Customer Reviews

A Treasury of Knitting Patterns

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Barbara Walker first turned me on to knitting in her invaluable primer for beginners, "America's Knitting Book", now sadly out of print. Once you get past casting on and the basic knit and purl stitches, it's fun to start designing your own projects, and the "Treasury" makes this simple. It was the "Treasury" that turned me into a dyed-in-the-wool "knitwit". It's mind-blowing to think that so many hundreds of patterns are varieties of just two fundamental stitches, the knit stitch and the purl stitch. Let your imagination loose; there's no limit on what you can make. The "Treasury" is organized into basic pattern groups, starting with simple knit-purl combinations, and advancing through ribbing, color-change patterns, slip stitch, twist stitch, and many more, all the way through lace and cable stitch patterns. The directions are very clear and concise, and the photographs are excellent. Walker doesn't give instructions for making different garments in this book, but she does explain how the patterns can be adapted to making just about anything.

One of the best (for this reviewer) chapters was the one on cable stitch knitting; here Walker tells how to design and make your own original fisherman's sweater, using any number of different cable stitch patterns. It sounded like so much fun that I decided to try it, and it came out so great that I promptly made another one, this time casting on from top to bottom and knitting the sweater sideways, so all the cables run horizontal. Talk about an original! This book really lets your creative genius loose. Use it, enjoy it, and have a lot of fun.

I wrote a review for Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns and would like to add more of my comments about this scholarly knitting trilogy. Previously, I had commented that only professional knitters really needed to own these books, but I am beginning to rethink that position. I was attempting to teach myself "linen stitch" which is a simple slip stitch pattern recommended for knitting with chenille to keep it from biasing and "worming" (loops of yarn coming out all over the place). I attempted to follow the directions in "Knitting with Novelty Yarns". After wrestling all evening and failing, I went to bed with a headache. In the morning it occurred to me that I could look up the pattern in Barbara Walker's Treasuries. I found it (under a totally different name) and discovered that a crucial "P1" had been left out of the directions! Probably a typo, but still! I now have more respect for the Treasuries and for the unbelievable amount of scholarly work and patience that went into compiling all those patterns. Just the proof-reading alone for accuracy must have taken years! I think that if you are at an intermediate level and are interested in learning new techniques and stitch patterns, you really should own Walker's Treasuries. There is nothing available like them - they are the knitter's Encyclopedia. The only reason I gave four stars instead of five is that, unfortunately, the photographs that accompany the patterns are small, poorly done black-and-white, very difficult to see anything, very dated. What a shame that the books could not be reprinted with updated photos - but what a job that would be!

I first came across Barbara Walker's knitting pattern treasuries in the late 1970s when I found them in the local library which was subsequently sadly destroyed in a fire. So I was absolutely delighted to find them available for sale again and hope they remain in print.

I regard this volume as second only to Volume 2 of the set by Barbara Walker. It contains an enormous range of patterns and although the photos are quite small they are very crisp and clear and every stitch can be seen. The layout and pattern writing is clear and coherent and I have always enjoyed picking up the book and browsing through it looking at all the different stitches. The accompanying commentary and introductions to each section provide a lot of extra detail and entertaining reading which will be helpful when applying the patterns to a garment.

In short, this is a must have for your collection of knitting patterns, regardless of your level of expertise.

This book is one of two you should own if you knit (the other being the Second Treasury). I own a number of knitting books, including Mary Phillips' and Elizabeth Zimmerman's, and Walker is quite simply the best one-stop source for clear, concise, and complete knitting information, stitch patterns, and inspiration. Walker covers basic knitting tips, simple stitches, cables, Aran designs, multi-color knitting, and lace patterns from simple to complex.

Any knitter (beginner or advanced) who has designing ambitions needs this book. I agree with the reader from Oceanside; this book (and Vols II and III) should never be allowed to go out of print.

I am trying to imagine a world without the Barbara G walker knitting treasuries......please don't make me go there!!!!! I first found them in 1977, in the public library, and I was 23. Who knows how many times I checked them out over the years, and I still have stacks of hand-written copies of the patterns that caught my eye. I was always on the prowl for used copies but nary a one did I ever run across. Then, when they came back into print, I bought the first and second right off the bat. Recently I picked up an excellent hard-bound used copy of the third treaury (charted designs) from Amazon. I much prefer the hard-bound format-the new editions are not as rugged as I wish they were. I mean, these are books that get USED in my house. I am looking to have all of them in hard-bound eventually and then give my soft cover ones to my mom who knits less than me.

