Skein for Skein: 16 Knitted Projects [Paperback]

Cheryl Potter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2008

Join four well-known knitwear designers as they guide you through successfully substituting same-weight yarns using examples from a range of yarn producers. Learn why "skein for skein," yarn is not always the same.

* Learn the ins and outs of yarn substitution and discover how style, texture, and fiber content affect results

* Explore fingering, double-knitting, worsted-weight, and bulky-weight yarns

Editorial Reviews

Review

Substitute teachers are always a welcome sight in school, and they are as well on these pages, where Potter and compadres Donna Druchunas, Celeste Pinheiro and JoAnne Turcotte demonstrate the fine art of yarn substitution. Providing two options and one swatch for each of 16 patterns--four per fiber weight--this book not only shows good substitutions but, almost as important, bad ones, too. That way, you won't waste un-tinkable mohair on intricate lace, get frustrated with hand-dyed pooling on a garment that changes fabric width or choose a nubby yarn that hides stitch definition. It's also fun to see how drastically color play changes a look: Potter's Rustic Roses pullover, for example, goes from cheery to theatrical with shifts in palette and material. --Yarn Market News

About the Author

Cheryl Potter and Donna Druchunas are both successful authors. JoAnne Turcotte is the design director for Plymouth Yarns and Celeste Pinheiro is a published designer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Martingale & Co Inc; illustrated edition edition (August 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564778576
• ISBN-13: 978-1564778574
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #759,554 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cheryl Potter's love for knitting began at age eight when she created a lime green-and-yellow striped T-shirt with a sparkle yarn called Dazzle Working part time for various yarn shops, she knit her way through Middlebury Collage in Vermont. In graduate school she was heavily influenced by Kaffe Fassett, who inspired her first set of hand-dyed colorways.
After earning her master of fine arts degree at the University of Arizona, Cheryl returned to Vermont and founded a hand-painted yarn company called Cherry Tree Hill, the name of her mountaintop farm. In an old milk house, she dyed and designed wearable art garments until she was discovered by Interweave Knits magazine in 1997. Cherry Tree Hill yarns are now sold in hundreds of stores all over the world, and Cheryl's work regularly appears in magazines and catalogs, as well as on television. Today she is best known for her innovative colorways, painted on a variety of natural and synthetic fibers.
During her years as a fiber artist Cheryl has been a prolific writer and teacher of workshops that focus on fiber, color and texture. Her first published book in the field is called Handpaint Country, and was done with the photography skills of Alexis Xenakis. The most recent, Skein for Skein is her sixth book. She's working now on an E-book Called Potluck yarn that's free to read online at www.potluckyarn.com. Come to www.cherryyarn.com to see her work or read her blog.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice winter projects, October 19, 2008

By 

Barbara Rhoades "Jackie of all Trades" (O'Fallon, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skein for Skein: 16 Knitted Projects (Paperback)

16 knit projects to keep your hands busy this winter from shawls, scarves, sweaters, vests, socks and afghans. There is even a tote bag!

Author bios are found in the first pages of SKEIN FOR SKEIN. Abbreviations and glossary section is located in the back of the book along with a techniques section which is the how-to do a chain stitch or cast-on, etc. Of course, there is a yarn weight chart, explanation of skill levels, metric conversion and a resource page.

The projects themselves contain a couple of paragraphs about the project followed by a skill level, size, materials list, gauge and an explanation of any special stitch used in the project. The instructions themselves are clear and easy to follow. The color photo of the finished project will help you be sure you are on the right path as you work the project.

Finally, each project has what is called "Alternate Picks and Pans". This shows two choices of yarns --- one good and one NOT good. This is nice if a particular yarn calls to you. You will know BEFORE you put all that hard work into it that the yarn is best suited for another project.

Needles at the ready, set and go for it!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice patterns, substitution info not convincing, October 15, 2008

By 

ReadNReVu - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skein for Skein: 16 Knitted Projects (Paperback)

There are some nice patterns in this book, but yarn substitution is a very subjective thing. That's one reason you need to do sample swatches when you use a different yarn than is called for in the pattern to see if you like the effect a particular yarn has on a pattern.

Some of the examples of yarns not to use were obvious given the type of pattern/garment, others much less so. Equally-sized close-up pictures of the "wrong" type yarn right next to the "correct" type on the same page instead of following pages might have helped make the authors' cases. When the authors stuck strictly to wearability concerns, the information was quite helpful, on color and texture of the pattern in a different yarn, not so much.

One noticeable bias was not to use mohair-type yarns for lace patterns, which is interesting because there are lots of patterns out there that use mohair because that fuzzy fluffy effect is precisely what the designer wants.

3.5 stars. I actually preferred several of their patterns with the yarns they said were unsuitable--go figure.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sixteen knitted projects teaching yarn substitution and how style, texture and fiber content affect results, March 14, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skein for Skein: 16 Knitted Projects (Paperback)

Cheryl Potter, et. al.'s SKEIN FOR SKEIN: 16 KNITTED PROJECTS provides a powerful set of sixteen knitted projects teaching yarn substitution and how style, texture and fiber content affect results. From double-knitting and using bulky-weight yarns to considering how yarn substitution works, SKEIN FOR SKEIN is a pick for any collection appealing to knitters.