The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques

This is my third knitting book on color theory and by far the best. The techniques are clear and the approach accessible to learners who are not all that visual (like me). Their are several techniques demonstrated in this book such as intarsia, modular knitting, shadow knitting, two color knitting and Fair Isle. They are all shown in beautiful color and the directions/instructions are clear and easy to follow. The color charts are great and the explanation of why certain colors complement one another is so helpful. This is by far the best book on color theory I own. I highly recommend this book for any knitter who knits with more than one color in a project.

This book is true to its title. I have rarely opened a knitting book that combines the basics in written and photographic form as clearly and completely as this book. Every time I thought, "I wonder if she covers this [thing]," that it was on a soon-following page. And not only are simple clothing patterns included using the color ideas and theory, but also the techniques clearly illustrated to effect them. This means: basics, color theory, stitch patterns, geometry, solid and multi-color yarns, flat and circular knitting (and implications), modular knitting and finishing. Even an overview of garment design, double knitting and embellishes. And she includes a deep bibliography, so if one thinks hers is a beginner course, she presents the keys to go deeper. [And right from the beginning she culls the theory-idea basics from among Itten to Melville and Menz.] I recommend this book as a good addition to a knitting and design bookshelf.

I really think this book covers just about everything there is to do with color knitting. It contains basic color theory, and then goes into all the various ways to knit with color. There are chapters on stripes, using variegated yarns (one of my favorites), stranded knitting, intarsia, and other lesser known methods (helix, shadow, mosaic and modular knitting.) She even includes a chapter of finishing touches, which is a prize in itself. The pictures are beautiful. The book has a nice clean uncluttered look, with plenty of examples of what she is talking about. It even contains a handful of cute patterns to try out some of the methods she writes about. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in color or expanding their knitting skills.

Wow. This book was even better than I expected. I received a promo on it last summer and I've been eagerly awaiting it ever since. To begin with, The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques is an amazing reference on more types of knitting in color than I knew existed. I expected something on stranded (Fair Isle), Intarsia and Mosaic knitting because these were featured in the promo, and if they were all that were covered I would have been happy. But those techniques don't account for even half of what is packed into this book. Margaret Radcliffe begins this hardback, beautifully photographed tome with a chapter on "Color Basics," a yarn-oriented color theory that I can't wait to investigate thoroughly. The next chapter addresses stripes: not just your humble stripe but patterns and approaches that open up a world of possibilities. The third chapter features pattern stitches using more than one color, and the fourth focuses on the pleasures and challenges of using multicolor yarns. Margaret investigates and explains stranded knitting in Chapter Five and Intarsia in Chapter six. "Other Techniques,"(Chapter seven) deals with Helix, Shadow, Mosaic, Twined, Double, Modular, and Enterlac Knitting, each covered briefly but thoroughly and documented with lots of photos. But, wait, we're not finished. In Chapter Eight, Margaret gives us a bounty of "Finishing Touches" including edging and I-cords techniques. Chapter Nine adds ideas on designing to start you off on your own creations, and the book is capped off with an appendix with a nice graphic glossary of techniques, tips on using charts, sizing guidelines, and something I always appreciate, a nice bibliography of further books to explore on each chapter. As stated in the title, this is a technique book, but most chapters include a pattern or two with simple construction that allows the color technique to take center stage. This book would be valuable to the beginner and advanced knitter alike. Packed with information, beautiful to look at, clearly and well written and a good value. What more can you want? Kudos to Margaret Radcliffe and to everyone who helped with this book.

I'm not given to superlatives in writing reviews, but this is the best overall book on color knitting techniques that I've seen. There are a lot of good books on various types of colorwork, and most general knitting references give basic instructions. But I haven't seen anything before that covers the range of color techniques as well as this one does. Basic color theory, Fair Isle (stranded) knitting, intarsia, stripes, slip stitch knitting, shadow knitting, entrelac, twined knitting,and more--it's all here, plus stitch patterns and even a few designs. Radcliffe's explanations are great, and the many illustrations make them even better. But this technical information is only part of what makes "The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques" so good. Knowing how to combine color, yarn, and design does not come easily to all knitters--some, myself included, hardly know where to start. Radcliffe tries to demystify the process by showing the kinds of effects that can be achieved by using different stitches and different yarn combinations. She varies the yarns she uses throughout the book, but within each grouping she keeps them the same. This makes it very easy to see the interplay of color, yarn and stitch, and how changes in one changes the effect of the knitting. She provides an excellent discussion of the multicolor yarns that are currently popular, complete with pictures of how the same yarns look when worked up in different ways. The last sections of the book include information on how to work color into various kinds of edges and finishes and a general discussion of design.