Knitting in print - accessories

Color or colour, it takes a good eye

Can you teach someone to choose colours (colors in the U.S.!) that work? In home decor, maybe. In yarn - garment design - where texture, yarn weight and stitch design have an impact and, therefore, multiply the opportunities to screw up, perhaps not.

Nevertheless, there is always a parade of books that tell us we can learn the "secrets of colour theory". The latest — and most stunning — of these is The Alchemy of Color Knitting, The Art and Technique of Mastering Exquisite Palettes by Gina Wilde (Potter Craft, 2009). Be advised, the very lovely patterns specify Alchemy Yarns of Transformation, of which Gina Wilde is the co-founder and creative director. If that's okay with you, this book, at least, teaches through knitting exercises. One pattern, the Chromodevo pullover, teaches exploring colour through using two yarns of the same colour in different textures. Another, the Diamond Trellis pullover, explores the impact stitch patterns and architectural lines in a single rich colour. The patterns are good, the photography excellent, the "lessons" useful. If you enjoy — or can at least tolerate the information about a colour's "origins, lore and myriad meanings", it's a good investment.

Colorwork Stitches, Over 250 Designs to Knit, edited by Susie Johns, is another Harmony Guide presented by Interweave. It's essential, as are all the Guides (or any other comprehensive series) to every serious knitter's library. They're your daydreaming books. Arrange your stash around you on the floor, sit in the middle and flip through the books to conjure up new projects. The colour choices in the stitch pattern examples are chosen for clarity rather than harmony, but that's exactly what you want here.

It's "green" — environmentally friendly — and it's by Alice Starmore. What else is there to say? Dover Publications has republished Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting, out of print for many years. The publisher says Alice Starmore supplied Dover with all of the original photography which was then scanned and colour corrected. Editor John Reiss says that Alice Starmore said "it is an improvement of the original editions in terms of the clour repro". The book — and the patterns — speak for themselves. If you're a knitter who loves theory, history and culture thrown in with your detailed information about technique and gorgeous patterns, buy this book. If you're not, buy it just to look at the pictures that demostrate what knitting ought to be about.

It's likely not fair to review a new book of stranded knitting patterns on the heels of Alice Starmore's classic. The New Stranded Colorwork, Techniques and Patterns for Vibrant Knitwear by Mary Scott Huff (Interweave, 2009), is based on classic Norwegian knitting techniques. So, while Alice Starmore speculates that Shetland Fair Isle began with exposure to Baltic Circle country patterns - including Norway — the patterns in New Stranded Colorwork tend to reflect its Norwegian heritage. The book has two sections — projects and techniques. A nice variety of yarns are specified in the patterns and there's a range of objects from a quite-cute child's hat to a tour de force Wedding Belle jacket that uses, at least in part, 2.25 mm needles.