Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting: Go Beyond the Basics

I preordered this book a really long time ago and then worried that since I'd waited so I might be disappointed when it finally got here. It was definitely worth the wait. There are three parts to this book - Part 1: the stitches, Part 2: How to create your own patterns and part 3: the patterns. The first two parts are awesome. 164 pages of detailed instructions, pictures and diagrams. Short rows, cables, colorwork, lace, a selection of cast-ons, buttonholes, decreases, increases, steeks, adding beads ... it's all in here, and more. The reading is easy and the concepts are clearly explained (at least the sections I've read so far). I'm also very pleased that there's a section on creating your own patterns. As a knitter I'm pretty fearless, but I'm a wuss when it comes to designing my own patterns. It seems so complicated and usually I can find an already existing pattern for what I want to make, anyway. But now maybe I can finally make a sweater to fit my tall, skinny husband who has long arms. The first stitch n bitch book gave a lot of young new knitters (like me) great instructions and patterns for things we would actually want to wear. This book does the same thing for advanced techniques. Cables are cool but those bulky aran fishermen sweaters might not be for everyone. The patterns in this book are fantastic. There are only a couple I'm not crazy about - it's not that I don't like them, I just don't like them as much as some of the other patterns in the book. There are 41 patterns for adults and children (and 1 dog coat) - sweaters, cardigans, shrugs, socks, hats, blankets, bags, scarves ... even a couple of dresses and skirts. The only trouble is deciding which to knit first. I've read through a few of the patterns I'm likely to start soon and the instructions seem clear, and there are charts and pattern notes where required. Great book if you're new to these advanced techniques or if you're an old pro.

My first Stitch N' Bitch book was Stitch N' Bitch Nation and this book not only surpasses that book but several of my other favorite technical manuals for knitting. The instructions and techniques are written in a way that is easy to understand with illustrations and color photos used throughout to help comprehension. The book is evenly divided into techniques, how to write your own pattern for a sweater in a variety of styles and then patterns written for the book. There are mostly sweater patterns for babies through adult women, a toy and a dog sweater. There are a variety of techniques used in this book and thorough explanations for every technique used, from how to wind a ball to lace knitting. There are helpful hints for correcting mistakes and the book is an easy read without a lot of mumbo jumbo. It's like the author is there talking to you, wanting you to understand and not talking at you, throwing you some yarn and needles and walking down the street. Overall, I would recommend this book to the advanced beginner or intermediate knitter as a must have. A brand new beginner might be a little overwhelmed by all the information at once. This really easy the best knitting book I've ever had and has earned a permanent place on my craft shelf.

I was not very impressed with previous Stitch 'N Bitch books. Still, when this one appeared in my local library I was moved to check it out. And am I ever glad! I liked it so much I bought a copy for my personal home library. I've been knitting over 50 years so I know a fair amount about knitting, however, this book taught an "old dog" some "new tricks". The illustrations accompanying directions are very clear and very helpful in understanding how to proceed. The first half of the book is filled with various how-to's, from types of cast on to more complex techniques. It also covers lace, intarsia, fair isle, cables and various stitch patterns. There is also knitting with beads, steeks, various bind-offs, and good information on designing your own patterns. All in all it is an amazing encyclopedia of knitting all in one book. The only thing I found missing was entrelac knitting. The latter half of the book is a nice collection of patterns. Granted, most are designed with youth in mind, but almost any pattern can be adapted to personal taste by choice of yarn or color and most of us "old dogs" have "puppies" in our lives we like to knit for too. There are sweaters, accessories, baby items, an afghan, socks and one of my favorites, Tiger Lily, an adorable cat doll. There are projects that even beginners could handle because the directions are so clear. For someone who has yet to hold knitting needles in hand, you would need a pamphlet to show the basic knit or purl stitches. Otherwise this book shows all else you need to know. With this in mind, I would recommend it even for beginning knitters because you can challenge yourself to learn more and grow in your knitting skills. It is an excellent reference book as well as a good selection and variety of patterns to start with.

I love this book. I already had a small booklet of Debbie's knits from the Michael's store near me, and I love this bigger version. I love the help section on various types of stitches and honestly...I also had a few laughs. I love her writing. There's one section that was titled Bobbleheads...and that's the name a couple of friends had for a man I was with for too long. Anyway, extremely helpful descriptions and images, and I love the creative patterns. PLUS, she also helps you with designing your own patterns. I highly recommend this book.

This book is an indispensable reference for the advancing knitter (like me!). I have the original Stich'n'Bitch and I found myself stuffing it full of sticky notes to mark pages explaining techniques while hunched over other projects, and already this one is quickly taking its place. Great guided instructions, illustrations, and cute patterns to help you practice. A word about the patterns: while they're much better/more current than the original Stitch'n'Bitch, some are still kinda eh to me. Also, it's very heavy on socks and beaded knitting, which don't really interest me. Still, most are cute and absolutely worth making. The real reason to buy this, though, are the invaluable instructions. Well worth it.

I downloaded this onto my kindle, figuring that...hey, how wonderful or different could this book be, that I would need ANOTHER paper copy of a knitting book? Well, it surpassed all my expectations. This book goes so far beyond teaching the basics, and has instructions for things I didn't even know were possible to do with knitting. And I'm a knitting addict. I've knit almost all my own tops/sweaters at this point, many skirts, dresses, etc. In other words, while I still have a ton to learn, I'm no beginner. Even if you're a very experienced knitter, you will get a ton out of this book and learn a lot. A wonderful addition to any passionate knitter's arsenal!

Please note the title for this review! Upon my receipt of this book a friend was flipping through and noticed that I had two sets of pages that were bound together at the top and about an 1/8th of the page was missing. It was simply a printing error, but I have never experienced this and honestly, it might have been a month or more before I even got into this book so I was glad she caught it immediately. Believe it or not, Amazon shipped me a book immediately and it arrived the very next day and provided me with return postage to use to ship back the defective book -- go amazon!! Even after knitting for a year and completing several small projects, I guess I'm still feeling that I'm not much more than a beginner. There are so many techniques you can learn and I'm hopeful that this book will add to stash of knowledge! I'd probably give it an excellent rating, but I say this after simply thumbing through the book quickly. I wanted to make my review stand out a little bit just to get people to look through their potential new purchase for a printing error, hence my reason for not rating excellent like everyone else. I think it was about 15 pages messed up/misbound. Happy knitting everyone!!

Gonna be fun to read glad to have it

I love this book! I am an experienced knitter but I am by no means an expert. This book is brilliant as a reference tool and has some great patterns. It's very handy if you have a pattern that calls for a stitch that you haven't tried before or have forgotten, Debbie Stoller is great at explaining stitches in an easy to understand way. She always points out the pros and cons of particular stitches, which not a lot of other knit books do and is very handy when trying to decide what cast on, bind off, or other technique to use. I am a much more confident knitter after using this book. I would definitely recommend this book for all knitters to have in their libraries.

la persona a la que se lo regalé quedó encantada con los patrones y la manera de explicar de Debbie Stoller

frisches Buch zum Thema Stricken

Bien entendu, il faut parler Anglais. Bien entendu, je ne le conseille peux être pas pour les grands débutant... Sinon, ce livre est UNE BIBLE. Drôle et bien construit, la partie la plus intéressante est sans aucun doute la première partie concernant les astuces et surtout la seconde expliquant comment construire son propre ouvrage (pull / cardiagan). Les modèles permettent de s'approprier les techniques (jacquard, steeks, jetés, perles et strass...) mais personnellement je ne les trouve pas si...originaux. Bref, un livre à garder prêts des ses aiguilles car il peut servir souvent ! ;-)

Great book, easy to read, very good illustrations lots of information for the beginner knitter.