Category: Book Review

Book Review, Knitting Machines

Machine Knitting Techniques: Texture and 3D Effects

elyknits

If you have a little bit of Christmas Cash and you feel like investing in yourself for the New Year, pick up the newly-released Texture and 3D Effects Machine Knitting Techniques book. Amber Hards teaches texture and playfulness in her essential addition to the series.

“[Hards] encourages you to explore and experiment with confidence to produce exciting, tactile knitwear.”

publisher’s blurb

Find it here on Amazon.

The Details

Published: January 1, 2024 (US/NA)Publisher: The Crowood Press
Format: PaperbackPages: 144
MSRP: $24.99Canada: $32.99

Chapters

Materials and StripesManual Tucks
PunchcardsWeaving
I-cords, Strips of Knit, & 3D EmbellishmentPartial Knit: Frills, Bobbles, Loops, 3D Scales
Lace Holes & LaddersPattern Collection

Overview

Amber Hards is a UK-based knitwear designer and maker who has been teaching machine knitting since 2016. Her website showcases years of her work, and I encourage you to give it a look. I especially recommend viewing her “Loving Love” show. You can see why those behind the Machine Knitting Techniques series enlisted her aid with tactile knitting!

The Crowood Press set a high standard for photographic instruction with their Machine Knitting Techniques series, and Hards meets that here. Instructions are clear with illustrative photos. Hards uses color contrast strategically to illustrate steps and movement of textures, but the generally monochromatic palette helps you visualize the textures of the stitches.

The “Pattern Collection” at the end of the book is a bit underwhelming with only two patterns, but remember that this is a technique book. The focus is, as it should be, on technique instruction.

Practicality

“When I show students more textured skills, they often express feeling overwhelmed by the process. As different techniques are often presented as all-over swatches where the stitch or technique is packed together throughout the swatch, many of these textured effects often feel too “runway” or high fashion for a beginner or casual machine knitter. “Where on earth would you actually wear that?” is a common question.

You don’t have to use these techniques all over! A large shawl completely done in one technique can be stunning, but remember that small, pinpointed uses of these details can add to an otherwise simple garment.

This partial knitting shawl I made in 2019 looks like a myriad of connected i-cords or winding snakes of stockinette stitch. It was created by moving groups of needles in and out of work.

Designer Linda Jensen uses the same technique for the bodice of this Ripple Top. Confining it to one part of a garment doesn’t diminish the visual interest this stitch generates. It just refines it.

Pintucks in the shoulder area add interest to an otherwise simple October Cardigan by Jesie Ostermiller. Using them over an entire cardigan could be interesting, but confining the texture to one area created a way to draw the eye upwards.

This October Cardigan was knitted on my Passap Bulky Eight and was one of the first machine knitted projects I created.

It’s not perfect, but I learned so much making it!

Why don’t you try choosing a technique from Texture and 3D Effects and place it in a similar location as the pintucks in this cardigan?

Buy or Bypass?

Of the Machine Knitting Technique books released so far, I suppose you could skip this one, but I think that would be a mistake. Developing skills like these can help you in your other works. Paying attention to how textured stitches are weighted while you knit them, for example, helps you become more aware of your work as it sits on the machine.

Texture and 3D Effects might feel like it is written more for the aspiring designer than your everyday machine knitter, but let’s face it- if you are a machine knitter, you need to learn to be comfortable being the designer yourself because of the lack of available patterns.

Hards encourages playfulness in machine knitting, and I applaud that.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I hope you’ll explore your creativity on the knitting machine even more this year and realize that you might just already be a designer.

Happy 2024!

Thank you for joining me on this machine knitting journey! What texture technique from the book will you try first? Let me know in the comments!

Disclaimer: Links on this site may be Amazon Affiliate links. If you choose to purchase an item using my affiliate link, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you.

If you don’t have a local shop to support, please consider using my link and supporting the site!

I purchased this book with my own money. All opinions are honest and my own.

If you would like to submit a book, yarn, accessory, or other idea for review, please contact me through my contact form.

