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March 27, 2006
Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
For those of you who’ve read At Knit’s End and The Yarn Harlot, Knitting Rules! is a bit of a departure. It is about knitting, the thing itself, as opposed to knitters and what happens to them when their lives, openly or not, revolve around knitting. What rescues it from being just another tips and tricks book is of course the Harlot’s inimitable sense of humor. Stephanie has a gift for articulating the knitting subconscious. She describes the shadow so well that you can’t help but recognize yourself at every turn (or should I say row). Take the chapter on gauge for example. I recently had several knitting disasters in a row (no pun no pun) and they were all related to gauge. Not only did I learn several new things about gauge, I was open to learning them because all my little gauge-related resistances were brought to light and they were funny.
The layout focuses your attention beautifully, which is really important given the amount of material this book covers. You can read it cover to cover or topic to topic. And the illustrations are perfectly in tune with the writing. It also includes a fantastic collection of useful charts. My favorite one is Needle Sizes – metric, U.S. and British. Instead of reaching for one of my many roaming needle gauges, I now turn to page 56. Some other favorite charts are Typical Head Sizes and Figuring Foot Length. Best of all is Stephanie’s explanation, or rather non-explanation, of pi. I now have the confidence to knit circles based on pi without understanding pi as people who understand pi understand pi. I am so relieved.
Overall Knitting Rules! is a must have. Not only did I inhale it in one sitting I was surprised how much I learned. This is definitely a book you want to buy in multiples. While it makes a great gift for knitters at all levels, I think it’s particularly well suited to new knitters. It has tons of information but it is so fun and funny it doesn’t feel like yet another long list of things you need to know.