Recommended Crafting Books

Get this book. This is the freshman text for crocheting. This is the book that you must get. If you have ever tried to learn to crochet from cheapie pamphlets and ended up frustrated beyond belief, this book is going to be like healing balm to you. It's much more than a pamphlet; it's a nice chunky book packed to the gills with explicit directions and very clear pictures and drawings. I'm not kidding -- if you want to crochet, or even if you already know how, go get this book. She literally tells you everything from the beginning, and doesn't throw any jargon at you, like some books do. From "this is a crochet hook and this is how you hold it" to a list of simple projects to get you up to speed, this book should be the first one on a beginner's bookshelf. It's a worthwhile read no matter if you're an expert. She's also very friendly and conversational in her writing style, and that makes the reading absolutely painless.

The only major problem I have with it is her cavalier attitude towards crocheting left-handed. She shows only right-handed diagrams deliberately and tells us to "just" learn right-handed. It's not that simple ...

I love Righetti's books. This one is probably better than her knitting book, just because it's a tad bit more practical. You'll definitely want to be familiar with the basic ideas of knitting before you start this one, though. She goes over the basics behind designing for the human body, and presents a very large and very varied selection of sweater patterns from cast-on to bind-off, going through them at a very slow pace, step by step -- describing what body types they are best for, and how to alter patterns for different body types -- larger stomachs or breasts, long arms, or sloping/square shoulders. I can't describe everything she goes through in one paragraph -- just get her books and you'll be very glad you did.

Don't get this one to learn from, but once you've wet your feet, get it. Get it, get it, get it. As a beginning book, it might be a bit overwhelming unless you're the adventurous type. Seeing all those color photos will either excite you or capsize you. But once you've wet your feet with a few simple projects like mittens, a scarf, or a sweater, opening this book will be like opening a treasure chest. It will become the single most important reference book you own, and will only increase in its value to you. It's jam-packed with crisp, clear, sparkling color photos of everything, tons of directions, and explanations of everything you need to know to knit well. So you thought that lifting one stitch over another was the only way to bind off? Nope -- read this book to find out all the various ways you can bind off.

An excellent book -- but not for the beginner. This one's packed to the gills with great pictures and lots of new ideas. It goes over everything from circular yoke sweaters to gloves to mittens to socks in enough detail that the more experienced knitter can suss out what's being said, although it would be a bit overwhelming to the novice. If you already have some biggish projects under your belt, check this one out. It's wonderful.

This is the best sock knitting book I've ever found, and I'm persnickety about sock knitting directions. Too many books give you barely enough specific directions on how to turn a heel to even understand the basics behind it, but this one does. It's got lots of patterns along with the directions and definitions, and will give you tons of ideas of how to go about knitting your own socks. Socks are great -- small enough to be portable and not take too long, and complex enough to give you a great sense of accomplishment. Get this book if you're even vaguely curious about sock knitting.

These books wake you up to what's possible. They are not strictly speaking design books, there are no sweater or shawl patterns here. There are stitch patterns. Tons of them. Lace you've never seen before. Cables you didn't know could exist outside of an M. C. Escher lithograph. Once you have the basics of sweater knitting or a generic shawl or sock pattern down, you can make incredible garments with these patterns. Just paging through them can get the creative juices flowing. These are sine qua non for your bookshelf.

I had learned how to knit and made several items without ever reading a book by the redoubtable Liz. She's an absolute legend in the field, though, and now that I've finally succumbed to the ZimmerBorg :-), I only wish I had run into her books earlier. Like, much earlier. Decades. Heavens, she knits like me! In other words, don't give me an exact pattern and expect me to follow it like a trembling necromancer afraid to mispronounce a syllable.

You don't have to memorize anything in this book. She gives you all the information you need to derive any pattern you want. The section in this book on seven shoulder shapings on circular needles alone is worth ten times the price of the book. With this chapter on shoulder shaping and how to achieve them painlessly together with any collection of Nordic or Fair Isle patterns -- or Arans or laces, if that's the way your taste runs -- you need never worry about finding a pattern again. You'll never need a pattern again. You will literally be able to just pick up the needles, make a gauge patch, and then run like the wind.

The first book for lacey shawls and stuff. This books is to shawls what "Socks, Socks, Socks" is to socks. The patterns are stunning, not too hard even for a lace-novice like me (although there are some that I wouldn't dream of attempting at the moment), and the book gives sources for all of the yarns and other stuff required for the projects. I only wish some of the pictures were a bit clearer to give an idea of what the shawls actually look like. Many are excellent, but there are three of four that show the finished shawl artfully clumped up around the shoulders of the model in a way that makes a nice picture, but doesn't give you a very good idea of what the overall pattern looks like.

It's the basic book for machine quilting, the best known and the most extensive. If you want to machine quilt, buy it, read it, put it under your pillow. Just do everything this book tells you to do, basically.

Okay, so that isn't what the books are really called. It makes for quick mental identification, though. :-) The formal titles of the two books are "Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!!" and "Quilts, Quilts, and More Quilts!" Despite the cheesy overabundance of exclamation points in the title, these are fairly good basic books for piecing. Lots of patterns, lots of colors, and most of them can be strip-pieced. But don't expect to learn how to quilt from them, either by hand or on a machine. These are the standard examples of the all-too-common quilt book that gives you a hundred pages of color selection and piecing advice, then three pages' worth of, "Quilt it and then you're done!" at the end. They're wonderful books to make a top from, but you'll want to look around for others when it comes to actually quilting it. This one and the Hargrave book listed above should be #1 and #2 on your bookshelf if you want to machine quilt.

And this one and the McClun/Nownes books should be #1 and #2 on your bookshelf if you want to hand-quilt. Get this book. Bow down before this book. Base your life on its teachings. It's a tiny little softback, and it will teach you exactly, precisely, how to hand-quilt. It's the best cheap trade paperback you'll ever buy.

It's hard to find books on tatting -- even the pattern books I find I don't much care for. But this how-to book is probably the best and most comprehensive I've seen. It's got a few patterns, but it's most useful as a textbook for the various methods of tatting and the history of the craft as well. If you want to tat, definitely get this book, and whatever pattern books you find that appeal to you. It covers many techniques and tricks, with the exception of the split-ring technique, which can be found in any of the Anne Orr booklets.