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Strikk
Norsk / Norwegian / Norwegisch
- GenresKnittingNonfictionCrafts
1 pages, Hardcover
First published November 8, 2022
18 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
May 28, 2024
When I was young, Instagram didn't exist, and I don’t think Ravelry did either. There was a bulletin board named Crafty where I first read about Debbie Stoller’s Stich 'n Bitch. I was a German teenager who had learned the basics of knitting from her grandmother a few years prior, but Debbie completely changed my life. There I was, on the floor of my room, surprised to learn that there is not only the style of knitting my grandma had taught me (Continental), but that the rest of the world knits in a completely different way (English). I learned about K2togs and SSKs, casting on, binding offs, and to NEVER EVER tie a knot. To this day, I am confused when I have to decipher a German knitting pattern because I hardly know any of the German terms for knitting. Debbie was my fairy godmother of knitting. She was cool—but more like your-cool-aunt-living-in-NYC kind of cool.
Skip 20 years: Meet Lærke Bagger. At first, her book “Close Knit” (“Strik”) seems to be the Millennial update of Stoller’s book series from the 2000s, but upon closer inspection, there are fundamental differences between the two: For Stoller, mastering the correct techniques was crucial to becoming a confident knitter and, eventually, to developing one’s own designs. Bagger is essentially the Pippi Longstocking of knitting—doing everything you’ve been warned about, such as tying KNOTS (and proudly embracing it), using only one method for casting on and binding off (and boasting about it because you’re too lazy to learn something new), and employing pearls and scrap yarn to create unconventional designs. Lærke’s rock ’n’ roll attitude, writing style, and overall embodiment of her being the cool girl—accompanied by photographs of her drinking beer or being naked and knitting—alongside stories of how she persisted in knitwear design and eventually succeeded, despite being called a “talentless knitting bitch” along the way, sometimes remind me of the now infamous Girl Boss by Sophia Amoruso, another former Millennial icon who, in hindsight, turned into a symbol for the neoliberalism of the 2010s.
So be warned: If you’re new to knitting, this may not be the kind of book you need. Buy Stoller’s classic, get a boring knitting book from your local library or look up a YouTuber who will teach you a proper Italian Bind Off. But if your knitting mojo got drowned by a full-time job, you’re sitting on boxes of unused yarn and are in desperate need of inspiration, this is your book. It will remind you of the times you learned knitting and will give you back a sense of knitting freedom you’ve long lost.
Skip 20 years: Meet Lærke Bagger. At first, her book “Close Knit” (“Strik”) seems to be the Millennial update of Stoller’s book series from the 2000s, but upon closer inspection, there are fundamental differences between the two: For Stoller, mastering the correct techniques was crucial to becoming a confident knitter and, eventually, to developing one’s own designs. Bagger is essentially the Pippi Longstocking of knitting—doing everything you’ve been warned about, such as tying KNOTS (and proudly embracing it), using only one method for casting on and binding off (and boasting about it because you’re too lazy to learn something new), and employing pearls and scrap yarn to create unconventional designs. Lærke’s rock ’n’ roll attitude, writing style, and overall embodiment of her being the cool girl—accompanied by photographs of her drinking beer or being naked and knitting—alongside stories of how she persisted in knitwear design and eventually succeeded, despite being called a “talentless knitting bitch” along the way, sometimes remind me of the now infamous Girl Boss by Sophia Amoruso, another former Millennial icon who, in hindsight, turned into a symbol for the neoliberalism of the 2010s.
So be warned: If you’re new to knitting, this may not be the kind of book you need. Buy Stoller’s classic, get a boring knitting book from your local library or look up a YouTuber who will teach you a proper Italian Bind Off. But if your knitting mojo got drowned by a full-time job, you’re sitting on boxes of unused yarn and are in desperate need of inspiration, this is your book. It will remind you of the times you learned knitting and will give you back a sense of knitting freedom you’ve long lost.
October 21, 2022
this arrived today. been jealous of swedish and danish people who’ve had it for months. obvs not knitted anything from it Yet. but it’s beautiful. a masterpiece. a work of art. unfortunately i don’t know what the knitting needle sizes mean but i can google it when i get it it i guess. i enjoy the vibes of the book very much. i v much look forward to using my yarn stash to maybe do some ugly knitting!!!
January 18, 2023
Underbar bok! Rolig, mycket personlighet och massa bra tekniker!
