Knitting Patterns for Dummies.Pdf
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01_045565 ffirs.qxp 8/27/07 8:06 AM Page i Knitting Patterns FOR DUMmIES‰ by Kristi Porter 01_045565 ffirs.qxp 8/27/07 8:06 AM Page iv 01_045565 ffirs.qxp 8/27/07 8:06 AM Page i Knitting Patterns FOR DUMmIES‰ by Kristi Porter 01_045565 ffirs.qxp 8/27/07 8:06 AM Page ii Knitting Patterns For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2007934455 ISBN: 978-0-470-04556-5 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 01_045565 ffirs.qxp 8/27/07 8:06 AM Page iii About the Author Kristi Porter is an author, designer, technical editor, and teacher. In addition to authoring Knitting for Dogs, her work has been featured in the Knitgrrl series, the Big Girl Knits series, No Sheep For You, and Knit Wit. She is a frequent contributor to Knitty.com and has been a part of that online magazine since its start in 2002. Kristi doesn’t remember learning to knit as a child, but she captured the basics and an enthusiasm for the craft from her mother, her aunt, and her grandmother. She began her first projects as a designer and a knitter, realizing only later that not everyone designed their own patterns. Though her first attempts were boxy and oversized (thank goodness it was the ’80s!), once she grasped the importance of gauge, she was on her way to creating wearable designs. She began approaching the craft in a serious way in the late ’90s and learned how to read and write patterns in order to share her designs with others. As a knitting instructor, Kristi teaches students at all levels and ages. Getting feedback about what knitters want to knit, what they enjoy, and what they find difficult has given her a strong sense of what knitters need to know. She delights in helping her students create their own patterns to suit their own needs and senses of fashion. Kristi makes her home with her husband and two daughters in La Jolla, California. 01_045565 ffirs.qxp 8/27/07 8:06 AM Page iv 01_045565 ffirs.qxp 8/27/07 8:06 AM Page v Author’s Acknowledgments Creating a book is inevitably the work of many hands, and I am truly grateful to those who helped bring Knitting Patterns For Dummies into being. I am struck, in writing these acknowl- edgments, by how lucky I am to be doing a job that I love and to be surrounded by others who clearly love what they do. I am grateful to my husband, Leo Bleicher, and my daughters, Zoe and Ella, for their support and encouragement. Thanks to the helpful folks at Wiley: Lindsay Lefevere for getting the project started, Georgette Beatty for keeping things going, copy editor Jessica Smith, technical editor Mandy Moore, and everyone in Composition Services who helped bring this book to print. Thanks also to the great people at Kreber for the photos of all the projects. Special thanks to Cameron Taylor-Brown and the kind people at Schaefer Yarns, Cascade Yarns, Rowan, Westminster Fibers, Crystal Palace, Colinette, Unique Kolors, Curious Creek Fibers, and Berroco for providing yarn for these projects, as well as Moving Mud for the closures used in the photographs. Their support of this project is much appreciated. To my wonderful group of knitters who made undertaking this book conceivable . and pos- sible. It’s a delight to be able to thank them here, not only for their nimble fingers, but for their feedback on the patterns at all phases: Lacy Province, Donna Warnell, Joan Kass, Wannietta Prescod, Lisa McAllister, Laurie Weiss, Beth Wood, Irene Wetsman, Dawn Talbot, Linda Sellers, and Mary-Kay Tilden. And to Suzanne Pineau of Knitting in La Jolla, who has been unfailingly generous with her time, her counsel, her yarn, her knowledge, and, most of all, her unflagging enthusiasm. 01_045565 ffirs.qxp 8/27/07 8:06 AM Page vi Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Composition Services Project Editor: Georgette Beatty Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond Acquisitions Editor: Lindsay Sandman Lefevere Layout and Graphics: Karl Brandt, Laura Campbell, Copy Editor: Jessica Smith Carrie A. Foster, Brooke Graczyk, Denny Hager, Stephanie D. Jumper, Julie Trippetti, Technical Editor: Mandy Moore Christine Williams Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker Special Art: Photographs, Kreber/Mark Madden; Editorial Assistants: Erin Calligan Mooney, Joe Niesen, Art Direction, Kreber/LeeAnn Kolka; Leeann Harney Set Stylist, Kreber/Suzanne King Cover Photo: Photographs, Kreber/Mark Madden; Anniversary Logo Design: Richard Pacifico Art Direction, Kreber/LeeAnn Kolka; Proofreaders: Broccoli Information Management, Set Stylist, Kreber/Suzanne King Susan Moritz, Dwight Ramsey Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Indexer: Slivoskey Indexing Services Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 02_045565 ftoc.qxp 8/27/07 8:09 AM Page vii Contents at a Glance Introduction.................................................................................1 Part I: The Nuts and Bolts (or Sticks and String) of Knitting ..........7 Chapter 1: The Right Stuff: Knitting Supplies ...........................................................................................9 Chapter 2: Gauge Your Success................................................................................................................21 Chapter 3: Do You Measure Up? Size Matters.........................................................................................31 Chapter 4: Break the Code: Reading Patterns ........................................................................................37 Part II: A Primer on Stitches and Color ........................................47 Chapter 5: The Simplest Stitches .............................................................................................................49 Chapter 6: Stitches that Look