The main reason I decided to start off my blog by reviewing the fiber books I already own was so I could revisit what I already have and find a new appreciation. And buy more. I’d be lying if I said Folk Vests wasn’t on its way to me. Can’t believe I don’t already own it. Can you tell I like that series? I know it’s subtle.
This book is a rare gem. Written by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts and Deborah Robson, it could keep a knitter in sweaters and jackets for the rest of their life. The sheer volume of information in it reminds me of Elizabeth Zimmerman’s work (more on her later). This book teaches you think of knitting sweaters in an organic way and consider the whole piece as you’re knitting it, and not think of it as a pattern you’re following line-by-line. It builds on the percentage system where the largest number of stitches (the widest part of the finished piece) is 100% and the other percentages for sleeves and whatnot are based off that 100% number.
There are the usual sections on fiber, increasing, decreasing, cables, and colorwork but then we get to the real stars, the plans. There are 15 basic sweater plans in my version (not sure how many there were in the first version). It starts with what the authors call a ‘basic blouse’ with boxy rectangles with a clever seam on the sides using the purl stitch to create a raised vertical line,.
The other plans demonstrate a change in construction starting at the basic blouse, morphing from plan to plan until you arrive at a fully shaped sweater with knitted cap sleeves.
Once you move on from this section the book describes how to create different necklines and adding front bands to make cardigans. We then get to the large section on ethnic sweaters, vests, and cardigans that carries us through the rest of the book. Each chapter within this section addresses a different technique like colorwork, cables, and intarsia and gives you examples of sweaters developed using those patterns, like the Icelandic stranded yolk sweater included in the colorwork section.
The patterns aren’t written line-by-line, which is rather the point because the book is all about teaching you how to think organically about your knitting therefore in the ‘old way’.
I will eventually review one a book that I don’t spend the whole post gushing over, but today is not that day.
Knitting in the Old Way is an invaluable addition to any knitter’s library.