One of the blogs that I frequent is Purling Sprite -- run by Isela Phelps, an accomplished knitter and knitting author. When she posted a call to review her latest booklet, I jumped at the chance because I'm always looking for new and interesting things to do with my knitting looms. While I suck (yes, truly suck) at knitting with needles, I find loom knitting to be relaxing and (even better) easy for me to accomplish.
First, I got a chance to ask a few virtual questions of Isela and her booklet:
How did you first get started in loom knitting?
My first introduction to looming was as a young child, my Grandpa made me a corker, a little piece of wood with 4 nails. Grandma sat me next to her and gave me some of her pretty shiny yarn. I thought it was all fun until I realized that they were trying to keep me from being outside creating chaos with the neighborhood kids. Little did I know that they were preparing me to what I would do as an adult! My husband, Sam and his brother started a small company and they needed instructions. Sam came home one day with the circle loom and told me to come up with instructions. I was a stay-at-home mom for our then 3 month old baby and didn’t have much to do so I said sure, I’ll do it. It took me about one afternoon to come up with instructions on how to use the circle loom and write out a pattern for the hat. I created 2 hats with that loom and I was fed up with hats. I wanted something for challenging and I kept cranking out ideas and consequently patterns.
Do you prefer to loom knit over traditional knitting? And why do you prefer the one over the other?
Typically, I favor knitting with needles. I knit a lot faster than I loom (and I loom pretty fast). Also, I seem to find more patterns that attract my eye in the needle knit industry. If I pick up a loom it is usually to design something. At one point, loom knitting was my hobby but then it became work and my brain usually goes into “work” mode when I loom. To relax, I pick up my needles and I just knit.
What are your favorite projects to create?
I prefer challenging projects that involve special stitch patterns, or special techniques. I have always a pair of socks going on the needles and if I have the chance to alter the pattern (if the pattern already doesn’t have them) I include cables.
If someone were first starting out in loom knitting, what advice would you give them?
I would highly recommend them to pick up a knitting book, not to learn to knit with needles but to learn the foundation and the terminology as it is the same in loom knitting.
What inspired you to create this booklet?
I have a deep love of cables that stems from my childhood with Grandma. Cables were her favorite stitch pattern to put into her knits and I grew up seeing them and being mesmerized by them. As an adult, I was given the chance to create a booklet on something that inspired me and moved me and thus the booklet was born.
Out of the projects in the book, for the beginner, which would you recommend to start with?
The scarf is probably the easiest project to work. The stitch repetition is simple to memorize and once you have completed about 10 stitch repetitions the cabling technique sinks in and the confidence level goes up and the loomer is ready to tackle the other projects in the booklet.
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My Review
After receiving the booklet, I noticed immediately the clear photography and concise instructions. It's printed on glossy paper so it makes the printing stand out. There were a couple of misprints so there's a errata on a single sheet of paper stuck in the middle -- I hope they fix that in later printings because it will be hard to keep that paper with the booklet (and remember to look at it when you're doing a design).
There are 9 designs included -- a good variety -- from a classic scarf, to a backpack, to socks -- it looks like it's enough variety to keep you busy once you get the basics down. My disappointment is as I am a beginner knitter, the knitting terms confuse me and it will take a bit more learning before I can sit down with the book to create.
In that vein, in the beginning of the booklet there is a section on general directions -- with good photos -- that explain the steps of loom knitting. This also includes binding off, shaping and cable techniques. I think with a little time expenditure on my part I can get this down pretty quickly and on my way to creating one of the projects. (I can't wait to give the pattern for the throw a try.)
My conclusion? While I'm far from the expert on knitting books, I found this one to be well written and the designs striking enough for me to want to create. I would recommend this to seasoned knitters but advise new knitters to learn more of the basics.
