Loom Knitting Primer: A Beginner's Guide to Knitting on a Loom, with Over 30 Fun Projects (No-Needle Knits)

A great book but skip over pages 8-11 and read them later. They don't belong at the beginning. 8&9 are a summary of the early history of looming and 10&11 are a glossary that uses terms not yet known at that point.PG 12-13. Besides this being a grammar problem it makes no sense to me. Regardless of which loom I'm using I hold it with the left pinky, ring and index fingers while using the index finger and thumb to hold the skein end of the yarn. I position the loom so that the peg I'm working with is roughly horizontal. As I generally use the straight, two-sided looms as circular looms (usually with bulky yarn and skipping every other peg) I encounter a problem only when the yarn is too bulky to fit in the space between the sides.PP 14&22. Yarn categories may not be specific enough for your needs. I calculate the ratio of yards on the skein to number of ounces. This is helpful in knowing how a different yarn would turn out in terms of thickness compared to something you'd already made.PP 16-20. Many of these items aren't all that essential initially. The basics are a loom tool or two, some big eyed needles, scissors, a tape measure and (if you're bad at basic arithmetic) a calculator.PG 26. If your loom doesn't have a starting peg or the peg isn't clearly between two regular pegs, use electrical or duct tape between two pegs to mark the spot or use colored nail polish.An easier way to make a slip knot is to make a loop with about ten inches of yarn and hold the ends together in your left hand. Then put your other hand's thumb and index finger into the loop from below. Make a rectangle of the yarn to make it taut by spreading the two fingers. Put those fingers over the yarn and down and then together until the fingers touch. Slide the yarn down and put one side into the other and you have a slip knot.PG 28. My preference isn't to start with any of these stitches shown on pages 28 to 31. Instead follow the first two steps on page 28 and then go to the knit stitch on page 41.PG 42 I think the directions for the purl stitch are confusing. It's not being shown making something circular the way other stitches are shown. Go back to the second illustration on the previous page but place the skein-end yarn under the yarn already on the loom. Then use the tool to reach down through the stitch and pull up a new loop and replace the previous stitch with it.PG 45. Of the knit and purl combinations shown here, I use the garter stitch almost exclusively. You alternate rows of knitting and purling. This makes what you're knitting reversible until you finish and weave in the ends. A more stretchable version that's also reversible is the rib stitch but you can only do that with a loom with an even number of pegs unless you want one double purl or knit stitch in a row.PG 33. Once you've chosen a basic stitch it's time to choose a bind-off stitch. Skipping over the methods where you want to gather the end (like with a hat), I use the basic bind off, not just for flat panels but also for circular projects. For an item that needs to be stretched across the end (like a cowl or headband), modify the process slightly. Knit or purl the first two stitches loose enough that the yarn in each stitch can nearly touch the previous peg. In fact I make the first stitch so loose that it can be placed over the previous peg. Then I place the yarn on the second peg over the first peg and knit or purl (be consistent in your choice) but before moving the stitch to peg two I start to make a stitch on the third peg, which helps to keep me from tightening the completed stitch. Repeat the process until you have only one stitch on a peg. Cut the yarn with at least an eight inch tail. E-wrap and knit or purl over the peg and pull the tail through the stitch.NO PARTICULAR PAGE. Now you're learned the stitches you're going to use you're ready to make a test as a swatch. This can be a 3-inch square if you're making a flat piece but if you're making something circular I would suggest using your smallest round loom of the same gauge and knitting a two-inch piece before binding off.PG 54. I have another approach to fixing a wrong stitch that I think of as the pyramid approach. Let's say the wrong stitch is peg 25 of row 15 and you've just knitted peg 5 of row 19. You then remove the stitches from pegs 22-28 in row 18, 23-27 in row 17, 24-26 in row 16, and finally the incorrect stitch, 25 of row 15. Then you restitch the one stitch in row 15, the three in row 16, etc. Going further back this way gets more problematical but might be worthwhile if you're using the 41-peg loom.Of course it's better to try to catch mistakes as soon as possible so you should look over the last few rows frequently on both sides of the knitting.PERSONAL NOTE. I've been making 3" wide headbands in the two youth sizes so that needy kids can be given them next fall. I made one for myself in the adult size first and it works just as well or better in cold weather than a cap does. Plus I can make more headbands in the same amount of time.

