Wrapped in Lace: Knitted Heirloom Designs from Around the World [Paperback]

Margaret Stove (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 23, 2010

The spectacular knitted lace designs of New Zealand designer Margaret Stove are truly the pinnacle of the craft. In Wrapped in Lace, dive into Margaret’s love fo learning and creating knitted lace, then begin your own journey to master lace knitting with 12 original patterns.

To appreciate the history of knitted lace, follow Margaret’s quest to design and knit the legendary “wedding ring shawl”—a large lace shawl so fine and delicate that it can be drawn through a wedding ring. Wrapped in Lace shares the art of designing patterns and the characteristics of lace traditions from around the world.

Framed by an engaging narrative of learning to create knitted lace from scratch, Wrapped in Lace describes each set of lace techniques, patterns, and traditions in depth and offers Margaret’s spectacular patterns for lace shawls, stoles, and scarves. These projects illustrate knitted lace from the Faroe Islands, Shetland Islands, Orenburg, Estonia, and lace motifs of New Zealand, as well as more contemporary European work. As an added bonus, Wrapped in Lace includes Margaret’s tips for preserving, restoring, and remaking knitted lace heirlooms.

Editorial Reviews

Review

New Zeaklander Margaret Stove is a doyenne of knitted lace, and has spent her life teaching and developing the spinning of gossamer yarn through her company Artisan Lace. This book is an exploration of designs and traditions, and is a must-read for any serious lace knitter. The book represents her wish to share with others all she has learnt about knitted lace over her long career. Each intricate, beautiful garment is accompanied by detailed writings on how the design came about, referring to special pieces in Margaret's collection, how she went about selecting stitch patterns and edgings, and providing expert tips to produce flawless results. She also explores how knitted lace holds such an important place in family histories, and this book will inspire you to create your own heirloom pieces that will be passed down through the generations.-The Knitter

About the Author

Margaret Stove is a leading expert of handknitted superfine lace. Examples of her work are found in many galleries and private collections throughout the world. A passion for knitting and later designing lace led Stove to explore techniques for spinning lace yarns. She teaches lace knitting and spinning for lace internationally, and her line of New Zealand Merino lace yarn and patterns is distributed in the United States and throughout the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Interweave Press (November 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596682272
• ISBN-13: 978-1596682276
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #165,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic knitting book, November 23, 2010

By 

M. Poller (Israel) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Wrapped in Lace: Knitted Heirloom Designs from Around the World (Paperback)

So many knitting books rush to market with just a few nice patterns. But then among them are the really excellent classic and timeless books and this is one of them. Stove is well known for her lace knitting and in this book she covers many different types of lace shawls. Here you can find Estonian, Orenburg, shetland, faroese, etc. All the designs call for lace yarn and specifically her own yarn available from her in New Zealand. One pattern is free online and not in the book. In order to knit the shawls you have to read the charts. An important feature of lace knitting is the charting which has developed over the years. The chart symbols used here are only found on the reverse side of the back cover which is useful, but I find it should also have been included inside the actual book. She discusses charting but doesn't say where her symbols come from although they appear to be the ones commonly found today in Vogue knitting, and in Japanese knitting sources. The printing, photos and paper all seem very good and I am just hoping there won't be any or many mistakes. This is recommended for anyone interested in lace knitting and in shawls and is also just good to read even if you never make anything from it. I was quite impressed by the author's modesty as she says she is still on her knitting journey and I hope it will go on for a very long time.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fabulous patterns, November 28, 2010

By 

K. Platt "blackplantlady" (Sheffield, England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wrapped in Lace: Knitted Heirloom Designs from Around the World (Paperback)

You might wish to add this book to your knitting collection simply because of the beautiful designs. These fine shawls are for the fearless and dedicated knitter with much experience. They are knitted entirely from charts, often very complex charts. If you are unfamiliar with the symbols used on charts, you have to flick backwards are forwards to understand the charts - this is not very helpful when you are trying to follow a complex pattern. You could simplify one of the scarves as a beginner by just knitting the central panel. However, this is a challenging book, full of patterns to show off your skill as a knitter. The patterns are incredible and a credit to Margaret. There is even help for those wishing to design their own shawl patterns. The book is a journey and tribute to heirloom designs. This review first appeared on Karen Platt's book review website.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating technical book, November 11, 2010

By 

Audrey - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Wrapped in Lace: Knitted Heirloom Designs from Around the World (Paperback)

I received this book 2 days ago and couldn't put it down. While the designs, in general didn't appeal to me I was fascinated by the author's construction techniques, many of which were unknown to me. I don't don't expect to use them very often but I will be happy to have this book as a reference.