These treasuries, every one of them, show to the world what an excellent mind Barbara G walker has. They are the masterpieces of one woman, not a team of people at Vogue Magazine or Reader's Digest. This genius/knitting goddess not only compiles the long-and-well-loved common traditional essentials, but is also able to construct written patterns from old pieces of knitting, invent new variations and entirely new patterns of her own that have every bit as much integrity as the traditional standbys, and then she very graciously hands them over to us earthlings, and they get so taken for granted for awhile that they even go out of print!!! Where was that at???? These important books are all gifts and are not to be squandered. There is nothing else to compare to this masterwork of Ms. Walker's. When and if there EVER is, whoever comes up with it will owe her BIG-BIG-BIG-time for breaking the ground so thoroughly.

I've just discovered Elizabeth Zimmerman and the idea of designing my own sweaters etc. She recommended this book, and I must say it has a fabulous range of patterns with easy-to-follow instructions. I am partway through knitting a shawl and didn't like the border design of the pattern I am working to, so I am going to substitute a pattern from Barbara Walker's book. She states how many stitches are needed for each repeat of every design, making it really easy to substitute what you like. This book looks old-fashioned, with black-and-white illustrations, but the information provided is first rate.

Barbara Walker's books, beginning with this one, can liberate you from slavishly following other people's patterns and allow you to express yourself. I had been knitting off and on for about 8 years when my husband found the old hardback edition in a second-hand shop in Shelbyville, Kentucky a few years ago (it was out of print at the time). It was marked $1.50 and sitting on the half-price shelf, and I consider it my best bargain find ever. It has fundamentally changed the way I knit.

I've always been attracted to richly textured knits, but I don't always like every pattern in a given design. Now I don't have to. I've designed my own baby afghans and scarves, and I've swapped out patterns in Debbie Bliss and Alice Starmore designs to customize them. If you make swatches of the patterns that intrigue you, you'll learn more about knitting than you could in 10 classes.

The books feature relatively little commentary, but what Walker does include is clear and helpful. My one suggestion to any would-be designer is to chart the patterns in the first two books before you use them. You'll understand the stitches better this way, make fewer mistakes, and be able to adjust the scale of some patterns to suit your design. This book is a must-have for all who want to explore their own ideas and better understand the knitted stich.

I have owned the "Charted Knitting Designs, a Third Treasury" for a number of years now. I am slowly adding the rest of Barbar G. Walkers' "Treasury of Knitting" books to my library. Each one of these books is a must have and worth every penny spent on them.

The contents include the following chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Simple Knit-Purl Combinations
Chapter 3: Ribbings
Chapter 4: Color-Change Patterns
Chapter 5: Slip-Stitch Patterns
Chapter 6: Twist-Stitch Patterns
Chapter 7: Fancy Texture Patterns
Chapter 8: Patterns Made with Yarn-Over Stitches
Chapter 9: Eyelet Patterns
Chapter 10: Lace
Chapter 11: Cables
Chapter 12: Cable-Stitch Patterns

This book is exactly what it says it is: an enormous collection of knitting stitch patterns. It does not contain projects or patterns for garments, but has all the cables, laces, and other texture patterns that you might ever need. Each is presented with a clear photo and accurate instructions.
If you design your own patterns, you will find that this reference gives you all the stitches you need. If you have a favorite sweater pattern that you would like to make many times, this book will allow you to do so without ending up with a drawerful of identical garments. If you like to follow patterns exactly, you may still value the glossary and the clarity of the instructions (often a commercial knitting pattern will not describe its pattern stitch very clearly -- you can often pull this book off the shelf and find it written out better). And if you are lucky enough to have old handwritten knitting patterns that say things like "make this in moss stitch" you will now be able to use them.
Essentially, if you want a collection of knitting stitches, then you should have this book. People who dislike the black and white photos might prefer The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches, which has more beginner information and color pictures. Walker's book, however, has the largest number anywhere.

For anyone who knits and wants to go beyond "blind following", these are the books to start with. You can begin to design by substituting an exciting stitch pattern for a plain one.

I've used this (and her second treasury) many times in the planning of socks, scarves, and shawls. It's an indispensible resource and is the best stitch treasury I've seen.

What makes the B. Walker treasuries so good? First, there is ample "white space" on each page. The stitch patterns are not crammed together, competing for space. Second, there are clear black-and-white pictures of each stitch pattern. (I find that color distracts me from texture, so the black and white is a definite plus) Third, the patterns are logically grouped and arranged. Fourth, Walker uses traditional names - or gives the pattern a name if the true name is not known. She also gives credit where it's due for a stitch pattern. She also gives some basic editorial comments (e.g., "This would be ideal for a scarf" or "Lovely for lacy little girl's dresses") that add charm and a human touch to the books.

I like looking at them even when I'm not seriously planning a project. It is truly amazing what one can do with a few simple manipulations of a strand of yarn.

Now that Schoolhouse Press is reprinting these, I expect they will stay in print. (They know what knitters want)