New Knitting Books for Winter 2024
Winter 2024 has cast a chill over the knitting publishing industry, with notable magazines such as Pom Pom Quarterly bidding farewell, Interweave Knits transitioning to digital-only, and speculations surrounding the fate of Vogue Knitting.
It shouldn't then come as a surprise that the list of upcoming knitting books on Amazon is a little slimmer than usual. Weeding through a bunch of amigurumi books and a handful of guides intended for beginning knitters I found four new pattern books that piqued my interest. And a fifth one that's a repeat from last summer... Let's take a look!
Warm Weather, Cool Knits
The two books in this category are released on the same date but otherwise they're polar opposites of each other. One contains knitting patterns for summer months and warm climates; the other for cold winters and freezing weather of the far north.
Marie Green of Olive Knits has made an appearance on the blog before with her previous book, The Joy of Yarn. Now she's back with a new title, Knitting Light, that focuses on warm-weather knits made with plant fibers.
Now you don’t need to wait until winter to pull out your knits! Knitwear designer Marie Greene’s delightful collection of lightweight patterns using plant-based yarns are designed to keep you cool and fashionable―and show off your knitting prowess year-round. With a wide range of lace details, unexpected textures, and classic shapes, Marie’s well-crafted, top-down, and (mostly) seamless patterns are perfect for knitters of advanced-beginner and intermediate skill levels. You just have to decide what to cast on first!
With Marie’s expert advice, you’ll be able to find your perfect fit in sizes S through 6X and create new closet staples to last a lifetime. Even for knitters new to plant-based fibers, Marie’s practical tips and tricks make learning to knit with cotton, linen, hemp, and more as breezy as the tops you’ll create. Imagine taking a morning stroll on the beach wearing the laid-back Jasmine V-Neck Tee or matching the blooms in your backyard garden in the airy Magnolia Flutter Sides Top. With these light knits designed for warmer weather, you’ll be able to say "I made it myself" all year long.
Knitting Light: 20 Mostly Seamless Tops, Tees & More for Warm Weather Wear comes out on February 27, 2024, well in advance to start knitting your summer 2024 wardrobe.
Weichien Chan, who designs knitting patterns under the moniker thepetiteknitter (not to be confused with the Danish PetiteKnit), lives in the Canadian city of Iqaluit. The arctic tundra makes a chilling backdrop for her Instagram photos featuring colorwork knits meant to keep you warm in the cold winters of the extreme north. And that's the subject of her first knitting pattern book.
Combining Weichien's love for the outdoors and knitting, this book presents patterns for cozy sweaters, hats and more that will keep you warm and dry, no matter how far north you travel.
Simple, clean shapes ensure that pattern and color are at the forefront, creating modern yet timeless designs. Each project follows a pattern with a mitten, hat and scarf variation for a whole winter collection of accessories.
All the patterns are gender neutral and size inclusive with expert tips on finishing, as well as advice on color and selecting sustainable yarns, through inspirational photography, Arctic Knits offers a window on life at in the Arctic archipelago.
Arctic Knits: Jumpers, Socks, Mittens and More contains 15 never-before-seen patterns and is slated for release on February 27, 2024.
Socks, Socks, Socks
The next two sock-centric books promise a burst of color and creativity for your feet with designs inspired by distant locales and using techniques from all over the globe.
Summer Lee is well-known among both beginning and more experienced sock knitters: her colorful patterns have been knit thousands of times. The Sock Project is her first book and it focuses on — what else? — sock knitting.
Oklahoma native and proud member of the Muscogee-Creek Nation, Summer Lee shares her knitting secrets for creating all shapes and sizes of socks with dots, zigzags, stripes, and a near-neon palette of happy colors.
Sock projects are universally loved by knitters, but popular knitting creator Summer Lee has turned this favorite pastime topsy turvy with designs that feature the most electric colors and wow-patterns ever dreamt up. The Sock Project is a book for every crafter: beginners who want to learn, knitters who want to improve their sock skills, and anyone who wants to fill their knitting needles—and sock drawers—with jazzy colors and new designs.
The book is organized as a year-long masterclass in sock knitting, starting with sock sizing and knitting a basic sock. It then moves onto increasingly complicated techniques and stitch patterns: stripes, ribbing, lace, colorwork, and cables. The book contains 25 original sock patterns, 5 different heel constructions, and instructions for both cuff-down and toe-up socks.
Get your sock game on with The Sock Project: Colorful, Cool Socks to Knit and Show Off on February 13, 2024.
Finland is the promised land of sock knitters: here sock yarn is available in grocery stores in three weights (worsted, sport, fingering). The patterns of the sock guru Niina Laitinen are extremely popular. Now, she's poised for global renown with her latest book that draws design inspiration from cities and sights from all over the planet for the 20 sock patterns contained within.
This book contains 20 sock patterns inspired by places and cities around the world, drawing on ancient stories, memorable sights and fond memories of the author's own travels.
See the bright lights of Shanghai, enjoy the cherry blossom festival in Japan and experience the exhilarating cold of Antarctica. On the soft grass of the Scottish moors, spot a glistening dewdrop, while in Paris, sit down over a cup of coffee as you gaze at the Eiffel Tower. The sun setting against the Golden Gate Bridge, the precipitous landscape in which Germany’s castles are set and the parks of Amsterdam with their thousands of tulips appear before your eyes as you leaf through the pages of this book and knit its beautiful sock designs.
There's still time to put this one on your Christmas 2023 wish list! Knitted Socks: 20 gorgeous patterns inspired by places around the world will be released on December 19.
A Curious Case of Disappearing Mittens
This last book is a sort-of rerun from Summer 2023 that apparently never got released.
Motoko Ishikawa, known on Instagram as @mitten.ya, is a Japanese graphic designer who's been knitting since the tender age of 5. She first encountered Latvian mittens in 2007, started a mitten shop in 2011, and has now written an entire book about this traditional style of colorwork knitting. And I featured that book, Knitted Mittens from Latvia, in the June 2023 batch of new books; it was set to come out on September 1.
Fast forward six months and the book title and cover have been changed. Now called Knit Latvian Mittens, the book still carries the same description:
The book focuses on triangular mittens and features a variety of original traditional Latvian patterns, including forests, flowers, animals and snowflakes. As well as mittens, there are hand and leg warmers and other wearable items such as hats, scarves and neck warmers. The book includes detailed graphic instructions to help the reader master basic mittens with braid patterns and picot knitting on the cuffs. The patterns are shown in full colour, are easy to follow and will enable the reader to create exquisite pieces or knitwear.
On some book sites (including Amazon) Ishikawa's mitten guide comes with the subtitle 19 Projects with Traditional Latvian Patterns to Knit. The book cover, on the other hand, has the pattern count as 17. I don't know if this is simply a typo or whether there genuinely are two designs that, for whatever reason, got dropped from the final volume.
Knit Latvian Mittens: 17 Projects with Traditional Latvian Patterns to Knit is now set for release on January 1, 2024. And hopefully this time it actually sees the light of day.
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