The Art of Knitting: Inspirational Stitches, Textures and Surfaces

by Françoise Tellier-Loumagne and Sandy Black

Francoise Tellier-Loumagne has taught textile and knit design in France for more than thirty years. Drawing on her experience as teacher and practitioner, she has assembled a creative and inventive overview of stitches and fabrics, both hand-knitted and machine-made, presenting hundreds of sumptuous ways of working with yarn, from silk thread to Shetland wool. Other books propose patterns to copy; this book uses basic patterns as points of departure,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0500285578
• ISBN13: 9780500285572
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 3.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 9.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

An in-depth exploration of knit textures.

This extraordinary book could keep you inspired and busy for a long time. Each page offers an array of sophisticated techniques doable either by hand or on a knitting machine. A perennial reference book and a must have for designers. Warning: not for beginners, who will get utterly lost.

Inspirational

I loved how she connects natural objects with knitting--makes a great connection to how you can gain inspiration around you and translate it into knitting. I'm a machine knitter and this is one of the few books that properly addresses the techniques of machine knitting. For handknitters, this might be a bit disappointing if you are looking for techniques. A few times the author even says, "can't be done with hand knitting"--so be forewarned. If you don't need technique or have other books on technique this will be a great asset. I love to sit around and just look at the beautiful pictures--very inspiring.

Even the most experienced knitter will find plenty of new concepts to learn

An unusual organization by fabric types, from knits to openwork and ribbed fabric, offers the first clue that The Art Of Knitting: Inspirational Stitches, Textures And Surfaces is not your average knitter's project handbook. Another clue: over 600 color illustrations along with hundreds of diagrams to gather representative samples of hundreds of ways of working with different types of wools. Patterns serve as the point here, encouraging knitters to move beyond to experiment with techniques based on the nature of the fabric. Stitches are matched to textile properties and different yarns encourage unique yarn combinations and knitting techniques. Even the most experienced knitter will find plenty of new concepts to learn in The Art Of Knitting.

More than a knitter's coffee table book

I was absolutely amazed at the photography and its merging with the knitted structure; truly a work of art! With the explosion of knitting books (of questionable quality) on the market lately, this is a breath of fresh air. One doesn't have to be a "machine knitter" to appreciate this book. The structure diagrams of the particular stitches would also be helpful to an advanced handknitter who doesn't need/want cookbook instructions.

Visually Stunning

This book is beautiful. Even if you don't knit, the stunning photographs take knitting and photography to a completely different level. If you do knit, most of the techniques are based on the machine knitter, however, most of the charts also work for hand knitting. Most of the uncharted techniques and stitches can be easily figured out by the advanced hand knitter. This is not a book of patterns or a stitch library, but a book of inspiration, to get your creative juices flowing. The entire staff of my yarn shop fought over who got to buy it!