May 13, 2024
this left me feeling so inspired! lots of new techniques that are right up my alley and some great patterns in here that are so different from the normal, boring ones. i love the layout/style of the book itself & bagger's attitude towards knitting. the autobiographical bits & awesome photos were just as inspiring as the knitting patterns themselves.
a few typos throughout the book which knocks it to 4 stars
a few typos throughout the book which knocks it to 4 stars
January 7, 2025
Dejligt at hun omfavner uferfektheden, så det stadig er SJOVT at strikke.
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March 29, 2024Yeah, this is a knitting book. It still counts. I've been following Laerke Bagger on IG for years, watching her make all kinds of crazy shit. This book is marketed as a guide to Laerke's techniques for anybody from beginners to advanced knitters looking to learn new cool shit. I think it did a great job of being that! Laerke's instructions are fun to read and she her advice usually comes down to "fuck the rules, but here's some helpful tips so you're successful while you make cool shit". I'm currently working on the Crazy Loop Fur, a jacket with the texture of a bath mat that's taking literal pounds of yarn to complete.
A significant amount of this book is also dedicated to big colorful pictures. Some of them are of complex knitting patterns with unique color schemes and intricate textures. Others are pictures of Laerke hanging out at the beach with her kids or knitting in the nude. This is totally fine with me; her vibe is a big part of the image she's selling and she sells it well.
A significant amount of this book is also dedicated to big colorful pictures. Some of them are of complex knitting patterns with unique color schemes and intricate textures. Others are pictures of Laerke hanging out at the beach with her kids or knitting in the nude. This is totally fine with me; her vibe is a big part of the image she's selling and she sells it well.
February 12, 2023
This is a fun book by a cool young designer. It doesn’t really have extraordinarily original techniques, nor is it suitable for a beginner knitter (knitting a sweater with really big needles is actually very clunky, and best suited for an at least intermediate knitter).
With that said, this book is a refreshing perspective that encourages people to play with yarn and to embrace imperfection. Conventional knitting can sometimes frown on that, and sometimes I think the knitters on Instagram are in a constant infinite loop of show-offery with ever snobbier yarn and their three millionth top down yoke sweater. Laerke got a lot of followers on Instagram, deservedly, with her Alone Together Sweater (ATS) during the pandemic. I can get behind her approach - use all your scrap and crap yarn, forget the rules, tie knots and have fun. I have a lot of unloved sock yarn that’s now destined for a No Limits sweater.
Her reminiscences about design school really struck a chord with me, especially her struggles with drawing. I couldn’t draw for crap when I took the entrance test, and after five years of drawing practice in design school l still wasn’t particularly good at it. But thanks to the decision makers at the National Institute of Design, who saw a spark in me and let me into that marvelous place, I was able to walk in the footsteps of Eames. I still can’t draw, but all these decades I’ve been a successful designer at work and at play.
Laerke’s book took me back and reminded me l need to quit thinking of the MN State Fair knitting judges, and just play with yarn. Sometimes beauty comes out of ugly and success out of serendipity.
With that said, this book is a refreshing perspective that encourages people to play with yarn and to embrace imperfection. Conventional knitting can sometimes frown on that, and sometimes I think the knitters on Instagram are in a constant infinite loop of show-offery with ever snobbier yarn and their three millionth top down yoke sweater. Laerke got a lot of followers on Instagram, deservedly, with her Alone Together Sweater (ATS) during the pandemic. I can get behind her approach - use all your scrap and crap yarn, forget the rules, tie knots and have fun. I have a lot of unloved sock yarn that’s now destined for a No Limits sweater.
Her reminiscences about design school really struck a chord with me, especially her struggles with drawing. I couldn’t draw for crap when I took the entrance test, and after five years of drawing practice in design school l still wasn’t particularly good at it. But thanks to the decision makers at the National Institute of Design, who saw a spark in me and let me into that marvelous place, I was able to walk in the footsteps of Eames. I still can’t draw, but all these decades I’ve been a successful designer at work and at play.
Laerke’s book took me back and reminded me l need to quit thinking of the MN State Fair knitting judges, and just play with yarn. Sometimes beauty comes out of ugly and success out of serendipity.
December 31, 2022
(3,5 stars)
A gorgeous book, great for rethinking you knitting work and working outside the box. I love a crafter, who spreads the gospel of scrap yarns! I’m also a chaos crafter, so Bagger’s way of making knits fits my own style perfectly.
