Knitting Books for New Knitters

Every knitter, no matter the skill level, needs a good guide to help decipher some of the knitting terms you're sure to find in every pattern and instruction book out there. KnitSpeak is a small, portable book chock-full of knitting information that you'll want to keep beside you whenever you work as a new knitter, and you'll probably want to keep it handy later in your knitting career, too.

Knitters new and more experienced alike make mistakes. That's just part of the challenge. A book that can help guide you through fixing those mistakes is worthwhile for the sake of your sanity and getting through fixes with less frustration than you might otherwise. This book is great because it has a coiled, lie-flat binding so it will stay open as you fix your knitting nightmare.

Another good book in the mistake fixing genre, this one spends a lot of time talking about things you can do before you start knitting to make sure your project is a success, from choosing a good pattern and yarn to work with to building a good knitter's tool kit before you get started.

Barbara Walker's collections of knitting stitch patterns are amazingly inspirational. For new knitters they are able to illustrate many of the wonderful things that can be done with a few basic stitches and techniques. For knitters of all skill levels looking through the pages can inspire a project that's a lot more interesting than just basic Stockinette.

Understanding the raw materials of your craft allow you to take your knitting in many new directions. Clara Parkes is a master at dissecting yarn and different fibers, explaining to us the differences, strengths and weaknesses of different choices. The book also includes many lovely patterns to help you show off each fiber type to its fullest.

If you have a little one to knit for, these projects are really cute and easy even for new knitters. There are clothing projects but also home comforts for kids, which aren't often seen in knitting books, but are great for beginners because they usually don't have to be an exact size. The book has no real knitting instruction, but the patterns are great.

For teens who want to learn to knit, or older people who want to knit for teens, the Knit Grrl books are useful and a lot of fun. Full of lots of easy patterns, tips and instructions, these patterns take you through basic shapes, felting, seaming, colorwork and more.

Most knitters start out knitting scarves because they're a really basic shape but you can do a lot with them. Melissa Leapman takes knitters who are ready to knit something else through a bunch of lessons and patterns that will make them into more confident knitters with a lot of fun knits that aren't scarves to show for all their work.

While this book is geared toward baby boomer knitters who might have experienced knitting earlier in their lives but gave it up for other pursuits when they were younger, this book is a good education in how and what to knit for knitters of all ages and skill levels. The projects aren't that trendy but they're good staples that will help teach you the basics and beyond.

Circular knitting is intimidating to a lot of new knitters because they've just mastered working flat and don't really want to throw in another layer of difficulty. But for those ready to begin knitting tubes, this book is a good guide with 10 patterns to help build your confidence working in the round.