Sweater Design in Plain English (Paperback)

~ (Author) "When I began to write this book, I invited members of the local Atlanta Knitting Guild to share their problems about designing sweaters so that..." (more)
Key Phrases: underarm depth, length from underarm, underarm shaping, Times Made, Fair Isle, Adult Raglan Cardigan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

If you're tired of making sweaters with sleeves that are the wrong length, necklines that droop, armholes that are too tight, and an overall look that's not quite right, then let Seater Design in Plain English come to your rescue. In clear, straightforward terms, Maggie Righettie shares her knitting know-how and good fashion sense so that, no matter what your knitting level, you can overcome the fear of failure, avoid costly mistakes, adapt already-existing patterns, and plan and create sweaters that really fit and look terrific-sweaters that will be worn for many years to come. Topics and techniques include:

-Understanding the nature of yarn and pattern stitches
-Choosing the most flattering color and design for the wearer
-Taking accurate body measurements
-Estimating the amount of yarn you'll need
-How to tell whether or not a sweater will look good on you-before you start to knit
-How to alter printed patterns so they really fit
-How to understand the mathematics of gauge and pattern design
-Plus start-to-finish instructions for thirteen classic sweaters

Each technique is illustrated with clear diagrams, sketches, or photographs. Complete with conversion charts and a personal-measurements record-keeping section, Sweater Design in Plain English takes the guesswork out of every creative knitting effort.

About the Author

Maggie Righetti, a certified knitting and crochet instructor, is the author of Knitting in Plain English, Crocheting in Plain English, and Universal Yarn Finder. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where she runs her own knitting design company.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (October 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312051646
• ISBN-13: 978-0312051648
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #69,905 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book to feed the creative spirit!, January 25, 1998

By A Customer

I am an intermediate knitter who has been stifling my own creativity by knitting from commercial patterns for years. I have no knitters in my family, and taught myself to knit from books and help from art teachers in junior high school. Maggie Righetti is the knitting grandmother I never had, and always wanted. She has a wonderful sense of humor and a no-nonsense attitude of playfulness that cuts through the mystery and fear associated with design. Her first chapters are about the psychological barriers that keep knitters from taking control of their own craft, and this good-natured lecture is truly inspiring. Then she talks about the design issues and challenges associated with designing for REAL bodies of all types. Her attitude toward the fact that many people are bigger than the commercial designers assume, and that proportions can differ from that standard, but can still be beautiful, is refreshing. It's even--dare I say it--feminist! Righetti tells us to choose yarn that inspires us, then knit swatches with a variety of stitches and patterns. The swatch is not just to check gauge, but to let the yarn "tell you what it wants to be." Some may find this silly, but it has helped me to let my creativity go, and I am now working with a beautiful, inspiring purple mohair that told me it wanted to be a short-sleeved evening sweater with simple lines. The yarn didn't want anything fancy to upstage it (as if that was possible). My only complaint with the book is that the practice sweaters given are not the most stylish, and as many design techniques are taught in the context of these sweaters, it can be difficult to find a technique you want to use if you don't go through each of the design projects in detail. I highly recommend this book, and plan to check out her other books.

101 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book, September 13, 2002

By A Customer

When I first bought this book, my knitting experience was not matured enough to appreciate the depth of the information contained in this book. To be honest, I was even dissapointed since the style of sweaters shown was not stylish, the models wearing them were not stylish commercial models. The book is full of English text and has no eye-candy photos. So it had been sitting in my bookshelf for almost one year,I even thought about selling it.

One Saturday afternoon, out of boredom, I decided to pick it up to read, laying on the bed. I could not believe that I could not discover the wisdom that the authour generously shares with us. My knitting knowleadge by then has grown to understand the authour's intention. Most of us do not have perfect bodies so that we need skills to knit to fit better. The models shown are real people with real mesurements! The sweaters are simples ones knitters tend to come back after ellaborately ornamented commercial patterns, which are often too-stylish to wear everyday.

All these knitting skills for size-manipulation were right there in her book at my hand. I looked for those informaiton here and there scattered in many other books, but most of the time I could not find them in any where. For example, how to plan bust darts by short-rowing were something I always wanted to know.

Her charting system is good model to copy. Math for knitting is well explined. If you can draw it and can do the math part of it, you can knit it. The price is very generous for the wealth of information contained. Probably, no color photos, no expensive commercial models have contributed greatly to its price. I am grad she made the book easy access to many people.

I would reccomend this book to intermidiate to advanced knitters.

78 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for would-be designers!, April 13, 2002

By	Gwen Kramer "gwenhwyvar" (Tehachapi, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I checked this book out of the library since I am fascinated with the idea of designing my own sweaters. But this book offers much, much more. It teaches the basics of color, it tells what colors work for you and why. Then there is a section on figure types. What sweater designs flatter and which do not. And the chapter does not have just the usual hour glass, pear, top heavy distinctions, there's the rectangle, the triangle, the oval, the tiffany diamond.... It is almost garanteed the you will find your body type in the list.

The first part alone is worth the price of the book but there are many other lessons to offer. As mentioned before, most of the sweater projects are not very stylish (though I did like the sweater designed to use up left over yarn) but the lessons offered are sound.

As usual for Maggie Righetti's books, the writing style is chatty and fun filled with anecdotes and nuggets of wisdom that can only come from a veteran knitter.

My only real complaint about this book is that it often refers to information found in the author's previous book Knitting in Plain English. I suggest buying both books. (You'll want the other one anyway after reading this book.)

This book is a must for any knitter who wishes to design sweaters but it is also an excellant course in dressing well and in adjusting knitting patterns. Also, it is a good look at advanced knitting techniques. This book is hours worth of knitting lessons condensed in a convenient package. Worth every penny!