I've had this book for a couple of weeks now. I didn't want to wait to review it until I'd finished every project in the book, because that would take me a year! But I did want to wait until I'd finished at least a couple of projects, because I wanted to be able to comment on the quality of the directions. (I'm still what I'd call a "beginning" loom knitter, and I don't have a lot of knitting or crochet experience. So I think I can fairly say I'm in this book's target audience.)What I like about this book:(1) Variety of projects. There's a little something that should appeal to everyone here. I count:*5 different hats (some are for children but could be modified for adults)*7 different scarves (well, one's a "scarflet" and one's a cowl)*3 sock patterns*4 baby patterns (hat, sweater, and 2 blankets)*5 felted items (yoga mat bag, accessories clutch, handbag, laptop cozy, slippers)*3 wrap-like patterns (this is kind of a broad category and includes a ruana, a shrug, and a poncho; the poncho is a child-sized poncho but I found measurements in the back of the book for increasing the size)*2 miscellaneous clothing accessories (leg warmers, fingerless mitts)*3 miscellaneous non-clothing accessories (I-cord hot pad, fish pillow, eyeglass case)Many of these appeal to me. I'll probably skip the baby patterns (no use for them), and if I make the children's patterns, I'll probably increase the size so they'll fit me, instead. I might very well make every pattern in the book (except the baby ones). I have a large stash of yarn, after all, so it won't cost me any extra. And this leads me into the second "pro" of this book.(2) Projects really do seem to be suited to beginners (presumably, the target audience for a "primer"). Especially early on, each project teaches you a new technique or two. So even though I've already made two hats, they were made in different ways. The first hat uses an e-wrap cast on, chunky braid stitch, and e-wrap stitch, resulting in a hat with a cuff and a ribbed look. The second hat uses a chain cast on, purl stitches, and your choice of knit or e-wrap stitches, as well as your first decreases. And so on. So you learn a few things at a time, then get a chance to practice them.My feeling here, after seeing some of my results, is I really might as well work my way through the book. I'm pretty new at this, and not everything that I've made looks great (I do now, however, have a stash of winterwear that I can use when I have to walk my dog in the middle of January). But I'm learning as I go, and I really wouldn't want to put a lot of effort into a fancy sweater that didn't end up looking very good because I hadn't had enough practice. Let me build up my skills and then jump into tougher things. I feel like this book is a good stepping-off point.(3) Patterns are easily adaptable. Most of the patterns in the book appear to have been made with one variety of Knifty Knitter or another. I happen to have the Martha Stewart loom, and I've been using it with no trouble. (Large gauge is pink pegs in every other hole, small gauge is blue pegs in every hole.) The main thing is to read the pattern and see what gauge you need and how many pegs to cast on. You might have to do odd things like make hats using a square loom instead of a circle (you can make a 72-hole square with the MS loom, which works out to 36 pegs if you place one peg every other hole). This is great for a smallish adult hat (and it looks fine when you take it off the loom -- you can't tell the loom was a square).(4) You learn a variety of techniques including multiple methods of casting on; a couple of good edge/cuff stitches like chunky braid; double stitching and half stitching; knit, purl, and e-wrap stitches; I-cords; knit/purl combinations; mock cables; felting; increases and decreases; a couple of methods for binding off; circular, flat panel, and double knitting patterns; etc. And then you actually get to use these techniques on the practice projects. I can't speak for every instruction booklet that comes with a loom, but this is far more than was included with the Martha Stewart loom.(5) Pictures of what the items are supposed to look like (with and without people wearing them). I was worried that the top of one of my hats was wrong, but then I looked carefully at the picture, and it's actually pretty similar.(6) I looked up the instructions for color changing (like for horizontal stripes on a scarf) and for joining new yarn (I had a bad knot I had to cut out), and I found them very easy to follow. So, it's easy to find what you're looking for, by using the index, and randomly-sought sections of the book turned out to be clear and informative.What I didn't like so much:(1) I feel like sometimes, information is left out of the patterns. So far, I think I have been able to figure out what is meant. But I'll give you a couple of examples.*For the first hat, you do a little bit of decreasing at the crown by moving stitches over to adjacent pegs, then knitting 2 loops over your new e-wrap stitch. First, you decrease from 36 to 24 pegs, then from 24 to 12 pegs. Only, after you move the stitches in the second decrease (24 to 12), it doesn't actually say to knit again. I went ahead and knitted because I thought that's what I was supposed to do. Because if you are just binding off after going from 36 to 24, there's no need to move the stitches over first. It's minor, and it worked out, but I don't know what'll happen if I run into this problem elsewhere, when the solution isn't so clear.