Book Review

The Knitter's Book of Yarn:
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn

Have you ever wondered what yarn is good for socks? Or how exactly do you care for angora? Or what does organic yarn really mean? Well, if you have answered yes to any of these questions, then the Knitter's Book of Yarn is for you.

Written by Clara Parkes who is the fabulous person behind the Knitter's Review, which gives you honest reviews of different yarns, tool, books and more. (which I have been a reader of hers for a long time- and have learned so much) Before you go much further, stop and read her back story to the book, I know, I am in love too! Published by Potter Craft who were super nice enough to send me this book.

The book is broken down into 4 sections. The first section, and really my favorite, is Fiber Foundations. I am a total nerd and I don't care, I love PBS and Discovery specials, and the first section is just like those. She breaks down all the fiber into 4 categories, and then goes in depth into them all. So you can learn where angora comes from, what projects work the best with it, and how to care for it. The information in the first section, in my opinion, is so valuable that I think every designer (budding to experienced) will want to read through it.

The 2nd section is on making yarn. The best part is on page 49 where she explains how to evaluate yarn. Her tips are perfect, whether you are a designer or not, you will not end up with lousy yarn ever again. The rest of the chapter is on mills (which now I totally want to visit one), farms, fiber festivals, going organic, coloring, and spinning yarn. Completely totally valuable.

The next section, Ply me a River, is really cool. She breaks the yarn into single ply though multiple ply yarn and discusses and shows you projects that would work well. Like did you know that some single ply yarns might have a bias when you knit in stockinette? I didn't, but Clara showed me in the book some tips on how to overcome that. Also did you know that 3 or more ply yarn have the best durability? Again, I didn't but it totally makes sense, right? Some of my favorite projects are:

Baby Soft Cardigan by Jennifer Hagan

Cabled Swing Cardi by Norah Gaughan

Calla Lilly Bag by Cat Bordhi

The last section is Putting it all Together. Here you learn lots of tip like the best way to care for your handmade project to how you can pick out a needle size if you lost your yarn label.

In my opinion, this book totally rocks. For those of you looking for a gift for your yarn addicted loved one, this one is it. Whether or not you even knit, the valuable information on yarn is perfect for crocheters to spinners alike.