Customer Reviews

A Machine Knitter's Guide to Creating Fabrics: Jacquard, Lace, Intarsia, Ripple, and More

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Ms Lewis has long been considered the expert in
machine knitting and as a long-time professor of
the subject in New York City's Parson School, she
knows how to impart her knowledge to the student.
Her book covers all important fabric types and
shows how to achieve them on four categories of
machines. As one who attended her classes and
has been using her book as a Bible for many years,
I'd recommend it as the premier tome for anyone
who is
interested in not only high quality products but
also understanding HOW the machines produce the
various effects.

If you are a machine knitter, this book is a real prize which is worth tracking down, I hope it gets reprinted some day. It is a very cogent book about how to create all sorts of different kinds of knitted fabrics with a knitting machine. It is not for beginners.

What is really good about this book is that for each fabric type or example, she has a chart of how to set all the different carriage levers, cams, and control buttons, for each of the four major different families of knitting machines (Passap, Superba, Brother/Knitking, and Singer/Studio/Silver Reed; which cover most of the knitting machine market). Because there is no detailed information given by Amazon about the table of contents (as I write this), here are the chapters:

I - The Reference Chapters
1. How to Use the Material in This Book
2. The Basics
3. The Mechanics of Punchcard Knitting
4. Jacquard Punchcards
5. Accessories (yarn changers, etc.)

II - The Fabrics
1. Jacquard Fabrics
2. Mosaics
3. Ripple Fabrics
4. Blister Jacquard
5. Double Fabrics
6. Knit-weave Fabrics
7. Plating
8. Pile Fabrics
9. Intarsia
10. Short Rows
11. Inlay Fabrics
12. Embossing
13. Principles of Racking
14. Lace
15. Afterthoughts

Every single fabric is illustrated with at least one photo, and charts, diagrams, special cast-ons, etc. are included where appropriate. For example, she has tables of what rate to decrease or increase in order to get certain angles or polygons (e.g. for doilys, shawls, blankets).

This book is a great complement to Hand-Manipulated Stitches for Machine Knitters. If you are beginner, start with the beginner chapters of Hand-Manipulated Stitches, including the cam explanations. Then switch to Part I of this book. Next, start learning to make the fabric types that interest you, how to set the cams, levers, and buttons on your own knitting machine using this book. Then continue using both books together for whatever advanced techniques interest you.

This book is my most prized in my machine knitting library. I would call it an intermediate to advanced text. I still have so many techniques to try and still reference this book constantly. The text provides row by row instructions, which you can follow when you don't fully understand the technique, and when you finally reach the "AH HAH!" moment, it has given you the skills to create your own unique stitches. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this book. GET YOUR COPY! Buy it used, buy it new, it is a must have for machine knitters. Just reading the introduction fills with warm fuzzy feelings about my machines and motivates me to create, knit, and learn.