Cool Socks, Warm Feet

This book, one of my favorite sock knitting books, is likely to be the kind of book you either love or hate. Whether you like it or not will largely depend on two things: 1) whether you like to work with double pointed needles (or at least feel comfortable converting instructions for double points to your own style) and 2) what you expect from a pattern book. If you hate double points, or are looking for a large compendium of sock patterns, then this book may not be right for you. If you don't have a problem embracing tiny sticks and are more interested in sock construction options, step right up! This book is going to open up a whole new sock world for you.

The whole premise of this book is really to put self-patterning sock yarn to good and interesting use. At least, that was the reason I bought it. I have a large stash of self-patterning yarn and I was looking for some ways to use it creatively. When I got the book, I was initially a little disappointed. There are really only 6 patterns in the whole book. And then I noticed that all the instructions provided, were provided for making socks on 4 double points. At the time, as a devout socks on one or two circulars adherent, I found this somewhat offputting. But then I started to look through her patterns and read through her incredibly detailed and well annotated instructions. This is really where the book shines.

This book goes beyond providing patterns into the realm of really trying to help the reader understand sock construction. The reason that there are only 6 patterns is more to do with the fact that Lucy Neatby seems to see these as basic patterns as jumping off points for your own creativity. It's a way for you to learn about different types of cuffs, heels and toes. A playground for learning new techniques with a few examples of what goes well together and how you can put the different pieces together into an well formed and fitted sock. The patterns are really just a set of guides to encourage you to mix and match pieces and to be a little more adventurous with sock knitting techniques. If it wasn't for her introduction of a garter stitch version of a short-row heel, I don't think I would have ever wanted to have a short-row heel in a sock. Her instructions helped me get past the problems I'd been encountering before and her helpful comments made sure that I ended up with a very polished result.

Beyond the patterns, there is also a fairly large collection of technical information. Want to know how to do a tubular cast-on for a sock? It's in there. Curious about how a three needle bind off for a toe works? You can find that too -- along with information for custom shaping socks for hard to fit feet and how to become friends with your double points, and the pros and cons of different needle types for sock knitting. In fact, this book covers an incredible amount of ground when it comes to sock knitting tips and tricks. Unfortunately, while her descriptions are detailed, not every technique is equally well illustrated by pictures. If you need diagrams to really understand how to do something, this book might be best accompanied by a good visual reference.

I've spent a lot of time trying to come up with a good answer to the question "Is this a good book for beginning sock knitters?" Even after a lot of pondering, the best answer I can come up with is "yes and no". I didn't come to this book until I had quite a few pairs of socks under my belt. I was looking to spice up my basic sock knitting pattern and skills, and this book gave me that extra kick that I needed. It's a great reference book, even if you already know a lot about socks. It's also spiral bound, light and compact. You can tell by the wear and abuse on this book that it comes with me everywhere. That said, the incredibly detailed patterns and loads of helpful hints mean that as a beginner, it's almost like having an experienced sock knitter next to you all the time, offering you helpful suggestions and pointing out places where you can customize your knitting for your own needs. This can be invigorating or overwhelming -- it just depends on your learning style.

The focus on using double pointed needles may also be difficult for some. I know that I really had a hard time with knitting socks on double points -- until I got a copy of this book and got too lazy to want to translate the instructions to work well with two circulars. I started with a pair of toe up socks, determined to make those double points my friends. Amazingly enough, one simple suggestion (from the book) made all the difference in the world -- use 4 needles instead of three to make your circle. It worked like a charm and there's not a bit of laddering to be seen in my socks. Now I almost can't imagine not using double pointed needles for socks.

In short, this is a great technique reference for the experienced sock knitter and a great place to start for the new sock knitter who isn't afraid to look at a lot of possibilities. The very first sock pattern in the book is pretty much the standard sock pattern that most people start with, just with a lot more explaination about the component parts than you're likely to find via Anne Norling or some other pattern company. Lucy Neatby's writing style is friendly and inviting, without being overly wordy or self-promoting, so the book is easy to read and refer to. This book would be another of my picks to take with me if I were trapped on a desert island because it is so packed full of good information. It's not exhaustive, but it will get you a pretty long way to really understanding sock construction. And for me, that's really what sets this book apart. It's not about giving you patterns for knitting socks, it's about giving you an understanding about what parts make up a sock and why those parts are constructed the way they are. When you know how something works, you can start to shape it for your own needs, come up with your own exciting variations. In the end, this little book is about empowering you to be a creative knitter and to think out of your sock box.

The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques

I own lots and lots of books with different finishing techiques. Cast-ons, bind-offs, increases, decreases, seams, selvedges and buttonholes, I never seem to know how to do the one I really want to do. And most of the time I don't really know the right reason to choose one over the other. Most knitting reference books cover at least a few different options in each of these categories, but most of these books aren't portable or don't give you enough details to figure out what you need to do with a complex technique, or don't help you understand why to select one method over another. Which is what makes Nancie Wiseman's book special.

To be honest, when I first bought this book I was in knitting book glutton mode and was buying anything I could find that would help me improve my garment finishing skills. Initially, I was a little disappointed because the book was so slender. How could it contain enough useful information? I didn't see many "specialty" techniques and I didn't see much that I hadn't seen in other places. And so I set the little book aside and ignored it for a while.

But little by little, I found myself returning over and over to this book. And now I, if I was asked If you were trapped on desert island and you could only have one finishing book, which book would you take? I would select this one. Why?

Well, first of all, this book is one of the few books I found that really provides you with the pros and cons of a particular techique. It tries to help you decide when something would be a good fit with the garment you are working on. This is handy information when you are trying to design your first sweater or are frustrated with the lack of specific cast-on instructions in a Rowan pattern that you want to be heirloom quality.

Secondly, her explainations are excellent and the photography and drawings are clear and supplement her explanations well. If it wasn't for this book, I would never have really figured out how to do a picot edge bind off. When you're working with Kidsilk Haze, you don't want to rip and repeat multiple times and figure things out by trial and error. I searched through every other book I had (which is quite a few) and no other book actually communicated the key points of how to successfully execute this technique as well. Since then, I've had similar experiences over and over with other techniques.

Finally, while the book may not be comprehensive, it really does contain what I've come to believe are the most important/useful set of techniques that you'll need on a regular basis. It tries to make sure that you have a good understanding of the most common representative of a particular category of techiques. Sure, there are 10 different flavors of the tubular cast on, and this book only gives you one. But she gives you enough information to understand what the cast on is really good for, so it's a good jumping off point for understanding how and why if you need to go in search of one of the less common variations.

This careful selection of what is important means that the book is portable and easy to bring along to a knitting outing or along on a trip without feeling like you are carrying your own personal copy of the unabridged Encyclopedia Brittanica. The fact that it is spiral bound and will lay flay while you're working with it is just icing on the cake. I'm a bit anal about my books, and it makes me crazy when I have to crease their spines to make them stay open so I can actually use the book while I am working on a project.

This book may not be the perfect solution to absolutely every situation, but I've come to find it to be one of the most generally useful books I own, and one that I go back to over and over again. Whether you are just starting out on your knitting adventure or you're and experienced knitter, this book has a lot to offer. If you only have on finishing book in your collection, this one really would be an excellent selection and will certainly last you for years to come.