Reference Books/Online Links

I went through my craft books today to find the ones best suited to a beginner. Sadly, I didn't have any for crochet but will add an online link for that.

How to Knit by Debbie Bliss, 1999, published in both the U.S. and U.K. has a great "Beginner's Workshop" section. From there you go to the "Simple Stitch Patterns Workshop." Don't let the subsequent sections intimidate you. I still haven't mastered Aran, multi-color work, or designing my own patterns. I'm just now, successfully, knitting a simple lace-pattern scarf. Entrelac I learned last year, but not from any published book; a wonderful co-worker provided me a pattern she everything deciphered.

The Knitting Answer Book by Margaret Radcliffe, 2005, has turned out to be my favorite "go to" book when I am trying to figure out a knitting instruction. I bought this little book when shopping with my mother several years ago because of the great illustrations and the compact size. I had no idea who Margaret Radcliffe was at the time. Now I look forward to articles by her that appear regularly in one of my knitting magazines.

Magazines have great patterns in them, but there are two specific things I look for before purchasing one. The first is "skill level." This is usually divided into four categories: beginner, easy, intermediate, and experienced. The second is type of yarn needed for a specific pattern using the symbols for the "Standard Yarn Weight System." Most patterns in magazines are submitted by the yarn manufacturer who are--no surprise here-- promoting a specific product. Some of these yarns can be difficult to locate, not come in a color that you like, or are simply too expensive for the beginning or average knitter. The Standard Yarn Weight System can help with finding an alternative that you like. Even better, it can tell you if a yarn you bought because you just couldn't do without it is a candidate for that pattern. There are six levels in this system: 1 - super fine (sock, fingering, baby); 2 - fine (sport, baby); 3- light (DK, light worsted); 4 - medium (worsted, afghan, aran); 5 - bulky (chunky, craft, rug); and, 6 - super bulky (bulky, roving).  In a subsequent blog, I'll go into more detail about the skill levels and yarn weights. I'll address skill levels and yarn weights later.

Knit Picks (knitpicks.com) is one of my favorite sites on the web. I order most of my yarn from here because of the great prices and fantastic quality. But it also has a good library of free patterns in addition to a broad range of tutorials. The tutorials also include crochet!

Another website I enjoy is ravelry.com. Ravelry is an online yarn community. You can find patterns and tutorials here. You can store information about your yarn stash here. Some members post yarn they have for sale or for trade. You can also post here if you need a specific yarn  to finish a project (yarn is no longer manufactured, you can't find the correct dye lot, or you need just a few yards). Last year I ran short of a yarn for a scarf and could not locate the correct dye lot locally. I found someone on Ravelry who had this yarn for sale and at a price far below what I had originally paid for it. My knitting co-worker later found just the right amount of yarn to finish a sweater she had started over 10 years ago. When you go to the Ravelry website, you will be asked to fill out an "application." However, this is not to judge your qualities as a knitter or crocheter but to give the owners of the site the ability to add members slowly to assure they are not swamped at specific times with newbie questions about navigating the site, etc. As I remember, I was on the site within 2 or 3 days of "applying."

I don't have any YouTube links to share as I don't have high-speed internet. If anyone has a YouTube link they use for knitting or crochet, please share it!

Next topic:  Tools for knitting and crochet.