Super Stitches Knitting: Knitting Essentials Plus a Dictionary of more than 300 Stitch Patterns

by Karen Hemingway

A complete guide to more than 300 knitting stitches, shown in diagrams and photos"Very super stitches...nothing more to say!" Stevie Wonder said it all for us. Although we do have afew more words we’d like to get in here. Don’t be superstitious, because you can believe in SuperStitches Knitting, the complete pocket guide to knitting stitches and a great how-to-knit guide.Author Karen Hemingway presents full how-tos for all the essentials of knitting, including choosingneedles and yarn, casting on, binding off, increasing and decreasing, creating texture, working withmultiple colors, fixing mistakes, and finishing. Then Super Stitches Knitting turns to the stitch patterns—more than 300 of them, all fully explained in how-tos and full-color photos. Instructions and diagrams for each stitch, including knit and purl, vertical motifs, ribbing, borders, dimensional elements, cables, eyelet, lace, color knitting, and more, are shown on lefthand pages, and a photograph of the knitted result is on the right-hand page. This essential book, packed with super stitches, makes knocking on wood, throwing salt, and avoiding black cats completely unnecessary for knitters at every level from beginning to advanced.

Genres: Knitting, Reference, Nonfiction, Crafts

430 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 16, 2007

Reviews

[Jennifer Defoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I use it all of the time. It's very rare that I'm knitting and that this book isn't close by.

I like to do a lot of "original" knitting so I'm always looking for a different stitch to add that special something to my knitting. I think every knitter should have a copy of this book. It's great for beginners and pros as well. There is enough of a selection in the types of stitches that you can do something different every time that you knit.

[Ilze · Rating 4 out of 5]

When my brother discovered that I've started knitting again, he sent me this book (he lives in the Netherlands). The book has been divided very well and though I don't use it as often as my other one, it certainly offers a lot more variety!

[Karolin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful Stitch Dictionary

Two things, all dictionaries for knitting should be on my Fire Tablet so they can be found faster. I made a few notes on my first pass but I will make a few more. Beautiful fair isle. Snowflakes, Flowers and charts with directions. 🌹🌻🌼❄🌿🌾

[Dee brown]

Nicely written. Instructions are forward, with photos to help along the way.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stitch dictionary. There are stitches for both beginner and those who are more advanced, and they are all well explained.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A varied collection of stitches, presented on nice swatches. However, some swatches are knit up in black and consequently nearly invisible.

[Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, full-color stitch dictionary with written directions. The book is divided into 12 main chapters with more than 300, fully explained stitches (patterns).

[Jane Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hand Crafts. A particularly beautiful selection of patterns

[penny shima glanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

My search for a good, affordable, and useful-to-me stitch dictionary is pretty well known. I'd complained to my good friend enough over the past few months that she finally broke down and sent me a copy of her favourite book (by way of Amazon, which was not my plan when I started my complaints). It's quite good and I see why she likes it. It improves upon many that I've looked on over the years: beautiful technical drawings highlighting advanced techniques where appropriate, gorgeous clean photos, indication of reversible patterns, and lots of extra space upon the page.

However, for me, it is not perfect. I find these imperfections fairly minor at this point in my knitting life, and I aim to eventually improve upon my copy of this book. How? First and foremost, charts are only provided for the most complex of cable patterns. Since I prefer knitting from charts, this makes me very sad. I plan to take advantage of the blank spaces on the pattern pages and paste in charts where and when I want them. I don't have much experience currently in complex chart writing, so this will be a fun and appreciated exercise. Additionally I'm sad that there is a "how to knit" section. I personally prefer that section separate. It is not spiral bound, which all and all is not a big deal as the spine (sorry my book spine purists) appears to crease easily and it should lay flat soon. And lastly, the various moss and seed stitches are spread out over several pages. I would have have grouped them together so that the various minute changes in the stitches could be shown in comparison more easily.

All in all, it's a very well thought and designed book. I do wish the photographer(s) were given credit on the cover, they deserve it!

[Parrotfeathers · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am a beginner when it comes to surface design but i have been collecting all the stitch dictionaries i can get my hands on...and then i found this book. and the light did shine on me that day in borders and i said "yippee"!!

it won't waste your time with copy knit copy knit copy copy copy me patterns which i LOVED.
it goes well beyond your basic knit purl rib seed blah six stitch cable.
you get the basic idea and the space to move beyond the book...which is a refreshing thing when it comes to books of this nature.

my only complaint is that some of the stitches are illustrated in dark brown yarn which makes them somewhat challenging to properly read.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the pics in this book. They're set up interestingly. And the knit pieces look almost flawless. However, I have tried a few patterns using the stitch repeat count guidelines, and it just didn't work out. There happened to be a weird ending at the end of a row, and then suddenly the whole thing was off after that. And I've tried the same ones repeatedly, never being able to figure out what was wrong. Others are awesome, and I can follow along with no problems whatsoever. Anywho, nicely set up, lots of different patterns, etc. Overall a good book, unless half the patterns turn out to have a problem.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the book's size and the short instructions. Just looking at the different stitches makes me happy. I don't think I'll make all of them but it's good to have a reference like this handy when one is in the mood for a simple project or to examine an unfamiliar yarn and how it feels in different stitches.

my fav.

RickRack rib

Crossed rib

Raised eyelet rib

Double Trellis pattern

Cable Edging

Trellis cable

Fir cone lace

[Michelle]

Visually pleasing layout, with the patterns on the left page and large multiple-repeated swatches still on the needles on the right page. The more complex stitches are graphed, the rest are written only. One star off for using british knitting terms without making clear the difference between british and american terms.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly helpful knitting book for just learning stitches. I use it all the time. I have to re-type the stitch patterns because they are so small, but the book has lovely pictures and its good for referencing.

[Armida · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must for knitters! Very clear easy to follow directions. I checked out various similar books from the library before committing to one, and this is the one I chose. This is the type of book that you never finish reading.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like using this book and reach for it often. Each page is a gorgeous detailed photo of each stitch on the preceeding but facing page making it quite easy to lay open and knit from as you sit at a desk or table.

[Michelle Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

most useful knitting book I have seen so far, for myself. Exactly what I was looking for....easy to read, explains clearly, endless ideas!

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book it gives me something to continue trying as I get more and more knitting accomplished.

[Elisa]

Because i need it to knit!

[Hillary · Rating 5 out of 5]

British abbreviations used, so yarn forwards and such instead of plain YO. Found awesome linen stitch pattern in here.

[Sharon Joyner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the different stitches! Instructions seem clear and mostly correct - I have found what I think is one error, but it's minor.

[Mckinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

How-to with over 300 knit patterns in photo with instructions how to knit.
Need to add this one to my home library.

[Emmalee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have found it very useful when I'm working on a new pattern to see what it's supposed to look like. This book is full of pictures so that you can do just that.