However, this book isn’t very good as a guide book. I don’t think it could teach a beginner to knit very well. Too many ”it’s impossible for me to show you in a book form so you should google this” parts. I was constantly comparing the tutorial parts to Molla Mills’ crochet tutorials. Mills’ work is in a different style and medium than Bagger’s, but Mills really knows how to show and teach how to do the craft. Her books manage to be both educative and artistic. I think Bagger went for the artistic route and the tutorials feel like a second thought.
(This is truly a nitpick, but the ”pizza, beer and random XD” relatability and humor doesn’t really hit me, probably because it gives me severe flashbacks to my teenage years.)
A gorgeous book, great for rethinking you knitting work and working outside the box. I love a crafter, who spreads the gospel of scrap yarns! I’m also a chaos crafter, so Bagger’s way of making knits fits my own style perfectly.
However, this book isn’t very good as a guide book. I don’t think it could teach a beginner to knit very well. Too many ”it’s impossible for me to show you in a book form so you should google this” parts. I was constantly comparing the tutorial parts to Molla Mills’ crochet tutorials. Mills’ work is in a different style and medium than Bagger’s, but Mills really knows how to show and teach how to do the craft. Her books manage to be both educative and artistic. I think Bagger went for the artistic route and the tutorials feel like a second thought.
(This is truly a nitpick, but the ”pizza, beer and random XD” relatability and humor doesn’t really hit me, probably because it gives me severe flashbacks to my teenage years.)
September 8, 2023
I rarely give one-star reviews. I was reading this before bedtime and I had dreams about how much I hated this book. I'm all for inventiveness, being crazy and wild, whatever. I'm an art school graduate. But leaving (ugly) knots all over your sweater is where I put my foot down. Knots can still unravel. They feel yucky against the skin. I (obviously) think they look horrible. I don't understand why the choice wasn't just to overlap the new and old yarn by a couple or six stitches and move along. Answer me that! Okay, and besides ugly knots there are just plain old ugly sweaters. The only sweaters I liked were the beaded ones and, oh, by the way, she doesn't use visible knots "because it's far too cute for knots." Lots of photos, illustrations could be cleaner, and editing definitely could be better. A beginner may struggle with the directions.
January 14, 2023
I loved this book, so inspirational and made me think creatively. I have been knitting for years and years (with a break when I was working full time, I’ve just come back to it) but this book has given me tips I didn’t know about, like the Butt edge, crocheting seams instead of sewing them and putting in a life line before ripping back mistakes. Just shows that you’re never too old to learn something new. I absolutely love the looped cardigan and will get around to knitting that soon. This book is also the second I’ve read this year that pointed out mistakes are ok and in fact a learning tool. ‘Embrace the Mistake’ - love it!
January 8, 2023
An interesting read. There is some really good stuff about design. But her techniques and ideas are not as original as she thinks they are, by any means. And her clothing is only suitable as written for very cold climates (which obviously is where she lives); even in the southern part of Australia I could not wear a triple stranded jumper in mid winter. Also, I knit much more interesting scrappy socks than she does 😀which I also made up by myself.
January 16, 2023
Love, love, love Laerke Bagger. Long time follower of her social media, was so excited she published a book. Her techniques are so fun and she provides “no rules” instruction that keep knitting fun. Also love her honesty about struggling with body image and skill comparison in design school. She’s honest and relatable and definitely one of the coolest knitters (and people) out there 💖
June 10, 2023
Parents need to beware - this book contains nudity. My 11 year old is crying because she was exposed to nudity in a book she innocently checked out from the library assuming it was a regular book about knitting. It's sad when a crafting book takes away a child's innocence. No one needs to see your breasts for you to explain how to make a sweater.
December 7, 2021
Det er især hendes holdning, som tiltaler mig. Ikke alt er så fornyende, men måden ting bliver forklaret på og den frihed hun giver strikkeren er så god! Og der er nogle gode opskrifter, og en masse gode fotos.
August 19, 2025
I'm deep in the middle of a knitting/crochet phase, and this was a fun read. And a pretty book. Inspired me. I want to make my own ATS sweater right now, but I don't really have much scrap yarn, so the timing isn't great.
I read it in Finnish though, couldn't find the right edition here.
I read it in Finnish though, couldn't find the right edition here.
September 12, 2021
Elsker Lærke Baggers fandenivoldske strik og glæder mig rigtig meget til at komme i gang med mine egne restegarnsprojekter.
Interessante opskrifter og god formidling.
Interessante opskrifter og god formidling.
February 25, 2022
Enormt inspirerende
December 29, 2022
Ble skikkelig inspirert til å starte det nye året med et resteprosjekt. Gøy med så mye tekst mellom mønstrene.
January 2, 2023
Läste igenom på två dagar! Ett måste för nybörjare och stickvana som vill pröva scrapteknik.
January 3, 2023
less of a traditional knitting pattern book, but more of a diary of an artist and a guide of how you can make the shit you want to make in the way you want to make it. love this.
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March 22, 2023More of a coffee table book but still has some neat concepts and patterns. The photos are really inspiring
June 15, 2023
the best knitting book EVER.
August 22, 2023
(3,5) I really enjoyed this book as a source of inspiration for my own knitting journey. However, I have yet to try any of the patterns featured in it.
December 31, 2023
1. Everything in this book is ugly.
2. The author's tone is annoying.
3. There is full frontal nudity on the third page; unexpected in an knitting book.
2. The author's tone is annoying.
3. There is full frontal nudity on the third page; unexpected in an knitting book.
November 6, 2022
Neulojana tykkään noudattaa muiden laatimia ohjeita kuta kuinkin säntillisesti, mutta tässä Laerken kaikelle haistattavassa käsityöradikalismissa on jotain todella kiehtovaa. Vaikka käytän yksinomaan housuja, huomaan nyt unelmoivani kirjavasta helmikoristeisesta jämälankamekosta - go girl!
(Luin erinomaisen suomalaisen käännöksen)
(Luin erinomaisen suomalaisen käännöksen)
January 2, 2024
some interesting concepts, but not my kind of book.
I definitely wouldnt recommend this for a beginner guidebook. inspiration and encouragement for scrappiness and doing what you enjoy? sure! but the instructions on beginner techniques, let alone the patterns, were lacking. some told you to find a youtube video. some had diagrams, but they were confusing or unclear with instructions to match.
it also could have done with another round of edits - there were occasional important words or punctuation missing. an example is that in the initial explanation of the knit stitch, the sentence reads “Knit stitch - also known as ‘plain knitting’ is abbreviated.” I thought this was a translation error til the next page said that purl was abbreviated as p, and realised that it should have read “…is abbreviated as k”.
the illustrations were a bit confusing. often the photo on the page had nothing to do with what the text was discussing - and sometimes the item in that photo was discussed later in the book, with a photo of a different item next to it?
I did find the instructions for pleats fascinating - I hadnt considered using pleats in knitting, and I’m intrigued to try that out.
nothing else really caught my eye.
I definitely wouldnt recommend this for a beginner guidebook. inspiration and encouragement for scrappiness and doing what you enjoy? sure! but the instructions on beginner techniques, let alone the patterns, were lacking. some told you to find a youtube video. some had diagrams, but they were confusing or unclear with instructions to match.
it also could have done with another round of edits - there were occasional important words or punctuation missing. an example is that in the initial explanation of the knit stitch, the sentence reads “Knit stitch - also known as ‘plain knitting’ is abbreviated.” I thought this was a translation error til the next page said that purl was abbreviated as p, and realised that it should have read “…is abbreviated as k”.
the illustrations were a bit confusing. often the photo on the page had nothing to do with what the text was discussing - and sometimes the item in that photo was discussed later in the book, with a photo of a different item next to it?
I did find the instructions for pleats fascinating - I hadnt considered using pleats in knitting, and I’m intrigued to try that out.
nothing else really caught my eye.
December 2, 2025
A super interesting approach to knitting. I like the technique portions, but idgaf about her time in art school or whatever. The patterns themselves aren't super well-written or thorough, so this isn't for a beginner knitter. But the best part is just the thought process and encouraging people to take more risks in their crafting. I also just really like a low/no-waste approach to knitting.
April 25, 2025
Yndisleg, yndisleg. Ekki bara prjónatækni heldur lífstíll. Hver blaðsíða full af gleði og fyllti mig mig af innblæstri. Hún fléttar lífsviðhorf, lífsreynslur og motto inn í praktískar ráðleggingar og uppskriftir. Ég var búin að bíða eftir þessari og pantaði hana af fyrstu búð sem tók hana að miklum aukakostnaði, sé ekkert eftir því. Önnur bókin hennar er komin í hús og ég er spennt að byrja.
August 14, 2024
Gifted by Carolee for my 40th birthday. <3
A fun book full of colorful, easygoing inspiration — would not recommend as a guide to knitting, especially for a beginner. Any tutorials felt like an afterthought.
A fun book full of colorful, easygoing inspiration — would not recommend as a guide to knitting, especially for a beginner. Any tutorials felt like an afterthought.
December 9, 2024
there's no right or wrong in knitting
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