At the Designer's Desk

Even if you're not interested in designing your own knits, it can be fun to peek into the world of a knitting designer and see what she thinks about when she's designing and why she makes the choices she does. Debbie Bliss' new book Design It, Knit It allows readers to do just that, as well as providing 15 classic patterns that will deepen your knowledge of the concepts explained in the text.

Rather than being a nuts and bolts how to design book, this book covers more of the thought processes a designer might go through as she tries different things and decides what elements are needed to add interest or make a piece fit better. Example swatches that illustrate various concepts are included, as well as the projects themselves, which help illuminate the ideas the book explores.

This book is quite inspirational and educational to people who are interested in design, but even if you've never designed a sweater before you're likely to learn something about why a designer might have made a particular choice in a design that can make your knitting experience that much richer.