Favourite Books

We recently asked our wonderful Facebook followers for their favourite knitting and crochet books and we had so many interesting posts.  We thought we would take a closer look at some of them in case any of you are thinking of asking Santa for a book on your Christmas list.

The Opinionated Knitter by Elizabeth Zimmerman is not only a fantastic technical book but it also gives an insight in to how this doyenne of knitting approaches her craft.

Edward’s Menagerie by Kerry Lord is a lovely book of crocheted animals.  When Kerry was pregnant with her son, Edward, she learned to crochet and created these super cool animals just for him. We particularly like Audrey the Goat.

Sue Pinner’s Granny Squares book is a brilliant source of inspiration as well as having some lovely crochet patterns for projects for the home

Many of you will know the blogger and Facebook star Winwick Sock Mum.  Now she has brought out a book called Super Socks by Christine Perry, which hopes to take the fear away from knitting socks.

55 Christmas Balls to Knit by Arne & Carlos is a seasonal must have but should come with a warning.  These lovely Yuletide decorations are seriously addictive.

Winter Crochet by Marie Wallin shows how you can combine knitting and crochet to create some beautiful garments and accessories.

Jane Crowfoot’s The Ultimate Crochet Bible is the book we reach for if we can’t remember a technique or want to learn a new crochet skill, and it is now available as a paperback.

Sequence Knitting by Cecelia Campochiaro will transform the way you look at knitting. It leads you through how to knit reversible fabrics but it is so much more than that.  You will understand so much more about the engineering if a knitted fabric.

If you need to brush up on any knitting techniques from beginner to advanced, then The Knitters Handbook by Eleanor Van Zandt deserves a place on your bookshelf

200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton is quite simply one of those books you will find endlessly inspiring.

If you want to develop your sock knitting technique then why not try Socks Toe up by Wendy D Johnson.  This book has lots of really lovely, and useful, patterns as well as explaining this way of knitting socks in way that is easy to understand.

Starting and finishing your knitting in the best way is essential to finessing any project so why not invest in a copy of Cast On, Bind Off by Lesley Ann Bestor.  There are lots of interesting and unusual techniques as well as advice on when to use them.

No book list would be complete without one by this design guru and The Book of Haps by Kate Davies is our current favourite.  Kate has pulled together patterns from designers around the world and interspersed them with interesting articles about the history of the hap and techniques that you will find useful.

We hope you enjoy our recommendations as much as we enjoyed leafing through them.

If you leave a comment about your favourite book here, one of you will win a lovely prize from us.