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Book Review

Machine Knitting Techniques: Cables

elyknits

The Crowood Press has released quite the handful of machine knitting books recently, and you won’t want to miss them. Bill King, someone you might recognize from his regular contributions to Machine Knitting Monthly, shares his wealth of knowledge in this Cables edition of Machine Knitting Techniques.

Once a few basic techniques have been mastered, the number of cable designs available is virtually endless.

The Crowood Press

The Details

Published: 2023Publisher: The Crowood Press
Format: PaperbackPages: 112
MSRP: $21.99Canada: $28.99

Chapters

The Basics of Cable Knitting on the MachinePress Off Relief
One Tool Cables on the Single BedSuper-sized Grafted Cables
Racked Cables on the RibberCables and Fisherman’s Rib
Deflected or Moved Ribs3×1 Mock Rib Cables
Partial Knit CablesCable Miscellany
Pattern Collection

Overview

Bill King is a freelance knitwear designer and technician who has worked extensively for the knitwear industry in the UK and overseas. His designs have sold to Calvin Klein, DKNY, Anthropology, amongst others. With 40 years of knitting experience, Bill holds regular knit workshops and seminars in the UK and has written the Masterclass feature in Machine Knitting Monthly for the past ten years.

Vogue Knitting Live

Machine Knitting Techniques: Cables is a skill book and focuses on instruction rather than patterns, though it does offer four patterns with instruction for three sizes each at the end of the book.

Examples are shown on a standard 4.5mm gauge machine, and most use a ribber bed, so you will need a ribber bed to get the most out of the book.

Instead of schematics, it has needle layout diagrams. If you are new to this type of diagram, it might take you a bit to get used it, but they are straightforward. Over a grid where each square represents one needle, a “|” symbol denotes a needle in work while an “o” denotes a needle out of work. You might sometimes encounter this type of diagram without the grid, as well.

Each new skill has an accompanying exercise with step-by-step instructions so you can practice. From intarsia to plating to tuck stitches, almost every type of cable combination you can think of is in this book.

☼ Project Idea! Keep your exercise swatches and make a patchwork sweater! ☼

Bill King Has Me Thinking More Like a Machine Knitter

The vast majority of my yarn friends are hand knitters or crocheters, and Ravelry is still my go-to for pattern browsing and inspiration. I’ve hand knitted so many cabled things and designed a few of my own, so I’d say I’m at least an intermediate cable knitter. Well, hand knitter.

I never thought about things like Press Off Relief or Mock Ribs. I didn’t need to think of things like that in hand knitting since I could simply knit a few stitches a little bit looser or perform a purl stitch to make a rib. The confines of my hand knitting didn’t need that sort of experimentation or modification. If I wanted to experiment with cables and crossing stitches, I just picked up my needles and started knitting.

Bill King doesn’t shy away from the limitations of the knitting machine. I feel like he leans into them. By making sure the reader understands what things that don’t work well, he reminds the knitter that there are possibilities in the workarounds. Because I spent a decade hand knitting before approaching machine knitting, I found myself thinking “that just doesn’t work well on the machine, so I’ll do it by hand.” King has not only proved that notion wrong, but has inspired me to experiment more with what is actually possible on the machine.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I appreciate the years of industry knowledge King shares in the Cables technique book. If you’re looking for an extensive look into cabling on the knitting machine, you need to pick up a copy.

Where to Buy

If you don’t have a local shop to support, please consider using my amazon affiliate link to purchase your book. I may earn a small commission at no cost to you, and it helps support the site.

Thank you for joining me on my machine knitting journey! Do you have Machine Knitting Techniques: Cables by Bill King? What is your favorite new cable technique? Let me know in the comments!

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Book Review, Knitting Machines

Discovering Machine Knitting by Kandy Diamond

elyknits

I love my vintage machine knitting book collection, but new machine knitting books just make my day. They’re proof that machine knitting isn’t dying — it’s still evolving, and dare I say, growing.

