The Tap Dancing Lizard: 337 Fanciful Charts for the Adventurous Knitter

by Catherine Cartwright-Jones, Roy Jones

The 337 charted figures in this book are like nothing you've ever seen before. Charts include dogs, cats, horses, African animals, barnyard critters, world mythology and symbolism, trees, flowers, and much more. Graphed in the correct ready-to-use proportions for knitted stitches, each chart includes instructions for placement and design combinations, suggestions for embellishments, and sculptural knitting techniques.

Genres: Knitting, Nonfiction, Crafts

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

Reviews

[Lee Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tap Dancing Lizard - Catherine Cartwright-Jones, Roy Jones

337 fanciful charts for the adventurous knitter.

These charts are pretty dated now, as another reviewer said, but for me that’s perfect because that’s exactly what I wanted. 😉

There’s guidance for both hand knitting and machine knitting, helping you to use the charts inside 🧶 Cute little illustrations throughout 🧶 Tips for items you can upcycle into knitting accessories 🧶 Incorporating beads and more.

I found this book both inspiring and nostalgic at the same time, bringing back memories of my mum knitting while I was growing up. Some of these charts look very similar to those I remember as punch cards for her knitting machine.


A lovely blend of vintage charm and practical inspiration.

[Horus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reads as way more dated than it already is. It includes a substantial number of charts for intarsia knitting (by hand, or as the authors’ did, by machine). Many of these would translate equally well to embroidery or stencilling. The written descriptions for the different chart subject matters are outdated however, with some of the information maybe having been ok at the time of writing. This book is useful for the charts.

[Meotzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the graphed knitting designs in this book. Have used several of them in projects.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cool; sadly I don't have a copy.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! Love it! Use it all the time as a reference. Catherine Cartwright-Jones is amazing!

[Mollie *scoutrmom* · Rating 3 out of 5]

An irrepressibly cutesy collection of knitting charts with some photos showing ideas for their use.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The charts are both useful and fun. They make intarsia accessible and are no more work than the typical heart, cat or dinosaur of most beginning intarsia books.