Knitting Resources
Picture this: it’s 5:30 on a Saturday evening. You have a knitting question that must be answered before you can go any further. My Sister Knits won’t be open again until Tuesday at 10:00. What to do?
If you’ve prepared for such a predicament you’re in luck! You can go to your bookshelf or your favorite online tutorials and hopefully find your answer. Ahh but how does one prepare? We are here to help with that!
My Sister Knits stocks several reference books that are essential resources in addition to being fun to read!
Skill Set, Beginning Knitting by Kay Gardner and Ann Shayne of Modern Daily Knitting has nine basic technique lessons. Detailed illustrations and engaging text help the knitter throughout this handy little book.
Knit How, Simple Knits, Tools, and Tips by Pom Pom magazine’s editors Meghan Fernandes and Lydia Gluck is a comprehensive learn-to-knit book. Part 1 is filled with illustrations, photographs, and background knowledge to help you cast on, knit, purl, and bind off, among other techniques. Part 2 consists of simple projects with additional tutorials!
Cast On, Bind Off by Leslie Ann Bestor is a book you will return to over and over. This gem has all of the methods you’ll ever need! Full of easy-to-follow instructions and photographs, this is your go-to book for beginning and ending any project.
Coco Knits Sweater Workshop is Julie Weisenberger’s method for knitting top-down, seamless sweaters. She has a distinctive approach that is genius! Worksheets and colored stitch markers with specific purposes are involved!
We have a class on Saturdays in February to learn Julie’s unique construction method that can be used with any seamless top-down sweater pattern. For the class, you will use any design from the book. Sign up before all the slots are taken!
In addition to reference books, there are many websites with free tutorials. One that I love is Ysolda’s Technique Thursdays and free tutorials. Go to ysolda.com, click on ‘learn’ and then ‘free tutorials’. If you want to cable without a needle, Ysolda has a tutorial for you!
A trusted pattern line with free learn-to-knit patterns is the Tin Can Knits Simple Collection. There are 12 designs to help new knitters gain skills and confidence. Alexa and Emily, the talent behind TCK, have been designing and knitting together for 12 years. In that time they have amassed a huge amount of excellent tutorials.
There are books and websites galore; these are some of our favorites and good places to start. Let us know how you like them and others that are helpful!
Happy knitting,
