Knitch Magazine

Title: Classic Knits
Author: Marianne Isager
Date Published: June 5, 2009

Who is this book for?

Marianne Isager’s first book, Knitting out of Africa (2005) introduced American knitters to the artistry of this Danish designer’s style. In her latest book, Classic Knits, Marianne shares the process behind her designs. Ms. Isager presents a collection of timeless garments along with instructions for learning techniques of knitting cables, slip stitch patterns, color stranding, chevron knitting, slip stitch, and more. This book is not just a book of patterns meant to be duplicated to the designer’s specifications; it is the thoughtful sharing of knowledge gained over years of experience and training in knitwear fashion and design. The adventurous knitter of any skill level can use Classic Knits to create dramatic garments and learn new skills to add to their knitting repertoire. Beginners and advanced knitters alike will appreciate the clear instructions and expert finishing details.

What yarns does it feature?

Marianne Isager urges knitters to use high quality materials to ensure a beautiful knitted garment. She achieves remarkable effects by skillful manipulation of fiber, texture, and color in her designs. So that knitters can duplicate the brilliance of her designs, Marianne Isager created a signature yarn line, and product information is included with each design, plus a list of US distributors in the appendix. However, any knitter can knit from their stash using the generic yarn requirements that list yarn weights, colors and yardage needed for each project.

What's inside?

Classic Knits features 25 patterns for children, men and women’s garments. All chapters include close-up photographs of garment or stitch details, and instructions for knitting a test swatch. Interspersed throughout the book are chapters devoted to techniques from measuring gauge and adjusting sizes, to knitting cables, intarsia knitting, short row shaping, and stranded two-color knitting. To achieve good fit with minimal finishing, many of the garments are constructed from the top down. Beginning with the foreword and including the introduction to each design, sidebar notes and technical advice, Marianne communicates directly to the reader, offering her expert insights and advice.

Using It

Classic Knits is rich with design details. Marianne Isager uses color, texture, fiber, and technique differently in each of her timeless designs. All this varied information is crisply presented in a uniform chapter format. Every chapter starts with a basic introduction to the design, which is shown in beautiful “fashion shots” with close-up detail pictures. Marianne includes swatch instructions for testing gauge, stitch, and pattern. The detailed schematic drawings, charts, and notes supplement the step-by-step instructions. The book is written with beginner to expert level knitters in mind, and all will find it easy to use.

Best Pattern (or Best Advice)

Recommendation

• Buy Classic Knits if you want classic, stylish designs to knit. Marianne Isager’s designs embody the timelessness and quality of couture designs. Choose from 25 classic projects for children, men and women.
• Buy Classic Knits if you want to design your own garments. By emulating the systematic process of sketching, testing and selecting yarns, choosing a technique, swatching for gauge, and planning construction for minimal finishing, you can design your own garments.
• Buy Classic Knits to learn new skills. Explore intarsia, knitting in the round, stranded two-color knitting, cables, and short-row shaping to name just a few techniques that are clearly explained.
• Buy Classic Knits for tips in professional finishing of your knitwear. The top-down construction methods preferred by Marianne Isager require minimal finishing and are easily adjusted to get the best fit.
• Buy Classic Knits for insight in adjusting size. The detailed discourse on adjusting sizes is supplemented with fitting tips in several chapters. Compare your measurements to the schematic and the model’s finished size provided with each project.
• Buy Classic Knits to learn how to manipulate color in your knitting. Study the beautiful photographs of finished garments and read through the yarn requirements, notes, and introduction in each chapter to gather suggestions from Marianne on how to use color in your knitting.
• Buy Classic Knits to learn how to combine fibers and explore how different fibers respond to different knitting techniques. Marianne combines multiple strands of different fibers to unique advantage in creating texture and drape for each project. Knit up a few gauge swatches in different fibers from your stash to test out her methods and invent your own.
• Buy Classic Knits to Buy Classic Knits to learn how to use swatches to achieve proper gauge and evaluate the final effect of your yarn color, and stitch choices.
• Buy Classic Knits to use up your stash. Many projects in this book utilize small amounts of color or fiber in the design.
• Buy Classic Knits as a gift for a knitter you love.

Overall Recommendation

Whether you find one or ten reasons to buy Classic Knits, this book deserves a #10 rating for the range of information and the instructional guidance you will get in a single volume.