pattern stitch.

In summary, if you want to design garments such as coats, pullovers, skirts and have them fitted (rather than simply tubular) then Paden's book is an absolutely essential resource. This is a major knitting design book.

I was just able to get my hands on a copy of this wonderful book. I haven't been able to put it down since. Like its title suggests, this book is dedicated to helping designers think through, map out and see design projects come to life. It contains four patterns of sweaters all of which are awe-inspiring. I was shocked to read the other review that boo'ed the spiral binding, but I am beyond ecstatic about it. The hardcover wraps around the spiral binding so you can stand it up on your shelf. And the spiral binding allows the book to lay flat! Every single knitting, crafting, sewing, quilting book out there should be spiral bound, I say! Since it lays flat, you don't have to break the binding in hopes of taming the book open. I think that is essential when your hands are occupied with other things.

The subtitle: "A Comprehensive Guide to Handknits" - is no lie. Comprehensive it is. It is more like a beautiful textbook and it belongs in every aspiring hand-knitwear designer's library.

I bought the book sight unseen having become familiar with her wonderful designs in my magazines. The material is mainly about sweaters with additional material on skirts and dresses. I didn't find vests or such simple items as capes, wraps, etc so I hope she might consider another book on those items. The book will be very helpful to me as it covers very thoroughly the subjects of saddle shoulders, raglans and circular yokes; but raglans seem to be knit in pieces although one of her sources is the Fee book on the subject. The book is a huge encyclopedia of information and the index will hopefully help me with the questions that keep cropping up as I knit. Put me down as someone who is also not happy with the spiral binding because I am worried I will end up ruining some of the pages. The book just seems to be a bit unwieldy with this binding as it is so large. She gives only 3 buttonholes and half a page on zippers. So comprehensive is a misnomer .Her writing style is very clear and understandable. Aside from the binding, I have no complaints with the type, paper or illustrations. Her bibliography does not include Meg or her mother but does have many other important books. A welcome addition to my knitting library.

This is not a workshop of sweater design, or comprehensive in the least. Ms Paden only deals with pieced construction, with limp referrals to working in the round. Her examples are very basic patterns (pullovers, a little cardigan) and most of the book features charts of decreases for necklines and armholes. A lot of space is taken up with these charts, which repeat themselves with no interesting variations. Yes, it is important to make sure your increases and decreases balance over the body of the fabric, and symmetry is important. Could have done that work on ten pages and moved on to something else.

There is some information about drape, stretch, and fitting, but for the most part it's nothing you can't do for yourself with graph paper. Check your math! The book is not structured for beginning knitters, but the material covered is too basic for intermediate or advanced knitters. Been there, done that.

I know that blowing all your skills and information in one book would preclude writing another, but this just feels padded out to fill the space. It's not $40 worth of information. Sorry, cause Ms Paden is an interesting designer with obviously amazing skills to burn. Maybe the next one...

Over the past several years I've purchased books on design which were long on promises but never delivered. Shirley Paden does and in a big way.

As soon as this book arrived I began reading. Usually I thumb through and go back through the book later but when I read the first chapter I knew I was onto something special. From the in depth discussion on proper measurements to the coverage of various neckline styles, anyone who uses this book shouldn't have any problems designing a sweater.

The book is full of worksheets that may be duplicated and filled out as you go along to aid in designing your sweater. Miss Paden covers the calculations needed for shaping things such as armholes and necklines. The book is filled with her original designs with which Paden fans will be very familiar.

The last section of the book is devoted to several original designs which demonstrate her mastery of the techniques she presents. If you are designing your first sweater or are looking for guidance with a particular part of sweater construction this is should be one of the books you consult.