One-Skein Wonders

by Judith Durant (Editor)

There are lonely, single skeins of yarn in every knitter’s closet — casualties of projects discarded in mid-row, single balls of alpaca or cashmere because you can't afford more than one, the leftovers from long-completed projects. They really should be used, but for what?

Here are 101 original and charming solutions to the perpetual one-skein problem. Contributed by yarn shops across the United States, these patterns include hats, mittens, scarves, bags, socks, baby sweaters, belts, headbands, a cell phone carrier, and even a tea cozy and a set of coasters, each using just a single skein of yarn.

With patterns arranged by yarn weight, you'll easily find broad ranges of possibilities for your particular yarn orphans. Each pattern includes the names of the contributing yarn shop and the designer and an image of the completed project.
 

Genres: Knitting, Crafts, Nonfiction, Reference, Crochet, How To, Own

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2006

About the author

Judith Durant is a knitter and beadworker as well as author and editor of several books on both subjects. Trained as a theatrical costume designer, she took a circuitous route through various costume shops in New York, on to a New York theatrical book publishing house, and then to Interweave Press in Colorado, where she was book editor and one of the founding editors of Interweave Knits.

Judith is currently a freelance writer, editor, designer, and teacher based in Massachusetts. She has more than 25 years of experience in publishing and a wealth of experience in many crafts. Judith can help you with editorial project management, design development and pattern writing, and technical and copy editing. Judith is also available to teach workshops at your shop or guild meeting.

Reviews

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I own several knitting books, and this is usually the one I reach for first when I'm looking for a basic pattern for a quick knit. The book does contain a small number of crocheted items, but don't let the name fool you; this is primarily a knitting pattern book. Indeed one could find similar projects online, but having them in book form is convenient. The patterns in this collection were submitted by yarn shop owners and designers. Organization is by yarn weight rather than subject which makes this a great stash buster book.

All the patterns call for only one ball of yarn, but some of these skeins such as the brand called for in a lace shawl pattern contain over 1,000 yards of yarn. Of course one can use any yarn of equal weight to that called for in the pattern, but I've found that unless the yarn substituted has the same or longer yardage, a second skein might be needed.

The projects range from baby knits, bags, gloves, hats, mittens, scarves, shrugs, socks, to other miscellaneous items like a bookmark that I've knit with size 1 needles and a skein of embroidery floss, and a cell phone carrier that I use to hold my iPod. If you knit a purse you can easily make one of these little carriers from matching yarn to button around the handle and hang inside the purse for quick access.

I have knit several items from this book and have found the patterns to be well-written. The fact that when I pulled the book from the shelf to write this review I found 9 flags marking patterns that I intend to knit should speak for itself. It's a keeper.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a minute to see the logic in organizing the patterns by yarn weight but I could see how that could be really useful. The pictures of the projects, however, were not at all well organized. I would have liked to have seen all the hats and like things each in their own sections.

As for the project themselves there were the expected scarves and baby items. There were also a lot of what I call bazaar junk. You know them, they are kind of things that give knitters bad names. Fortunately there are a few gems and some I have already made having found someone's altered version posted online.

I wouldn't call this the best pattern book but it has enough for beginners that I think it's well worth it for a newcomer to knitting and experienced knitters may find enough that they can alter to their tastes. I have hopes for the second book in this series 101 Designer One- Skein Wonders and will review it once I'm finished.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book lackluster. I only found one pattern I'm going to make for sure and I have to alter that one.(note: I did decide on a few more, see below.) This isn't a bad book, it just didn't speak to me. There are a very few crochet patterns in here; it is mostly knits.

One additional note, before you start any pattern in this book check the corrections page. There are a lot of mistakes for a book of this size. I ripped out many rows trying to figure out what I had done wrong(apparently I was attracted to the mistake ridden patterns). Turns out it wasn't me. When I finally thought to check the errata(on the publishers website), I found all my problems made clear. There are 23 corrected patterns in all. I have to wonder if there was any editing involved in this project at all. It's very unprofessional. I'm tempted to downgrade it to one star but the patterns are better than that. After you get the proper instructions, that is.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am super excited about this! It's divided into sections based on yarn type, and now I have ideas on what to do with the small amounts of cashmere and sparkly novelty yarn I have. Yay!

[Michelle Browne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this when I was newer to knitting, and oh my goodness, it's a treasure. Nowadays it's a bit simple for me, but there are plenty of great ideas. I like the unusual format and the way pattern stitches are put on the margins so you can refer to them. The little blurbs add a lot of flavour to the book and each pattern. Some of the hat patterns are kind of dumb, but you don't have to make anything you don't like! I hate the fact that the picture index in the middle is all mixed up and out of order, but they fixed that with later installments to the series. Strongly recommend all the 101 One-skein wonder books.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a handy little book packed with a variety of patterns that require just one ball of yarn. I like the way the book is divided into sections according to yarn type: bulky, heavy worsted, worsted-mohair,worsted, sport weight,fingering, and novelty. So you can immediately go to that section to match a pattern with the yarn you want to use. The middle of the book contains color photos of all the projects for quick and easy browsing.

