What do you think?
Rate this book
1000 Japanese Knitting & Crochet Stitches: The Ultimate Bible for Needlecraft Enthusiasts
The ultimate Japanese knitting and crochet stitch bible—now available for English-speaking crafters!1000 Japanese Knitting & Crochet Stitches is a treasure trove of needlecraft patterns and motifs for experienced knitters and crocheters seeking to create and better understand the infinite variety of their craft. This Japanese reference work is beloved by knitters the world over, and the English version will allow even more crafters to enjoy these techniques.This dictionary includes 700 original knitting stitch patterns and 300 original crochet patterns that have inspired many modern Japanese knitwear designs. You'll find classic lacy, cable, Aran, Fair Isle, Nordic, ethnic patterns; geometric, botanical and animal motifs; and so much more. This one-stop reference has detailed stitch diagrams showing how to execute over 60 different knitting stitches and over 40 different crochet stitches. Each pattern is charted with a delineation of the pattern repeat.Like Tuttle's other bestselling Japanese knitting dictionaries—including Hitomi Shida's Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible—this one includes an introduction by Japanese knitting guru Gayle Roehm, which helps those who are new to Japanese knitting navigate the differences between the Japanese and Western styles of knitting and crochet.
333 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 22, 2020
26 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Nihon Vogue
91 books19 followersNihon Vogue 日本ヴォーグ社 is a publisher of handicraft books, including knitting, crochet, sewing, and tatting.
The majority of their works are published in Japanese, but they have had some English publications.
The majority of their works are published in Japanese, but they have had some English publications.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 19, 2020
The subtitle of this book is The Ultimate Bible for Needlecraft Enthusiasts, and that is no overstatement! This book is filled with delightful knitting and crocheting patterns and their gridded charts, many of which may be new to the reader. There are 700 knitting patterns and 300 crocheting patterns. If one is looking for a pattern, it is probably here. Originally published in 1992, this is an updated version which standardizes the stitches and is written in English.
All patterns are in color: plaids, borders, laces, mosaic, colorwork and cables galore. There are tutorials on how to complete various stitches as well as instructions on how to read the charts. This book an absolute treasure for anyone who loves to knit. I highly recommend it and thank Edelweiss and Tuttle Publishing for a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
All patterns are in color: plaids, borders, laces, mosaic, colorwork and cables galore. There are tutorials on how to complete various stitches as well as instructions on how to read the charts. This book an absolute treasure for anyone who loves to knit. I highly recommend it and thank Edelweiss and Tuttle Publishing for a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
November 26, 2021
A beautiful collection of knit and crochet stitches, presented visually with great swatch photographs and charts. It's a delight just to page through and dream about potential projects. Inspiring!
However, if you are looking for a "how-to" guide to work some of the more complex stitches or colorwork, this is not the only book for you. You'll want to also pick up an additional book (or two) that focuses on the particular type of work being done (i.e. colorwork, lace, etc.). The charts are quite clear, but they are dense with information, and as a dilletante knitter I found it useful to have a refresher on technique before I made one of the charts come to life.
However, if you are looking for a "how-to" guide to work some of the more complex stitches or colorwork, this is not the only book for you. You'll want to also pick up an additional book (or two) that focuses on the particular type of work being done (i.e. colorwork, lace, etc.). The charts are quite clear, but they are dense with information, and as a dilletante knitter I found it useful to have a refresher on technique before I made one of the charts come to life.
May 30, 2022
This was not a careful read on my part, but a rapid scan of all the stitch patterns in the e-book version of this huge stitch dictionary, which I checked out of the library to see if I want to buy the print version. This e-book version would not be useful for me, for knitting, as there's no way on my Kindle (an older Kindle Paperwhite) to enlarge the charts well enough to read them. But I was able, for the most part, to see the photos of knitted and crocheted swatches. Enough to realize I don't want to purchase the print book at this time. I'm glad I got a peek at it in advance.
However, that is not to say I don't recommend it to others. It's just that it covers a lot of the same stitch patterns I've found elsewhere, primarily those in Barbara G. Walker's series of stitch dictionaries, as well as a few similar to those I've found in the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida (translated by Gayle Roehm). There are some unique selections here and there's a whole section in the back, of crochet stitch patterns, some of which are impressive. I don't crochet much anymore, due to tendinitis, but I have been wanting to get back to it in a small way. My main reason for looking at this book was for knitting, and I don't think it would add that much to my library at the present time. I might consider it later.
