Review: 400 Knitting Stitches

First, the facts:

Title: 400 Knitting Stitches: A Complete Dictionary of Essential Stitch Patterns

Author: Potter Craft

Published by: Potter Craft, 2009

Pages: 256

Type: Stitch Patterns, lots of them.

Chapters:

1. Knitting Basics
2. Knit-Purl Stitches
3. Crossed Stitches and Cables
4. Slipped Stitches
5. Lacy Stitches
6. Double Stitches
7. Twisted Stitches
8. Cast-Off Stitches
9. Fancy Stitches
10. Symbols

Pattern Size Range: N/A

The In-Depth Look:

The bad part about reviewing a book of stitch patterns is that there’s really not that much to say. They’re just stitches, right?

Well, yes and no.

It’s true, you can’t really gush about how wonderfully the cables are crossed in stitch number 97, and you can only say so many things about the photography and what-not, but there are some things that make some stitch dictionaries better than others.

Photography. This book has nice, clear, photos of each stitch, color-coded by chapter.

Variety. Since there are so many different types of stitches in this book, variety isn’t really a problem, but on the flip-side, since there ARE so many different styles, you’re not getting 400 ribbing stitches, or 400 drop-stitch stitches, or a huge proportion of any one kind of stitch. They’re mixed and it’s a nice cross-section.

Originality. It’s true, a lot of the stitches in here are ones I’ve seen before, in other collections, but that’s almost inevitable. It’s true that knitting is endlessly creative, but there is a certain limit to the number of ways you can mix a knit and a purl to create an interesting pattern. Overlap is inevitable.

Information. I liked that each stitch had both written instructions for row-by-row knitting as well as a chart for those who prefer the visual approach.

Text. Well, there’s not a lot of that, here. Other than a brief chapter on techniques, the entire book is filled with what you came to see–the stitches themselves.

Format. I’ll just add another note here that I liked the size and shape of this book. Unlike some, it’s not an oversized book with huge pages that won’t fit into your knitting bag. It’s a reasonable size paperback with a folded-in cover to give the edges a little more protection. It feels good in the hand and not too heavy for the back. Though, the smaller pages mean that the charts are also smaller, which could be challenging for the visually-challenged, so keep that in mind.

Good collection, nice variety, a nice addition to your stitch library, this book is available from Amazon.com for less than $13.

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

This review copy was kindly donated by Potter Craft. Thank you!