Alice Starmore's Charts for Color Knitting

by Alice Starmore

In the course of her career as an internationally recognized authority on knitting design and instruction, Alice Starmore has acquired a remarkable collection of charted designs for color knitting. This treasury features a choice selection of her source material, arranged into four parts: (1) Traditional patterns from Europe, Russia, and South America (2) Adaptations from textiles and other art, including Japanese porcelain and Celtic metalwork (3) Alice Starmore's own geometric and nature-inspired originals (4) Practical instructions that explain how to incorporate these motifs into unique designs.
Suitable for beginning as well as advanced color knitters, these charted designs can also be adapted to other crafts, including weaving and embroidery. The first U.S. publication of Charts for Color Knitting, this new and expanded version explains how to incorporate color into your work and features color photographs of knitted swatches created expressly for this Dover edition.

Genres: Knitting, Crafts, Reference, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2011

About the author

Alice Starmore (née Matheson) was raised in a traditional, Gaelic-speaking Scottish fishing village. She began knitting as a child, studying the folk knitting traditions of her native Scotland. Starmore later expanded her textile studies, traveling in Scandinavia in the late 1970s on a Winston Churchill Fellowship.

Broadly recognized as one of the world's authorities on Fair Isle and other folk knitting traditions, Starmore founded Windfall Press in 1991. Windfall produces knitting patterns and instructional manuals as well as a large number of Scottish Gaelic titles.

Starmore expanded her career beyond knitting in the 1990s, focusing on fine art and photography. She held her first major solo exhibition in 2008 on the Isle of Lewis.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO much eye candy

purchased at Powells (Portland OR) from the best knitting section I've yet to stumble upon

[Kellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely essential for crafters. Create stranded knitting patterns, cross stitch designs, even weaving drafts from these classic explorations in historic and contemporary geometric charts. A study on how the simple can become complex and how art can be imagined from foundational ideas.

[Sue K · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource in my crafting library. Continues to be useful and inspires me. I have been downsizing my library of books that are no longer relevant. This one remains a “keeper”.

[Laryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent resource for a knitwear designer wanting to learn a little more about designing in colorwork. The traditional colorwork charts included have designs from "Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, & South America". The adapted patterns included are from "Celtic (cultures), Greece, the Caucasus, the Middle East, & the Far East".

I just wish the author was more specific when they say "South America". Yes, these designs originated on that continent, but which South American civilizations did they come from? They included South America, but North American indigenous cultures are omitted. When you say the "Far East"- are these designs from India, Mongolia, China, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, etc. etc.? I could go on. I also noticed (and do not like at ALL) that African cultures aren't even included in this book, even though cultures from every other continent are. Kente cloth, specifically, has beautiful geometric patterns that would have translated to these charts gorgeously. Middle Eastern designs are included, but again, thrown into one broad category with no distinction of origin/note on where the inspiration was derived from.

While this book does have great charts, I feel that the non-white cultures whose patterns & color traditions *are* charted in this book are reduced to a few amorphous categories. Not to mention the many non-white cultures that were omitted.

I don't expect every single culture that's walked this earth to be included in a 150-page book, but I feel I am not wrong to expect the cultures whose artwork is being taken & put into knitting chart form to be given proper credit for them. And I feel it would not have hurt to include patterns of indigenous tribes to North America, of which there are *many* suitable to charting.

(I would like to note that I have the "new and expanded edition" of this book, published in 2011- not the original published in 1992.)

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I recently finished her other book from 1988 on Fair Isle knitting and thought this book would be more of a continuation of that, so I was disappointed. I expected many examples of color variations of the charted designs and, certainly, discussion of more than JUST ONE garment shape! The instructions for design placement within the garments was the one very helpful part of this book. I was surprised - given the title of "Color Knitting" - that the charts within were all black and white. Any knitted examples of the charts were within the very limited photographs of garments themselves. It seemed to me that this book also hawked the authors line of yarns too much for my comfort. There are many books out there, showing designs in both chart form AND with knitted examples, that outdoes this book.

[Horus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent little book containing some charting ideas useful for many different art forms. Her chapter on colour choices (in this case for two stranded knitting) is really quite basic and could have been made more useful if she’d included a colour wheel and a basic discussion of colour theory. The book includes one basic sweater pattern that you can use to knit with any of the charts she provides. Mostly, this is an extra source for pattern ideas, as opposed to a more full explanation of design.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great patterns but a bit difficult to decipher the repeating sections and how they join. No guidance on colour knitting.

[Vi]

a must have reference for color knitters

[Barbara K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like to knit with color, this book goes into a few techniques, but not in great detail. It assumes one is an experienced knitter in that regard. The charts are what I bought this for, and of course the photos of Alice Starmore's knitted designs as well as some reference photos that show how she came up with some of her designs. She is truly a knitwear artist, with stunning color sense, a sense of knitting history that gives her an interesting perspective, and she's also a great photographer and nature lover. I recommend this and all her books, but especially along these same lines, I also recommend her book on Fair Isle Knitting, which is loaded with charts and inspiring photos. I don't have all her books, but of those I do have, I can't think of one that I regret buying, and I go back to them again and again.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a most awesome reference book for color motifs from around the world. Absolutely amazing variety of ideas that could be incorporated into many knitting projects. I did notice that there are really not any north or South American native patterns, and i know they surely exist! Looks like a sequel is in order. I can see how valuable this would be for a designer. I don't think that I have a need to buy this, but it's wonderful to have it as apart of the library's collection.

[Edwina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aw, I soon have to give this back to the Library. I may have to buy a copy for me, or keep putting it on hold, again, and again.

Inspiring, the color work is incredible. It's a shame I have yet to figure out how to read and knit at the same time.

Just a note, these charts are not just for knitting. Anyone doing mosaic work, needle point, painting, any color work at all, will benefit from reading this book.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, maybe some day I'll actually attempt fair isle knitting. Lovely designs.

[Kat]

Love it.