I recommend this book to anyone who does both knit and crochet, and who needs to build their library of stitch patterns, and who has no problem working from charts. That's imperative, since Japanese patterns and dictionaries do not provide written instructions, usually making full use of charts. The Japanese chart symbols are standardized, which is nice, so one doesn't need to learn new symbols to work from different patterns. All of these Japanese stitch dictionaries I've seen so far that have been translated into English provide a lengthy explanation of the chart symbols, so as long as you're a knitter who is not completely averse to working from charts, these should be no problem. Just don't get the e-book, get the print book instead.
However, that is not to say I don't recommend it to others. It's just that it covers a lot of the same stitch patterns I've found elsewhere, primarily those in Barbara G. Walker's series of stitch dictionaries, as well as a few similar to those I've found in the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida (translated by Gayle Roehm). There are some unique selections here and there's a whole section in the back, of crochet stitch patterns, some of which are impressive. I don't crochet much anymore, due to tendinitis, but I have been wanting to get back to it in a small way. My main reason for looking at this book was for knitting, and I don't think it would add that much to my library at the present time. I might consider it later.
I recommend this book to anyone who does both knit and crochet, and who needs to build their library of stitch patterns, and who has no problem working from charts. That's imperative, since Japanese patterns and dictionaries do not provide written instructions, usually making full use of charts. The Japanese chart symbols are standardized, which is nice, so one doesn't need to learn new symbols to work from different patterns. All of these Japanese stitch dictionaries I've seen so far that have been translated into English provide a lengthy explanation of the chart symbols, so as long as you're a knitter who is not completely averse to working from charts, these should be no problem. Just don't get the e-book, get the print book instead.
November 11, 2020
I received a copy of this book directly from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.
If you like to knit or crochet, 1000 Japanese Knitting & Crochet Stitches by Nihon Vogue & Gayle Roehm is a fantastic resource for learning a wide range of new stitch types for any project. The book is equipped with easy to follow instructions, black and white stitch diagrams to teach you the basic stitches, and color photographs of each of the stitch types in a repeating pattern so it's easy to tell what each stitch is meant to look like. Rather than the more common but often difficult to follow method of writing out stitches row for row in a long block of text, each stitch comes with a graphed pattern of the stitch directions.
I found so many beautiful and delicate stitch patterns in this book that I'd never seen before and was really impressed with how they are categorized - making it easy to visually find the different stitch patterns.
If I had to give one word of advice, I'd heavily suggest any reader go ahead and purchase the hard copy of this book rather than the digital, as I think the formatting is a little easier to follow in the hard copy.
If you like to knit or crochet, 1000 Japanese Knitting & Crochet Stitches by Nihon Vogue & Gayle Roehm is a fantastic resource for learning a wide range of new stitch types for any project. The book is equipped with easy to follow instructions, black and white stitch diagrams to teach you the basic stitches, and color photographs of each of the stitch types in a repeating pattern so it's easy to tell what each stitch is meant to look like. Rather than the more common but often difficult to follow method of writing out stitches row for row in a long block of text, each stitch comes with a graphed pattern of the stitch directions.
I found so many beautiful and delicate stitch patterns in this book that I'd never seen before and was really impressed with how they are categorized - making it easy to visually find the different stitch patterns.
If I had to give one word of advice, I'd heavily suggest any reader go ahead and purchase the hard copy of this book rather than the digital, as I think the formatting is a little easier to follow in the hard copy.
February 19, 2021
The knitting portion is definitely better thought out than the crochet chapters. There are multiple mistakes and assumptions that the reader is already avid at their craft. That being said, there are many inspiring stitch combinations that will be a great asset when my knitting has improved. The crochet combinations are ok, but not original.
June 20, 2025
Excellent stitch diagrams- but not a book for those who prefer in-depth descriptions for each design. I do wish the photographs used a consistent background color - sometimes if it is matching yarn and background it can give the appearance of being a denser stitch design than it is in actuality.
May 6, 2021
An awesome tool for curious knitters.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews