About this item
A step-by-step guide to stitches and techniques, from knit and purl to Fair Isle, with 20 beautiful projects to make.If you would like to start knitting, or if you know the basics but would like to learn the more complex skills of shaping, lace patterns, and colorwork, then A Beginner's Guide to Knitting is for you. Starting at the very beginning with casting on, garter stitch, and binding off, the 20 workshops take you through different stitches and techniques, with color artworks to show you how everything is done. At the end of every workshop there is a project to make which is designed to put what you have learned so far into practice. As you progress through the workshops, you will also learn how to read patterns, join pieces, and knit in the round.
About the Author
Like many people of my generation I was taught to knit by my mother, who was an art teacher; her mother, in turn, had taught her. My maternal grandparents were cotton weavers in the Lancashire mills in the mid-20th century so a love of textiles was always in my blood, and both my grandmothers, my mother and my aunt were always making something.After a textiles degree at university I worked briefly for the iconic British knitwear designer Patricia Roberts, before starting my first label Skulduggery, which was based in Camden, London and consisted of a range of knitted garments and accessories for women. Some years later, after a stint of global travel as was compulsory for the late 20-something of the late 1990s, I had a children's clothing business based in London's Portobello Road, where I designed and made fun, colourful garments for kids. I decided to spend a bit of time teaching, so worked in a college for a while, running a fashion and textiles department and writing a degree programme in textiles. But I always missed designing so eventually I have returned to this and was offered the chance to author "A Square a Day", ("the Big Book of Granny Square" in the USA) which I leapt at. The lovely folks at Ivy Press kept me and my little team in tea and nice biscuits whilst we came up with a collection of 365 designs, some of which are old-time 'classics' and feature in books from the turn of the 20th century, and many of which are brand-new from our own little heads. I worked with 6 other designers to produce the collection: 2 old friends and 4 who became new friends. By the end, rather than feeling exhausted from crochet squares, we were bursting with even more ideas so hope to be able to get those out in the stratosphere some time soon.CICO books then asked me to write "Knitting Basics", which has been a great opportunity to return to my first love of hand knitting and pull together the wisdom of other people I learned so much from, and bring in my own experiences.My working days are enhanced by the presence of my giddy Bedlington terrier puppy and being surrounded by piles of gorgeous yarn - what more could a person ask for? I hope you enjoy my books and my designs.