Discovering Machine Knitting by Kandy Diamond releases in North America on October 10, 2023.

It’s more than just an eye-catching cover. Here are my thoughts:

Perfect for beginners, it starts with how the machine works and how stitches are formed, all the way through to shaping garment panels to your desired size and fit. Each chapter focuses on different skills that build throughout the book, with lots of projects so you can put the skills into practice and make some knits for yourself.

If you work through the step-by-step instructions and projects in this book, by the end of it you will be designing and knitting your own garments!

Excerpts from the publisher’s blurb

The Details

Published: 2023Publisher: The Crowood Press
Format: PaperbackPages: 160
MSRP: $24.00Canada: $32.99

Chapters

Chapter 1: Before You StartChapter 2: Getting Started
Chapter 3: Pattern and Garment ConstructionChapter 4: Simple Shaping
Chapter 5: Colour and DesignChapter 6: Level Up – Ribber
Chapter 7: Design Your Own

What I’m Looking For

If you missed my last book review on Alison Dupernex’s Creative Machine Knitting, here’s the rundown on what I look for in a machine knitting book.

Schematics are the first thing I look for in a knitting book of any kind. Schematics make it possible to change yarns and still have a correctly sized finished garment. For plus-size knitters like myself, they make it much easier to adjust sizing. It’s non-negotiable for me– a “good” book requires schematics.

I want to see what makes up the designer’s perspective. What makes them unique? How do they work with the classics? What do they bring to the crafting community, and what do they think of that community?

If a book touts itself as a skill book, I want to see pictures and detailed how-to’s throughout. Machine knitting can become intuitive, but setup often includes multiple steps that are easy to miss if someone becomes overwhelmed during the learning process.

Overview

Discovering Machine Knitting by Kandy Diamond is a start from scratch course based on using a standard gauge (4.5mm) domestic knitting machine, but that doesn’t mean users with other gauge machines won’t find it useful. Basic skills translate between machines, and while mid-gauge users (6.5-7mm) will need to learn to hand select needles for colorwork, the skill-building projects are still worthwhile.

Diamond begins the book teaching readers about the knitting machine itself–parts and accessories; stitch formation; fiber considerations; basic cleaning, maintenance, and troubleshooting.

Chapters each teach a different set of skills and are further divided into sections with detailed written instructions accompanied by step-by-step photos and colorful diagrams. Example pictures use bright and easy to see colors with contrasting colors illustrating notable instances in the knitting process.

Designer profiles throughout the book introduce readers to artists across the industry, offering more perspectives to beginners along with showing the possibilities of what they, too, can do after they have completed the book’s course.

Thoughts

I greatly appreciate those with decades long machine knitting careers who have shared their work with us, but I often feel a generational disconnect because, well, we are from different generations, and sometimes machine knitting patterns and the craft itself just feel… old. I want my peers to look at my work and not think I’m just doing granny things.

Discovering Machine Knitting makes machine knitting look approachable, fun, and current. The book echoes the bright and fun vibe that Kandy Diamond curates on her Instagram account through her brand Knit and Destroy, and the beginner-appropriate projects feel updated and wearable.

The book is instructional without feeling sterile. The designer profiles and Diamond’s own designs offer inspiration and remind the reader that this is only the beginning. This combined with the well thought out photos and use of color to illustrate separation in steps keeps the book engaging and the messaging clear. There is so much attention to detail in this book, and I feel Diamond’s enthusiasm through the pages

Diamond walks you through the knitting design process from yarn selection and swatch to finishing and makes the math involved feel like just another step in the knitting process as opposed to the “intimidating barrier” many students I’ve encountered consider it. The book is worth a buy for the design math alone.

There aren’t a ton of projects in this book, but each is customizable, skill-building, and wearable, so I think you’ll find yourself making them more than once.

I made an autumn-themed version of Diamond’s Sweet and Simple Block Jumper using Brown Sheep Company’s NatureSpun Sport 100% wool.

