Barbara Abbey

A dictionary of knitting stitches. If I had to chose just one knitting book to take with me to a deserted island, this would be the one. I own several stitch dictionaries, including Barbara G. Walker's Treasury set, but this is the one I use more than any other. If I could take two books with me, it would be this one and Walker's Knitting from the Top. And a notebook. And graph paper -- all stitch patterns are in written form, and it is often helpful to convert them to charted form, to see show more how it all fits together. show less

This is an excellent reference book which covers all the basics and more. Well written and illustrated instructions for casting on, binding off, how to knit and purl.

This is the first knitting book I ever had. It's also the most useful one. It really is the complete book of knitting and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

My grandmother gave me this book for Christmas in 2003 after I told her I wanted to learn how to knit. It was my favorite present that year, along with the knitting supplies she included. This book has lots of info on getting started -- equipment, yarn, basics of casting on, different stitches, and how to finish your different projects.