Every year there are more knitting books published than any sane person can keep up with, and it's difficult to tell at a glance or even from online reviews at a bookstore which books are going to be ones that you'll enjoy and get a lot of use out of.
This list of the best knitting books of 2010 is purely the opinion of your Guide to Knitting, Sarah E. White. Other people's lists are sure to contain other books, but for me, these are some of the most useful, educational, pretty and fun knitting books that were published in 2010.
60 Quick Knits
Sixth & Spring Books.
Cascade 220 is a favorite of many knitters because it's a good quality yarn and a great yardage at a resaonable price. If you've been looking for projects to knit with Cascade 220, 60 Quick Knits has plenty of great options for hats, scarves and mittens all worked with this yarn.
Around the World in Knitted Socks
Interweave Press.
Different knitting styles and techniques have taken root in different countries and regions around the world, from the colorful Turkish toe-up kilim-style socks to Fair Isle knitting in Scotland. Stephanie van der Linden presents 26 pairs of socks inspired by different parts of the world, including a basic sock embellished with embroidery to represent Japan and a tone-on-tone pattern for Morocco.
Color Knitting the Easy Way
Potter Craft.
Melissa Leapman wants everyone to enjoy the fun of color knitting, and she published two books in 2010 on the subject. The first, Color Knitting the Easy Way, looks at knitting stripes and using slip stitches to make knitting look much more complex than it is. In either technique, you're only working with one color of yarn at a time, but the results can look a lot more interesting than that simplicity would suggest.
Cowl Girls
Sixth & Spring Books.
If you love cowls, snoods, infinity scarves, knit necklaces and other fancy things to knit around your neck, you'l love Cathy Carron's Cowl Girls. The book includes 41 such projects, many of which are worked in bulky yarn so you can knit up a neck warmer in no time.
Gifted
Interweave Press.
If you're the type of person who loves to knit and crochet gifts for everyone on your list, Gifted should be one gift you give to yourself. Mags Kandis offers gifts for body and soul, for babies, men and women, even some food gifts like hot chocolate mix and ginger syryp. It's easy to find something special for every someone special in this fun collection.
Knitting Block by Block
Potter Craft.
Most people don't think of squares as being that exciting to knit, but leave it to Nicky Epstein to see a wealth of design possibilities in this humble shape. Adding pattern stitches, embellishments, colorwork and other fun skills to squares makes for an eye-opening book that also includes 13 patterns using blocks of different sizes to get you thinking inside the box.
Knitting Green
Interweave Press.
A lot of us are thinking more about sustainability and how our choices affect the health of the planet and other creatures on it, and that mindfullness doesn't have to stop when we pick up our knitting needles. Knitting Green has 20 patterns for items from bags to tops made with sustainable, organic and naturally colored yarns, as well as essays from fiber pros about what sustainable knitting means to them.
Mastering Color Knitting
Potter Craft.
Melissa Leapman's second book on color knitting to be released in 2010, Mastering Color Knitting, covers the more advanced but still not difficult topics of stranded knitting, intarsia and double knitting, three great ways to add color, pattern and design to projects. After covering the basics of the techniques she offers tons of sample swatches you can use in your own designs as well as 12 projects for trying out the different methods.
More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Stewart, Tabori & Chang.
It seems like every knitter spends a lot of her or his time knitting gifts, but sometimes a holiday or gift-giving occasion creeps up on you and you need to whip up something fast that doesn't look like you threw it together in the week before the event. Joelle Hoverson shares a lot of great ideas, all rated according to how much knitting time is needed, in her second book on quick-knit gifts.
New England Knits
Interweave Press.
There's something about New England that is inspiring to artists of all sorts, and knitters can certainly draw inspiration from the region's beaches, farms and country towns as well as painters and musicians long have. New England natives Cecily Glowick MacDonald and Melissa LaBarre teamed up with other knitters from the region to produce this lovely book of 25 patterns perfect for cozy winter days inside, apple picking in the fall and cool spring and summer evenings.