This is a great project that will help beginners get a good feel for the machine and gain confidence in their design abilities. More on this yarn and project in a future post.

drying swatch
purl side view
true-to-life colors
KitKat approved
having a soak

Schematics? Where appropriate
Perspective? Explorative and focused on contemporary design
How To’s? Detailed and well thought out

This book makes me excited. After reading my copy from Blackwell’s UK, I asked the shop owner where I teach to order a few copies for the North American release so I could recommend it to my students. One of my students even mentioned its upcoming release to me at a lesson to make sure I knew of it!

If you’re a beginner or someone who needs a skill refresh after years away, this book is for you. If you’re not a beginner but you want to learn more about machine knitting designers of today and support their work, this book is for you. If you’re just looking for project inspiration, this book is for you.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Where to Buy

If you don’t have a local yarn shop or bookstore who can order this for you, please consider using my Amazon affiliate link when you purchase your copy of Kandy Diamond’s Discovering Machine Knitting. I may earn a small commission at no cost to you that helps me continue providing free content.

Discovering Machine Knitting releases in the United States on October 10, 2023.

Thanks for joining me on my machine knitting journey! If you have an idea for a yarn, book, or product for me to review, please let me know through my contact page.

Did I miss something? Disagree? Let me know in the comments!

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Book Review, colorwork

Confronting Color

elyknits

In case you missed it, I recently reviewed Alison Dupernex’s Creative Machine Knitting.

And boy can I say I was excited but also nervous when I noticed she replied to my Instagram post about the review.

…I threw all my designs in and my ‘colour madness’ to encourage and inspire knitters to go and make for themselves.

Alison Dupernex

Click on the post to view the entire comment.

Her color stories are sometimes very “out there” to me, as in “there’s no way I’d personally choose that,” but her comment on my review got me thinking. 

I decided to pick up Designing with Colour, another book Dupernex wrote in 2020. (I’ll fully review that one soon, but it’s another nice one).

Somehow her color choices didn’t feel as wild to me as they did in Creative Machine Knitting, the most recently published one, but Dupernex’s design theory and point of view remain consistent.

I’ve changed. 

I started to ruminate on how I use color in my own work. 

My default want is to add texture. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Texture is lovely. But I ran into the thought

… am I afraid of color work? 

I adore hand dyed yarns from indie dyers. I love to let the yarn do the work for me color-wise. I like to see how the colors pool, stripe, or blend together. I know what I’m working with, but I don’t know exactly how the garment will turn out, and each skein is unique. 

Does letting the yarn do the work for me make me a lazy knitter? I don’t think so. 

Does that make me a lazy designer? Not necessarily…

But I think it does make me a bit complacent.

It’s easy to rely on beautiful hand dyes to catch eyes and bring people to your work. 

It’s not at all a bad thing to use the gorgeous colors others have curated in your work. 

But I’m not really growing or building skills as a knitter or designer that way. 

Starting Out Small

I initially felt drawn to Dupernex’s color blocked designs the most. I decided to start with her Blocked Sweater from Creative Machine Knitting that featured textured striping on the sleeves and borders of the garment since texture is my favorite thing in knitting.

The design features nine colors. 

Until recently, I didn’t even own nine colors in the same yarn. I think six is my maximum, and that’s if you count Silk City Fibers Cotton Bamboo and Lion Brand CoBoo as the same yarn in different put-ups. 

I found some new old stock vintage Millor Trenzado Industrial cone yarn through a Facebook post (read some tips on finding cone yarn in this post), so I finally have enough colors in the same weight of yarn to experiment.

Sorting through this was overwhelming

After looking through the cones, I had no clue where to start choosing colors. I googled “color palettes” and ended up at Coolers.co narrowing down their existing color palettes to those with nine colors. From there, I tried to see which ones 1) I liked and 2) actually existed in my new cone stash. 

I landed me with this one. I took a screenshot, but I’ve been unable to locate it again. I’ll update with a direct link if I find it.

This palette gives me a southwestern US vibe, and I like that. Holding vacation thoughts in my head, I matched the colors as best as I could from the existing pile and buckled down to knit. 

