Knitting for Dummies

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Getting Started with Knitting
	Chapter 1 Two Needles, a Ball of Yarn, and a Little Know-how
		Why Knit?
			Knitting up good karma
			Inspiring a feeling of accomplishment
			Keeping your mind and hands occupied
			Creating a one-of-a-kind piece
		What Knitters Need
			The tools
			An understanding of the basics
			An understanding of knitterese
		Teaching Yourself to Knit from a Book
			Swatching
			Putting it into practice
	Chapter 2 Tools of the Trade
		Yearning for Yarn: The (Quick) Consumer’s Guide
			Fixating on fiber fundamentals
			A weighty matter: Considering yarn weight
			Looking at yarn packaging
			Choosing yarn for a project
		Selecting Knitting Needles
			Exploring needles
			Sizing them up
			Accounting for needle makeup and tip type
		Collecting Gizmos and Gadgets
			Stocking up on the essentials
			Examining nice-to-have extras
		Eyeing Blocking Equipment
		Organizing Your Equipment
	Chapter 3 Taking the Mystery Out of Patterns and Gauge
		Reading Stitch Patterns
			Deciphering Knitterese: Common abbreviations and shorthand
			Following written stitch patterns
			Reading charted stitch patterns
		Gauge: Getting the Size Right
			Knowing what affects gauge
			Making a gauge swatch
			Measuring your gauge
			Matching your pattern’s gauge
			Designing with gauge in mind
Part 2 Knitting Primer
	Chapter 4 The Fundamentals: Casting On, Knitting, Purling, and Binding Off
		Casting On
			Two-strand (or long-tail) cast-on
			Cable cast-on (cable co)
			Thumb (or e-loop) cast-on
		Now You’re Knitting and Purling
			Knitting know-how
			Perfect purling
			Knitting and purling, Continental-style
		Binding (or Casting) Off
			Standard bind-off
			Yarn-over bind-off
			Helpful hints for binding off
	Chapter 5 Basic Stitches You’ll Use Again and Again
		Go-To Stitches: Garter, Stockinette, and Seed Stitches
			Garter stitch
			Stockinette stitch
			Seed stitch
		Adding Stretch with Ribbed Stitches
			1 x 1 ribbing
			2 x 2 ribbing
			4 x 2 and 2 x 4 ribbing
			4 x 4 ribbing
	Chapter 6 Techniques Every Knitter Should Know
		Slipping Stitches
		Making a Yarn Over
			Between 2 knit stitches
			Between a knit and a purl stitch
			Between 2 purl stitches
			Between a purl stitch and a knit stitch
		Twisting Stitches: Knitting through the Back Loop
		Working Increases
			Bar increase, or knit in front and back
			Working a make 1
			Knitting into the stitch below
			Making a double increase
			Increasing at several points in a single row
		Doing Decreases
			Knitting 2 stitches together
			Purling 2 stitches together
			Slip, slip, knit
			Pass slipped stitch over
			Making double decreases
	Chapter 7 Oops! Fixing Common Mistakes
		Stopping Mistakes or Catching Them Early
		Dealing with Dropped Stitches
			Finding and securing a dropped stitch
			Rescuing a dropped stitch in the row below
			Saving a dropped stitch with a crochet hook
		Ripping (Your Heart) Out
			Ripping out stitch by stitch
			Ripping out row by row
	Chapter 8 Knitting in the Round
		Why Going in Circles Can Be a Good Thing
		Choosing Needles for Circular Knitting
		Casting On for Circular Knitting
		Joining the Round
			Joining on a circular needle
			Joining on double-pointed needles
			Tidying up the first and last stitches
		Working Common Stitches in the Round
		Using Steeks for a Clean Break
			Sewing in a steek
			Crocheting a steek
			Cutting your fabric after you steek
		Measuring Gauge in the Round
	Chapter 9 Practicing with Simple Projects
		Everywhere Bag in Garter Stitch
			Materials and vital statistics
			Directions
			Variations
		Bias Knit Scarf
			Materials and vital statistics
			Directions
			Variations
		Scalloped Scarf
			Materials and vital statistics
			Directions
			Variations
		Button Pillow
			Materials and vital statistics
			Directions
			Variations
		Mistake Rib Scarf and Fingerless Mitts
			Materials and vital statistics
			Scarf directions
			Fingerless mitts directions
			Variation
		Projects Knitted In the Round
			Simple Textured Cowl
			Two-way Hat
Part 3 Techniques for the More Experienced Knitter
	Chapter 10 Adding Interest with Stripes
		Seeking the Story on Stripes
		Textured Stripes, or How to Stand Out in a Crowd
			Reverse stockinette stitch stripes
			Garter stitch stripes
		Knitting Colorful Stripes
			Picking colors for your project
			Counting rows
			Joining colors
			Dealing with old colors and loose ends
		Knitting Stripes in the Round
		Stirring Up Stripes: Combining Texture and Color
			Varying your stitch pattern
			Making waves
			Striping any which way
		Practice Striped Projects
			Bold and Bright Scarf
			Slouchy Hat with Pompom
			Two-row Striped Shawlette
	Chapter 11 Cable Musings and Interesting Twists
		Cable Basics
			Twisting to the right or left
			Reading cable charts
			Checking gauge in a cable pattern
		A Cornucopia of Cables
			Standard (rope) cable
			Open cable
			Double cable
			Wave cable
			Chain cable
			Honeycomb cable
			Braid cable
