The Knitter's Book of Wool

Clara Parkes' much anticipated new book, The Knitter's Book of Wool, is out, and it is every bit as wonderful as you hoped it would be.  I also have her Book of Yarn - I learned OODLES from that, and this book takes it one step further.

When I first heard what it was about I thought it would be a book aimed at spinners, but happily for me and everybody else who doesn't hear the siren song of the wheel, it is aimed at anybody who is interested in wool and in turn, the sheep it comes from.

Maybe you don't have an interest in where your wool comes from, but you have an interest in why different types of wools perform the way they do in a finished garment, this book will help you understand that too.

I now understand why yarn made from specific breeds is more expensive than generic yarn, and because of that I will be more willing to pay a premium price for those yarns in the future.

Here is a picture of locks of fleece from different breeds next to each other - no wonder they end up as completely different finished products!  

Personally, as an aside, BFL is one of my FAVORITE yarns to work with and it is the only type of yarn outside of merino that I am able to tolerate directly next to my skin.  (and now I know that it's a longwool with a demiluster shine)

Clara takes you from the sheep through the processing, so if you've ever been curious about the details of how the fleece gets turned into yarn you can read about it here.  After that she goes into details about specific breeds of sheep and what types of garments that yarn will be good (and bad) for.

Getting on to my favorite portion of the book, the patterns!  There are many lovely patterns in this book, mittens, a few hats, a family of sweaters, two cardigans, a handful of socks, a lace tee, and a few other things I probably missed.  For the most part all these patterns are accessible to beginner to intermediate knitters, but my favorite - as my obsessions have led me lately - are the shawls.  There are four, two stoles and two triangular shawls.  Two of them really caught my eye; first this triangular shawl by Evelyn Clark (Prarie Rose Lace Shawl) using sock yarn or doubled lace weight, perfect for a fingering weight that you can't bear to put on your feet.

And second, I fell hard for this Sivia Harding beaded stole, Tibetan Clouds.  It is shown here in Sundara Fingering Silky Merino, but there are many gorgeous fingering weights that could be used for a lower price point.  I have already investigated my stash and just need to order some beads to be able to start on this one.

What to knit, what to knit?  Too many gorgeous things to make and not enough time.  

One of the things I love about both of  her books is that Clara takes the time to tell you why the yarn shown in each particular pattern works for that pattern and what other things could be substituted, in some cases, like the Prarie Rose Lace Shawl, it is even shown in two different yarns so you can see the way the chosen yarn changes the finished project.

Bottom line:  Even if you don't care where your yarn comes from this book is worth it for the patterns alone.  (but I hope you do care, because I'm a big geek and think it's fascinating)

Disclaimer:  I did receive a complimentary copy of this book for review, but I would have loved it just as much if I'd paid full price for it.  

Comments

[Melanie]

I fully agree... it's such a lovely book! I paid full price and don't have any buyers' remorse. It was Clara's The Knitters' Book of Yarn that got me hooked to knitting in the first place (I received a copy as a b-day present from a knitting-obsessed friend), and I still consult it a lot. I'm sure I'll get as much use out of Clara's new book.

Also... I love your hat! It's finally convinced me that I needed to start with color work. Which size did you make it? I just happen to have the pattern book...

[Jocelyn]

I just bought this book the other day, and I can't wait to dig in! Great review :)

[Jodi]

Looks like a great book, and it's on my Amazon wishlist now!