Be sure to check out the publisher's website( www.storey.com) for corrections to some of the patterns.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's kind of weird that I own three of the books from this series, but I don't think I've knit a single project from any of them. Still a useful book, I will probably knit from it eventually. I got this one when it was deeply discounted.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly knit patterns, with just a couple crochet patterns. Nothing that amazing to me, but I can’t even knit very well, so maybe you might find this novel much more helpful than I, if you knit more.

3 stars.

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wish the color pictures were placed with the projects.
Nothing for me.

[Rosemary Bagley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a many single skeins of yarn, so this series is perfect for me. I can use enough of the patterns to make the book well worth the price.

[Tonileg · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite book in the series, go buy 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders or Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Patterns That Go Way Beyond Socks! because the projects are diverse and the format is better because there is a collection of photos in the beginning of the book of all the projects that make it easy to choose.
There are picture of the finished projects in the middle of the book and next to each project. There are some cute hats that I've made which I substituted the yarn because each project has a different kind/brand some of which no longer exists or are crazy expensive, it was easy to adapt to other easier to buy yarns.
239 pages and in a square squat format
2 stars

[Ryann Uden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of adorable one-skein projects (hats, shawls, purses, scarves and more), this book is a treasure trove of knitting projects (and some crochet patterns as well). I've only completed one project (Wave Hand Warmers aka Fingerless Mittens) but I found the instructions clear and easy to follow. The illustrations with each pattern are complemented by full color pictures of the finished projects.

I bought this book on vacation when my niece fell in love with the display featuring the Wave Hand Warmers. Knitting the project and sending them off in the mail to her was very enjoyable. Now the hard part, another project for her or one for me? Lots to choose from in this book!

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm re-reading this book to review it and see if it still deserves space on my bookshelves. Well, 17 years after publication, it does not. I'm an experienced knitter and this book was way too simple for me but would be great for a beginner. The organization of the book, with the color photos of the finished projects in the middle pages, is really a big negative for me (but a big money saver for the publisher). Many of the projects are very dated now (felted bags, a shrug) and I realized there was only one cowl and one raglan sweater in the entire book. I love the idea of the book and am going to check those out from the library.

[Kittiya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a wonderful gift, with lots of great ideals.That being said...
My only problem with this book was how the patterns where written. I'm not very good at reading patterns. This book made them all the more confusing. My sister In-law who is much better than I at Knitting and crocheting was hard pressed to figure out what they meant in some of these. As a very experienced yarn slinger she was able to figure easier ways for me to do the patterns I liked with-out the worry of the ones written in the book.

[Shelba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, these really only take one skein of yarn, so they get done pretty quick and you can use bargains you find along the way. Or, combine yarns to get a similar guage. I used two strands of a Walmart yarn to knit a very cute sweater for my grandson, and it was machine washable and dryable like kid's clothing should be, rather than the fancy yarn called for. Lots of cute ideas for gifts that won't take forever to complete.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection does not inspire me to pick up my needles to work through those random leftover skeins that I have.

Pros: Color illustrations in the center of the book with brown-and-while illustrations to accompany the patterns. Organized by yarn weights, not style of project.

Cons: Lots of patterns that are uninspiring or that I've seen in other places.

I've found other one-skein project books that I like better.

[Katrina]

This book has some cute, easy starter projects, but there isn’t really anything unique here. Everything in this book can be found on Pinterest or Ravelry. It was worth checking out of the library for ideas, and would make a great gift for a beginner knitter who is tired of making scarves or a teenage knitter who has a short attention span for projects, but I wouldn’t purchase this book for myself at this point.

[Cate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book if you're looking for a quick project, an inspiration, a way to use up a skein of yarn that you just couldn't resist. Do you need a Christmas or birthday gift or want an easy hat, shawl or sock pattern? It's in here! I love this book and it's mates and I think it belongs in every knitter's library.

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This for me was more of a reference knitting book so I'm not sure how well I can review it. It has great scrap yarn type patterns. My favorite is the lace bookmarks. It was a great opportunity to develop my lace making skills. There weren't that many patterns that I was personally interest in but I did like this book.

[Anne Hawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the very best of the "One-Skein" books. I can't even count the number of things I have made from this. The patterns are great...very fashionable and yet most are simple to do. It's great when you are working on big projects and need a little break, a quick gift or for charity knitting. If the house was burning, this is one of the books I'd grab.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't tried a project yet. Checked on Ravelry there's seems to be quit a bit of errata... But the projects look interesting, vary in skill level. I also like that it's organized by yarn type :)

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for instant-gratification projects. It's also a good book to go through when you want to use up a single skein of yarn. I've made two projects from this book, and they were both excellently written. I have also bookmarked other projects that I want to make in the future.

[BookMouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really nice patterns to use up those single skeins in the stash. Many patterns are ones I'd actually make. The pattern pages aren't full color, but there's a section in the middle that features all the projects in the book with full color photographs.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous, potentially cheap projects and quick gifts.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many small, attractive projects. Doable in less-expensive yarns.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with lots of ideas. Mostly for knitters though, only about 6 patterns for crochet. Hopeful that the sequel wil have more!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relatively simple projects to help you get rid of that extra yarn.

[Leanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think there was only one pattern in this whole book I actually liked. Boo.

[Christina CK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed looking through this book and plan to tackle a few of the projects. It deserves a 3.5, and would have been a 4 if it included more color pictures.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knitting and books, does it get any better?