Lily Chin's Knitting Tips & Tricks: Shortcuts and Techniques Every Knitter Should Know

Very nice job crafting this book. It is the perfect size for knitters to tuck into their knitting bag. Despite its small size, it is packed with information and clear illustrations. The information it contains is quite detailed and thorough. I also like that there is an index in the back.

I have a lot of knitting books, but I haven't finished a lot of projects because I am clueless about a lot of things. I had no idea you should reel out some extra yarn when you cast on in order to give you yardage to seam things! I was so delighted to be able to start a center pull skein without pulling out a big chunk using her hints. Totally worth the small expense for the book. I'd like to see more techique books by Lily.

This book is great. I honestly have no books by Lily Chin. But when I purchased this book I was amazed. The book is down to earth, like Lily Chin herself and offers alot of short cuts and good advice. If you are a novice knitter or a long time veteran you will still be surprised by the great simple tips and tricks she offers using everyday items. This book is well worth the price and a must have item for any knitter. Its small and convenient and fits right in your knitting bag. I really like the idea of using clothes pins to hold down your cast on row when you are trying to join the first row on a circular needle. Not only is it helpful but its a really great read. Buy it. Believe me, you need it and you will enjoy it.

I consider myself a very well read knitter. And my bookshelf will attest to that proclamation. There are many tips and tricks in this book that I have never seen written anywhere else. Some of them I already knew from personal experience, but many many more were new to me. I'm really glad Lily wrote this book. I think it is useful for knitters at a lot of different levels.

Knitters who have been around for a while know that Lily Chin is a prolific technical innovator and has a gift for expressing information exceptionally clearly. And so I am thrilled to see what I hope are the first of Lily's technique-sharing books (she has written Crochet Tips & Tricks as well). I am a very advanced knitter; I write knitting books and teach unusual knitting techniques to hundreds of clever knitters every year, but I knew I would learn something new and valuable when I opened Lily's book. And I did. Not to give away Lily's secrets, but I want to make my point: Page 74: A 6-inch square swatch will not behave like a 6-inch section of a garment, because the swatch weighs so little that gravity doesn't tug at it. But that same 6-inch section of a garment has the entire garment's weight pulling at it, lengthening and narrowing the gauge. What's a knitter to do? Lily has you weigh the 6-inch swatch, then use a scale (at the grocery if need be) to weigh out 3 times the swatch's weight in clothespins, brooches, or earrings. Attach these as weights to the bottom edge of the swatch, pin the swatch up by the top edge, and let it sit for a few hours. Then measure the gauge of the swatch, which now reveals how a 24-inch (sweater length) garment will really behave. Practical, ingenious, and life-saving. page 115: I am very fond of spit-splicing, a roll-in-your-palm technique that can be used on any yarns that will felt, but what if you are using a yarn that doesn't felt? There are various methods (and Lily shares several in this section) but here's one I had never heard of nor had any idea could be done: needle-felting non-animal fibers as a splicing technique. I can't wait to try it. This tidy fit-in-your-knitting-bag book will see you through most knitting situations, and would be a fine first reference book for new to intermediate knitters, although it has plenty of nifty technical tips for advanced knitters as well. In other words, this book will add to the education of just about any knitter.