Colorwork Knitting

Colorwork Knitting
Gifted By: Stackpole Books
www.stackpolebooks.com
Reviewed by Madison Bowes, Editor, AllFreeKnitting.com

Knitting with color is intimidating. What if you don't like the colors you choose? What if you don't realize it until the project is finished? Colorwork Knitting by Sarah E. White helps you with everything, from deciding which of the 25 gorgeous patterns to work up to learning which colors complement each other, White has you covered.

On the first page of the book, it covers what most of us are afraid of: color matching. White lays out the basics for us; she explains primary, secondary, and tertiary colors as well as terminology such as hue and value. This wiped out any confusion about color you may have had when you started, and leaves you feeling confident to step out of a pattern's boundaries and get creative with your color choices. 

Sprinkled throughout the patterns are helpful tips. On page 23, the book discusses "Making Your Own Stripes" before delving into patterns that actually use this technique. I prefer this to the tutorials being bundled in the front or back section because this keeps your memory fresh. If the tutorials were bundled together, you would be forced to flip back and forth while reading, hindering the ease of use that a knitting book should provide.

My favorite part of this book isn't a pattern at all, but the visual index on the last few pages. I am a visual person, and when I look through a table of contents I find it difficult to choose a pattern I think sounds nice, because it might not be what I first imagined. With the visual index, I don't have to scour the book each time I want to find a pattern that looks perfect. This cuts out the disappointment of a pattern sounding great, and then not being what you are looking for. With 25 gorgeous photos of the patterns, you are sure to find plenty of projects to suit your needs, too.