An excellent resource for as-you-knit, The Knitters Dictionary offers comprehension beyond a total newbie's needs, yet enough for experienced knitters to learn something new.

My only complaint? There are no clickable links in the version I was given access to (Kindle, pre-access, thank you NetGalley and the publishers). As an avid knitter, I'd need the clickable links to get to where I need to quickly and easily.

Otherwise? I wholeheartedly recommend this book and will likely buy a copy for my travels. ( )

This is a nice compact hardcover resource for knitters. The cover is simple, yet elegant. I like how the terms are defined and the stitches explained.
I believe this is a must have for beginner and more experienced knitters alike. I think it would make a nice gift, too, as the book is nicely compiled.
For anyone beginning, the explanations are clear and easy to follow. For those knitters with more experience, it is still a very good reference. Everyone can always learn a little something, no matter how old you are.
I plan to refer to this, as I have been trying to knit for some time, and I forget what to do in between the times I pick up my knitting needles.
I am very pleased with this little volume! Thanks to Bookish First for a free Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.
#TheKnittersDictionary #Kate Atherley #BookishFirst ( )

A help but not enough

Ms Atherly has written a guide to help knitters understand the vocabulary of yarn, garments, and the written instructions that accompany a knitted design. Is it useful? Yes. Is it useful enough? I don't think so.

"The Knitter's Dictionary" is a short book, expanded by lots of micro entries and some largish drawings that I thought might not have been needed. It includes a handful of knitters slang words that I did not know because I do not frequent knitting websites.

While I think some of the drawings are unneeded, I wanted some drawings of techniques that I did not understand from the entry – W&T for example. Wrap and Turn is used to close the gap in short rows. I don't remember ever needing such a technique and when trying to picture it in my head, I didn't get it at all. Drawing please.

Bottom line here is that while I think you will learn from this book, I don't really think you need it. The same information is available in the patterns them selves supplemented by online research.

I received a review copy of "The Knitter's Dictionary: Knitting Know-How from A to Z" by Kate Atherley (F+W Media, Interweave) through NetGalley.com. ( )

I'm sorry to say that I was disappointed by this book - while the information is good, the organization is not, and organization is everything with a reference text. I could not determine the logic behind what topics were grouped and which ones were listed under their own titles (for example, all increases and decreases are under "Increase" and "Decrease" respectively, but cast-ons and bind-offs are listed under their individual names). Some items that refer to a lengthier entry have at least a little explanation attached to them; others have nothing. Trying to look something up in this book while in the middle of a project would be an exercise in frustration. The illustrations are good and as clear as black and white line drawing illustrations can be, although the choice of which terms to illustrate was baffling to me sometimes (at least that's a dictionary standard). Overall an excellent concept but not an ideal execution. ( )

Thank you to Netgalley, Interweave, and Kate Atherley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.

Kate Atherley is well known in the knitter world. She has written several books and published lots of patterns, many of them found on Knitty, where she is the managing technical editor. As a mathematician, her patterns have lots of detail and are very well written.

This is a small but comprehensive book to help knitters understand patterns. If you find the language of patterns difficult, this would be a helpful reference. Some knitters love to design their own patterns, making it up as they go along. I, unfortunately, am not that kind of knitter. I have always relied on patterns. I was lucky that I never had a hard time understanding them. They always, sort of, made sense to me. Even the trickiest patterns I could decipher. For me, I didn’t find this collection outstanding. I think the you can find this information in other places. However, it is nice to have it one collection, for ease of use and reference for future projects. It is well written with lots of good tips.

A bit of a take it or leave it to me. If you think this would be useful for you, then I recommend. If it isn’t much of an issue for you, or you have other reference books (or don’t mind looking things up on the internet), I would pass on this one. ( )