*Though I followed the directions for the I-cord hot pad exactly, 36 inches of I-cord does not make a hot pad the size of the one in the picture. My I-cord looked pretty good, and I know the measurement was good (actually got overzealous and made 38 inches of I-cord), but I got a puffy coaster instead. Not sure what I did wrong, but the instructions are pretty sparse here. Also, it's not clear at this point in the book (a) what kind of cast on to use, and (b) how to cast on when you're not working in the round.*While I understand that some things make more sense AFTER you've tried them, I really am trying to understand what I am supposed to be doing BEFORE I get started. And so I am now looking at the Purple Trendy Scarf and it uses a slip stitch at the beginning of each row. I feel confident in doing slip stitches in the middle of a row, after reading all the book has to say about slip stitches, but was still unclear on what this meant at the end (there was no illustration of this). I had to go online to look it up.With a bit of initiative (i.e., Google) and a willingness to screw up early in your loom knitting journey, you can probably figure all of these things out (I could). But it'd be better if everything had been perfect in the first place.(2) As other reviewers have mentioned, the editing is all over the place. Some sentences are just plain bad (another review mentioned this one: "When a loom is being used to knit a flat panel, it is said that they are using it as a knitting rake;" who are "they?"), and there are some inconsistencies in spelling (e.g. "color" without a "u" as in American English, but "cosy" with an "s" as in British English). I don't really care which version of English the book is written in, though I wish it didn't switch back and forth.(3) The drawings are very nice (and the size is appreciated) but occasionally, after looking at them and reading the accompanying text, I still don't feel like I have enough information to do what is being described. Usually I can figure out a way to wrap the yarn to get what is being pictured, and if not, YouTube is pretty helpful. But sometimes I don't have access to YouTube and I either have to guess, or to stop working for the moment.Neutral consideration:I didn't mind this, but it seems to drive some of the other reviewers batty. Since I don't know who will be reading this review, or what other reviews a person will look at in addition to mine, I'll bring this up for the sake of completeness. The ORGANIZATION of this book is strange. The first part contains a lot of what you'd expect in a book like this -- information on tools and accessories, yarns, looms, etc. But the Glossary is on pages 10-11. I've never seen a book do this before. It has the effect of introducing a bunch of terms at the same time, before you've had a chance to build up your knowledge. If anything, it's confusing. I suggest skipping the Glossary until you need it.As for the "teaching" information, well. First you see how to make a slip knot (good, as it really is the first thing you'll do). Then you see one method of casting on and a few stitches. Then a couple of bind offs, a section on gauge, and a practice project. However, then there are MORE cast ons, knit and purl stitches, and knit and purl combinations, then another practice project.It's a different method of categorizing things. I think I see why the choice was made, though I'm not sure I agree with it. Since this is a "primer," I tend to think of it more like a textbook. To use an analogy, if you have a language textbook, a lot of times, you start off learning nouns and a few verb conjugations in the present tense. Then you learn a few more nouns, maybe some adjectives, and additional verb tenses. It's a way of building up your knowledge without being overwhelmed by every verb tense at once. I kind of feel the same way about this book. You learn one cast on, actually get to practice it, then learn a few more. In that sense, this book really IS a "primer," and you'll get a lot of benefit if you use it as such. On the other hand, once you've moved on to bigger and better things, the organization could be a problem if you want to use this book as a reference. Not all the cast ons are in the same place, and you might have to hunt (though the index has never yet let me down).At any rate, I think the pros outweigh the cons. I'm glad I bought this as a first book. If I could give half stars, I'd probably rate this as 3.5, but since I can't, I'll round up to 4. (I really am glad for all the author has done to promote loom knitting, through her books, her website, and Ravelry, and I do plan to buy more of her books in the future.)

The book is OK, although some of the written and illustrated instructions could be clearer. The photos are fine and it contains 30 patterns. However the book is also published under a different name: A beginners Guide to Knitting on a Loom

Came on time. Pleased with item.

Daughter very pleased with this.

Excellent

Clear easy to understand great beginers guide