This photo is rather heavily filtered to make the yarn as close to in-person color as possible.

Actually Knitting

Trenzado Industrial is probably a little bit large for this project, but I decided to continue with the fabric at the pattern’s prescribed tension because it knit well on my Brother KH890 and blocked out nicely. 

After knitting the back right, I quickly realized I needed to dig out a color changer so I could avoid having to get up every few rows to change colors. Just a note: If you decide to get a color changer, there is a difference in models for Brother machines at least, and some will not work with the ribber bed attached while others will. 

The garment itself wasn’t difficult to knit, but I made it a bit harder on myself by reversing the shaping on one front while I was listening to a podcast. 

I didn’t realize until I went to pin the piece onto my dress form, so I had to rehang the stitches and unravel a few inches so I could fix the neck and shoulders. It wasn’t a big deal, but I felt a bit silly. 

I’ve always admitted to being a lazy knitter, so I didn’t enjoy knitting the sleeves. Changing yarns so often was annoying, and I didn’t feel like I could get in the groove with so many quick sections and color changes alongside the decreases. That’s on me, but it is harder to knit something when you don’t enjoy the process.

I do like the overall color palette that the coolers app presented, but in addition to being a lazy knitter by nature, I think I must be a second-guesser, especially since I opted for some tans instead of oranges due to supply. 

I questioned my color choices the entire time I was knitting. Is this orange too bright for the southwest feel? Why did I think this needed a green? That’s too minty, why did I think it was a light sage? 

I had to keep telling myself to trust the process. 

Trust the process. Trust the process…

What do you think? 

It looks pretty okay, right? I’ve been telling myself, “Look here, overthinking second-guesser. It turned out great and now you have a color palette ready for the next one!”

But let me overthink some more…

Since I already liked color blocked items, just doing one with striped sleeves and calling it a day doesn’t really mean I’ve done much “Confronting Color,” now, does it?

Here’s to the next one with less anxiety over the color palette and even more use of color!

This page may contain affiliate links. If you choose to buy something using my link, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. If you don’t have a local place to support, please consider using my affiliate link as it helps me continue to provide you with free content.

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Book Review

Creative Machine Knitting by Alison Dupernex

elyknits

Here in the USA, recent Machine Knitting books seem few and far between. That’s not the case across the pond, and I’ve been able to find quite a few wonderful skill and pattern books published within the past five years from the UK.

Here’s my review of Creative Machine Knitting: A Voyage of Discovery into Colour, Shape and Stitches by Alison Dupernex.

Creative Machine Knitting is simply a treasure trove for machine knitters overflowing with inspiration and design know-how. Expand your creative vocabulary, knit with an open mind and be prepared to have a go, make changes and look to improvise—push yourself out of your comfort zone.

[T]he book features over 100 patterns, all of which can be adapted and form the basis of new designs.

Jacket Blurb

The Details

Published: 2022Publisher: The Crowood Press
Format: HardbackPages: 256
MSRP: £35.00~$44.00 as of this post

Chapters

An Introduction to Design SourcesWaistcoats
Sustainable Options for Knitwear DesignersChildren’s Knitwear
Design BasicsAccessories
Classic Jackets and CardigansInteriors
Painting with YarnCable Directory
Designing with Panels and BordersStitch Pattern Directory
Shawl Collar Cardigans
Diagonal Knitting

What I’m Looking For

If it’s a machine knitting book in print today, you can bet I’m going to get my hands on it. If it’s a good book, I’m recommending it to my friends. If it’s a great book, I’m recommending it to my students, too.

But what am I looking for? What makes a book good or great?

Schematics
Pictures, illustrations, and diagrams are vital to any skill book. Knitting books, hand or machine, must have pattern schematics to be “good.” Schematics are the first thing I look for in a book.
I like to play around with yarns and rarely, if ever, use the recommended yarn for a pattern. Schematics make it easy to change yarns and still have the correct finished garment.  

