Patty Lyons' Knitting Bag of Tricks: Book Review
You KNow I love Knitting Reference books
So I was delighted with the chance to review Patty Lyons’ book that’s just packed full of useful tips and techniques. There is so much in this book that I’ll admit right up front that I haven’t looked at everything. But wow, just flipping through I came away with gem after gem. Knitters, I really think you’re going to get a lot out of this book!
A book cover in bold shades of navy blue, red, and yellow with a ball of yarn stuck through with two yellow knitting needles. The text reads, “Patty Lyons’ Knitting Bag of Tricks: Over 70 Sanity Saving Hacks for Better Knitting With illustrations by Franklin Habit.”
What kind of tricks?
When Patty says there are, “Over 70 Sanity Saving Hacks for Better Knitting” in the book, she’s talking about very clear, illustrated technique guides that can be used for those little points of frustration in knitting like, “Why is my bind-off weird at the end?” and, “How can I get a smoother neckline?” As a pretty seasoned knitter, I’ve run across a lot of different knitting techniques over the years, but I found myself opening to a random page and thinking, “Oh, that’s so smart! I never thought of that!” And I think you will too.
Here are just a few treasures that I came across while literally flipping through this book.
How to avoid that annoying unevenness at the beginning of a mattress stitch seam. This is wonderful because I adore seamed garments, but hate that it can be such a struggle to get started. I hadn’t ever seen this technique before and will definitely try it on my next sweater (that I’m knitting right now!)
How to do short row shaping in different ways. As you grow as a knitter, having different options for short rows is so helpful. It means you can do the knitting how you like rather than just following the pattern exactly.
The most thorough discussion of swatching and gauge I’ve ever seen. This topic is foundational to project results!
How to set up your pins and blocking board before you even lay your project piece down. This method looks like a very easy way to get project pieces to match the schematic. So smart!
Some of the sections are more involved and some of them are just tiny little adjustments that make a huge difference. Wherever you are in your knitting journey, there’s definitely something here to make you think.
A stylized book page in green, black, and white that reads, “When you feel at loose ends weave them in and keep knitting.” Andrea’s hand is blurred out holding the book open at the bottom.
What else makes it great?
Not only are the tricks clever and helpful, but the book itself was clearly designed in a super thoughtful way to make the experience of using it as easy as possible.
The spine has some kind of magic where the pages stay open. I don’t know how this works, but it does! You can just open the book and lay it flat so you can follow the tutorial while you knit and not have to keep holding the book open or set a potted plant on it. Amazing.
The illustrations are extremely clear, with colour used to show technique and black/grey/white illustrations to clearly show the background fabric.
Along with the illustrations, there are also companion photos to show examples that are easier to understand when presented that way. For me, that definitely helped it relate to my own knitting projects.
Each chapter starts with, “Words of Wisdom” that encapsulate the idea of that section and a lot of them gave me a little chuckle.
Cute orange illustrations on a page show groups three groups of people. The first group are holding together in a group hug, the second shows folks with linked arms, and the third has them spread out so their fingertips are touching. Text reads, “Tight, (ow!)”, “Nice,” and “Loose.”
Illustrations
There’s a lot of great stuff in this book, but I have make sure you also saw that illustrator credit on the front cover: Franklin Habit. So many years ago, I got to be at a Seattle Knitters’ Guild talk that Franklin did and it was hilarious. His drawings are charming, funny, cute, and informative. They make the book a lot of fun!
Fan-Girl Conclusion
This book is a treasure that I think every knitter will want on their book shelf. I’ll bet that the next time you’re knitting and you come across something that annoys you, Patty will have something to say about it. (Check the index in the back to find where she addresses your situation.)
Patty is a great knitting educator who has taught so many students that she knows what folks are wondering about! What a treat that we get to peek into her brain with this clever book.
Longtime followers maybe remember me recommending Anna Zilboorg’s “Knitting for Anarchists,” a book that was a revelation to me as a new knitter. If you’re with me and loved that book, you’re going to love Patty Lyons’ Knitting Bag of Tricks too! If you’ve never read “Knitting for Anarchists”, do yourself a favour and buy both books together. Your knitting tool box will grow exponentially!
Don’t forget to ask for them at your local yarn or book shop. Amazon is okay, but I can’t miss an opportunity to encourage support for small businesses!
And P.S. while you’re at it, you can pre-order my upcoming stitch dictionary, KnitOvation!
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