Laura Chau

I don't care for this much at all, and I don't think I'll ever want to try the "Teach Yourself Visually" series again.

The book covers the extreme basics for sock knitting, from knit vs. purl stitches, to how to hold needles, to how to cast on, and so on. It's probably not a bad guide for someone picking up yarn and needles for the very first time and setting out to knit a sock.

It covers socks from top down or toe up with a few very basic patterns for each. There are three heel techniques and a few different toes, depending on which direction you're knitting in. At the back, it also demonstrates how to repair holes or fix errors in the knitting (ladders, twisted stitches, dropped stitches - the usual).

I don't care for the illustrations, though, and found several sections to be a little bit confusing because of them. The photographs don't use a particularly constrasty yarn and it's not always clear what it is about the step that they're supposed to be demonstrating. For the "short row toe", it says "follow the directions for the short row heel", but nowhere gives a proper explanation of what that means or how it works. I suppose you're meant to do the work and figure it out? But the section about cabling was also confusing, because of ambiguous illustrations next to poorly worded instructions.

I would have liked more explanations of why something works the way it does or when to use a particular technique. There isn't very much of that at all in the book. It's more a series of "here is a technique for _____, and this is how you do it", which isn't as helpful for me. I would also have liked diagrams with arrows to show movement and highlighted stitches as other guides have, which help clarify exactly what is happening, and which the royal blue yarn used for most examples doesn't show very well.

I attempted one of the bind-off techniques (the "stretchy bind-off" - k2tog k1, slide to left needle, repeat) and though I followed the instructions carefully, it looks awful and nothing like the example photos. But the instructions don't have anything to help me determine what (if anything) I did wrong.

When I picked up Teach Yourself Visually Sock Knitting from the library, I also grabbed Socks from the Toe Up, which I find much more useful, though it has a more limited scope.… (mehr)

Socks are portable, fun to knit, and quick to complete--and they make great gifts. This step-by-step guide walks you through all the techniques used to knit beautiful socks--from buying yarn to working on double-pointed needles, from turning a heel to grafting a toe. It covers knitting socks top-down, toe-up, and flat, explains how to create various heels and toes, and gives you a dozen original patterns for everything from baby booties to knee socks. Whether you're new to knitting or just new to socks, you'll learn the skills needed for a lifetime of creative sock knitting.… (mehr)