First Book of Modern Lace Knitting: By Means of Natural Selection

This book is full of beautiful patterns with the great detailing that make lace knitting so enjoyable. Some of the book is not written out line by line, the patterns are adaptable and flexible. If you are looking for a great resource book with patterns that will get your mind working, this is the book for you. If you're wanting straight patterns to follow then you might want to pass this one up for now. Definitely a great addition to any lace knitters library.

This is a collection of exquisite knitted lace designs by Marianne Kinzel. The patterns are in very fine thread lace and mostly use knitting needle sizes around 2.00 mm or finer. The sizes of the pieces range from doilies to tablecloths and bedspreads and every lace knitter should have this book and Book 2 in her collection.

I adore this book. It isn't hard to find lace patterns where I live (Europe) We have issues of knitted lace patterns on the newstands everywhere. But these patterns are just, well, WOW. The floral centers of the round knits are much more "realistic" and beautiful than the average doily. Now, you can make doilies and tablecloths if you like from these patterns, but you can also make them in a fine laceweight wool yarn and have a shawl that is absolutely stunning. The cover picture pattern actually would make an incredible wedding veil/shawl from very fine silk or merino wool yarn. And a baby christening blanket from one of these patterns would become a family heirloom (I've given handknitted gifts to my friends with new babies, and one of them washed the item and shrink-wrapped it so his son will have it when he grows up.)This is NOT a book for beginners; if you haven't done lace knitting before, you should probably start with another book (I like Martha Waterman's book on lace shawls.) But after you get the hang of knitting lace, this book will feed the lace fever. It is a treasure.

This is a concise, yet thorough explanation of what the author calls "modern" lace knitting. (She contrasts "modern" with the very elaborate lace of previous centuries.) All of the patterns are stunningly beautiful, and not very difficult (as lace knitting goes). The patterns are primarily for doilies and tablecloths; there is also one set of curtains and a bedspread. They could pretty easily be adapted for other purposes, and she gives some guidelines for doing so. Certainly any of the larger ones could be used for shawls. I highly recommend this gem if you have any interest in lace knitting. (Can't wait to get her second book, too!) Thanks to Dover for continuing to publish these treasures!