			Varying a cable
		Making Twists
			Twisting to the right
			Twisting to the left
		Practice Cable Projects
			Cable Hat with Pompoms
			Horseshoe Cable Hand Warmers
			Horseshoe Cable Cowl with Buttons
	Chapter 12 Let the Sun Shine In: Knitting Lace
		Reading Lace Charts
			Yarn-over increase and decrease symbols
			No-stitch symbol
		Knitting Different Kinds of Lace
			Eyelet patterns
			Open lace patterns
			Faggot lace
		Incorporating Lace into Other Pieces
			Lace insertions
			Lace edgings
		Avoiding and Correcting Mistakes When Working Lace Patterns
			Finding the error
			Ripping out lace
		Blocking Lace
		Practice Lace Projects
			Scarf with Faggot Lace
			Lace Leaf Shawl
			Simple Eyelet Lace Market Bag
	Chapter 13 Fair Isle and Intarsia Techniques
		Knitting Fair Isle
			Charting the Fair Isles
			General rules for successful Fair Isle knitting
			One-handed or two? Ways to work Fair Isle
			Managing the back: Catching floats
		Painting with Yarn: Getting into Intarsia
			Charting intarsia
			Knitting intarsia
			Using intarsia in motifs
		Ending the Ends
			Weaving as you go: The quick method
			Weaving in later: The slow method
		Practice Projects
			Hit the Slopes Headband
			Fair Isle Leg Warmers
			Intarsia Tooth Fairy Pillow
	Chapter 14 Fulling Fun: Making Your Project’s Presence Felt
		Distinguishing between Fulling and Felting
		Creating the Right Conditions to Full Knitted Fabric
			Finding a fulling-friendly project
			Choosing your fiber
			Getting the right fabric gauge
			Controlling water temperature, soap, agitation, and time
		The Fulling Experience: How to Full
			Hand fulling
			Machine fulling
		Practice Fulling Projects
			Fulled Cabled Bag In-the-Round
			Fulled Scarf in Horseshoe Lace
Part 4 Making Knitted Garments
	Chapter 15 Anatomy of a Sweater Pattern
		Picture This: Studying the Garment Photo
		Assessing the Pattern at a Glance
			How hard is “easy”? Level of difficulty
			How big is “big”? Knitted measurements
			Materials
			Gauge
			Special pattern stitches
			Schematics and charts
			Knitting instructions
			Finishing
	Chapter 16 How to Knit a Sweater, Step by Step
		Gathering Your Materials
			A good pattern
			Yarn
			Knitting needles
			Other supplies to have handy
		Before You Cast On
			Step 1: Pick a size
			Step 2: Find your gauge
		Knitting . . . at Last!
			Knitting the back
			Knitting the front
			Putting the front and back together
			Knitting sleeves
		The Big Picture: Keeping Track of Where You Are
	Chapter 17 Getting It Together: Blocking and Assembling Your Pieces
		Tying Up Loose Ends
			Weaving ends up the sides
			Weaving the ends horizontally
			Weaving ends into a bound-off edge
		Better Blocking
			Getting your blocking equipment together
			Steam, dunk, or spray? Deciding which blocking method to use
			Wet blocking
			Spray blocking
			Steam blocking
			Three-dimensional blocking
		Basic Techniques for Joining Pieces
			Three-needle bind-off (head to head)
			Grafting stitches (the Kitchener stitch)
			Mattress stitch
			Sewing seams with backstitch
		Determining the Order of Sweater Assembly
			Joining back to front at the shoulder
			Attaching a sleeve to a sweater body
			Making side and sleeve seams
	Chapter 18 Finishing Touches: Neckbands, Edging, Buttonholes, and More
		Picking Up Stitches to Knit
			Picking up stitches along a horizontal edge
			Picking up stitches on a vertical edge
			Picking up stitches on a diagonal or curved edge
			Picking up: A reality check
		Bring on the Bands
			Bottoms up! Vertical bands
			Horizontal picked-up bands
		Hole in One: Buttonholes
			All-purpose horizontal buttonhole
			Simple vertical buttonhole
			Round (eyelet) buttonhole
		Button Up!
			Plotting button placement
			So happy together: Keeping your buttons buttoned
			Sewing on buttons
	Chapter 19 Starter Garments
		Women’s Easy Top-Down Raglan
			Materials and vital statistics
			Directions
			Finishing
		Baby’s Layette: Cardigan, Booties, Hat, and Blanket
			Cardigan
			Booties
			Hat
			Blanket
		Chunky Cabled Vest with Hood or Collar
			Materials and vital statistics
			Special stitches
			Stitch patterns
			Directions
			Finishing
			Option: Hood
			Option: Ribbed Collar
			Variations
Part 5 The Part of Tens
	Chapter 20 Ten Quick Knitting Projects and Gifts
		Large-Gauge Wrist Warmers
			Materials
			Directions
		Log Cabin Swatch Potholder
			Materials
			Directions
		Swatch Scarf
			Materials
			Directions
		Braided Novelty Yarn Scarf
			Materials
			Directions
		Knit Journal
			Materials
			Directions
		Recycled Sweater Mittens
			Materials
			Directions
		Thrift Store Sweater Bag
			Materials
			Directions
		Drink Cozy
			Materials
			Directions
		Felted Checkbook Cover
		Knitted Flower Pin
			Materials
			Directions
	Chapter 21 Ten Unkinking Exercises for Knitters
		Five Ways to Slough Stress from Your Shoulders and Arms
		Five Ways to Relax Your Hands and Wrists
Part 6 Appendixes
	Appendix A: More Stitches and Cool Effects
	Appendix B: Knitting Resources
Index
EULA