Gift help: Knitting Book & Circular Needles...

[LarlaB]

Any suggestions on a beginner level Knitting book that includes patterns using circular needles (specifically socks, hats...)? I want to get a book to go w/ the circular needles for my mom, but haven't found one yet.

 

Thought I'd ask. :)

[LarlaB]

This is my last Christmas gift to buy!!!! Anyone? :tongue_smilie:

[BlsdMama]

Addis are the best, but Knit Picks has great needles. I'd get cables with interchangeables because you use a ton of sizes, but I doubt that you would want to buy a whole set. You could just get a set of two cables with a size or two. You'd find these at Knit Picks. Interchangeables mean that the cable (the circular part) has little screw ends and the needles screw on and off so that you can change out the sizes.

 

I actually knitted a sock as my third project using this book:

 

http://www.amazon.com/2-at---Time-Socks-Revealed-Knitting/dp/1580176917/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292428762&sr=8-1

 

And, for goodness' sakes, I learned to knit from YouTube, so it must be fairly easy, lol. It uses a technique called Magic Looping with a super long cable. I like LOONG cables because it allows me to make small projects without having to resort to using something awful like double pointed needles.

 

This seems to be a very popular book as well but I've not read it. It has great reviews though:

http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Knitting-Socks/dp/1596680296/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292428781&sr=1-1

[LarlaB]

I was thinking about an interchangeable set, but I'm not certain that it would be worth the cost. I just found this set on Amazon- a variety of sizes, in bamboo (which I know she likes) for only $20 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001YI0MIC/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A3B94LN4HU9F7O.

 

(I learned to knit w/ online tutorials as well-LOL, but my mom has dial up internet and a strong aversion to computers)

 

Thanks for the book suggestions-

 

I am looking at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931499047/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER and http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157120427X/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[Cinder]

The thing that makes Knit Picks fans so ga-ga is that the cables on the circs are so supple. This makes the magic loop technique much easier because of how you have to manipulate the cable.

 

The Getting Started Knitting Socks book is a good tutorial, but it doesn't teach how to do magic loop. I have very little experience with ML (I'm a dpn gal) so I can't advise you as to the best resources.

 

Your first book choice--Handy Book of Patterns--is, I think, a standard. I don't have it, though, so I can't say how good it is. I'm not familiar with your second book choice.

 

Instead of getting the whole interchangeable set, you might just go with some of the more common size tips and cables for the projects you want. For worsted weight hats, US6 and 7 with a 24 or 36" cable. For socks, it would depend on weight of yarn and if you want to ML one sock at a time or two at a time. And the sock size circs do not come in any interchangeable sets--they're all set-in. (That for the Knit Picks needles, I mean.)

 

HTH some.

Edited December 15, 2010 by Cinder
clarification