Perspective
I look for eye-catching designs and unique pattern elements, twists on familiar classics, and sections sharing the writer’s design thoughts and philosophy along with thoughtful commentary on the crafting community.

How To’s
If a book is geared towards building new skills, I look for step-by-step tutorials with plenty of photos, but I don’t think every book needs to spend chapters dedicated to starting from scratch. I appreciate books for those of us who have made it past the beginner stage and don’t need our hands held.

Overview

Creative Machine Knitting is aimed at the experienced machine knitter who wants to explore knitwear design. Dupernex begins with a section on culture, books and patterns, and key considerations on originality. She emphasizes adapting elements you like and using your own skills to create designs rather than copying someone else’s work. She encourages you to experiment with your style, research the market, and make production choices based on feasibility, but what I appreciated most was the chapter called Sustainable Options for Knitwear Designers. That section includes fiber analysis, types of sustainability, and commentary on the Slow Fashion movement.
Dupernex includes a brief history of classic cardigans before diving in to her patterns. Building onto those classics, she includes punchcards and color instructions for customization and explains her design process and inspiration. There is a wealth of punchcard information in this book that mainly focuses on using fair isle techniques.

Thoughts

Schematics? Check!
Each pattern features schematics, but most patterns are one size.
I don’t know Ms. Dupernex’s measurements, but I’m 5’8″ with a 48″ bust, and some of the measurements don’t hit me in the same places they did her. Since many of these patterns are knit sideways, adding length could pose a problem. Tall and plus size ladies like myself will need to do the math to knit these patterns and be willing to rework a few things if needed.

Perspective? Lovely, but overwhelming…
I appreciate that Dupernex took the time and space in this book to focus on what the industry can be moving forward and choices designers can make to help it become sustainable and more focused on small, local businesses and creators. As knitters, we aren’t pumping out cheap tees with fun slogans that wither in the wash after a few wears. We should strive to create quality when we knit, and I think responsible material choices are included in that.

As for her designs themselves, I have very mixed feelings on Dupernex’s work. I love her use of classic shapes, but I prefer texture over colorwork any day. Dupernex relies on colorwork for the majority of patterns in this book, and I cannot see myself making the same color choices she has.

Stripes, stripes, and more stripes in every color under the sun often lead to the eye being drawn to random places on the body–places the wearer might or might not wish to emphasize. The busyness of the colors is often overwhelming to me, and I find myself drawn to her color blocked, earth toned patterns over the majority that use color-changing fair isle stripes.

Because of the focus on color, the cable directory feels a little out of place, but I love that Dupernex made sure to include texture in her book. We definitely do not agree on color usage, but I think seeing this (what feels to me) extreme color usage will help me grow as a knitter and designer.

How To’s
Dupernex gives precise color instructions down to the row on how to recreate her color madness, but since she included sections on blending yarn and choosing inspiration, you don’t have to feel tied to the pattern or her color choices.

Overall…

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Should you buy Creative Machine Knitting? For me, it’s a resounding “YES” despite my color and stripe issues. The chapters on sustainability and design considerations from someone who has long been in the machine knitting industry are worth it. The tips on finding inspiration plus the fair isle colorwork experience, as wild as I found it, will help you solidify your own design perspectives. It may be too much for brand new beginners, but the step-by-step color instructions could help the more confident beginner knit their own technicolor dreamcoat.

Where to Buy

I bought my copy during a sale from Blackwell’s UK along with other machine knitting books that haven’t had their US release yet.

I’m a bit of a hypocrite here because I didn’t wait for US release to shop local, but I hope you’ll consider asking your local yarn shop or bookstore to order the book for you.

If you don’t have a local shop that can order the book, please consider using my Amazon Affiliate link to order. It doesn’t cost you any extra, and I may receive a small commission that will help me continue bringing you free content.

Thank you for joining me on my machine knitting journey. Do you have Creative Machine Knitting by Alison Dupernex? What do you think? If you don’t, do you plan on buying it? Let me know in the comments below.

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