Knitting in Plain English, Updated Edition

Knitting in Plain English, Updated Edition
by Maggie Righetti

Knitting in Plain English, Updated Edition
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Book Summary Information

Author: Maggie Righetti
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-04-17
ISBN: 0312353537
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Book Reviews of Knitting in Plain English, Updated Edition

Book Review: Useful, but no real projects
Summary: 4 Stars

Having crocheted for years, I decided I should learn to knit. I tried a couple of different introductory books, but it wasn't until I found this book that I was able to get the yarn onto the needles properly and actually make something.

The first thing I like about this book is that the author explains everything very thoroughly. I must admit that the day I got the book, I sat down and read it cover-to-cover, like a novel.

I also like that she explains several ways to do the basics. I was particularly interested to see that it was not my fault that my casting on had been so inelastic with the other books I had gotten, which only showed one method, as though that was the only way to do it. Another nice thing is that the two basic methods are shown for making the stitches. I wasn't very fond of American style knitting, and had seen others doing it quite differently, but this was the first book that showed how to do that different method, the Continental Pic.

Others have criticized the projects in the back of the book. If you read carefully, you will see that these aren't so much projects as learning opportunities -- the author designed them to use most of the basic techniques she describes in the book, so you can learn how to do them before you do a real project and get stumped.

I did have a little bit of trouble with some of the illustrations for casting on, until I realized I hadn't looked closely enough at one and was picking up the yarn from the wrong side of my thumb :-( I personally prefer line drawings, when well-done, to photographs in an instructional book, and once I paid closer attention, I had no more trouble.

One more thing: don't let her prejudice against straight needles influence you too much. She's probably right that they are better for wide things like sweaters, but I can't see that they are so terrible for smaller projects.

Different people have different visual learning styles. This book works for me. It may not work for someone else (as several reviewers have already commented) I suggest trying to find a copy at your local library and giving it a trial run if you are worried about buying it and finding it doesn't work for you.

Summary of Knitting in Plain English, Updated Edition

The first edition of this indispensable classic gave knitters easy-to-follow (and fun-to-read) advice on producing the knits of their dreams. Drawing on decades of experience as a knitting instructor and designer, Maggie Righetti offered step-by-step directions on avoiding common mistakes and getting out of tricky spots.
 
Now, in this completely updated and revised version, Righetti gives readers what they've asked for: advice on making all different garments, working with new patterns and different kinds of yarn, and even an introduction to her own legendary history. Neither aggressively hip nor bafflingly encyclopedic, Knitting in Plain English offers basic principles that will make any project---from a basic blanket to an intricate sweater---rewarding.
 
Having Knitting in Plain English on the shelf is like having your own knitting teacher available to help at all times with any thorny problem.

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